Chapter 3

  Sylens stood tall, his dark eyes sharp with i as he fixed his gaze on Adal, who was crouched before him, waiting for the and. The cold air of the mountain cave surrouhem, but the temperature of the moment was far more chilling.

  “Adal,” Sylens began, his voice quiet but anding, “there’s a group of Watchers up ahead. I want them gone. Your task is simple: disable them, destroy them. You’ve been training for this.”

  Adal stood silently, nodding once. He had already e to uand the weight of Sylens' ands. There was no room for hesitation. Not here, not in this world where power ruled everything.

  “Uood,” Adal replied.

  Sylens motiooward the entrance of the cave, where the wind howled outside. “You’ve learned mu the time you’ve been here. Use that knowledge. Take out those Watchers before they bee a problem.”

  Adal’s eyes flickered to the small makeshift EMP devi the table beside him. It was crude, but it was enough for now. He knew he was ready. It was time to test his creation in the field.

  As Sylens turo walk deeper into the cave, he paused and gnced over his shoulder. "Remember, Adal—trol. trol is everything."

  Adal's gaze never wavered. He was already pnning his move.

  ---

  The wind howled around him as Adal crouched at the edge of the clearing. His breath came in steady, measured puffs, clouding in the frozen air. The Watchers were ahead, a small group movihodically through the snow-covered terrain, their glowing eyes sing for anything out of the ordinary. They were focused on their patrol, unaware of Adal’s presence.

  He reached into his pack, pulling out the EMP. The crude device felt heavy in his hands, its metal surface cold against his skin. He didn’t have much time. The Watchers were close. But he khis would work. He had tested it enough times in the cave, after all.

  He activated the EMP, and a faint hum vibrated through his fingers. The pulse from the device shot through the air, and the Watchers froze mid-step, their lights flickering befoing dark. The maes colpsed to the ground like marioes whose strings had been cut, their circuits fried by the bst.

  Adal exhaled, a small sense of victory filling him for a brief moment. The device worked—but there was a catch. A low, warning hum emanated from the EMP as it began to overheat. Adal frowned, quickly deactivating it.

  "Later," he muttered to himself, knowing full well that his work wasn’t over. The EMP was only a start, but it was far from perfect. He would discuss the overheating issue with Vagra whe back. But he wouldn’t tell her everything. He didn’t o.

  As the Watchers slowly rebooted, Adal stood up, sing the horizon. The mission was plete—for now.

  ---

  Ba the Nora Lands

  Aloy was no lohe curious little girl she once was. The years of survival training, honed by her adopted father Rost, had shaped her into something else. She had bee a force to be reed with, driven by the desire to prove herself not just to herself, but to the world around her.

  At 13, Aloy’s survival instincts were sharper than ever, and today was no different. She crouched low, her body blending into the shadows of the trees as she watched a small herd of Watchers graze in the distance. She was learning to anticipate their movements, to strike wheime was right.

  Ana, who was now 15, had been watg from the edge of the clearing, arms crossed. Her expression was one of , but also pride. She knew Aloy was capable, but this was dangerous.

  Aloy’s grip tightened around her spear as she moved into position. The Watchers were close, but they weren’t aware of her yet. With a sudden, fluid movement, she shot out from behind the trees, taking the first Watcher down with a well-pced strike. The others immediately reacted, their glowing eyes shifting toward her as they let out their high-pitched calls.

  Ana gasped. “Aloy, wait!”

  But Aloy was already moving, her training taking over. She spun and dodged, her spear cutting through the air as she took down another Watcher. The others circled, their movements synized, but Aloy anticipated every move. One by one, she dropped them, her strikes quid effit. It wasn’t just about speed—it was about precision. And as she drove the st Watcher into the ground, she stood still, breathless but victorious.

  Ana approached cautiously, her eyes wide. “You... you took them all down. You killed them.”

  Aloy wiped the sweat from her brow, looking at the fallen maes with a mixture of satisfa aermination. “I’m gettier. I o be. If I want to fit into the tribe, I o show them I’m more than just an outcast.”

  Ana’s gaze softened as she stood beside her friend. “You’ll fit in, Aloy. But you don’t have to prove anything to me. I’ve always believed in you.”

  Aloy’s eyes met Ana’s, and for a moment, the weight of her words sank in. She didn’t o prove anything to Ana. But the rest of the tribe? That was a different story.

  “You don’t get it,” Aloy said quietly. “I o be more than just... different. I o show them I belong.”

  Ana smiled, but it was bittersweet. She had heard these words before, but they still carried weight. “You’ll show them, Aloy. Just... don’t fet who you are, okay?”

  Aloy didn’t answer. Instead, she looked out over the horizon, the setting sun casting a golden glow over the snow-covered pins. She had much more to prove, but she wasn’t alone anymore.

  ---

  Adal and Vagra’s Discussion

  Later, as the sun dipped below the mountains, Adal met with Vagra in the small workshop. It was a cluttered space, filled with parts of old maes, scraps of metal, and various tools scattered about. Vagra was already w oest project, her hands deftly adjusting a delicate pieaery.

  “Adal,” Vagra greeted, her voice warm but focused. “How did it go?”

  “It worked,” Adal replied, his eyes flig to the workbench where his EMP y. “But there’s an issue with overheating. It shuts down too quickly.”

  Vagra raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “That’s problematic, but not impossible to fix. What do you think is causing it?”

  Adal leaned against the workbench, his fingers idly trag the edge of the EMP. “I think it’s the power core. I’ve been trying to work around it, but there’s only so much I do with the materials we have. We need something more effit, something that withstand the surge.”

  Vagra nodded, her fiapping against the metal table as she thought. “What if we used a dual-core design? Two smaller power cores w in tandem, one charging while the other discharges. It would increase efficy, but we’d o redesign the whole structure.”

  Adal sidered it, nodding slowly. “That could work. But the challenge will be in the synization of the cores. We need a failsafe, or the whole thing could fry itself.”

  Vagra smiled, her eyes bright with excitement. “Exactly. But it’s a challenge I’m willing to tackle.”

  Adal felt a flicker of admiration for his friend. She was brilliant, no doubt. But he also khat her brilliance couldn’t surpass the secrecy of his own work. He couldn’t show her everything, not yet.

  “We’ll work on it,” Adal said quietly, his voice tinged with something more—an unspoken uanding. “But for now, let’s focus on what we have. We’ll refi as we go.”

  Vagra nodded, her enthusiasm undiminished. “Agreed. We’ll get it right. Eventually.”

  As they bent over the workbench together, the maes of the past seemed closer than ever. But Adal khe truth—his creations were only a part of a rger picture, ohat would shape the future in ways they hadn’t even begun to imagine.

  ---

  To be tinued...