NXY-0

CHAPTER 8

I woke to the sound of metal scraping against metal.

My eyes snapped open. My body tensed. My new arm hummed, ready to move.

Dr. REN-9 was already standing, her device in hand. "Something's coming."

I stood up. My ribs still ached, but the sharp pain was gone. My arm felt strong. Ready.

Nyx-0 appeared beside me, its wolf form low and alert.

"Two of them," it said. "Moving fast. Not soldiers."

"Then what?"

"I don't know. But they're not wearing armor."

I moved to the entrance of the collapsed structure and peered out. Two figures were approaching through the ruins. They moved quickly, weaving through the debris with practiced ease.

One was tall and thin, with dark hair and a scarred face. The other was shorter, broader, carrying something on their back.

"They're Resistance," Dr. REN-9 said. "I recognize them."

She stepped out and raised her hand. The figures slowed.

"Dr. REN-9," the tall one called. "Thank the Forge. We've been looking for you."

"What happened?"

"The safe house. The one you were heading to. It's been compromised."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

"The District found it. They're waiting for you. If you'd gone there, you'd be dead."

I looked at Dr. REN-9. Her face was unreadable.

"Where do we go now?" I asked.

The tall one looked at me. "You're the one. The one with the Null-Type."

"Yeah."

"We have another location. Deeper in the Bone Yard. But it's dangerous."

"Dangerous how?"

"The tunnels are unstable. And there's something down there."

"Something?"

"Old. From the war. We don't know what it is. But it's been waking up."

I looked at Nyx-0. Its burning-star eyes met mine.

"We go," I said. "We don't have a choice."

---

We moved through the ruins, following the two Resistance members. Their names were Rourke and Sena. Rourke was the tall one, quiet and watchful. Sena was the shorter one, carrying a device that beeped occasionally.

"The tunnels are this way," Sena said. "There's an entrance near the old temple."

I looked at Dr. REN-9. "The old temple. That's where we found the Core."

"Yes. The same one."

"The District knows about it now."

"They know about the Core. They don't know about the tunnels beneath it."

We reached the temple ruins. Crumbled walls and broken arches rose from the rust. Orange dust covered everything.

Sena pressed a panel on the wall, and a section of stone slid open. A dark tunnel stretched ahead.

"This way," she said.

We descended into the darkness. The air grew colder. Damper. I could hear dripping water somewhere in the distance.

My optical implants flickered.

[ENVIRONMENT: UNSTABLE]

[CAUTION: UNKNOWN ENERGY SOURCE DETECTED]

I stopped. "What's down here?"

Rourke looked at me. "We don't know. But it's old. And it's getting stronger."

We kept moving. The tunnel wound deeper, branching into passages I couldn't count.

"The Resistance uses these tunnels to move people and supplies," Dr. REN-9 said. "They've been here for decades."

"How do you know where you're going?"

"Markers. Look."

She pointed to a small symbol carved into the wall. A circle with three lines. The Resistance's mark.

Nyx-0 moved ahead of us, its wolf form silent and watchful.

"Nova," it said. "There's something up ahead."

"What?"

"I don't know. Something big. Something alive."

I moved closer. The tunnel opened into a massive chamber. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, ancient and jagged. The floor was covered in smooth stone, worn by time.

And in the center, a massive structure rose from the ground.

It was made of metal. Dark and rusted. Covered in symbols I couldn't read. It pulsed with a faint blue glow.

"What is that?" I whispered.

Rourke shook his head. "We've never seen it before. It wasn't here last time."

I stepped closer. The symbols on the metal glowed brighter as I approached.

[A CORE SIGNATURE — ANCIENT]

[CLASSIFICATION: UNKNOWN]

[WARNING: EXTREME CAUTION RECOMMENDED]

I reached out to touch it.

"Don't," Nyx-0 said.

I stopped. "Why?"

"Because that's what's been waking up. And it knows you're here."

The blue glow intensified. A low hum filled the chamber. I felt it in my chest, in my metal arm, in my bones.

Then a voice spoke.

Not in my head. Not like Nyx-0. This was real. A voice that echoed through the chamber, ancient and cold.

"You carry a piece of me."

I froze. "What?"

"You carry a fragment of the Forge. In that creature. In your bond."

I looked at Nyx-0. Its form was rigid, tense.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am what remains. The last memory of what was."

The blue light pulsed. I felt it pulling at something inside me.

"The District tried to destroy me. They failed. I have been waiting. Sleeping. Watching."

"Watching for what?"

"For someone who could carry the truth. Someone who could survive."

I looked at my palm. The timer was still counting down.

2 YEARS, 33 DAYS, 14 HOURS.

"I don't have much time," I said.

"Time is not the problem. It never was."

"What do you mean?"

The voice was silent for a long moment.

"The timers are a lie. The District made them. They control them. They turn them off when they want."

My heart stopped. "What?"

"The timers are not real. They are a tool to keep you afraid. To keep you obedient."

I stared at my palm. At the numbers ticking down.

"You're lying."

"I am the last memory of the First Humans. I do not lie."

I looked at Dr. REN-9. Her face was pale.

"It can't be true," I said.

"It is true," she said quietly. "We suspected. But we never had proof."

I looked at my palm again. The numbers kept ticking down.

Years. Months. Days. Hours.

All of it a lie.

My whole life. My fear. My desperation. Everything.

"I'm going to destroy them," I said. "The District. Every single one."

The voice echoed through the chamber. "Good. That is why I chose you."

"No," Nyx-0 said. "You chose me. Not her. Not the Forge."

I looked at the wolf. Its burning-star eyes were fixed on me.

"I chose you," Nyx-0 repeated. "I found you. I bonded with you. And I remember everything."

I stared at it. At the creature that had saved my life. That had taken my memories. That had been sarcastic and cold.

"You knew," I said. "You knew the timers were a lie."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you weren't ready. And because I needed you to trust me first."

I didn't know what to say.

The blue light pulsed one final time. Then it faded.

The chamber went dark.

I looked at my palm. The numbers were still ticking down.

But now I knew the truth.

It was all a lie.