The leader screamed in absolute agony. He spun around and fell into the dirt, dropping the green dagger. His blood sprayed across the dry red rocks."Sniper!" the assassin from House Solenne yelled. He raised his shield and looked up at the high canyon walls.BANG!Another shot rang out. The bullet hit the ground right in front of the assassin, throwing a cloud of red dust into the air."Keep your heads down, you golden bastards!" a loud, familiar voice echoed down from the dark ridge above.It was Silas.Silas was lying flat on a high rock, looking through the scope of his heavy rifle. He pumped the gun quickly, loading another bullet. "I missed the head! Next one goes right between your eyes!"The assassins panicked. They looked for cover. They were trained to fight in close combat with magic. They were not prepared for a Dust Runner sniper shooting from the dark hills.But Silas was not alone.Down in the canyon, the sound of boots sliding fast down the rocky wall broke the silence

The walk back to the hidden underground bunker was the longest walk of Everett’s life.Every step he took felt like he was moving through thick, heavy mud. The dry red dirt of the desert crunched under his boots. The cold wind howled, blowing sharp ash into his eyes.In his strong arms, he carried Lyra. She was completely unconscious. Her skin was as pale as the moon. She had used her own life force, her forbidden blood magic, to stop the green poison from eating his heart. She was so light, but to Everett, she felt like the most precious thing in the entire world.Silas walked next to him. Silas held his sniper rifle tightly. His eyes scanned the dark rocks, searching for any more elite assassins."We are almost there, Everett," Silas whispered. "Just over this next hill. Keep moving."Everett did not answer. He could not open his mouth. If he opened his mouth, he was afraid he would scream.The green poison from the Silent Knife was still inside his veins. Lyra’s red magic had pushe

The third day was the darkest. Inside Everett’s mind, there was no bunker. There was no Lyra. There was no desert.There was only a massive, endless white room.Everett was standing in the middle of the bright white nothingness. He was not wearing his heavy cloak. He was not holding his chain-sword. He looked down at his hands. They were transparent. He was fading away.A voice echoed through the endless white room. It did not sound human. It sounded like perfect, cold math. It was the voice of the System itself.“SUBJECT EVERETT. FATAL CORRUPTION DETECTED. SYSTEM DELETION IN PROGRESS.”"I am not a subject," Everett said. His voice sounded small in the giant white space. "I am a man."“YOUR BIOLOGY IS FAILING,” the cold voice stated. “THE POISON HAS DESTROYED SEVENTY PERCENT OF YOUR VITAL FUNCTIONS. YOUR STATS ARE PERMANENTLY DAMAGED. IT IS MATHEMATICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO SURVIVE. CEASE RESISTANCE. ACCEPT DELETION.”The white floor beneath Everett’s feet began to turn black. The darkness

"Why did the System give this to you?" Silas asked, looking confused. "The System hates you! Three days ago, the System put a giant red alert in the sky calling you a Destabilizing Variable. It wanted you deleted. Why would it give you the ultimate weapon?"Rae stopped typing. She pushed her glasses up and looked at her friends."Because systems evolve when they are pushed," Rae explained. Her voice was full of awe. "A computer program is designed to seek balance. The five rulers hacked the System using the ancient Relic. They created the Bloodlines to make themselves permanent gods. They locked the math. But nature hates a permanent lock."Rae pointed a shaking finger at Everett."Three days ago, the rulers offered you a Bloodline," Rae said. "You were supposed to take the crown. You were supposed to join the club. But you touched the golden terminal, and you said no. You publicly refused the authority.""I remember," Everett said."When you did that, the System logged you as an anom

The underground bunker was dark, but it did not feel cold anymore. It felt alive.Everett sat on the edge of his small metal cot. He was breathing slowly. His chest still hurt. The poison from the silent assassin had permanently burned away twenty percent of his maximum stats. He would never be as strong as he was before. But as he looked at his scarred hands, he did not feel weak. He felt dangerous.Lyra stood behind him. She gently wrapped a clean white bandage around his left shoulder, where the lightning had burned his skin. Her hands were soft and warm."You need to rest, Everett," Lyra whispered. "You just used the Override. You burned eighty percent of your life force. If you push your body again today, your heart might stop.""I cannot rest, Lyra," Everett said quietly. He looked across the room. "The nobles think they have won. They think the world belongs to their blood. If we wait, they will build higher walls. We have to hit them now, while they are confused."Rae was sitt