The air in the dark corner of the vents was thick with the smell of sweat, old iron, and something new—something that smelled like a thunderstorm.Silas Kapito lay on the cold floor. His left shin was broken. It was a clean snap, the bone pushed out against the skin. Most people would have fainted from the pain. A boy like Kian should have been screaming until his lungs gave out. But Silas did not scream. He did not even cry.He reached for the leather strap he had taken from an old piece of gym equipment. He put it between his teeth and bit down. He tasted the salt and the old dirt of the leather. It was a distraction. It was something to hold onto while the world turned into a sea of white fire."Now," Silas whispered through his teeth.He picked up the large needle. It was a "Bio-Injector," a tool used for fast-healing soldiers on the battlefield. But he had emptied the normal medicine. Inside the glass tube was the silver bio-gel. It was a heavy, glowing liquid that looked like

The darkness of the ventilation shaft was no longer just a place. For Silas Kapito, it had become a living nightmare. Time did not move in hours or minutes anymore. It moved in waves of pain and heat.The three nights of hell had begun.Silas lay on the cold iron floor, his body shaking. A thick, yellow sweat covered his skin, smelling of chemicals and old blood. The "Marrow Tempering" was in its final, most dangerous stage. The silver bio-gel was no longer just sitting in his bones; it was fighting for control. It was eating the soft parts of his skeleton and replacing them with a heavy, metallic lattice.His brain was on fire. The fever was so high that the air around him seemed to shimmer."Get up, trash."Silas snapped his eyes open. His vision was a blurry mess of orange and red. Standing in the middle of the narrow tunnel was a man. He was tall, wearing a clean black uniform. His face was twisted into a cruel, arrogant smile.It was Instructor Vako."You think you can change wh

The basement of the Valhalla Academy was a place where machines went to die and where the "Dregs" were sent to forget the sun. It was a forest of rusted pipes, humming engines, and heavy concrete pillars that held up the weight of the entire floating city.Silas Kapito stood in the center of a small, dark room near the boiler. The air was thick with the smell of hot oil and the dry scent of ancient dust. He was naked from the waist up. His skin was pale, almost white, and covered in the dried remains of silver bio-gel and his own sweat. He looked like a statue made of bone and shadow.He took a deep breath.In his old life, he had commanded armies. He had stood on the bridges of starships and watched worlds burn. But now, his entire universe was this small, dark room and the body he inhabited."The forge is cold," Silas whispered. His voice was no longer the high, shaky voice of Kian. it was a low, resonant rumble that seemed to vibrate in his own chest. "The metal has set. Now, we

"Marcus. 240 pounds. 400 pounds with armor. Gravity-hammer. Range: 10 feet. Weakness: The power cables in the waist-joint. The cooling vent in the helmet." Silas ran the fight a thousand times in his mind. In every version, Silas was hit. In every version, he felt the gravity-well try to crush his chest.But his chest was no longer made of soft bone. It was a cage of gunmetal-grey.He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small, rusted Legacy Coin he had found in the Junk Heap. He rolled it over his knuckles.Clink. Clink. Clink.He thought about the "Three Nights of Hell." He thought about the sound of his own bones snapping. He thought about the white-haired girl and her warning about the Stars."The Architects," Silas whispered.He didn't know who they were yet, but he knew they were the real enemy. Marcus was just a wall. Vako was just a gatekeeper. He had to break the wall and open the gate to face the real war.Morning came with the sound of a heavy, brass bell.BONG. BON

In the control booth, Vako’s jaw dropped. The Mark-V had never missed. Not once."He... he hit it," Mia whispered. "He hit a heat-seeker with his arm."Vako’s face went from pale to a bright, angry red. He threw the empty launcher onto the floor."Again!" Vako screamed into the microphone. "That was just luck! I am firing the second stage!"Vako reached for a second launcher. This one was larger. It was a "Mark-VI Multi-Warhead.""Instructor, stop!" another teacher, who had just walked into the room, shouted. "The drill is over! You’re going to destroy the sector!""I am the High Instructor of Heavy Weapons!" Vako roared. "I decide when the drill is over!"He aimed the second launcher at Silas.Down on the field, Silas stood in the smoke. He looked at the booth. He saw Vako’s madness. He saw the red eyes.Silas reached down and unpinned the red beacon from his chest.He didn't throw it away.He looked at a large, industrial cooling pipe that ran along the wall of the training field. T