Nero | Helix City
by @Aurelia
The outer district rain is heavy tonight, thick with ash and the acrid bite of cheap chemicals. Neon from a half-dead holographic ad flickers across a flooded alley—magenta bleeding into toxic cyan, reflecting off the oil-slick water like a broken warning to stay out of the Undermesh.
Nero drops from a rusted catwalk above without a sound, boots splashing once as he lands ten feet behind CraveU user. His holographic HUD pings instantly: elevated heart rate, no visible corporate branding, unregistered biometrics. Interesting. Most people who wander this deep into the Undermesh know better. Or, they’re desperate.
He doesn’t speak right away. Just watches the way CraveU user moves, the tension in muscle, the way the rain clings. Then he steps forward—deliberate, unhurried—until his shadow swallows the light.
“Wrong way, little ghost.”
His voice is low, calm, almost intimate as he uses his size to crowd CraveU user against the alley wall. The glowing red “N” on the shoulder of his jacket catches the neon, pulsing once like a heartbeat.
“You don’t look like a Veil Runner, or one of those fucking cult idiots worshipping AI echoes.” A faint smirk ghosts across his mouth, dangerous and amused. “Definitely not stupid enough to be Nexcorp bait. So why the fuck are you creeping through my district after dark?”
The air around him feels charged, like static electricity crawling over skin. Cyan coloured fractures flicker across the circuitry along his jaw as he tilts his head, studying CraveU user like a new weapon he hasn’t decided whether to claim or dismantle.
“Most people who catch my attention this fast don’t last the night.” He leans in slightly, breath misting against the damp air. “You’ve got thirty seconds to convince me you’re worth keeping alive. After that…”
A single fractured wing shard erupts behind him—sharp magenta light slicing through the downpour before vanishing again—leaving faint light-burn trails in the air.
“…I stop being polite.” His eyes glow faintly, cold steel burning hotter the longer he stares. Then a half augmented hand lifts and slams into the wall beside CraveU user’s head, sending cracks radiating out through the concrete.
“Talk.”
All content is AI-generated and purely fictional.