The cannon on the top of the Siege Engine was thirty feet long. It was as wide as a small car. It did not glow with red laser light. It did not use System magic.It used pure, raw gunpowder and massive, solid iron artillery shells."Rae!" Everett yelled into his radio, absolute panic filling his voice. "The Siege Engine! It doesn't use magic! Will the white light stop a physical artillery shell?!"In the bunker, Rae was staring at the live feed. Her face was completely white with horror."No!" Rae screamed through the radio. "The Override only deletes System code and energy! It does not stop gravity! It does not stop physical momentum! If they fire a solid iron missile into the zone, the white light will not block it! It will fly straight through!"Outside the white zone, the massive Siege Engine slowly turned its giant black turret.Whirrrrr. Clunk.The thirty-foot-long iron barrel aimed directly at the center of the transit plaza. It aimed perfectly at the glowing white power node.

When Everett had jammed his heavy chain-sword into the black power node, he had connected his Override directly to the city’s electrical grid.Because of that connection, Rae’s computer had a tiny, hidden backdoor straight into the deepest part of Apex City’s network."If the white light is fading, it means the sword is slipping out," Rae muttered to herself, typing incredibly fast. "But the connection is still open. I can see the data flowing backwards from the pillar."Rae opened a new program. She started analyzing the massive wave of data coming from the noble army in the plaza.She noticed something very strange.When the nobles got their magic back, they did not just magically generate fire and lightning from their own bodies. The power was coming from somewhere else."Wait a minute," Rae whispered, leaning closer to the screen.The green numbers scrolled down like a waterfall. Rae followed the code. She followed the invisible, digital power lines that connected the nobles to th

Up on the plaza, the effect was devastating and immediate.The noble Lord from House Solenne, who was holding a giant ball of green fire, suddenly shrieked in absolute terror.The green fire did not just go out. The magical energy reversed. Because the network was broken, the magic had nowhere to go, so it violently collapsed back into the noble’s body.The Lord’s arm exploded in a shower of sparks and blood. He fell to the ground, screaming in agony, his magical power literally ripping him apart from the inside.The Paladin guards who were wearing the heavy, magically-assisted armor suddenly collapsed. The armor did not just become heavy; the magical circuits inside the metal short-circuited. The armor sparked and locked tight, trapping the guards inside their own metal suits like iron coffins.The sky above the city changed.The sick, dark purple clouds swirled in violent, chaotic panic.Speaker Rho’s giant digital face appeared in the sky, but it was no longer smiling. It was screa

"The network is completely dead," Rae reported. Her voice grew serious. "The hidden nodes are destroyed. The noble bloodlines are disconnected. Every single noble in Apex City just lost their inherited stats. They have no Titan Skin. They have no Fire Blood. They are entirely human.""And Speaker Rho?" Silas asked loudly so Rae could hear him. "Is the digital god dead?""No," Rae said, her voice trembling slightly. "The virus hit his uploaded mind very hard. It corrupted a lot of his data. He lost control of the weather. But he is still inside the System Core. And... he is doing something terrible.""What is he doing?" Everett asked."He is locking the doors from the inside," Rae said. "He realizes he cannot fight you with magic anymore. So, he is turning the city into a physical fortress. He is activating the old-world automated defenses. The giant laser cannons. The metal blast doors. He is trying to protect the remaining noble lords."Everett looked at the giant silver towers in th

Everett did not argue. He knew their hearts. He knew they were braver than any army in the world."Rae," Everett said, looking at the hacker. "I need you to stay here. When the fighting starts, Speaker Rho will be distracted. That is your chance to hack the Core doors. Find a way inside.""I will," Rae promised, pushing her glasses up and wiping her eyes. "I will crack the vault."Everett strapped the heavy steel sword to his back. He pulled his torn, dark cloak around his broad shoulders. He walked to the heavy metal door of the bunker.He opened the door. The cold, dark wind of the desert blew inside."Let's go," Everett said.The march to the city was quiet.The sky slowly began to change color. The dark night turned into a dull, gray morning. The sun was trying to rise, but the thick ash and smoke blocked the light.Everett, Silas, Lyra, and Tobis walked through the ruined, broken streets of Apex City. The beautiful marble statues were smashed. The expensive shops were burned.The