A fist slammed into her face, and Aya's prosthetic eye flickered into static.
Pain came later. First, she saw her blood fan across the black suit in front of her. Then her cheek screamed in shards of fire, as if her bones had fractured.
The man didn't stop. His shoulder barreled into her chest, and she stumbled back, catching the edge of the alley wall. Concrete scraped her palms, burning.
Aya's vision wavered, but her mind was sharp. She ducked low, letting him smash past, and then pivoted, swinging a heel into his knee. A muffled grunt, and he faltered.
Her calm was mechanical, but underneath it, her heartbeat raged like a war drum. Survival wasn't about mercy—it was about calculation. Every move measured, every breath a strategy.
The alley smelled of rust, smoke, and sweat. A flickering neon sign overhead painted the walls in garish red. Somewhere in the distance, sirens screamed, distant but growing.
She had twenty seconds before more arrived. Twenty seconds to escape, or die.
Aya vaulted over a stack of crates, landing silently. Her coat fluttered, revealing the small arsenal strapped beneath—knives, a compact pulse gun, tools she could wield with surgical precision. Each piece an extension of her will.
The man staggered to his feet, clutching his knee, eyes narrowing. He underestimated her. Most did.
Her lips curved into a faint, cold smile. That flaw had always worked in her favor.
From the shadows, another figure approached. Black, angular, movement sharp and deliberate. Aya didn't flinch. She recognized the style, the intention. Traps, ambushes, deception—her world was built on them, and she had built herself stronger.
Every encounter was a calculation. Every betrayal a lesson. Every life, including her own, was a currency to be spent wisely.
She took a breath, cold and steady. Then she vanished into the neon-lit maze of the city, leaving only the echo of her steps—and a warning to anyone foolish enough to follow.
Aya knew one thing: in this fractured world, emotions were a luxury. And she couldn't afford them.