NXY-0

My name is Nova Miles-7.

I know. Weird name. Number and all.

The District gave it to me. They needed a serial number. Nova Miles wasn't specific enough, so they added a seven.

Whatever. I'm used to it.

I'm nineteen. Still poor. Still hungry. Still wearing mismatched boots.

Both left feet.

Don't judge me.

---

Nobody remembers being born.

I don't.

You probably think that's strange. It isn't here. The District gives you a body, a name, a timer, and a place to work. That's all anyone needs.

At least, that's what they tell us.

I live in the Bone Yard. It's a graveyard. Miles of dead Beast parts. Skulls, legs, torsos. Everything covered in rust and orange dust. The air tastes like metal.

I'm a scavenger. I dig through the dead ones to find Cores. One Core can feed me for a month. If I'm lucky, it adds a few hours to my timer.

On my palm, the numbers tick down. 2 YEARS, 47 DAYS, 6 HOURS. I check it constantly. Everyone does. You learn to live with the countdown.

The numbers never stop changing. They don't wait. They don't care.

---

The watch on my wrist is the only thing I own that matters. Tattered leather. Cracked glass. It used to work once.

It was Nexus's.

We were built in the same batch. Grew up together in the scavenger camp. He was older than me. Looked out for me. Made stupid jokes.

Three years ago, the District took him. Recycled him.

I never saw him again.

I remember him stealing food from me once. He said it was a test. Said I needed to learn to protect my things. Then he gave it back.

That was Nexus. Annoying. Loyal. Always teaching me something.

I can't remember the sound of his laugh anymore. That's the worst part.

---

I'd been walking for three days. No food. No water. Just rust and hunger. My boots were falling apart. My stomach was empty. But I kept moving. Stopping meant dying.

Then I found it.

A dead serpent-Beast. Huge thing. Its skull was bigger than my house. I climbed through its ribs and looked up into its eye socket.

And there it was.

A Core. Small. Flickering. Barely alive.

Jackpot.

I reached for it. And something spoke in my head.

"Oh, great. Another skinny idiot with no shoes."

I jerked back.

"You heard me. Skinny. Idiot. No shoes. You're a scavenger, right?"

I stared at the glowing Core. "You talk?"

"No, I'm just projecting my thoughts into your empty skull for fun. YES. I. CAN. TALK."

My hands started shaking. Beasts don't talk. Everyone knows that.

"Ah, crap. I'm dying. Three hundred years in this rusty snake skull, and the first Pilot who finds me is a starving idiot who can't even afford matching shoes."

"I'm not an idiot."

"You're wearing two left boots."

"That's a choice."

"It's a stupid choice."

I opened my mouth to argue. And then I heard it.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Boots. Marching through the Bone Yard. I peeked through a crack. Six soldiers. White armor. The Core Directive's symbol on their chests. A single eye that didn't blink.

One of them raised a device. It beeped loudly.

"Anomaly detected. Class-7 Core. Location, twelve meters ahead."

They turned. Their eyes locked onto me.

"Civilian! Step away from that Core. It's property of the Core Directive."

My heart stopped. The Core Directive is the government. The District. If they caught me with an unregistered Core, I'd go to prison. If they found out the Core could talk, they'd recycle me.

"Oh, wonderful," the Core groaned. "The shiny boots are here."

"Who are they?"

"The Core Directive. They work for the Weaver."

"The Weaver?"

"Bad guy. Runs experiments. Likes to cut Beasts open. Real charming."

"What do I do?"

"Bond with me, you idiot."

"How?"

"Touch me. Say I accept the cost. Try not to scream."

"I don't scream."

"You're literally trembling."

I looked at my hands. They were shaking.

"Yeah. That's what I thought. Now hurry up."

I reached for the Core.

"Bonding takes a memory. I'll store it. When I evolve, I can give it back. Fragments first. Then the whole thing. But I need Cores to grow. That's the deal."

"Fair trade?"

"Fair enough."

The soldiers were ten meters away. Nine. Eight.

I looked at my wrist. The tattered watch. Nexus's watch.

What did I have to lose?

"I accept the cost."

I touched the Core.

It burned. Pain crawled into my skin. Into my veins. Into my chest. I screamed.

"Told you. Screamer."

The Core shattered into light. And then darkness.

---

I woke up on the ground. My chest ached. Through my torn shirt, I saw it. A black mark. Like a small eclipse burned into my skin right over my heart.

Sitting beside me was a creature. Small. Black. The size of a cat. No eyes. No mouth. Just smooth, dark metal that seemed to drink the light.

It spoke in my head. Weaker now. Tired.

"Well. That was unpleasant. But I'm alive. So thanks, I guess. You're still an idiot, though."

"You're a cat?"

"No. I'm a Null-Type. I can change shape. Right now I'm a cat because it's cute and you look like you need comforting. Don't get used to it."

A flicker of light appeared in my vision. Translucent. Holographic.

[NYX-0 — NULL]

[Synchronization: 3%]

[Warning: Host memory integrity compromised.]

"Wait—what was that?"

"System. The bond. I'm connected to you now. You'll see things like that from time to time."

"The memory. The one you took."

"Stored. Safe. When I evolve, you'll get it back. A fragment at a time."

I tried to remember. Nexus's face. Nothing.

"My best friend. I can't see his face anymore."

"I know. I'm sorry. But I needed something to survive. That's the cost."

The soldiers were three meters away. Their guns were raised.

"Civilian! Surrender the Anomaly!"

The cat-creature looked at me. Its form flickered.

"I can't fight them. Bonding drained me. I can do one small thing. That's it."

"Then do it."

"Fine. Don't blame me."

It moved. Slowly. Painfully. Ran between the soldiers' legs. They stumbled. Trying to aim at it. A small pulse of energy shot out. One soldier's gun jammed. That was it.

"Done. Now run."

I grabbed Nyx-0 and ran.

---

I ran through the Bone Yard. Rusted metal scraping against my boots. Chest burning. Lungs screaming.

The soldiers were behind me. Shouting. Chasing.

"Split up! Cut him off!"

I ducked under fallen Beasts. Scrambled through broken ribcages. My arms were bleeding.

I turned a corner. A cliff. Fifty meters down. Dead metal below. No way out.

The soldiers appeared behind me. Their commander stepped forward.

"Nowhere to run, scavenger."

I backed up to the edge. My heels hung over nothing.

Nyx-0's voice in my head. Quiet.

"Jump."

"What?"

"Jump. I can slow our fall. A little. Not much. But enough."

The commander raised a stun rod. "Last chance. Hand over the Anomaly."

I looked down. Fifty meters of rust and death. Then I looked at the cat-creature on my shoulder. It flickered weakly. Barely holding its form.

"I'm dying anyway. But at least we can do it on our own terms. That's something, right?"

I laughed. It came out broken. "You're insane."

"Yeah. Probably. Now jump."

The commander charged.

I looked at the watch one more time. I couldn't remember Nexus's face. But I could remember his name. For now.

I held onto that hope.

And I jumped.