The cyberpunk city pulsed with neon lights and the dull hum of machinery, a constant reminder of the towering dystopia above. Rain slicked the alleyways, turning the ground into a mirror that reflected the gaudy glow of advertisements. Somewhere beyond the monolithic structures, the ever-present gaze of the New Earth Order (N.E.O.) watched from patrol drones, ensuring no one stepped out of line. But tonight, Steve Gallagher, the Iron Knight, and his protégé, Silas Midori, were doing exactly that.

They moved like shadows through the maze of back alleys, avoiding the bright street corners where N.E.O. patrols would scan for signs of lawbreakers. The target was close—a high-level executive of Kisonic Enterprises, a corporation with a reputation for bleeding the city dry with backdoor deals and human experiments. The mission was simple: eliminate the exec and pick off his bodyguards, all while evading the N.E.O. patrols that swarmed the area.

Steve, his armor’s adaptive camouflage blending him seamlessly into the darkness, led the way. His steps were precise, calculated. Behind him, Silas kept up, fidgeting with a disruptor module integrated into his sleek, lightweight armor. His powers—technopathy and telekinesis—buzzed beneath the surface, ready to be unleashed.

Steve's voice crackled in Silas’s earpiece. "Remember, kid, we’re not here to make a scene. Pick off the guards quietly. And keep your technopathy subtle. We don’t want any N.E.O. attention."

"Got it," Silas whispered, but his tone had an edge of excitement. He always had a flair for the dramatic, even in gritty situations like this. His fingers twitched, eager to take control of the tech around them, but he knew Steve would knock him upside the head if he got too cocky.

They paused at the mouth of a narrow alley, staring at the target—a looming glass-and-steel structure housing Kisonic’s covert operations. The executive they were after, Marcus Gentry, was inside, surrounded by a small army of heavily armed guards with high-tech augmentations. A perfect challenge.

"I’ll move ahead, deal with Gentry," Steve said, his voice low and even. "You handle the guards. Stay low, use the alleys to your advantage. And don’t let them call for backup."

Silas nodded. His mind already raced through possibilities, analyzing the tech signatures from the guards’ gear. Their helmets were linked to a central comm system. Easy pickings for his technopathy.

Steve activated his suit’s cloaking system, disappearing from view like a ghost. Silas felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he watched the outline of his mentor vanish into the shadows. Now it was his turn.

Silas took a deep breath, extending his mind toward the nearest guard. The man's helmet flickered, a faint glow in the corner of his HUD. Then, with a small, invisible push from Silas’s technopathy, the feed cut out completely.

"What the—" the guard mumbled, tapping at the side of his helmet. Too late.

Silas materialized from the alley, using a quick burst of telekinesis to leap onto a nearby fire escape. From above, he sent a short-range EMP pulse through the guard's exoskeleton. The man convulsed for a split second before collapsing to the ground in a heap of sparking metal and flesh.

One down.

He crouched there for a moment, hidden behind the steel railing, watching the remaining guards pace the perimeter. His eyes tracked their movements, calculating the best way to pick them off. His fingers hovered over the disruptor module on his wrist, ready to send out another EMP pulse, but he restrained himself.

"Slow and steady," he whispered, remembering Steve's training. "Hit them where it hurts."

Two guards passed beneath him, their attention focused on their surroundings, unaware of the invisible threat lurking above. Silas, eyes glinting with determination, dropped down silently. He extended a hand, sending out a wave of technopathic energy to disable their weapons mid-stride. Their rifles sputtered and died, leaving them momentarily confused. In that heartbeat of hesitation, Silas struck—an elbow to the back of one guard's head, a telekinetic push that slammed the second into a nearby wall.

"Not bad," Silas muttered, wiping rain off his brow. The satisfaction was fleeting, though. He could hear the distant hum of N.E.O. drones, creeping closer, no doubt alerted to some disturbance in the area. He needed to wrap this up before the patrols arrived.

"Silas, status?" Steve’s voice crackled again in his ear.

"Three down," Silas whispered back, already moving toward the next group of guards. "How’s the VIP?"

"About to be dealt with. Keep moving. We’ve got N.E.O. drones sweeping west. Stay out of sight."

Silas crouched behind a stack of crates, eyeing two more guards blocking a service door. They were better equipped, their cybernetic implants glowing faintly through their armor, likely enhanced with combat augmentations. This would be tricky.

He reached out with his technopathy, feeling the faint hum of their comm systems. A quick mental nudge sent static blaring through their helmet speakers, causing them to stagger, hands clutching their heads. He took the opportunity to make his move.

With a burst of telekinetic force, Silas propelled himself forward, landing between the guards. They recovered quickly, swinging their augmented limbs at him with brutal precision. Silas barely dodged the first strike, ducking low and sending a telekinetic platform crashing into the guard’s legs, toppling him.

The second guard swung a high-tech baton, its electric charge crackling in the rain. Silas deflected it with a swift telekinetic shield, then countered with a disruptor blast that fried the guard’s cybernetics, leaving him vulnerable. One well-placed punch to the jaw, and the guard crumpled.

Panting, Silas glanced around. "This is almost too easy," he muttered, before hearing a distant whirring noise. His heart skipped a beat. The N.E.O. drones.

They were closer now, red lights cutting through the rain-soaked night, their mechanical wings slicing through the air. Silas cursed under his breath and ducked into the shadows, activating his own invisibility cloak. The world around him shimmered and distorted as the cloak wrapped him in near-total invisibility, just as the patrol passed overhead.

In the distance, Steve's voice came through again. "Mission complete. Gentry’s down. Time to go."

Silas exhaled in relief, deactivating his cloak and heading toward the extraction point. "Took you long enough. Thought you were supposed to be the fast one," he quipped, though his breath was still heavy from the fight.

"I took my time," Steve replied, the faintest hint of a smirk in his voice. "Couldn’t let you have all the fun."

As they regrouped in a dimly lit alley, Silas allowed himself a brief smile. The night had been gritty, brutal, but they’d gotten the job done. Steve, however, was already scanning the area, ever vigilant, ever calculating.

"Still got N.E.O. on our tail," Steve warned. "Let’s get moving before they catch on."

Silas nodded, following his mentor into the rain-soaked night. He’d survived another mission, barely keeping up with the Iron Knight, but each battle pushed him closer to mastering his abilities. The streets of the city were unforgiving, but he was learning fast—and soon, he'd be ready for more.

Want More of The Last Day: The Shadow of the Knight?

The fight for Rivers is just beginning. Will the Iron Knight’s crusade unravel the city’s deepest secrets? Can Silas Midori rise above the chaos to master his newfound abilities? The journey ahead is filled with danger, betrayal, and choices that will shape the future of a world teetering on the edge of collapse.

Don’t miss the explosive continuation of their story—packed with high-octane action, gripping twists, and the neon-lit atmosphere of Rivers.

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