The Soul-Code Warden: Rise of the Ghost Heir

Chapter 2: The Lowest Rung

"Faster, you useless piece of royal trash!" Brux roared, his voice echoing off the rusted cavern walls. 

I didn't answer. I couldn't. My fingers were raw, bleeding into the black dust as I clawed at the jagged Void Ore. Every time I slowed down, the Compliance Collar on my neck hummed.

"I said move!" Brux barked.

A massive surge of electricity ripped through my spine. I screamed, my body slamming into the dirt. The smell of singed hair filled the air. My vision went white for a second.

"That’s a warning," Brux sneered, towering over me. "The next one takes a year off your life."

"I'm... digging," I wheezed, pushing myself up.

"He can’t go any faster, Brux!" A small voice cried out. 

I looked up. Pip, a scrawny kid covered in soot, was running toward us. He was holding a piece of scrap cloth.

"Get back, Pip!" I hissed. "Don't come near me!"

"But Arix, your hands are shredded," Pip said, reaching out. "Wrap them in this. It’ll help."

"Stop right there, brat!" Brux yelled. 

Brux snatched Pip by the neck, lifting him off the ground. The boy’s legs kicked wildly. 

"Is this your friend, Prince?" Brux asked, a nasty smile on his face. 

"Let him go," I said, my voice shaking. "He’s just a kid. He didn't do anything."

"He broke the rules," Brux replied. "In the Scrap Heap, helping a prisoner is a crime. And I’m the judge today."

"He was helping me," I said, taking a step forward. "Punish me. Leave the boy out of it."

"Oh, I’m going to punish you," Brux said. "I’m going to teach you the most important lesson in the Abyss. People who like you... they die."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my heart hammering.

"I’m going to execute him," Brux said calmly. "Right here. In front of your soft, royal eyes."

"No!" I screamed. 

I lunged at him. I didn't have my core, but I had rage. I swung a fist at his metal jaw. Brux didn't even move. He caught my wrist and slammed a heavy boot into my stomach.

"Ugh!" I hit the ground, coughing up bile. 

"Look at you," Brux mocked, spitting on my head. "The Prince of Trash can't even protect a toddler. You're pathetic."

"Please," I gasped. "Don't do this. I'll dig double. I'll do whatever you want."

"I want you to watch," Brux said. 

He pulled a long, jagged blade from his belt. It was stained with old oil and blood. He threw Pip onto a flat stone slab. Two other scavengers stepped up to pin the kid down.

"Arix! Help me!" Pip screamed, his eyes wide with terror.

"Close your eyes, Pip!" I cried out. "Don't look at him!"

"Hold him steady," Brux commanded. "I want him to feel the rust."

"You're a coward, Brux!" I yelled, struggling to stand. "You're only doing this because you're scared I'll take your spot!"

"Scared of a mundane?" Brux laughed. "You're a ghost. You're nothing."

The collar on my neck started to vibrate. It was getting hot. Burning hot.

[Alert: Compliance Collar Voltage Leak.]

[Energy Source: External.]

[Redirect Available?]

I stared at the golden words in my vision. "Redirect?" I whispered.

"What was that?" Brux asked, raising the blade. "Praying to your dead mother?"

"I said, stop it!" I roared.

"Goodbye, brat," Brux said, swinging the blade down.

"Redirect now!" I screamed.

I didn't go for Brux. I slammed both of my bleeding hands into the damp sand at the base of the stone slab. 

"What are you doing, freak?" Brux yelled.

"Changing the rules!" I yelled back.

The golden screen flashed red. The hum of the collar turned into a high-pitched shriek. I felt a massive surge of power leave my neck. It didn't burn me. It flowed through my arms like ice-cold water.

"Wait, what’s that smell?" A guard asked.

"The air!" Another yelled. "It's glowing!"

"Die, kid!" Brux roared, putting all his weight into the strike.

The blade was an inch from Pip’s throat. Blue sparks started dancing across the sand, racing toward the stone like snakes.

"Not today," I hissed.

I gripped the dirt, and the cavern lit up with a blinding flash. 

"Argh!" Brux screamed as the blue light engulfed him.

The sound wasn't metal hitting stone. It was a thunderclap. The blade in Brux’s hand turned white-hot. 

"My hand! My hand!" Brux wailed, stumbling back as the energy threw him off the slab.

"What is happening?" The guards screamed, running for cover.

I didn't let go. I kept my hands buried in the dirt, pouring every drop of the collar’s electricity into the ground.

"You think you’re the boss?" I looked up at Brux, my teeth stained with blood. "I'm the Warden. And you're fired."

The stone slab cracked down the middle. The black ore in the walls began to glow, feeding off the surge. 

"Arix!" Pip cried out.

"Stay down!" I yelled. 

[System Overload Imminent.]

[Danger Level: High.]

[Execute Final Redirection?]

"Execute!" I roared.

The world exploded. I felt my body fly backward. The last thing I saw was Brux’s face, frozen in shock, before the smoke swallowed everything.

I woke up a few seconds later. My face was in the dirt. My neck felt like it had been hit by a train, but the collar was dead. The red light on it was gone.

"Pip?" I croaked. "Pip, speak to me."

"I'm... I'm okay," a small voice whispered.

I crawled through the dust. Pip was sitting up, shaking, but he didn't have a scratch on him. The stone slab was a pile of rubble.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"He ran," Pip said, pointing to the dark tunnels. "He was screaming about his eyes. Arix, your hands... they’re glowing."

I looked down. My palms had faint golden lines etched into the skin. They were fading, but the heat was still there.

"It's the System," I said. "It's actually working."

"Look at the air, Arix," Pip whispered. 

The golden screen was back. A map of the sector had appeared, and a bright red icon was blinking rapidly.

[Warning: Warden Signature Detected.]

[Correction Unit Approaching.]

[Time to Impact: 45 Seconds.]

"We have to go," I said, grabbing Pip’s arm.

"Go where?" He asked. "There’s nowhere to hide in the Heap."

"We aren't hiding," I said, looking toward the deep tunnels. "We’re moving to the next level."

"But that’s the Tech-Noir zone," Pip gasped. "Nobody comes back from there!"

"They haven't met me yet," I said.

A heavy, mechanical thud echoed from the entrance of the cave. The real Wardens were here.

"Run!" I shouted.

We dove into the darkness just as the first searchlight hit the spot where we had been standing.