The massive iron doors of the Draven estate’s outer ward didn't just close—they slammed with the finality of a coffin lid. The heavy thud echoed through the jagged rocks of the Dead-End Mine, vibrating in Kael’s chest and making him hack up another mouthful of metallic-tasting blood."There. Comfortable? It’s the only inheritance you’re getting, Kael. A hole in the ground and a slow death," Jax spat, leaning against the cold stone of the threshold, his face twisted into a smirk that caught the dying light of his handheld torch.Kael wiped his chin with a trembling hand, his vision swimming in shades of grey. "You really... you really did it, Jax. You convinced the old man I was the one who sabotaged the main furnace?""Convinced him? Please. Dad was looking for an excuse to toss his 'defective' son for years. You’re a drain on resources, Kael. A terminal weight around the family’s neck. I just gave him the nudge he needed," Jax laughed, the sound sharp and grating in the narrow tunnel

... the very poison eating your insides. Overclock the 'Soul-Siphon' to four-hundred percent to bridge the Level 25 gap. Warning: Host's heart might literally explode. Survival rate is still dogshit.]""Great. Fantastic. Best news I've heard all day," Kael wheezed, wiping a fresh smear of black sludge from his lip. "Hey, Silas! Get as far back as you can! If this thing pops, you don't want to be nearby!""Kael, you can't be serious! Look at that thing! It's ten feet of walking lava and bad attitude!" Silas screamed, scrambling behind a fallen pillar. "That sword is just a toothpick to him!""Yeah, well, this toothpick has a nasty habit of biting back," Kael muttered. He gripped the hilt of the Night-Stalker's Fang. The serrated edge started to hum, a low-frequency vibration that made his teeth ache. "System, do it. Flip the switch. Give me everything."[Ding!][Overclocking Soul-Siphon...][Warning: 400% Output engaged. Toxin levels are being redirected into the blade. Pain levels: Ex

... sold her soul to the very darkness you’re trying to forge? She didn't die for some noble cause, Kael. She died because she signed a contract in blood with things that don't have names."The voice didn't just vibrate in the air; it felt like it was crawling inside Kael's skull, cold and oily. Kael gripped the hilt of the Bronze-Shadow Greatsword so hard his knuckles turned white. The white eyes in the dark didn't blink. They just stared, two piercing pinpricks of light that seemed to see right through his ribs and into his failing heart."My mother was a genius," Kael spat, his voice raspy but sharp. "She didn't sell anything. She was building a way out of this hellhole city. Who the hell are you to talk about her contract? Show yourself, you coward.""Coward? That’s a big word for a boy who’s currently walking on a corpse's legs," the voice chuckled, a sound like dry leaves skittering over a grave. "I am the echo of what she left behind. I am the shadow in the corner of her eye ev

... a grin that looked like it was carved out of cold obsidian."Kael! What the hell are you doing?! Get back here! That's a damn siege-engine, not a practice dummy!" Silas screamed, his voice nearly drowned out by the mechanical roar of the Sun-Eater’s cooling fans."Relax, Silas. I’m just taking a closer look at Dad’s expensive toy," Kael called back, his voice eerie and amplified by the resonating armor on his legs. "Hey, old man! Can you hear me up there in your golden tin can? Or did you finally go deaf from listening to Jax’s whining?"The giant machine hissed, steam venting from its joints like the breath of a dying dragon. A massive hatch on the shoulder of the beast groaned open, and Lord Valerius Draven stood there, silhouetted by the artificial glare. He looked down at his son with eyes as cold as the Eternal Night itself."You’ve become a nuisance, Kael. A loud, vibrating nuisance," Valerius’s voice boomed through the speakers. "I gave you a clean exit. A quiet death in a

... "UNAUTHORIZED LIFEFORMS DETECTED. SECTOR FOUR LOCKDOWN ENGAGED. PREPARE FOR DISMANTLING.""Dismantling? You gotta be kiddin' me," Kael spat, his silver eyes narrowing as he adjusted his grip on the Root-Breaker Spear. "We just clawed our way out of a god-forsaken furnace, and the welcome mat is a talking trash compactor?""Kael, look up! The whole damn shaft is turning red!" Silas shouted, pointing a trembling finger at the emergency lights that had begun to strobe with a violent, rhythmic intensity. "That’s not just an automated voice, kid. That’s the Council’s security grid. They’ve locked the magnets! We’re sitting ducks!""I ain't no duck, Silas. And I sure as hell ain't sitting," Kael growled. He slammed the butt of his spear into the elevator floor, sending a ripple of violet energy through the metal plates. "System, give me a scan on that loudmouth. What am I looking at?"[Ding!][Target Identified: Iron Watcher - Unit 01.][Class: High-Altitude Guardian (Bio-Mechanical Hyb