Kei stood at the edge of a collapsing bridge within the prison, staring down at the swirling void below. The battle had left him drained, yet something deep inside him refused to let go. He clenched his fists, feeling the echoes of every fight he'd endured since entering this prison. The fragments of time within him pulsed subtly, whispering forgotten truths.
Across from him, a new adversary emerged—a cybernetic warden with glowing blue eyes and an array of shifting metallic appendages. It was unlike any opponent he had faced before, its voice a mechanical growl.
"Prisoner Kei... you are exceeding acceptable survival limits. Termination required."
Kei smirked. "I don't play by your limits."
The warden launched forward, its arms transforming into spinning blades. Kei dodged with barely an inch to spare, his movements sharper than before. He could feel it—the slight anomaly in time as if he was moving just a fraction ahead of reality.
His body felt heavier, but his instincts were clearer than ever. As the warden struck again, Kei instinctively reached out—not with his hands, but with something deeper. The moment its attack should have landed, time around them fractured for a split second. The warden staggered, its attack missing by an impossible margin.
Kei exhaled. "So it's happening..."
The power wasn't fully awakened yet, but he could feel it—the subtle, growing control over time's fragments. If he survived this fight, he'd have taken another step toward unlocking Neuromancer.