The floor beneath Lucius shifted with a mechanical grind.
It revealed raised terrain segments and shifting plates.
From the control deck above, Loreia watched everything.
Liline stood beside her.
"Initiating gravity compression level two."
Lucius's body instantly felt twenty percent heavier.
He took a breath and cracked his neck.
"Alright, let's get this over with."
Loreia's voice came through the overhead speaker.
"Aw, is the genius system hacker tired already?"
Lucius rolled his eyes.
"I'm here, aren't I?"
"Barely," Loreia replied.
"You've been depending on hacks for too long."
She hit another button.
A platform behind Lucius shot upward.
It released a Sovereign-class resistance drone.
"Round one: dodge and survive."
"You get hit? That's on you."
Lucius frowned.
"You programmed a Sovereign drone to beat up your little brother?"
"No," Loreia said sweetly.
"I programmed it to remind you you're still human."
The drone lunged.
