The subway trembled under the force of the enemy's landing. Dust billowed. Cracks spider-webbed across the walls. The creature's twin plasma blades hummed with a high-pitched frequency that made the air vibrate like a struck tuning fork.
> [R-06: Engage Protocol – Annihilate R-00]
Renji stared, heart hammering. The symbol on his hand glowed brighter with each pulse. Shinra stepped in front of him, blades drawn, eyes locked on the monster.
"Renji," he said without looking back, "you remember anything yet?"
Renji's throat tightened. "No."
"Then follow my lead. And whatever happens—don't freeze."
The next second, R-06 launched.
It moved like lightning—one moment stationary, the next a blur of metal and plasma. The first strike was a horizontal slash, aiming to decapitate. Shinra ducked, countered, and parried in a single movement. Sparks flew. The walls of the station glowed with each impact.
Renji stumbled back, stunned. It was a dance of death, a symphony of blades and precision.
Shinra flipped over the creature, landing behind it and slashing across its exposed joint. The blade cut, but instead of blood, black smoke hissed out.
"Renji!" Shinra called, "Your hand—use it!"
Renji looked down. The symbol was now radiating raw light. It wasn't just glowing — it was alive.
"I don't know how!"
"You don't need to know! Just feel!"
Renji clenched his fist. The pain surged through his arm like fire, and then—
BOOM.
A pulse of light erupted from him, blasting outward. It wasn't precise. It wasn't trained. But it was powerful.
R-06 was knocked back, tumbling across the tiles. Shinra shielded his eyes.
Renji gasped, stumbling forward. "Did I… do that?"
Shinra grinned. "You're starting to wake up."
But R-06 wasn't finished. Its body realigned with sickening cracks, plasma blades extending again, hotter this time. The floor beneath it melted slightly as it advanced.
"Alright," Shinra muttered. "Round two."
But before anyone could move—
> "Enough."
A new voice.
From the darkness beyond the broken tunnel, a figure stepped out.
Tall. Cloaked. His face was hidden under a half-mask. His presence was like ice wrapped in shadow.
The creature stopped instantly. Almost like… it feared him.
Even Shinra froze.
"You're not supposed to be here," Shinra hissed. "You're… dead."
The man ignored him, walking slowly toward Renji.
"R-00," he said calmly. "So it's true. You've awakened."
Renji took a step back. "Who… who are you?"
The man removed his mask halfway.
Underneath… his face was scarred. His right eye was completely mechanical—glowing crimson like a predator's. But the left?
It looked like Renji's.
"I am R-01," he said softly. "The prototype before you. The First. And the one who remembers everything."
Shinra's grip on his sword tightened. "Don't listen to him, Renji. He betrayed us all."
R-01 smirked. "I freed us. There's a difference."
He extended a hand toward Renji. "Come with me. I'll show you the truth. The real reason we were created. Not just as weapons… but as gods."
Renji's breath caught.
Was this man telling the truth?
Why did his presence feel so… familiar?
"I… I don't understand…"
"You will," R-01 said. "But not if you stay with him."
Shinra stepped forward. "If you touch him, I swear I'll bury you where you stand."
R-01's smile widened.
"I'd like to see you try, little brother."
Renji's eyes widened.
"What… did you just say?"
Shinra's blade dropped half an inch. "Don't listen—he's lying."
"Am I?" R-01 asked. "Ask yourself, Shinra. Why do we share the same blood code?"
For a moment, no one moved.
Then R-01 turned and walked into the tunnel.
"This isn't your war yet, R-00. But it will be. And when the time comes, choose wisely. Because only one of us… wants you alive."
He vanished into the shadows.
R-06 followed.
Silence fell over the station.
Renji collapsed to his knees.
"Brother?" he whispered. "What does that mean?"
Shinra sighed and knelt beside him. "It means we're all tangled in something bigger. Way bigger."
He placed a hand on Renji's shoulder.
"But I'm here. And I'm not letting them take you."