NXY-0

CHAPTER 3

I ran.

My legs screamed. My ribs burned. My mechanical arm dragged behind me, sparking with every step. But I ran.

The tunnel stretched ahead, dark and endless. Behind me, the growl grew louder. Deeper. It vibrated through the stone, through my bones, through the metal in my arm.

Dr. REN-9 moved faster than I expected for someone her age. She ducked through narrow passages and around fallen debris, her gray coat trailing behind her.

"This way!" she shouted. "There's an exit ahead!"

I didn't ask how she knew. I just followed.

Nyx-0 clung to my shoulder. Its form flickered, weaker than before.

"Nova."

"What?"

"Whatever that thing is. It's old. Older than me."

"Older than you?"

"Much older. And it's hungry."

I didn't have time to process that. The tunnel opened into a wider chamber, and I saw it.

Light. Faint. Blue. Coming from somewhere ahead.

The Core.

It sat on a stone pedestal in the center of the chamber, pulsing with a soft blue glow. It was massive. Bigger than any Core I'd ever seen. Ancient.

"There," Dr. REN-9 said. "That's what you need."

I stumbled toward it. My legs were giving out. My arm was barely responding. But I kept moving.

The growl echoed behind me. Closer now.

I reached the pedestal and grabbed the Core. It was warm, almost hot, pulsing with energy.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Feed it to your creature," Dr. REN-9 said. "Now."

I looked at Nyx-0. "How?"

"Press me against it. I'll do the rest."

I pressed the Core against Nyx-0's body. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a tendril of shadow shot out from Nyx-0's form and touched the Core's surface.

The Core dissolved. Strands of blue energy flowed into Nyx-0's body, and the creature began to change.

It grew. Not bigger, but denser. Its form became more solid. The flickering stopped. Its surface smoothed out into something sleek and powerful.

A wolf stood before me. Made of shadow. Eyes like burning stars.

[NYX-0 — NULL]

[EVOLUTION COMPLETE]

[FORM: WOLF-TYPE]

[SYNCHRONIZATION: 47%]

I stared. "You're a wolf now."

"Obviously," Nyx-0 said. Its voice was stronger now. "I needed to be something useful."

"You couldn't have done that earlier?"

"I was dying. I needed fuel."

Something crashed behind us. The creature in the tunnel. It was coming.

Nyx-0 turned toward the darkness. "Get on."

I climbed onto the wolf's back, and my ribs screamed in protest.

"What about her?" I pointed at Dr. REN-9.

"I'll follow," she said. "Just go."

Nyx-0 ran. Fast. Faster than before. We raced through the chamber and into another tunnel, leaving the growl behind us.

When we finally stopped, we were outside. The Bone Yard stretched before us, rust and metal and orange dust. The sky was gray and heavy.

Dr. REN-9 appeared behind us, breathing hard but alive.

"That was close," she said.

"What was that thing?" I asked.

She looked at me. "Something that should have stayed buried. Something from the war."

"The war?"

"The one they told you never happened."

I didn't understand. I looked at Nyx-0. The wolf stared back at me, its burning-star eyes unreadable.

"A memory just unlocked," Nyx-0 said. "One fragment."

"What is it?"

"Your friend. Nexus. He's sitting next to you. He's laughing about something. He says your name."

I felt my chest tighten. "What else?"

"That's all I got. One fragment."

I looked at my wrist, at the tattered watch. Nexus's watch. I couldn't remember his face. But I could remember his laugh. For one second, I heard it.

It was loud and warm and made everything feel okay.

Then it was gone.

Dr. REN-9 walked closer. "You have a lot of questions. I know. But we need to move. The District knows about you now. They know about Nyx-0. They'll send hunters."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

She met my eyes. "Fight. Run. Survive. That's all anyone does in this world."

I looked at Nyx-0. The wolf was watching me.

"I need to find the truth," I said. "About Nexus. About the war. About everything."

"That's a dangerous path," Dr. REN-9 said.

"I don't care."

She studied me for a long moment. Then something shifted in her expression.

"There's a place," she said. "A group of people who know the truth. They've been waiting for someone like you."

"Waiting for what?"

"For someone who can change things."

I looked at my mechanical arm. My broken ribs. My fading memories.

I looked at the watch on my wrist.

"Take me to them," I said.

Dr. REN-9 nodded. "Follow me."