Lyra stopped next to the cot of little Leo. The boy was shivering, his lips blue, gasping for air."This is Leo," Lyra said gently, touching the boy's forehead. "He is seven years old. He is dying of Black-lung. He is not a soldier. He has never held a gun."She walked to the next cot. An old woman was weeping quietly, holding a bloody bandage."This is Elara. She was a teacher in Sunforge before your leaders burned her school to the ground." Lyra looked back at the camera. Her silver eyes pierced through the lens."Your leaders, Matriarch Solenne and High Chancellor Virex, told you they closed the borders for your safety. That is a lie. They closed the borders to starve us. But starvation was not enough for them. Yesterday, Sovereign soldiers burned the fields of wild medicine on the borders. They burned bandages. They destroyed water pumps."Lyra walked out of the tent. The camera followed her into the freezing camp. She pointed to the massive line of people huddled around small, sm

Hundreds of miles away, far from the dirty refugee camps, was the City of Glass.The City of Glass was a Neutral Zone. It did not belong to the Free Cities, and it did not belong to the Sovereign Council. It was a holy place. It was the home of the Great Faith Orders.The city was beautiful. The buildings were made of shining blue and silver glass. There were no factories here. There were no guns. There were only temples, gardens, and quiet streets. Millions of people lived here to pray. They believed the System was a gift from the Gods. They believed that if they followed the rules, their souls would go to a perfect digital heaven when they died.In the center of the city was the Grand Temple of Light. It was the biggest building in the world. The ceiling was made of colorful stained glass. When the sun shined through, it painted the white marble floors with beautiful colors.Today, the Grand Temple was completely full. Ten thousand people sat on long wooden benches. They were wearin

The five hundred rebels poured out of the gate, running into the dark sand. They had no food, no water, and no weapons. They only had their clothes and their new belief.They ran for a mile. Then, Julian stopped and turned around. He looked back at the City of Glass.Flames were rising high into the night sky. The beautiful city was a giant bonfire. He could hear the faint sounds of screaming and gunfire. The Sovereign Council had destroyed the holiest place in the world, just to keep control.Tomas stood next to Julian. He was breathing hard."What do we do now, Julian?" Tomas asked. "We are priests. We only know how to pray. We do not know how to fight a war."Julian looked down at his own hands. They were covered in dirt and blood. He looked back at the burning city. His face changed. The scared young boy was gone. In his place was a fierce, determined leader."We do not pray for peace anymore, Tomas," Julian said. His voice was cold and hard like steel. "Peace is a lie told by wol

"Gather them up," the Sovereign captain ordered smoothly. "Put them in chains. The High Chancellor wants them alive for the labor factories. The old and weak ones... you can just shoot."Silas watched in pure horror. He could not fight. He could not run. The Council had weaponized the System's own math. They had changed the rules of reality so the Free Cities could not even hold a gun."Get up," Silas told his own body. "Get up!"He forced himself onto his hands and knees. His nose began to bleed from the extreme effort. He threw his weakened body over Lyra to protect her from the soldiers.A silver soldier walked up to Silas. He aimed his rifle right at Silas's head."Well, well. Commander Silas," the soldier smiled behind his glass mask. "Say goodnight."Far away in the dark, cold desert, Julian and his five hundred followers were walking. They had escaped the burning City of Glass. They were tired, hungry, and terrified.Tomas walked next to Julian. "Where are we going, Julian? The

The giant red numbers burned in the dark sky. They did not go away when the sun came up. They did not go away when the clouds rolled in. They just hung there, floating above the world like a terrible promise.22:14:59.22:14:58.22:14:57.Below the glowing red numbers, the world was dying.The Free City rebel army was camped outside the massive, shining walls of Apex City. Apex was the capital of the Sovereign Council. It was a beautiful city made of silver towers and white glass. But right now, it was a fortress. A giant, glowing white energy shield covered the entire city like a glass bowl.For four long weeks, the rebels had tried to break the shield. They had fired rockets. They had thrown explosives. Julian and his holy rebels had even tried to use their golden fire. But nothing worked. The shield was too strong.It was a perfect, terrible tie.The Sovereign Council’s army was trapped inside the city. They could not come out without lowering the shield, and they were afraid of th