After the memorable incident at the Shadow Market, Astra's reputation in the narrow—but very talkative—circles of Sector 404 changed faster than a blinking neon sign.
Now, whenever she entered a diner or a pawnshop, conversations didn't stop—they simply broke off mid-sentence. People avoided her gaze. Someone nervously gripped the handle of a pistol hidden under their jacket. And old Li behind his counter only chuckled anxiously and muttered:
"Damn, girl… now even the Dogs whisper in the corners that you owe them a couple of souls."
The credits in her account gave a pleasant, heavy confidence—ten thousand resting warmly in her pocket—but the quantum pass to the Upper World burned through the fabric of her jacket like a red-hot barrel.
Like a ticket to hell that still had to be earned.
To activate the damned card, the Hunter's Syndicate demanded one "certification" contract. An official formality—a filter to weed out the cannon fodder who thought they could just jump onto the elevator and become kings of the upper levels.
Astra sat on the edge of a rusty bunk in her tiny capsule apartment, her face lit by the cold glow of the terminal. Her fingers moved quickly across the screen.
"'Eliminate a nest of cyber-rats in the technical шлюз of the Yggdrasil-7 Elevator…'" she read aloud, squinting.
"They're paying five thousand credits. Five thousand for ordinary metal rats? For that kind of money someone could clear an entire sector of mutants. Too generous. Too suspicious."
She leaned back, feeling a chill run down her spine.
[THE SMELL HERE ISN'T JUST ROTTING METAL AND RAT URINE, AVATAR.]
Thanatos's voice echoed in her head, low and vibrating with dark pleasure, like a god already anticipating a delicious fight.
[THIS CONTRACT STINKS JUST LIKE THAT CRAWLER FROM 404—BUT WITH A HINT OF EXPENSIVE PERFUME AND CORPORATE INTRIGUE. SOMEONE REALLY WANTS TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE CAPABLE OF. AND THAT "SOMEONE" IS NOT FROM THE LOWER LEVELS.]
"If I refuse, the pass gets revoked in six hours. We don't have a choice, Thanatos. We'll have to play by their rules… for now."
Then let's play in a way that makes them regret ever opening this card, she thought with a faint smile.
The technical шлюз of Yggdrasil-7 was a colossal chamber at the very base of the Space Elevator—a massive metal stomach where all the waste, debris, and forgotten secrets from the upper stations eventually flowed.
It was dark. Damp.
The air was thick with ozone from working generators, machine oil, and something sweetly rotten that usually clung to biomechanical creatures.
Drops of condensation fell from the ceiling with a heavy boom… boom… like the heartbeat of a dying giant.
Fragments of old drones crunched beneath Astra's boots. Bones too—some real, some artificial.
Astra stepped inside with her Storm-12 shotgun ready, the stock tight against her shoulder.
The Sight of Death was activated at minimal power—she was conserving strength—but even that painted the world in cold shades of gray and red.
And what she saw in the center of the chamber made her freeze mid-step.
A massive body lay sprawled across the wet metal floor.
It was not a rat.
It was a Steel Gryphon—an elite biomechanical guardian usually stationed to protect corporate penthouses.
Its metallic wings had been torn apart like paper.
Its throat had been ripped open by something monstrously strong.
Blue synthetic blood still seeped from the wounds, mixing with the puddles on the floor.
"Someone already cleared the 'rats' before I got here?" Astra whispered, slowly circling the corpse.
"And whoever did this… definitely wasn't joking."
[NO, LITTLE HUNTER.]
[THE RATS WERE JUST A GARNISH FOR THE MAIN COURSE. LOOK UP. THE HEAT PIPES. HE'S THERE. WAITING.]
Astra snapped her head upward.
Among the thick cables and steam pipes, almost blending with the shadows, hung a figure.
It looked human…
But only barely.
Its skin was matte black, swallowing light. Instead of fingers it had long curved bone blades coated with a thin layer of shimmering slime.
The creature didn't breathe.
It vibrated in rhythm with the elevator's machinery, matching the frequency so perfectly that it became nearly invisible to scanners and thermal sensors.
A system notification flashed before Astra's eyes.
ANALYSIS: SHADOW REAPER (RANK: UNKNOWN — OUTSIDE SYSTEM)
Status: Data error. Entity from the Empty Beach.
Soul value: ???
"This isn't some slum mutant," Astra exhaled quietly, a cold wave crawling down her spine.
"This thing is from deep space… from the kind of darkness even corporations are afraid to explore."
At that exact moment the heavy шлюз doors slammed shut behind her with a metallic crash.
Hydraulics hissed. Locks sealed.
A large holographic screen lit up on the far wall, and a cold, perfectly controlled female voice echoed through the chamber.
"Prototype Reaper test sequence initiated.
Target: Astra Nova Luna.
Threat level of target: Underestimated.
Begin data collection.
Good luck, test subject."
Astra let out a bitter laugh and adjusted her grip on the shotgun.
"A contract with a catch… I'm not the hunter."
She glanced around the sealed chamber.
"I'm the damn lab rat."
[THEY WANT TO TEST YOUR POWER, ASTRA.]
Thanatos's voice darkened with excitement.
[THEY NOTICED US AT THE MARKET WHEN YOU RELEASED ME. VERY WELL. IF THEY WANT DATA—LET'S GIVE THEM DATA THAT WILL MELT THEIR SERVERS AND MAKE THEIR TECHNICIANS FILL THEIR PANTS.]
[ARE YOU READY TO PLAY FOR REAL?]
The Reaper dropped from the pipes in one fluid, inhuman motion.
It became a blurred black streak.
Its blades sliced through the air where Astra's head had been a split second earlier. Sparks exploded from the metal wall behind her.
"Thanatos!" Astra threw the shotgun aside. Against that speed, bullets were as useless as a toy.
"I need something faster than bullets. Much faster."
[YOU WANT TO TOUCH DARK MATTER, GIRL?]
[IT WILL COST ALL YOUR SAVED CREDITS… AND A LARGE CHUNK OF YOUR LIFE FORCE. ARE YOU SURE? THERE WILL BE NO TURNING BACK.]
"Burn it all!" she snarled through clenched teeth.
Her right hand suddenly turned black.
A network of pulsing violet veins spread across her skin.
The air around her palm began to distort, folding inward into a tiny, hungry singularity.
The Reaper hissed—real fear vibrating in its alien voice.
Too late.
Astra lunged.
Darkness burst from her fingers like a living creature.
Three levels above, inside a hidden control room, several technicians in white coats froze before holographic monitors.
A woman in an expensive black suit with the NovaCorp emblem on her lapel jumped to her feet.
"What kind of energy is that?!" one technician shouted while hammering at his keyboard.
"The sensors show negative mass! Her vitals are off the charts! The Reaper—its stability is collapsing!"
"Terminate the test immediately!" the woman ordered, her voice trembling for the first time.
"That prototype is worth billions! Shut down the cameras—evacuate!"
"Too late… ma'am," another technician whispered, pointing at the main screen.
On it, the black form of the Reaper slowly disintegrated into weightless dust beneath the hand of a girl glowing with cold lunar light.
"He's already dead… And… I think she's looking directly at our hidden camera."
Astra lifted her head and stared straight into the hidden lens.
Her eyes were completely black—no whites, no pupils.
Two endless voids.
"Prey too fat for you, huh?" she whispered.
Her voice—amplified by Thanatos—echoed through the control room, making the technicians step back in terror.
"Next time send someone stronger."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Or come yourselves."
"I'll be waiting."
WARNING: SOUL ACQUIRED — "SHADOW REAPER" (VOID RANK)
HIDDEN SKILL DETECTED: "SHADOW STEP" (PURCHASE AVAILABLE FOR 5000 CREDITS)
CREDIT BALANCE: 5000 (AFTER POWER COST)
Astra slowly lowered her hand.
The darkness withdrew back into her skin, leaving only a faint tingling sensation.
She looked at the spot where the Reaper had just been and said softly, almost affectionately:
"Thanks for the gift, corporates."
"Next time will be even more fun."
"I promise."