The massive Hunter unit hit the floor with a thunderous crash.
The entire underground chamber trembled.
Cracks ran across the steel tiles beneath its feet.
Red light pulsed from the glowing core embedded in its chest, bathing the vault in an ominous crimson.
Aarav instinctively stepped back.
This thing was at least ten feet tall.
Its black armour was layered in reinforced plates, thicker and sharper than the Hunter units they had fought in Delhi.
Its arms ended in modular weapon systems—one shifting into an energy cannon and the other into a serrated plasma blade.
Rohan stared with wide eyes.
"…That is definitely the boss fight."
Mira did not move.
Her violet eyes remained fixed on the towering machine.
Cold.
Focused.
Unshaken.
The metallic shards floating around her multiplied.
What had been a dozen now became dozens more, rising from broken walls, shattered drones, and even fragments of the floor itself.
Tiny silver particles streamed into the air and gathered around her like a storm.
Aelina's blue aura brightened.
"This is an Omega Hunter."
Mira's lips curved into a faint smirk.
"Good."
Aarav turned to her.
"Good?!"
Mira finally glanced at him.
Her expression carried something almost arrogant.
"I was getting bored."
Before Aarav could respond, the Omega Hunter's cannon arm charged.
A red sphere of energy formed at the barrel.
A warning siren echoed through the chamber.
Aelina's eyes widened.
"Move!"
The blast fired.
A beam of red light tore across the room.
Mira lifted her hand.
The floating nanoblades surged forward.
They merged midair into a spinning violet shield.
BOOM!
The impact shook the entire chamber.
A shockwave slammed into Aarav and Rohan, forcing them back behind a damaged console.
Smoke and sparks filled the air.
When it cleared, Mira was still standing.
Not a single step had moved her.
Her violet eyes glowed brighter.
The shield dissolved back into hundreds of metallic fragments.
Mira's voice was calm.
"Pathetic."
Then she moved.
The nanoshards exploded outward like a meteor storm.
They shot toward the Omega Hunter from every angle.
The machine raised its plasma blade and slashed through several.
But more replaced them instantly.
Each fragment moved as if alive.
As if it shared her thoughts.
Aarav stared.
"She's controlling all of them at once?"
Aelina nodded.
"Her century perfected autonomous nanotechnology."
Her eyes remained on Mira.
"She is far more combat-orientated than I am."
Mira leapt.
Her body shot upward with impossible grace.
The nanoshards followed her like a crown of blades.
For one breathtaking second, she looked almost royal.
A queen descending upon her enemy.
The Omega Hunter swung its plasma blade.
Mira twisted in midair and avoided it by inches.
Then she thrust both hands forward.
The floating fragments merged into a massive violet spear.
CRASH!
The spear slammed into the Hunter's chest.
Its red core flickered violently.
The machine staggered backwards.
Rohan stared in disbelief.
"…She's insane."
Aarav didn't answer.
Because he was staring at Mira.
The way she fought.
The way the light from the violet shards reflected off her face.
She wasn't just powerful.
She was terrifyingly beautiful.
Cold.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Mira landed lightly on the ground.
Her eyes shifted toward Aarav for the briefest second.
Then—
The Omega Hunter roared.
Its chest core split open.
A second cannon emerged.
Aelina's face changed instantly.
"No!"
Mira turned.
Too late.
The cannon fired at point-blank range.
A blast of red light shot directly toward her.
Aarav didn't think.
He moved.
"Aarav!"
He lunged forward and shoved Mira aside.
The blast slammed into the floor beside them.
The explosion threw both of them backwards.
Aarav hit the ground hard.
Pain shot through his shoulder.
For a second, his vision blurred.
Then he felt something soft beneath him.
Warm.
Mira.
He had fallen on top of her.
Their faces were inches apart.
Her violet eyes widened.
For the first time since meeting her, her expression broke.
Shock.
Confusion.
Something warmer.
Aarav's breath caught.
Up close, she looked even more unreal.
Long black hair spread across the shattered floor like silk.
Her glowing violet eyes reflected his own stunned face.
Neither moved.
Then Mira spoke softly.
"…Why?"
The question was almost identical to Aelina's.
Aarav blinked.
"What?"
"Why did you protect me?"
Her voice had lost all its cold sharpness.
Aarav answered instinctively.
"Because I'm not letting anyone get hurt."
For one silent second, Mira simply stared at him.
Then the faintest flush touched her cheeks.
Barely visible beneath the violet glow.
Aelina's voice cut through the moment.
"Aarav, move!"
The Omega Hunter charged again.
Mira's eyes sharpened instantly.
She pushed herself up.
The warmth vanished.
Cold fury returned.
This time, her entire body glowed violet.
The nanoshards around her multiplied into the hundreds.
Then thousands.
They formed a massive rotating halo behind her.
6
Aelina stared.
"She's entering full combat mode."
Mira's voice echoed through the chamber.
Cold.
Absolute.
"Omega Hunter."
"Judgement sequence."
The shards shot forward.
A storm of silver and violet light.
They struck the machine from every direction.
Armour plates shattered.
Joints split.
The plasma blade snapped.
Finally, a single shard pierced the red core.
BOOM!
The Omega Hunter exploded in a burst of sparks and fire.
Silence.
The chamber lights flickered.
Smoke drifted through the air.
Mira stood at the centre of it all.
Beautiful.
Untouched.
Like a queen of destruction.
Then she slowly turned toward Aarav.
Her violet eyes lingered on him.
And this time, her voice was softer.
"…So you really are the origin."
Aarav's heart skipped.
The same words again.
Origin.
Who was he?
And why did girls from different futures keep looking at him like he was the answer to something much bigger?