Veyra's shelter was a gutted cargo container welded to the side of a trash mountain. Rust ate through the walls in orange blooms, but inside was surprisingly organized weapons mounted on hooks, supplies sorted into scavenged crates, a makeshift bed of compressed fabric."Sit." Veyra shoved Xander onto a stool made from stacked tires. "Before you bleed out."Xander slumped, watching red drip from his side onto the metal floor. Each drop echoed in the container like a tiny bell. His vision swam, black spots dancing at the edges.Veyra's hands moved with practiced efficiency. She cut away his shredded jacket, prodded the wound. Xander hissed through clenched teeth."Shallow. You're lucky." She doused the cut with something clear that burned like liquid fire. Xander's scream died in his throat as she packed the wound with salvaged gauze. "The wraith that chased you,you said it came from above?""Yeah. At the service platform, right after I…" He stopped. The fall. The betrayal. It fel

Dawn didn't exist in the Void. Only the shift from absolute darkness to toxic twilight,greenish light filtering through chemical clouds.Xander woke up to Veyra shaking his shoulder. "Gear up. Hunt leaves at ten."His body screamed in protest. Every muscle ached from yesterday's fight. The wound in his side throbbed beneath fresh bandages. But he stood, tested his bracers. The copper wire responded instantly, flowing around his forearms like liquid metal.The hunting party gathered in the Rust Haven's armory,eight Exiles including Xander. Garreth stood at the center, his staff planted like a war banner."The Broodmother nested in the eastern ravines, three miles from here." He traced a route on a salvaged map. "She's been spawning wraiths for months. Every one we kill, she births two more. We end her, we cripple the wraith population in this sector."Kael checked his daggers. "Broodmothers are Alpha-class. Intelligent, adaptive. She'll have guardians.""Which is why we're bringin

Day one alone and Xander understood why so few survived the Void.The wraiths moved differently here, beyond the Exiles' protected territory. They hunted in coordinated packs, driving prey toward kill zones. Xander spent six hours crouched inside a hollowed-out refrigerator while three wraiths circled, sniffing for heat signatures.His bracers stayed dormant, wire cold against his skin. Any activation would draw them like blood in water.When they finally moved on, Xander emerged shaking. The toxic air burned his lungs. Chemical rain had started falling,thick, oily drops that sizzled on metal. He pulled his salvaged hood tighter and consulted Veyra's map.Two more days to the western wall.He moved through a canyon of crushed vehicles, boots crunching on shattered glass. Something skittered in the shadows above,not a wraith, something smaller. Scavenger rats, mutated by the Void's toxins into things with too many legs and eyes that glowed red.Xander's hand found Kael's borrowed dagge

The bodies weren't fresh.Xander crouched beside one,an Exile whose face was frozen in terror. Their Remnant bow lay dark and lifeless. "How long have they been here?""Hard to tell." Torrin studied the massive door ahead,thirty feet of metal covered in glowing symbols. "This is the oldest access point. Harlan knew the codes, but knowledge isn't enough. The Guardian doesn't care about keys."Metal scraped against stone. Then whispers,dozens of voices speaking words Xander couldn't understand.The Guardian emerged.Twenty-five feet tall, constructed from interlocking metal plates engraved with thousands of names. Its arms were hydraulic pistons ending in almost-human hands. But the head made Xander's blood freeze—a dozen preserved faces arranged in a circle, each frozen in different expressions. From their mouths came whispers of last words.‘"Please don't..."’‘"I'm innocent..."’‘"My children..."’"The first ones." Torrin breathed. "Celestara built this from the first hundred pe

The under-rings had never been quiet, but tonight silence pressed down like a physical weight.Xander stood on the transmission tower's rebuilt platform, looking out at thousands of faces. People packed every catwalk, every platform, every available space. They'd come from all seven under-rings, drawn by the broadcast, by the truth, by the impossible sight of someone surviving the Void."What do we do now?" A woman shouted from the crowd.Others echoed her. "Do we fight? Do we hide? Will Celestara come for us?"Xander's bracers pulsed warm against his skin. He'd never asked to be a leader, but Harlan's evidence had made him one. "We stand together. We demand accountability. And we…""You do nothing."The crowd parted. Garreth emerged, his staff glowing, the Council of Exiles behind him. Kael was there, daggers drawn. Seris held her book-Remnant open, recording everything. Twenty other Exiles, all armed, all watching Xander with expressions ranging from anger to fear."Garreth?" Xa