2026-01-25 17:59:55The air in the cavern seemed to get colder. The red text glowed brighter.
[THE UNIVERSE SEEKS BALANCE,] the System wrote. [ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED. ENERGY CANNOT BE DESTROYED. IT CAN ONLY BE TRADED.]
Joseph read the words. It was basic physics. Every kid in the Zero District learned this in school, before they dropped out to work in the factories.
"I know this," Joseph said. "Thermodynamics."
[AFFIRMATIVE.]
The System continued.
[MOST SYSTEMS USE EXTERNAL ENERGY. ELECTRICITY. BATTERIES. FOOD. MAGIC.]
[PROJECT CHAOS IS DIFFERENT. WE ARE A CLOSED SYSTEM.]
[WE DO NOT USE MANA. WE USE DEGRADATION.]
Joseph frowned. "Degradation? You mean... breaking things?"
[CORRECT. TO CREATE FORCE, SOMETHING MUST BREAK. TO HEAL FLESH, SOMETHING MUST WITHER. TO CHANGE REALITY, SOMETHING MUST BE LOST.]
Joseph looked at his hands. They looked strong. They looked perfect. "What did I lose to get healed?" he asked softly.
The text paused. It seemed to be calculating.
[TO REPAIR CRITICAL DAMAGE (PUNCTURED LUNGS, BROKEN RIBS, BRAIN HEMORRHAGE)...]
[COST: MEMORY SECTORS 44 THROUGH 89.]
Joseph felt a cold pit in his stomach. "Memory sectors?"
He tried to remember his childhood. He remembered his mother’s face. He remembered the smell of her cooking.
He tried to remember his first day at school.
Nothing. Just a gray fog.
He tried to remember the name of his first pet.
Gone.
"You took my memories?" Joseph whispered. His voice trembled with rage. "You stole them?"
[IT WAS THE PRICE OF LIFE,] the System replied coldly. [WOULD YOU RATHER BE DEAD WITH MEMORIES, OR ALIVE WITHOUT THEM?]
Joseph slammed his fist into the metal wall. CLANG. The metal dented.
"You should have asked me!"
[THERE WAS NO TIME. ENTROPY WAITS FOR NO ONE.]
The text scrolled faster now.
[LESSON 2: THE CURRENCY.]
[YOU DO NOT HAVE BATTERIES. YOU CANNOT EAT FOOD TO POWER THE NANITES.]
[THE FUEL IS YOU.]
[THE FUEL IS TIME.]
[THE FUEL IS CELLULAR LIFE.]
Joseph stared at the words. "Explain."
[EVERY ACTION HAS A COST. IF YOU WANT TO PUNCH HARDER, IT COSTS LIFESPAN. IF YOU WANT TO RUN FASTER, IT COSTS LIFESPAN. IF YOU WANT TO SHOOT LASERS, IT COSTS LIFESPAN.]
[WE CALL IT: CELLULAR DEGRADATION.]
Joseph understood. It was horrifying, but he understood. The nanites were not magic. They were accelerators. They could make his body do impossible things, but they burned his cells like fuel to do it.
"So," Joseph said, his voice flat. "If I fight... I age?"
[YES.]
"If I use your power... I die faster?"
[YES. THAT IS THE EXCHANGE.]
Joseph laughed. It was a dry, bitter laugh. "I sold my apartment. I sold my eyes. Now I am selling my time. Is there anything left to sell?"
[THE MISSION,] the System stated. [YOU HAVE A GOAL. SURVIVE.]
"My goal is Elara," Joseph corrected.
He pushed himself off the wall. "How much do I have? How much time?"
[CALCULATING BASELINE...]
A number appeared in the top right corner of his vision. It was a green timer.
[ESTIMATED NATURAL LIFESPAN: 52 YEARS, 3 MONTHS, 12 DAYS.]
"Fifty-two years," Joseph muttered. "That is a normal life."
[FOR NOW,] the System added ominous text. [BUT THE WORLD IS DANGEROUS. YOU WILL NEED TO SPEND.]
Suddenly, a sound echoed through the Tech-Graveyard.
SCREECH.
It was the sound of metal grinding on metal. It came from the shadows behind him. Then, another sound from the left. CLANK. CLANK. And another from the right.
Joseph spun around. The red rings in his eyes flared.
The System text turned red.
[WARNING. HOSTILE ENTITIES DETECTED.]
[SCAVENGER UNITS. MODEL: HUNTER-KILLER.]
[QUANTITY: 3.]
"You talked too much," Joseph said to the floating text. "Now they found us."
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CHAPTER 8: The Wireframe II
The moment he accepted, Joseph felt it.It wasn't a pinch. It wasn't a sting.It felt like a hook had been inserted into his chest and yanked out. A wave of exhaustion washed over him instantly. It was the feeling of being awake for forty-eight hours straight, condensed into a single second.His knees buckled. His breath hitched.But the effect was immediate.Joseph extended his hand toward the jumping robot. A spark of red electricity shot from his fingertips. It wasn't a lightning bolt; it was a stream of red data.The red light hit the robot’s chest.The hydrogen fuel cell turned bright white.BOOM.The explosion was deafening. The robot didn't just break; it disintegrated. A ball of fire erupted in the center of the cavern.The force of the blast hit the other two robots. They were thrown backward, smashing into the walls. Metal parts rained down like hail.Joseph shielded his face. The heat washed over him.When the smoke cleared, the lead robot was gone. Just a smoking crater re
CHAPTER 7: The Wireframe
Three shapes emerged from the gloom.They were like the drone he had destroyed in Chapter 3, but bigger. These were not modified with trash; they were military remnants. They had sleek, chrome bodies that were covered in rust. They moved on four legs, like metallic wolves. Their eyes were green searchlights that cut through the dark.One of them opened its mouth. A row of spinning buzz-saws extended."Target... identified," the wolf-bot droned. "Subject... Joseph... Anomaly.""They know my name," Joseph said. "Drax sent them."[ANALYSIS: INCORRECT,] the System flashed. [THEY ARE CONNECTED TO THE CITY NETWORK. YOUR BOUNTY HAS INCREASED.]The three robot wolves circled him. They were smart. They were packing hunting tactics. One moved to the left, one to the right, one stayed in the center.Joseph backed up. His back hit the pile of trash. He was cornered."I need a weapon," Joseph said. He looked around for a pipe or a bar.[PRIMITIVE TOOLS ARE INEFFICIENT,] the System stated. [USE THE
CHAPTER 6: The Price of Power
The air in the cavern seemed to get colder. The red text glowed brighter.[THE UNIVERSE SEEKS BALANCE,] the System wrote. [ENERGY CANNOT BE CREATED. ENERGY CANNOT BE DESTROYED. IT CAN ONLY BE TRADED.]Joseph read the words. It was basic physics. Every kid in the Zero District learned this in school, before they dropped out to work in the factories."I know this," Joseph said. "Thermodynamics."[AFFIRMATIVE.]The System continued.[MOST SYSTEMS USE EXTERNAL ENERGY. ELECTRICITY. BATTERIES. FOOD. MAGIC.][PROJECT CHAOS IS DIFFERENT. WE ARE A CLOSED SYSTEM.][WE DO NOT USE MANA. WE USE DEGRADATION.]Joseph frowned. "Degradation? You mean... breaking things?"[CORRECT. TO CREATE FORCE, SOMETHING MUST BREAK. TO HEAL FLESH, SOMETHING MUST WITHER. TO CHANGE REALITY, SOMETHING MUST BE LOST.]Joseph looked at his hands. They looked strong. They looked perfect. "What did I lose to get healed?" he asked softly.The text paused. It seemed to be calculating.[TO REPAIR CRITICAL DAMAGE (PUNCTURED LU
Chapter 5: The Exchange
The scream had died in his throat. Now, there was only silence.The Tech-Graveyard was quiet. The only sound was the drip, drip, drip of toxic water falling from the high ceiling. It landed in the black puddles with a soft plip.Joseph lay face down in the mud. He waited for the pain. He waited for the sharp stab of his broken ribs. He waited for the burning in his lungs from the internal bleeding.He waited. But the pain did not come.Instead, he felt a strange hum. It was a low vibration, like a very small engine running inside his bones. It buzzed in his chest. It buzzed in his fingertips.Joseph opened his eyes.The world looked different. Before, the darkness was thick and heavy. Now, the darkness seemed to have layers. He could see the shapes of the trash piles clearly, even though there was almost no light. The edges of objects were sharp.He pushed his hands into the mud. "Up," he told himself. "Get up."He pushed. His body responded instantly. He didn't struggle. He didn't ga
CHAPTER 4: The Scavenger
The creature dropped from the wall. It landed with a heavy thud ten yards away.It was a Scavenger Drone. But it had been down here a long time. It had modified itself. It looked like a giant spider made of knives. It had six legs. Each leg ended in a rusty saw blade. Its body was a mesh of wires and stolen parts.The yellow eyes focused on Joseph. A scanner beam swept over him.Beep.The drone spoke. Its voice was a glitchy recording of a polite woman."Organic... waste... detected," the drone stuttered. "Recycling... in... progress."It didn't see him as a person. It saw him as raw material. Carbon. Water. Calcium. It wanted to harvest him.Joseph tried to push himself deeper into the pile of trash. "Stay back!"The drone took a step forward. One of its saw-legs spun up. Whirrrrrrrrr."Please... remain... still," the drone said pleasantly. "This... will... only... hurt... a lot."Joseph looked around for a weapon. He saw a metal pipe. He grabbed it.The drone lunged.It was fast. It
Chapter 3: The Black Box
The darkness was not empty. It was full of hard things.Joseph tumbled. He did not fall straight down. He slid inside a giant metal tube. The tube was steep. It was slick with oil and slime.He hit a bolt. Crack.Pain exploded in his shoulder. He screamed, but the roar of the wind swallowed his voice.He hit a grate. It broke under his weight. He fell through.He hit a pipe. Snap.Something inside his chest broke. A rib. Maybe two. The pain was sharp, like a spear entering his side. He could not stop. Gravity was a monster, and it was pulling him down to the belly of the city.The air grew hotter. It smelled of rotten eggs and burning plastic. It was the smell of the Undercity. The smell of things that were thrown away.Joseph saw a circle of dim light below. It rushed toward him fast. Too fast.He curled into a ball. He protected his head with his arms. He prayed to a God he did not believe in.Impact.He landed on something soft, but not soft like a bed. It was soft like rotting tra
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