Novels by CutebyYou

The heavy, rhythmic clack-clack-clack of the machine’s steel stabilizers echoed against the subterranean walls, a mechanical heartbeat that sounded far too deliberate. Zervok scrambled to his feet, his lungs burning, and lunged after the retreating monstrosity."Hey! Wait up, you piece of junk!" Zervok yelled, stumbling over a discarded pipe. "You’re heading into the dead zone, you idiot! We don’t have the supplies for that!"Qevran shoved past him, his tactical vest clinking with spare magazines. "Kid, look at the way it’s moving! It’s not looking for a place to park. It’s on a mission.""I don't care if it's on a holy pilgrimage," Zervok snapped, his boots skidding on the slick concrete. "If it leaves me behind, I’m just a guy with a pipe and a death wish. Get moving!"Tervok scrambled to keep pace, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "It’s not emitting electricity anymore, Zervok. Look at the trail it’s leaving behind—that’s pure, liquid reality-flux. It’s tearing holes in the ambie

The roar of the collapsing ceiling was still vibrating in Zervok’s teeth as he braced the Blood-Iron Reaper against his shoulder. The weapon felt less like a tool and more like an extension of his own nervous system, humming with a rhythmic, parasitic heat."Get down!" Zervok barked, his voice cracking against the cacophony of incoming fire.Qevran scrambled behind a thick, reinforced concrete pillar, dragging Tervok by the collar of his grease-stained jumpsuit. "That cannon is tearing the floorboards apart, kid! You’re going to bury us alive before they even get a clean shot!"Zervok ignored him, his eyes locked on the breach where the armored transport now sat, a smoldering wreck of twisted steel. "I’m not the one who invited them to dinner, Qevran! Keep your head down and watch the flank!"A figure stepped through the swirling dust of the collapse. He moved with a predatory, fluid grace that stood out against the frantic stumbling of the lesser Syndicate soldiers. This was Cazren M

Zervok stood in the suffocating silence of the parking garage, his fingers still resting on the cool, humming glass of the machine. The crimson glow pulsed in sync with his own heartbeat, a rhythmic, taunting reminder of the price of power."Sacrifice? You have got to be kidding me," Zervok muttered, his voice barely rising above a whisper. "I am not turning this thing into a butcher shop. We find another way."Qevran paced a few feet away, his boots clicking sharply against the cracked concrete. He paused, his expression shifting from curiosity to a calculating grimace. "Look, Zervok, the world out there has moved past morality. If you want the power of that reaper-cannon, you do what you have to do. I’ve got prisoners at the gate who aren't going to live to see sunset anyway. You want to save your conscience? Use them."Zervok turned, his eyes narrowing as he fixed a cold stare on the militia captain. "My conscience isn't a bargaining chip, Qevran. I told you, I’m the landlord. I se

Zervok stared at the crimson cores, his pulse thrumming in his throat. He reached out, his fingers grazing the velvet lining of the container."These aren't from any hollow I’ve ever seen," Zervok murmured, his voice tight. "They’re too steady. Too alive."Qevran stood perfectly still, his eyes tracking every flicker of the machine’s neon light. "We found them in the crater, Zervok. Not the outskirts—the center. My scouts lost half a squad just grabbing that box. We don't have the key to open their potential. We’re hoping you do."Zervok pulled a crimson core from the box. It felt warm, vibrating with a frequency that made his teeth ache. He turned toward the vending machine, but as he moved to insert it into the slot, the machine’s display erupted in a violent cascade of corrupted code.[CRITICAL ERROR: INCOMPATIBLE ENERGY SOURCE.][SYSTEM OVERRIDE: INITIATING EMERGENCY LOCKDOWN.]"Hey, what are you doing?" Qevran stepped forward, his hand dropping to his sidearm. "I thought you were

The silence of the graveyard city was a heavy, suffocating blanket, but for Zervok, it was finally a productive kind of quiet. He dragged the heavy, humming vending machine inch by inch through the debris, seeking the sanctuary of a partially collapsed underground parking structure. The neon blue light cast long, flickering shadows against the concrete pillars, painting the gloom in shades of electric hope and artificial danger.He finally slumped against the metal casing, his muscles screaming in protest. The Grade B cores in his pocket felt like hot coals."Okay, you temperamental hunk of metal," Zervok muttered, sliding down to the floor. "Let's see what these Grade B beauties actually get me."He pulled the two Grade B crystals out, their violet luminescence casting a strange, ethereal glow on his palms. He hesitated for a second, feeling the system pulse against his own heartbeat.[SYSTEM STATUS: RECOVERY MODE.][DETECTION: 2x GRADE B CORES.][UPGRADING INVENTORY PARAMETERS...]"

The silence that followed the blast was absolute, save for the rhythmic, pulsing hum of the vending machine. Zervok stood amidst the settling dust, his chest heaving, his knuckles white as he gripped the lead pipe. The three scavengers were gone, reduced to nothing more than a faint ozone scent and a scattering of jagged, violet crystals—the "harvest," as the system had implicitly framed it.Zervok knelt, his hands trembling, and gathered the glowing cores. They felt warm, humming with a frantic, residual energy that mirrored his own accelerated heartbeat."Not a merchant," he whispered to the empty, debris-choked street. "Just a guy trying to stay alive in a graveyard."He stood, but before he could even tuck the cores into his pocket, the shadows at the end of the street shifted. The sound of heavy boots hitting shattered glass returned—this time, there were more of them. Six, maybe seven figures emerged from the gloom, led by a man whose face was a roadmap of jagged scars and unche