Evan ran through the rain. His heart felt like a drum. It was a loud, heavy sound. Thump. Thump. Thump. Every beat hurt. He looked at his left wrist. The skin was clear, but a red light glowed inside his arm.[SELF-DESTRUCT: 45:12]Forty-five minutes. That was all he had. In forty-five minutes, his heart would stop. It would explode. It was the Architect’s final gift."Faster, Evan!" Marco shouted.Marco was running next to him. His face was wet with rain. He looked scared. He held his gun tight. They were in the Black District. This part of the city was different. The lights were not neon. they were soft and gold. The streets were clean. The buildings were made of black stone and glass."Where are we going?" Evan gasped. He had to stop to breathe. He leaned against a cold stone wall."The Obsidian Lounge," Marco said. He pointed to a tall building. It had no windows. It had a heavy iron door. "The big game is there. The prize is the 'Heart-Plug.' It is a piece of tech. It can stop th

The rain did not stop. It fell against the roof of the new safehouse with a loud, rhythmic thud. But inside, for the first time in Evan’s life, it was warm.They were not in a damp basement. They were not in a rusted car. They were in a "Hidden Suite" in the Gray District. It was a room behind a heavy steel door, lined with lead to hide Evan’s purple glow. The walls were made of real wood. There was a rug on the floor that felt like soft fur. In the corner, a small stove hissed, cooking a piece of real meat.Evan sat on a velvet chair. He looked at his wrist. The red light was gone. The white gear—the Heart-Plug, was buried in his chest. He could feel it. It felt like a small, cold heart beating inside his ribs. It hummed quietly. Every time it hummed, Evan felt his body stay steady. He was no longer aging by the second. He was no longer dying.[STATUS: STABILIZED][BALANCE: 5,400 YEARS]On the table between him and Marco sat a mountain of wealth. There were black and gold credit stic

The South District ruins were silent. The only sound was the wind. It blew through the holes in the broken buildings. It sounded like a long, sad whistle.Evan and Marco were hidden inside an old subway tunnel. It was dark. It was cold. It smelled like wet stone and ancient iron. Marco had found a small corner behind a pile of fallen bricks. He had lit a tiny chemical light. It cast a weak, blue glow on the walls.Evan sat on the floor. His back was against the cold concrete. He was breathing hard. Every breath felt like he was swallowing fire. He looked at his hands. They were shaking so much he could not hold them still."Evan, look at me," Marco said.Marco’s voice was soft. He was sitting across from Evan. His arm was in a makeshift sling made from a piece of his leather jacket. His face was pale in the blue light.Evan tried to look up. But the world was spinning. It was not just spinning left to right. It was spinning across time.Evan saw Marco. But he did not see just one Marc

Ten minutes.The number burned in the corner of Evan’s eye. It was a deep, bloody red. It did not move like the other numbers. It did not count down slowly. It pulsed. Every time it pulsed, Evan felt a sharp pain in his chest, right where the Heart-Plug was buried.[00:09:58]The rain was gone. The bridge was gone. Evan and Marco were standing in the middle of a dark street in the Black District. They were wet. They were tired. Marco was holding his broken arm, his face twisted in pain."We have to move, Sunshine," Marco gasped. He looked up at the giant black tower of the Obsidian Lounge. It sat like a dark tooth against the sky. "The bomb is in you. The Duke is in there. If we don't get to the control room, this whole district goes to zero."Evan looked at the tower. He did not feel like a warrior. He felt like a glass jar that was about to shatter. The "Void-Link" in his chest was humming. It was a cold, hollow sound. It felt like a tiny black hole was trying to grow inside his hea

The air in the Obsidian Lounge was cold. It felt like standing inside a freezer. Evan sat at the black stone table. His hands were flat on the cool surface. He could feel the Heart-Plug in his chest. It was humming. It was a low, steady sound. Hummm. Hummm.Next to him sat Marco. Marco looked like a rich man. He wore a fine blue coat. He had a fake gold ring on his finger. But Evan could see Marco’s leg shaking under the table. Marco was scared.Across from them sat the Pit Boss. His name was Silas. He was not the same Silas from the rookie pits. This Silas was younger, but his eyes were old. He wore a mask made of dark glass. You could not see his face. You could only see your own reflection in his mask."The game is simple," Silas said. His voice was smooth like silk. "High-Card. One card each. You bet your years. I bet the Heart-Plug."Evan looked at the silver box on the table. Inside was the plug. It was the only thing that could stop the red timer on his wrist.[SELF-DESTRUCT: 3