NXY-0

CHAPTER 4

We walked for hours.

The Bone Yard stretched in every direction, endless and gray. Rusted metal crunched beneath our feet. The air tasted like iron and dust.

My ribs ached with every step. My left arm dragged behind me, sparking occasionally. Dr. REN-9 had wrapped a piece of cloth around the exposed wires, but it was a temporary fix. I needed real repairs.

Nyx-0 walked beside me in its wolf form, silent and watchful. Its burning-star eyes scanned the horizon constantly.

"You're thinking too loud," it said.

"I'm trying to figure out what's happening."

"That's the problem. You're trying to figure it out. Just accept that you don't know anything."

"Very helpful."

"I try."

Dr. REN-9 stopped ahead of us. She pointed to a cluster of ruins in the distance. Broken domes and collapsed arches, half-buried in rust and dust.

"We're close," she said.

"What is this place?"

"A safe house. One of many. The Resistance uses them to move people and information."

"Resistance?"

She looked at me. "The people who know the truth about the District. About the war. About the First Humans."

I'd heard that term before. First Humans. I didn't know what it meant.

"The First Humans," I said. "What are they?"

Dr. REN-9 was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "They were the ones who came before us. The ones who built the world. The ones the District erased."

I stared at her. "Erased?"

"From history. From memory. From everything. The District made sure no one would remember."

I looked at my mechanical arm. My body. My timer. "But we were built in factories. We were never born."

"That's what they told you."

I felt something shift in my chest. A crack in something I'd always believed.

"Come on," she said. "There's someone you need to meet."

---

The ruins were bigger than I expected. The domes were massive, covered in faded carvings that I couldn't read. Arches stood where walls had once been. Everything was covered in rust and orange dust.

Dr. REN-9 led me through a collapsed entrance and down a set of stairs. The air grew cooler. The light dimmed.

At the bottom was a large underground chamber. Crates and supplies were stacked against the walls. A few people moved around, carrying devices and sorting through parts.

They stopped when they saw me.

A man approached. He was tall and thin, with gray hair and sharp eyes. He wore a long coat similar to Dr. REN-9's, but cleaner.

"So this is him," he said. "The one who bonded with a Null-Type."

"He's injured," Dr. REN-9 said. "His arm needs repairs. His ribs are cracked."

The man studied me. "I'm Voss. I lead this cell. You're lucky Dr. REN-9 found you."

"She saved my life," I said.

"No. Your creature saved your life. She just patched you up." He looked at Nyx-0. "Interesting. A wolf form. It's already evolving."

"It consumed a Core," Dr. REN-9 said. "An ancient one."

Voss's eyes widened. "Which one?"

"The one beneath the old temple. The blue Core."

"That was sealed for a reason."

"It's done now."

Voss looked at me. "You have no idea what you've done, do you?"

"I was trying to survive."

"We all are. But you just woke something that should have stayed asleep."

I didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

Voss exchanged a glance with Dr. REN-9. Then he said, "The Core you fed your creature wasn't just any Core. It was part of the Celestial Forge. The original machine."

"The Celestial Forge?"

"The reason the world ended. The reason we're all part machine now. The reason the District exists."

My head was spinning. "I don't understand."

Voss stepped closer. "The Celestial Forge was built by the First Humans. It was supposed to create a better world. But the District tried to control it. A war broke out. The Forge exploded. The radiation nearly killed everyone. The survivors had to become part machine to live."

I stared at him. "That's not what the District teaches."

"Of course not. They caused the war. They blame the Beasts instead."

I felt something cold settle in my stomach. "And Nexus? He was part of this?"

"Your friend was close to proving it. That's why the District took him."

I looked at my wrist, at the tattered watch. "He knew the truth?"

"He was one of us," Voss said. "And he paid the price."

I felt something break inside me. Not my ribs this time. Something deeper.

"How do I find the truth?" I asked.

Voss looked at me for a long moment. "First, you survive. Then you fight. And then you remember."

"I can't remember."

"You will. Your creature will help you. Piece by piece. Memory by memory."

I looked at Nyx-0. The wolf stared back.

"Can you give me more?" I asked.

"A fragment," Nyx-0 said. "That's all I can do right now."

I nodded. "Do it."

My vision flickered. A line of text appeared.

[MEMORY FRAGMENT — RECOVERING]

Then I saw it.

A room. Dark. Cold. Nexus was sitting across from me. We were young. He was holding something in his hands.

"I'm going to find the truth," he was saying. "And when I do, I'm coming back for you."

"Promise?"

"Always."

The memory faded.

I blinked. My eyes were wet.

"He promised," I whispered.

"What?" Dr. REN-9 asked.

"He promised he would come back."

She said nothing.

Nyx-0's voice was quiet. "That's all I have for now."

I nodded. It was enough.

I looked at Voss. "What do we do next?"

"Rest. Heal. And then we fight."

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

"Fine," I said. "Let's fight."