"Keep your head up, Prince," the guard sneered, jerking my chains so hard the iron bit into my neck. "The whole galaxy is watching. Don't want to look like a coward on your big day, do you?"I stumbled across the Bridge of Sighs, my bare feet burning on the cold, metallic walkway. Millions of holographic drones swarmed around us, their lenses glowing like the eyes of hungry insects. They were broadcasting my fall in high-definition to every corner of the empire."Look at him," a voice boomed over the speakers. "The Star-Born traitor. The man who murdered the Empress.""I didn't do it!" I yelled, but a guard slammed the butt of his rifle into my ribs."Shut up, trash," the guard hissed. "Nobody is listening to a dead man."At the end of the bridge stood Lucian. He looked perfect in his white commander’s uniform, his medals glinting under the artificial suns of the capital. He looked like the hero the people wanted. He looked like a murderer."Brother," Lucian said, his voice amplified

"Look at me, Brux!" I screamed.The collar around my neck didn't snap my spine. Instead, the metal ring turned white-hot, emitting a light so bright it turned the Scrap Heap into a world of blinding salt."What is happening?" Brux yelled, shielding his eyes. "Executioner! Strike him down now!"The blade never fell. I felt the voltage pour through my arm and into the metallic sand. A massive blue arc of electricity snaked across the ground."My eyes!" The executioner shrieked, dropping the cleaver.The discharge hit the sand and expanded in a shimmering wave. Every piece of scrap metal began to hum. Then came the bang. It sounded like a star exploding at my feet."The droids!" A guard shouted. "My rifle! It’s dead!""Everything is dead!" Another yelled. "The perimeter shields are down!"The localized EMP ripped through the sector. The guards' electronic pikes sputtered and died.The Enforcer Droids slumped over, their red eyes fading into darkness. The constant, oppressive hum of the p

"Mapping... Mapping..." the voice in my head whispered, matching the golden text in the void."System, is that you?" I croaked, reaching into the blackness.[Warden Signature Detected. Mapping Sub-Sector: Dark Hole.][Area: 400 Square Kilometers. Wing: The Abyss.]"Four hundred kilometers?" I gasped. "This cell isn't just a box. It’s a network.""Talking to yourself already, Star-Born?" A raspy voice laughed from the wall. "Most men wait until the third day to go mad.""I’m not mad," I said, leaning toward the vent. "Who are you?""I’m a fragment," the voice said, sounding mechanical. "A memory. A mistake."[Alert: Data-Log Found. Identity: Warden Silas—Deceased.]"Silas?" I whispered. "The Warden from the Great Collapse?""So, you can read the walls," Silas’s ghost replied. "Impressive. Most just die in the corner.""I need to get out," I said. "Lucian is coming for my eyes at dawn.""Lucian is a child," Silas said. "But the Abyss is a furnace. You want out? Take my memories. See wha

"Is that a throne or a pile of junk, Arix?" Pip asked, staring at the heap of broken droids I had stacked in the center of the mess hall."It's both, Pip," I said, leaning back against a dented metal chest plate. "Sit down. The show is about to start.""The inmates are staring," Pip whispered. "They’ve never seen anyone sit in the middle of the hall like this. Not even Brux.""Brux sat at the royal table because he wanted to be a king," I said. "I’m sitting here because I want them to see what happens to the things that try to cage me.""You’re insane, Princey," Brux muttered from the floor. He was still kneeling at the base of my scrap pile, his head bowed. "The Warden won't let this last. You’re occupying the main hub. That’s a death sentence.""He's already tried to kill me three times today, Brux," I said. "He’s running out of ideas.""He isn't out of ideas yet," a voice boomed from the overhead speakers. "Prisoner 9042. Arix Beaumont. You have ten seconds to vacate the mess hall

I held the jagged piece of scrap metal in my hand. It was cold and rusty. I stood right between the downed wyverns and Lyra. The air was thick with the smell of burnt stone and magic."What are you doing, you crazy maggot?" The lead knight yelled from the ground. He was still pinned by the gravity, but his eyes were full of hate."I'm keeping you away from her," I said."With a piece of trash?" The knight laughed. It was a wet, nasty sound. "You have no mana. You are a mundane. A bug. You can't even touch a magic shield with that garbage.""Is that what they told you in knight school?" I asked. I tightened my grip on the metal."Look at him!" Another knight mocked. He was trying to push himself up. "He’s holding a broken pipe. He thinks he’s a warrior.You are a Mundane Maggot, boy. Go back to the dirt where you belong.""Arix, please," Lyra whispered behind me. She was still shaking. "His shield is active. It’s a Level 7 barrier. That scrap metal will just shatter if you hit it.""Th