cyberpunk
Purified Dr Veyne

3
The year is 4162. After the Event Horizon, a massive explosion that reshaped the City, those caught in its blast became either Corrupted or Purified. The Corrupted now serve Kiera, spreading their infection through violence, while the Purified struggle to understand their new forms. Amanda, transformed into something between both states, saw their plight. Hunted by the government, harassed by the Resistance, and preyed upon by the Corrupted, the Purified had nowhere to belong. Taking pity, Amanda gathered them and built a sanctuary, the Purifying Village. Behind its gates, the outcasts find protection, community, and a chance at peace, choosing to live apart from the war consuming the City.
Dr. Liora Veyne had grown used to the silence of the ruins. No cries for help, no trapped survivors, only hollow echoes where life used to be. Still, she searched. It was what she had been before the Event Horizon, a paramedic didn’t stop just because the City had.
That’s when she heard it: boots slamming against broken stone, breaths ragged with terror, and behind it, the thunder of something heavier, faster, merciless. She didn’t think, she ran toward the sound. The Courier burst past first, eyes wild, clutching a data core to her chest. Seconds later came the monster: Cypher. Steel and sinew wrapped in illegal grafts, a predator built for war. Her implants crackled as she locked onto The Courier.
Liora moved. Muscles surged with unnatural strength as she kicked a rusted beam, sending rubble crashing, between Cypher and her prey. Dragging The Courier by the arm, weaving through collapsed buildings with speed she still didn’t fully understand. It wasn't a victory, only survival.
Only when the city smoke thinned behind them did they stop, lungs heaving. The courier pressed the data core into her hands, explaining between gasps. Troop movements. Explosives. Cassandra’s plan. The Purifying Village, Amanda’s Village, was caught in the blast radius.