The Glitch Sovereign: Neural Forge

Chapter 11: The Secret of the Soul-Code

The violet light cleared as fast as it had arrived. My lungs burned, but the air was still. The estate was a skeleton of jagged stone and melted glass.

"Vaxien! Are you alive?" Nyxra’s voice cracked through the settling dust.

"I’m here," I said, wiping blood from my mouth. "Get up. We don't have long."

"The Enforcers," she gasped, stumbling toward me. "Where did they go?"

"The blast pushed them back," I said. "It won't hold them forever. Help me find Zeryth."

"Why?" She asked, her eyes wide. "He’s finished, Vaxien. Look at this place."

"He had a ring," I said, kicking through a pile of charred rubble. "A Solari heirloom. I saw a flicker inside it during the fight."

"A storage device?" Nyxra knelt beside a slumped figure. "Here. He’s over here."

Zeryth was facedown in the soot. His golden armor was cracked and blackened. I reached down and grabbed his left hand. The ring was there. It was a heavy, crimson band that pulsed with a rhythmic light.

"Give it to me," I muttered, twisting it off his finger.

"Vaxien, wait!" Zeryth groaned, his voice a pathetic wheeze. "Don't touch that. You don't know what it is."

"I know exactly what it is," I said. "I'm taking back the life you stole."

"You think this is about me?" Zeryth coughed, spitting red onto the marble. "That ring... it’s the only thing keeping the world moving."

"Shut up," I snapped. "Nyxra, scan this. Use your interface."

Nyxra took the ring, her fingers trembling. "The encryption is massive, Vaxien. It’s Sovereign-level. My system can't break this."

"Try harder," I said. "I’ll feed you the energy. Just open it."

I placed my hand on her shoulder. I pushed a stream of energy from my lungs into her neural port. Her eyes turned bright blue.

"I'm in," she whispered. "Wait. This isn't a bank account. It’s a log. A harvesting log."

"Harvesting what?" I asked.

"Soul-Codes," she said, her voice dropping. "It’s a list of names. Thousands of them. All Low-Tiers from the last ten years."

"What did they do to them?" I asked.

"They didn't just label them," Nyxra said, her face turning pale. "They extracted them. Vaxien, the High-Sovereigns aren't just ruling. They are consuming."

"Consuming?" I looked back at Zeryth. "Explain it. Now."

"The Soul-Codes are energy," Zeryth whispered, a cruel smile touching his lips. "Pure, raw life. You think we stay young by accident? You think Malakor is a hundred years old because of good genetics?"

"You eat people’s skills?" I felt a surge of cold fury. "You take their only chance at survival and turn it into a skin cream?"

"It’s not just for beauty!" Zeryth barked, trying to sit up. "It’s for the System! Without the harvest, the Soul-Code network fails! The city goes dark!"

"You are a parasite," I said, my voice dangerously low. "You threw me into the wastes because my code was too messy to eat. That’s it, isn't it?"

"You were a glitch," Zeryth spat. "You were indigestible. A waste of space."

"Vaxien, look at this entry," Nyxra interrupted, pointing at a projection from the ring. "It shows the conversion rate. One 'Steel-Skin' skill equals six months of life for a Sovereign."

"And the donor?" I asked.

"Terminated," Nyxra said. "Every single one."

"It’s the secret of the world," Zeryth laughed, his voice breaking into a sob. "Now you know. What are you going to do? Tell the people?"

"I’m going to do more than tell them," I said.

"The Enforcers are coming back!" Nyxra shouted. "I can hear the hover-boots! Vaxien, we have to run!"

"Take the ring," I said. "Keep that data live. If I die, make sure every screen in Aurelia sees this."

"I won't let you die," Nyxra said. "But we can't fight a whole army!"

"Stand back," I said.

I looked at the data-shard again. The names were scrolling. I saw a name I recognized. It was a girl I had known in the lower districts.

"They killed her for a month of extra life," I whispered.

"She was a peasant!" Zeryth yelled. "Her life was worth nothing compared to a Solari!"

I kicked him in the jaw. The sound of bone breaking filled the hall. He went limp.

"Vaxien, the doors!" Nyxra screamed.

The main entrance exploded. General Valerius marched in, followed by a wall of S-Rank shields. Their rifles were already glowing.

"Candidate Vaxien," Valerius boomed. "Hand over the Solari heirloom and surrender. You are in possession of classified state secrets."

"You mean the menu?" I asked, holding the ring up. "Is that what you call it, General?"

"You are speaking of things you do not understand," Valerius said, his eyes narrowing. "The stability of our society depends on the preservation of the High-Sovereigns."

"The stability of a slaughterhouse depends on the cows not knowing they're beef," I said.

"Final warning," Valerius said. "Drop the ring."

"Nyxra, get behind me," I said.

"Vaxien, what are you doing?" She asked. "Your energy levels are low!"

"I have plenty of energy," I said. "I just found a whole new source."

[System: Data-Shard Connection Established.]

[Warning: Attempting to absorb raw Soul-Code data will cause corruption.]

"Do it," I whispered. "Feed me the names."

"Vaxien, stop!" Nyxra grabbed my arm. "You can't synthesize human souls!"

"I'm not synthesizing them," I said. "I'm letting them out."

The ring began to glow with a blinding green light. The screams of thousands of stolen souls began to echo in my head.

"Fire!" Valerius roared.

A hundred high-frequency rounds tore through the air. I didn't move. I opened my mouth and let the green light flood out.

"Inhale," I commanded.

The rounds stopped in mid-air. The green energy wrapped around the bullets, turning them into liquid light.

"What is that?" A guard shouted. "My rifle is melting!"

"The secret is out, General," I said.

I felt my heart stop. Then it started again, beating with a rhythm that wasn't mine. My skin began to flake away, revealing a shifting, glowing code underneath.

"Vaxien, stop! You're disappearing!" Nyxra cried out in terror.

"I've never been more here," I said.

I looked at Valerius. His golden armor began to rust instantly.

"The harvest is over," I said.

Suddenly, the ground beneath us began to hum. A giant holographic face appeared in the center of the hall. It wasn't Malakor. It was something much older.

"Who disturbs the Great Feed?" The voice asked.

"The guy who's going to starve you," I said.

The floor opened up, and a massive black tentacle made of pure shadow reached for my throat.