All Chapters of The Kinetic Emperor: Reborn in a World of Iron: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
68 chapters
Chapter 21
The back room of Stitch’s clinic was even darker than the front. It was a small space, lit only by a single, flickering orange bulb that hung from a frayed wire. The walls were made of damp concrete, and the floor was slick with a mixture of oil and something that looked like old blood.In the center of the room, on a metal table that had been bolted to the floor, lay a man.He was a "Reject." That was what the Sump called them. He had a massive cyber-port installed in the side of his neck, a piece of heavy iron that looked like it had been hammered in by a blacksmith. The skin around the port was not pink or brown. It was a deep, angry purple. It was weeping a yellow fluid that smelled like vinegar and burnt plastic.The man was dying. His chest moved in short, shallow jerks. His eyes were rolled back, showing only the whites."He’s gone," Stitch whispered, standing by the table. His magnifying lens clicked as it zoomed in on the wound. "The rejection has reached his spine. I tried
Chapter 22
Stitch scrambled after him. He was no longer the paranoid old man with a laser cutter. He was a man who had seen the sun for the first time in a dark cave."Yes. Yes, of course," Stitch said. He hurried to the back of the shop, pushing aside a pile of rusted armor. He reached into a hidden floor safe and pulled out three heavy, silver canisters.He placed them on the counter with a heavy thud."This is 'Prime-Yeast,'" Stitch said. He spoke the name with a kind of holy respect. "The Academy makes it for the Elite Soldiers. It is the most nutrient-dense substance in the Citadel. One spoonful has enough protein and calories to keep a man running for twenty-four hours. It is the Gold of the Sump."Silas picked up one of the canisters. It was heavy. He opened the lid. Inside was a thick, golden paste that smelled of iron and malt.He didn't wait. He took a small scoop with his finger and put it in his mouth.The effect was instant.Kian’s body was a desert, and the Prime-Yeast was a rainst
Chapter 23
The darkness in the lower levels of the Valhalla Academy was not like the darkness of the Sump. In the Sump, the dark was heavy and wet, smelling of rot and chemicals. Here, the dark was dry and cold. it smelled of ozone, burnt wires, and the recycled air that only the poor ever breathed.Silas Kapito moved through the ventilation shaft like a shadow. He was no longer the weak, shaking boy named Kian. The Prime-Yeast he had eaten in the Sump was burning in his belly. It was like a small sun, sending heat and power into his muscles. His heart beat with a slow, strong rhythm. He felt alive for the first time in centuries.He reached a metal grate and stopped. He didn't breathe. He didn't move. He became a part of the wall.Below him, in a narrow hallway lit by a single, buzzing orange light, a man was walking.The man was big. He wore a black uniform with the Syndicate’s hidden mark—a small silver coin sewn into the collar. His name was Kael. He was one of Instructor Vako’s "collectors.
Chapter 24
Silas froze. “Inquisitor.”He looked closer at the masked man. It was the same man from the Sump. The man with the porcelain smile. He had followed Silas all the way back. Or perhaps, he had never left.The Syndicate wasn't just a gang of teachers. They were working with the Inquisition. They were working with the highest levels of the Citadel."Three days," Silas whispered.He had three days to turn Kian’s body into a machine that could kill a man in a full-body exoskeleton. He had three days to find a way to destroy that server. And he had three days to survive.Vako and the Inquisitor left the glass room. The guards took their positions again.Silas began to climb back down the ladder. He had the intelligence he needed. He knew where the money was. He knew who the enemy was. And he knew the date of his execution.He reached the floor of the maintenance tunnel and began to run. He didn't go back to his dorm. He went to the one place Vako wouldn't look.He went to the Academy’s "Grav
Chapter 25
The sun did not shine in the lower levels of the Valhalla Academy. Instead, there was only the "Grey Glow." It was the light that came from thousands of old, flickering tubes on the ceiling. It made everyone look like a ghost.Silas Kapito walked through the "Junk Heap." This was the place where the Academy threw away its past. It was a mountain of metal, miles long and hundreds of feet high. There were broken arms of giant robots, rusted plates from old tanks, and miles of copper wire that looked like dead snakes.The smell here was sharp. It smelled of old oil and red rust. It was a smell Silas knew well. It was the smell of a world that had forgotten how to take care of its tools."I need a magnet," Silas whispered.He climbed over a pile of crushed lockers. His body felt different today. The Prime-Yeast he had eaten was working. His muscles did not shake as much. His heart was steady. He felt like a hunter.He reached the "Crane Graveyard." This was where the massive industrial cr
Chapter 26
The air in the Hollow was a thick, vibrating wall of sound. Five thousand people were screaming at once. It was a sound of hunger. It was a sound of greed.Down in the red sand of the arena, two fighters were tearing each other apart. One was a "Grappler" from the Syndicate, his arms twice as thick as a normal man’s. The other was a "Blade-Runner," a girl with silver knives built into her elbows. They were not fighting for a grade. They were fighting for the two million credits that were flashing on the giant holographic screens above."Kill him! Take the eyes!" a Noble in the front row screamed. He was holding a glass of blue wine that cost more than a Dreg’s life.Above the arena, in the glass-walled server room, Instructor Vako was sweating. He was not looking at the fight. He was looking at the Betting Hub. The blue towers of the servers were humming so loudly they made the floor shake."Two million," Vako whispered. His eyes were wide. "If this payout goes through, I’m free. I ca
Chapter 27
The silence in the Hollow was the most terrifying thing Silas Kapito had ever heard. It was not a peaceful silence.It was the silence that comes a split second after a bomb goes off, but before the air rushes back in to fill the hole.High on the massive holographic screens that hung over the red sand of the arena, the numbers had stopped dancing. The bright blue credit symbols, which had been climbing toward three million, suddenly flickered. They turned a sickly, bruised purple. Then, with a sound like a dying bird, they vanished. In their place, a single word appeared in giant, white letters:BALANCE: 0.00Five thousand people held their breath. In the VIP boxes, the Nobles froze with their glasses halfway to their lips. In the betting pits, the students stopped shouting. The guards at the doors stopped laughing. Then, the world exploded."What?!" a voice roared from the front row. It was a Noble, his face red with expensive wine and sudden rage. "Where is the payout?! I had tw
Chapter 28
"He had better," the Enforcer said. He stood up and looked toward the darkness of the ceiling. "Because if that boy is still breathing when the sun rises, the Syndicate will use your skin to cover the new seats in the arena."The three men turned and vanished into the shadows, leaving Vako alone on the mezzanine.Vako looked down at the riot. He looked at the blood on the sand. He let out a long, shaking breath."I'll kill him," Vako whispered. His eyes were full of a mad, desperate light. "I'll kill that boy with my own hands if I have to."Silas heard the conversation. The vents were like a telephone system for the entire building. He heard the threat. He heard the fear in Vako’s voice.“Tonight,” Silas thought. “They are moving up the schedule. They think the chaos will hide their crimes. They think I am weak because my body is burnt.”He began to crawl.The exit to the vents was fifty meters away. It led to the old water-tower, a place no one visited because the water was poisoned
Chapter 29
In the center of the arena stood Marcus. He was a mountain of black metal. His "Slayer-Suit" was the pinnacle of Academy technology. It didn't just enhance his strength; it replaced it. Huge pistons hissed on his shoulders. A glowing blue power-cell hummed on his back. His hammer, the "Star-Crusher," pulsed with an angry orange light."Where is he?" Marcus rumbled. His voice was projected through the arena’s speakers. "Where is the little bug? I want to finish this."Vako stood at the edge of the sand, his eyes darting back and forth. "He'll be here. He has to be here. If he doesn't show, he’s executed anyway."Suddenly, the lights in the arena flickered. A single door at the far end of the sand opened.A figure stepped out.It was a boy. He was small. He didn't wear armor. He didn't wear a uniform. He wore only a pair of simple black pants. His chest was bare, showing the faint silver shimmer of the Neural-Web.In his right hand, he carried a sword that was so black it seemed to dri
Chapter 30
The ventilation network was a world of metal, dust, and secrets. It was a place where the air always hummed, and the smell of old oil never went away. Deep inside a corner that everyone had forgotten, Silas Kapito found his sanctuary.It was not a safe place. It was small. It was dark. The walls were made of grey iron plates. Overhead, a massive fan turned slowly, making a sound like a giant breathing. Whirrr. Whirrr. Whirrr.Silas sat on the cold floor. He was alone. He was tired. His body, the body of the boy named Kian, was covered in sweat and grease. But his eyes were not the eyes of a boy. They were the eyes of a man who had seen empires fall. They were the eyes of General Silas Kapito.He opened his bag. He moved slowly because every part of him hurt. Inside the bag were the things he had taken from Stitch and the Junk Heap. There were three jars of thick, silver bio-gel. There was a roll of clean white cloth. And there was the lead pipe.The pipe was heavy. It was about two