Don stood facing the entrance.

The lodged SUV burned steadily, flames crawling along its warped frame, heat bleeding into the lounge through the broken threshold.

Smoke curled inward in slow trails, caught in the building’s ventilation before being pulled away—

His eyes shifted slightly.

A faint glint passed across them.

Not his own.

The contact lenses activated fully.

The world changed.

Not visually—

But structurally.

A layered interface slid into place over his vision, clean lines forming grids across surfaces, edges of the environment outlined in faint markers.

The entrance, the lodged vehicle, the broken frame of the doorway—all of it became segmented, mapped,.

Distances flickered into existence.

**[Entry obstruction: 3.4m width | Structural integrity: 42%]**

**[Interior load-bearing columns: 6.2m left | stress tolerance: compromised]**

Thin lines traced across the ceiling and walls, highlighting fracture points where earlier impacts had weakened the structure. Small red markers pulsed along sections that wouldn’t hold under further stress.

Outside—

The two figures came into view through partial obstruction.

Not just their shapes.

Their structure.

The stitched man’s frame broke down into layered overlays—muscle density, joint stress points, movement prediction arcs forming faint paths ahead of each step.

**[Upper limb mass: excessive | reaction delay: +0.4s]**

**[Chest cavity exposure probability: 27% on forward motion]**

**[Lower limb heat emission: unstable]**

The floating woman—

Different.

Her outline flickered, less stable under the system’s analysis, but still marked.

**[Unknown energy manipulation detected]**

**[Projectile control radius: active]**

**[Recommended: avoid ranged engagement]**

Around them—

Paths.

Dozens.

Highlighted routes branching outward from Don’s current position, each shifting slightly as variables updated.

Some paths faded quickly—dead ends under current conditions. Others extended further, showing movement options through debris, cover angles, engagement windows measured down to fractions of a second.

This wasn’t guesswork.

It was built.

Refined.

Every flaw he had logged in training—every delay, every mistake—fed into this.

Winter had taken it apart.

Rebuilt it.

And gave it back to him as something usable.

Training wheels.

Don understood what that meant.

He wasn’t there yet.

But this—

Closed the gap.

In his ear—

Elle’s voice came through, soft, steady.

"I don’t like this," she said. "It would’ve been better to let others take the lead. If they die, we can log the attack patterns."

Don’s gaze didn’t shift.

Figures moved in his vision. Paths recalculated.

"...Yeah," he muttered under his breath.

Winter’s voice followed.

Calm.

"That would have been more ideal," she said. "However, given what has been observed, avoid firing projectiles. The female entity poses a greater threat at range. As for the male—target the arms individually or the chest. Maximize damage output."

Don exhaled slowly.

Good.

Because that’s exactly where his mind had gone.

Start with the big one.

Avoid the other.

To his left—

One of the security personnel spoke, voice low but firm.

"We move on your mark, kid."

Don didn’t respond immediately.

His gaze remained forward.

Calculating.

The initial plan—hold the line, engage on entry—faded quickly under the data feeding into him. The moment those things stepped inside—

They’d be losses.

Too many.

Unnecessary.

A path shifted.

Updated.

A new line formed—

Forward.

Through the obstruction.

He made the decision.

As the figures closed in—

Don moved.

His hand snapped to his side, drawing his pistol in one smooth motion. The weapon came up instantly, aim locking onto a highlighted point along the lodged SUV—

Fuel tank.

He fired.

CHK—!

CHK—!

CHK—!

CHK—!

Four shots cracked out in rapid succession, the recoil controlled, each round punching into the vehicle’s side. Two struck exactly where the overlay had marked—

The others—

Close enough.

For a fraction of a second—

Nothing happened.

Then—

The tank ruptured.

The ignition caught.

BOOOOOOM—!

Fire erupted outward from the SUV, the blast tearing through the entrance with violent force. The wreckage twisted under the explosion, metal folding inward and outward at the same time as the pressure wave ripped through the immediate area.

Inside—

The shockwave hit first.

Tables flipped, glass shattered across the floor—

KRRRSH—!

Loose debris launched backward, fragments of metal and broken paneling scattering across the lounge.

One of the nearby officers threw his arm up, bracing as the force pushed him back a step, boots scraping hard against the floor.

Heat followed.

A rolling burst that washed through the entryway, flames licking outward before curling upward along the ceiling.

Outside—

The blast tore through the immediate perimeter, the ground blackening further under the impact. Burning fragments scattered outward, striking against ruined vehicles and broken concrete.

The stitched man reacted.

For the first time—

It stopped.

Its upper arms came up, crossing over its face as the explosion hit, heat and debris crashing into its frame. Smaller fragments struck its body, some embedding, others bouncing off the hardened muscle.

Behind it—

The floating woman shifted back instantly, her body lifting higher into the air. Her hair rose with the motion, strands moving to cover her face as debris struck against it—

THK—THK—~

The pieces deflected.

Fell away.

The flames surged—

Then parted.

Because something moved through them.

Fast.

The stitched man’s eyes caught it.

Through the gaps between its arms—

Something coming straight at it.

Too fast to process.

Its pincers snapped forward instinctively, claws opening wide—

CLK—!

But it was late.

Don came out of the fire.

His frame broke through the flames, heat rolling off his suit as he stepped into range, his body already moving, fist drawn back—

And then—

He struck.

BOOM—!

The impact detonated against the creature’s chest.

Not just force—

Everything behind it.

A shockwave burst outward from the point of contact, dispersing the remaining flames in a violent ring as air itself was shoved aside.

The creature’s body reacted instantly.

Its chest caved inward under the blow, muscle tearing, bone fracturing with a deep, wet crack—

CRRKK—!

The force launched it backward.

Its feet left the ground.

Its body lifted—

Then flew.

Blood—thick, dark, almost molten—spilled from the wound in heavy arcs, droplets hissing as they struck the ground—

SSSS—~

It crashed into the remains of another SUV—

CRAAASH—!

Metal bent under the impact, the vehicle collapsing further as the creature’s body plowed through it, carrying through into the pile of bodies behind it.

It tumbled once—

Then again—

Before one of its massive hands slammed into the ground.

CRRSH—!

Its fingers dug deep into the pavement, carving through concrete as it forced itself to stop, momentum grinding to a halt in a spray of debris.

For a second—

It stayed there.

Then—

It rose.

Slow.

Its head tilted downward.

Looking at its chest.

The damage was clear.

A section of its torso had been torn open, flesh split wide enough to expose the structure beneath. Ribs jutted outward at uneven angles, cracked and partially shattered.

Behind them—

Movement.

Multiple hearts.

Pulsing irregularly.

Other organs pressed into the space—wrong shapes, wrong placements, stitched together with the same dark strands that bound the rest of its body.

Don stood where he had struck.

His arm lowered slowly.

He rolled his shoulder once—

Then lifted a hand to his cheek.

His fingers brushed against it.

Came away with blood.

A thin cut.

The pincer had grazed him on the way in.

"...Tch."

His hand dropped.

And then—

He felt it.

His gaze shifted.

The floating woman hovered a short distance away, her body suspended mid-air, her hair settling back into place.

Her white eyes locked onto him.

Unblinking.

Watching.

And for the first time—

Something in that gaze changed.