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Chapter 13
The repair shack in the Lower District shook with the vibrations of the celebratory stamping outside. Word of the "Rusty Miracle" had spread through the slums faster than a steam-leak. The odds on "Zane" had shifted from 500-to-1 to a modest 50-to-1.Inside the garage, however, there was no partying.Jaxen lay underneath the chassis of the Mark-I, sparks showering down around him as he welded a reinforced strut. He wasn't using a welding torch. He was using his index finger, channeling a concentrated beam of high-frequency friction."Zane, stop!" Mila paced back and forth, clutching a handful of greasy credits—their winnings from a side-bet she had placed at the last second. "We have money now! We can buy a real hydraulic pump. We can buy a targeting computer! Why are you melting down toaster ovens and welding them to the legs?"Jaxen slid out from under the mech, his face smeared with oil. "Because hydraulic pumps are loud, Mila. And targeting computers can be hacked. I’m building so
Chapter 12
The "Iron-Scrap" qualification hall was a cavernous warehouse that smelled of stale beer and engine grease. Hundreds of mechanics and pilots crowded the floor, surrounding massive registration desks. The air was filled with the deafening roar of engines being revved and the clanking of metal fists testing their hydraulics.Jaxen stood beside the Mark-I Loader, which Mila had affectionately named "Rusty." To the naked eye, it was an embarrassment—a humanoid shape made of mismatched plates, exposed wires, and a cockpit that looked like a welded coffin. It didn't gleam like the other mechs; it absorbed light, its surface dull and cold."Everyone is staring at us," Mila hissed, pulling her cap down low. "This was a mistake. Look at them, Zane. That’s a Titan-Class Excavator over there. And that one? That’s a military-grade Striker. We’re going to get laughed out of the building.""Let them laugh," Jaxen said, wiping his hands on a rag. "Laughter is distracting. Fear is focused."He patted
Chapter 11
The northern border of Xylos was marked by the Wall of Sighs, a massive barrier of jagged, soot-stained steel that separated the magic-rich spires from the industrial wasteland of the Iron Duchy. Here, the air didn't smell like ozone and lavender; it smelled of burning coal, hot grease, and the bitter tang of sulfur.Jaxen stood at the end of a long, miserable line of refugees and laborers, his face partially obscured by a hooded traveler’s cloak. He had suppressed his Void Heart to the point of near-extinction. To any scanner or mana-sensitive guard, he was exactly what his forged papers claimed: Zane, a Level 3 scrap-mechanic with a faulty mana-vein and zero prospects.[System Notification: Stealth Mode Active.] [Void Presence: 0.001% (Undetectable).] [Warning: Local environment is saturated with Kinetic and Thermal energy. Siphon efficiency reduced by 40% unless physical contact is made.]"Next!" a guard barked.The guard wasn't wearing the elegant golden silk of the Sun-Guards. He
Chapter 10
The sky above Xylos was no longer a sky; it was a throat. The "Absolute Eclipse" had solidified into a swirling, obsidian canopy that pulsed with a slow, rhythmic violet light, echoing the heartbeat of the Void-Engine deep below. Within the city walls, the air was eerily still, but beyond the dome, the world was screaming.Jaxen stood on the precipice of the Aurelian Spire’s highest balcony, his white hair whipping in the chaotic winds generated by the clashing energies. Below him, the once-proud "Sun-Guards" were throwing down their spears, kneeling in the streets as the darkness washed over them. They weren't kneeling out of loyalty—they were kneeling because the very air had become too "heavy" for those who relied on stolen light.[System Notification: Level 100 Stabilized.] [Status: Global Threat Level - SSS.] [Awaiting Directive: Expand or Consolidate?]"Jaxen."The voice was soft, but in the silence of the Void, it sounded like a bell. He didn't turn. He knew the resonance of he
Chapter 9
Lord Valerius stared at the dust of his ancestral staff as it slipped through Jaxen’s fingers. The silence in the Throne Room was absolute, broken only by the whimpering of the advisors who had crawled into the corners like beaten dogs."You... you are a monster," Valerius hissed, his voice trembling. "The world will not stand for this. The other Spires—The Iron Duchy, the Lunar Sect—they will see what you are. They will burn Xylos to the ground to kill you!""Let them watch," Jaxen said.He moved so fast the air itself shrieked. He grabbed Valerius by the golden breastplate and slammed him into the throne. The impact shattered the mana-crystal seat, sending shards flying like diamonds.[Skill Activated: Soul-Rend.] [Siphoning the Valerius Bloodline...]Jaxen didn't kill him instantly. He reached into the man’s soul and began to pull. The golden mana that gave Valerius his youth and strength was dragged out in shimmering, agonizing strands. The Chancellor’s skin began to wrinkle; his
Chapter 8
The descent into the lowest levels of the Spire felt like walking into the throat of a dying god.Jaxen strode through the corridors of the sub-basement, his every footfall a death knell for the Valerius dynasty. Behind him, Seraphina followed in a daze. She had spent her entire life believing that mana was the only true currency of the universe, yet here was a man who moved through the most concentrated magical fields in the world as if they were nothing more than a light breeze.[System Notification: Proximity to Blood-Core—200 Meters.] [Warning: Ambient Mana Pressure is exceeding safe limits for biological entities.] [Void Heart Status: Overclocking. Storage: 92%.]"Jaxen, stop," Seraphina gasped, clutching her chest. Her Golden Eye was weeping tears of light. "The pressure... it’s too much. Not even my father comes down here without a Level 9 Aegis Suit. Your skin... it’s starting to smoke."Jaxen didn't turn back. "The smoke isn't from the heat, Seraphina. It’s the world trying t
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