The factory trembled as the elite Weaver's presence loomed, their golden threads slicing through the slum's haze. Kael gripped the shard, its crack leaking violet energy, his bloodline's weight sinking in. The Unthreaded braced—Mira at the door, rifle ready; Ryn beside Kael, knife out; Vren weaving defensive threads.
The Weaver stepped through the rubble, armor pulsing, visor reflecting the factory's dim light. "Kael," they said, voice cold, "your bloodline ends here."
Vren stepped forward, threads coiling. "You'll have to kill us all."
The Weaver tilted their head. "The boy's blood can unmake the Looms. The creators' last act—cursed progeny to break their own work. We can't allow it."
Kael's chest tightened. "I'm no weapon."
"You're a key," the Weaver said, threads tightening the air. "The Voidborn stir because of you. Surrender the shard, and the slums live. Refuse, and they burn."
Mira's rifle whirred, aimed at the Weaver. "He's lying. They'll kill us anyway."
Ryn's grip on her knife tightened, her eyes on Kael. "Your call."
Kael's mind raced—his parents' deaths, the Voidborn whispers, the shard's power. He couldn't trust the Weaver, but the slums… He shook his head. "No deal."
The Weaver sighed, threads erupting in a storm. Golden strands lashed out, slicing the factory's walls. Vren's shield shattered, and Mira fired, her shots deflecting off the Weaver's armor. Ryn threw her knife, but a thread caught it mid-air.
Kael wove, desperate—threads twisted the Weaver's storm, redirecting a strand to cut their own armor. The Weaver staggered, but the shard's leak surged, violet energy crackling. Pain blinded Kael, his nose bleeding.
Mira tackled an enforcer drone that slipped through, her cybernetic arm crushing its core. "We're outmatched!" she shouted.
Vren grabbed Kael, dragging him to a back exit. "We run, now!"
The Unthreaded fled, the Weaver's storm tearing the factory apart. Threads chased them, golden and relentless, as the slums burned behind. Kael clutched the shard, its glow dim but alive. The Weaver's voice echoed: "You can't run forever, Kael."
To be continued…