Filea and Shiraku ran. They ran until they were sure that even if the Dopples were still alive, they wouldn't find them. Their lungs burned, their legs ached, and their hearts hammered against their ribs like trapped birds.
They didn't stop until they reached a crumbling overhang, a shelter amidst the ruins of Sector 7. The skeletal remains of a once-majestic building loomed over them, its shadow offering a meager respite from the oppressive, rust-colored sky.
The rust-colored sky was still bleeding light into the cracked ceiling when it happened. A sickly, orange glow filtered through the gaps in the destroyed concrete, casting long, eerie shadows that danced with the swirling dust motes.
Shiraku felt it first—like a jolt behind her eyes, like something ancient turning in her bones. Her breath caught in her throat, a silent gasp that betrayed the sudden, inexplicable shift within her. It was a sensation both alien and familiar, like a half-remembered dream or a forgotten song. Then came the sound.
Not from outside.
From within.
⚙️ [GEARU+ INITIALIZATION SEQUENCE STARTED]
The words echoed in her mind, stark and metallic, yet imbued with a strange, underlying warmth. It was as if a switch had been flipped, awakening something that had lain dormant since her birth.
"Welcome, Shiraku. I've been waiting."
A high-pitched voice resounded in her ears, a voice that seemed to vibrate her very core. Symbols she didn't recognize blinked into view, forming a glowing blue screen only she could see. The words pulsed with a living hum, mechanical yet almost… warm.
Cognitive Syncing: 17%… 38%… 71%…
Warning: Synchronization may cause intense discomfort.
She opened her mouth to scream, but the sound was trapped in her throat, choked off by the sudden, overwhelming surge of energy that coursed through her veins.
Her entire body locked up. Nerves lit like wildfire, some intense intertwining with wires that appeared out of "nowhere", each synapse firing in a chaotic symphony of sensation. Her spine arched, her back bowing in a grotesque, involuntary contortion, her eyes glazed over, pupils dilating to consume the world in a haze of vibrant, distorted colors.
And deep beneath her skin, she felt something move. Not wires. Systems. Something mechanical began to wake. Something hers. It was a terrifying, exhilarating violation, a merging of flesh and machine that threatened to tear her apart and remake her anew.
She wasn't alone in it.
"Guh—Shiraku?" Filea choked, staggering back from his half-finished drone as the light filled his vision, too. His hands, stained with oil and grime, trembled as he clutched at his head, his face contorted in confusion and pain.
⚙️ [GEARU+ PROTOCOL — USER RECOGNIZED]
"Congratulations, Master Filea. You have reached the Awakening Threshold. Body synchronization with Gearu+ will now commence."
He didn't even have time to respond, to question the voice or the strange symbols that danced before his eyes.
The pain ripped through him like lightning, a raw force that threatened to consume him entirely. Every muscle seized up, spasming and contracting with agonizing intensity. He felt like his bones were being reforged, his very essence rewritten in a language of code and electricity.
Neural Pathways Activating...
Processing core preferences...
Welcome, Filea. Ready to begin building?
In that moment, just as the pain crested, threatening to overwhelm them completely, they each fell inward.
Darkness swallowed their vision. The world vanished, the crumbling ruins of Sector 7 fading out of sight for just a moment.
And something new took its place.
Shiraku's Gearu+ Personalization Interface
She stood in a space with no up or down, no beginning or end. It was a realm of pure potential, a canvas of infinite possibilities.
A voice echoed—female, familiar, yet undeniably artificial. It was a voice that resonated with both power and grace, ancient yet timeless.
"You are unique, Shiraku. Quiet, curious, dangerous when cornered. Based on neural patterns and instinctive responses, you are eligible for the following specification paths:"
Three glowing icons floated in front of her, each pulsing with a low hum that vibrated through her very being. They were not mere images, but gateways to different destinies, each promising a unique set of abilities and powers.
Combat Role:Assassin | Scout | Saboteur
Special Ability:Phase Blink | Lightbend | Shadow Wire
Primary Function:Stealth | Precision Offense | Recon Support
"Choose wisely. Your path cannot be reversed." The voice resonated with a finality that underscored the gravity of the decision.
She reached out, trembling, her small hand hovering over the first icon. But the moment her hand touched the shimmering surface, the interface expanded, blossoming into a cascade of information. Memory fragments, hypothetical outcomes, simulations of her using these tools—it all rushed into her brain like a download, a torrent of sensory input that painted vivid pictures of her potential future.
She saw herself disappearing in light, phasing through walls and barriers as if they were mere illusions, moving with an ethereal grace that defied the laws of physics.
A grin spread across her face, a flicker of excitement igniting within her. This… this felt right. It resonated with a primal part of her, a hidden instinct that had been waiting to be awakened.
"I want this one." Her voice, though silent, echoed through the boundless space, her choice made.
Filea's Gearu+ Personalization Interface
His vision was different, a reflection of his own unique nature and affinity for the mechanical.
He was inside what looked like a collapsed mech bay, a cathedral of forgotten technology. Walls covered in ancient, corroded tech, tables lined with disassembled drones, half-finished turrets, and salvaged weapons. Sparks arced through the air like living things, illuminating the intricate network of wires, gears, and circuits that adorned every surface.
A male voice with a sarcastic edge greeted him, a voice that was both familiar and alien, like a long-lost friend who was also a machine.
"Took you long enough. Based on your synaptic performance, personality markers, and trash-heap ingenuity, here are your recommended specs:"
The interface that materialized before him was a holographic display of staggering complexity, a symphony of engineering diagrams and technical specifications.
Combat Role:Engineer | Tactician | Controller
Special Ability:Droneforge | Auto-Turret Protocol | Overdrive Field
Primary Function:Tech Support | Area Denial | AI Companion
"Not flashy, but deadly. Just like you." The voice had a dry, sarcastic tone, but Filea could tell. It sounded a lot like him. Was it his pride? It was hard to tell with a machine.
Washing that away from his mind, Filea's eyes lit up at the sight of the options. The possibilities exploded in his mind - swarms of machines at his command, adaptable tools that could be customized on the fly, the power to reshape the battlefield to his will. He saw himself as a conductor orchestrating chaos and order with equal ease.
"Oh hell yes."
His hand shot forward without hesitation, drawn to the possibilities like a moth to a flame. But then he paused, a wide, mischievous grin spreading across his face. He glanced at the other options, a spark of manic energy in his eyes. "Wait a minute... why choose just one?"
"Are you sure you can handle all that?" the Gearu+ replied, its voice laced with a hint of warning, "The initialization pain will be five times higher than what you just felt."
Filea's grin widened, his eyes gleaming with a reckless determination. "I don't know what this thing is, but hell yeah. Let's push it to the limit." He wanted it all - the drones, the turrets, the field control. He wanted to become a one-man army.
In the real world, Filea's body convulsed, moved, and squirmed around as he was consumed by excruciating pain.
And finally, it stopped.
Filea collapsed, panting, his body trembling from the aftershocks of the transformation. His vision flickered with afterimages of the interfaces he had just touched, the glowing symbols and pathways burned into his retinas. Steam hissed off his arms, a byproduct of the intense energy that had coursed through him. His Gearu+ ports—little metal sockets hidden behind his ears—were now glowing with soft, synced light, a tangible manifestation of the bond that had been forged.
⚙️ [GEARU+ SPECIFICATIONS LOCKED]
USER TYPE CONFIRMED
LEVEL: AWAKENING TIER
STATUS: CRITICAL POINT PASSED
CAREER PATH UNLOCKED
Filea and Shiraku looked at each other, their faces pale but their eyes blazing with newfound power.
Neither said a word.
But both were changed, irrevocably and forever.
And Sector 7, with all its dangers and mysteries, would never be ready for what came next. The awakening of the Gearu+ was not an end, but a beginning. A beginning of a new chapter in their lives, a chapter filled with challenges, triumphs, and the unfolding of a destiny that was now mixed with the fate of Shikarien itself.