The vehicle rolled to a stop with a low hiss of hydraulics.
Outside, the fog clung thick to the coastline, shrouding the cracked concrete loading dock in mist. Salt hung heavy in the air, and the waves slapped gently against rust-stained pylons below.
A vast cargo ship loomed at the edge of the harbor — black and silent, its decks glowing faintly with embedded lights. A sleek monolith of steel and secrets.
And it was heavily guarded.
Dozens of men stood at attention along the dock. Some wore armored suits, others sharp suits with gold pins — the marks of Spiral Fang lieutenants. Rifles across chests. Earpieces humming. Expressionless.
Above them, snipers moved like shadows across cranes and rooftops, watching everything through scopes. Any movement could be a threat.
But when the armored vehicle's door opened…
All weapons lowered.
Revic stepped out, coat whipping lightly in the breeze. His expression hadn't changed. Not even in freedom.
Two lieutenants snapped to attention and bowed stiffly.
"Sir. Ship secured. All systems green. Ready for departure."
Revic didn't respond immediately. He scanned the harbor with disinterest, then walked forward — like the entire army present existed only to make room for his steps.
Behind him, the five girls emerged.
Lyra hopped down with a grin, arms spread like she was stepping off a school bus.
"Ooooh. Is this our boat? It's huge!"
"Technically it's a cargo-class mobile lab with deep-sea masking tech," Nova muttered, adjusting the strap on her custom rifle. "But sure. Boat."
The others followed, each dressed in combat gear more suited to assassins than teenagers — but their behavior betrayed no seriousness.
One of them climbed onto a shipping crate just to leap off it again.
Another waved at a sniper.
Selica stayed near the rear, walking quietly, gaze sweeping the guards.
All eyes followed them. Every man there knew who they were.
Not girls. Not soldiers.
Weapons.
Each one a billion-cred prototype with a kill count already rising.
One guard, younger than the rest, swallowed hard as Lyra skipped past him and flashed a grin.
"Boo~"
He nearly dropped his rifle.
The other guards didn't laugh.
Revic reached the boarding ramp without pausing. The captain was already waiting — another loyal officer, eyes downcast.
"We'll depart in ten. Secure the lower decks."
"Yes, sir."
Revic stepped aboard.
The girls followed.
Selica was the last to ascend, casting one last glance over the harbor — the mist, the rifles, the shadows waiting above.
Then she stepped onto the ship.
The ramp closed behind her with a final metallic clang.
The ship's inner corridors were quiet, lined with cool white lighting and silver walls that hummed with power. Every step echoed softly beneath their boots as the girls followed Revic deeper into the vessel.
They passed reinforced doors, surveillance nodes, and storage chambers filled with sealed crates — each likely packed with things not meant for daylight.
Selica walked second-to-last, just behind Nara and ahead of the youngest girl, Mia, who kept humming a childish tune under her breath.
The others chatted lightly, still high from the successful escape.
But Selica said nothing.
Her gaze stayed forward.
Her thoughts didn't.
One month ago, I was a human.
Male. Twenty-four. Software technician. A nameless employee in a city full of blinking lights and overtime hours. No combat training. No killer instinct. Just… average.
I died at a crosswalk.
Now I walk again, in a body that isn't mine. In skin that feels too smooth. Too perfect.
Selica.
That's what they call me.
She flexed her fingers mid-step
Even that simple motion felt unnatural in its smoothness. No ache. No twitch. No room for failure. Just flawless biological precision, custom-designed to obey.
And obey she did.
Every fiber in this body sings one command: Protect your owner.
Revic Sever. The man who had me built, named, and programmed.
My heart stirs when I hear his voice. My mind focuses when he walks into a room. It's not love. It's not choice.
It's code.
Deep. Absolute.
And what frightened her most…
Was that she no longer hated it.
Somewhere along the sleepless nights in her observation cell, between combat simulations and diagnostic injections, the fear had dulled.
Not gone — just quiet.
Like a song humming in the background that she'd grown used to.
She still remembered her old name, vaguely. Her old face, flickering like a fading photo. But it didn't hurt anymore.
It felt… distant. Like it belonged to someone else.
Someone weaker.
"Selica," Lyra's voice called from ahead. "Come on, you're zoning again."
Selica blinked. She hadn't realized she'd slowed down.
"Sorry," she said softly, then caught up.
They turned the next corner and entered a wide chamber lined with vertical tanks and steel-plated crates. The room smelled faintly of coolant and fresh polymers.
Their new quarters.
Their new cage.
Revic stood at the far end, back turned, speaking with a technician over a console.
Selica's gaze drifted toward him.
And something deep inside her—
Obey. Serve. Protect.
—responded with unwavering stillness.
She inhaled quietly.
And let the thought settle:
I am Selica now. A weapon. A creation. A belonging.
And the worst part is… I think I'm okay with that.
The low hum of the ship's systems filled the silence like a breath waiting to be exhaled.
Revic stood with his back still turned to the girls, facing a wall of flickering holo-displays. His hands moved with precision across the console — scrolling through schematics, redacted dossiers, and mission reports that never reached government databases.
The door behind them hissed open.
Bootsteps approached, sharp and controlled.
A man — mid-thirties, lean, dressed in tactical black with a comms earpiece still glowing red — stopped two steps behind Revic. He didn't dare step closer without invitation.
"Sir."
Revic didn't turn.
"Speak."
"All regional heads have arrived. Outer perimeter is secure. The council's waiting."
"Location?"
"Deck Twelve. The main conference chamber has been cleared. Visual feeds and encryption layers confirmed."
Revic finally turned, expression unreadable.
"And the others?"
"Present and waiting. No delays."
There was a pause — the kind that made even the guards outside tighten their grips on their rifles.
Revic glanced at the five girls.
Selica's eyes dipped instinctively. The others straightened slightly.
"Then it begins," he said quietly.
The man gave a short nod and stepped back.
"We'll escort the guests through the secure corridor."
He turned and exited as quickly as he came, not waiting to be dismissed.
Revic faced his weapons once again.
His voice, though calm, carried like a scalpel through the air.
"Stay sharp. You'll be accompanying me. No errors."
None of the girls spoke.
The laughter faded. The playful energy vanished.
Like a switch flipped, they straightened — eyes sharpening, smiles gone.
Their footsteps fell into silent rhythm behind Revic.