The Soul-Code Warden: Rise of the Ghost Heir

Chapter 6: Breaking the Boss

"Is it getting harder to breathe, Brux?" I asked. My voice was calm in the dark.

"What... what did you do?" Brux wheezed. He was clutching his throat. "The air... it’s gone!"

"I used the Master-Key," I said. "I shut down the oxygen for every sector in this wing except for the three inches around my face.

You came here to kill me while I was in chains. Now you can die while you're in the dark."

[System Alert: Oxygen Levels at 2%. Life Signs: Critical.]

"I can't... see..." the second assassin whispered. 

I moved through the shadows like a ghost. I reached the third man and tapped his shoulder. He turned, his mouth wide as he tried to scream, but no sound came out. I slammed my palm into his chest. He folded like paper.

"Two left," I said, looking at Brux and his last guard.

"Stop! Please!" Brux begged. He fell to his knees. "I can't... breathe!"

"That's 'Prince Arix' to you," I said, walking right up to him. 

The last assassin tried to swing a shiv at me. I didn't even blink. I caught his wrist, twisted it until the bone popped, and watched him sink.

Now it was just me and the man who had tried to break me since day one.

"How does it feel, Brux?" I asked. "Knowing that a piece of code is more powerful than all your metal?"

"I'll... I'll give you everything!" Brux choked out. His face was turning purple. "My territory! The Scrap Heap! It's yours!"

"I already took the Scrap Heap," I said. "What else do you have?"

"The Void Ore!" Brux panted. "I have a hidden hoard! Thousands of stones! Enough to buy your way out of the Abyss!"

"Keep talking," I said.

"It's hidden in the Ventilation Hub!" He gasped. "Just... give me air! I'm dying!"

[System Note: Soul-Contract Protocol Available. Target: Brux.]

"I have a better idea," I said. "I don't want your rocks, Brux. I want you."

"What?" Brux blinked. His eyes were bloodshot.

"I’m hijacking a prison law," I said. "It’s called a Soul-Contract. Sign it, or die in the dark. Fifty seconds, Brux. The air is getting thinner."

Brux looked at the screen, then at his fallen men, then back at me. He was trembling so hard his cybernetic arm was rattling. 

"Fine!" He screamed, though it was barely a whisper. "I'll sign! Just give me air!"

"Press your thumb to the gold," I commanded.

Brux reached out with a shaking hand. The moment his skin touched the screen, a searing white light flashed. He screamed, a high-pitched sound that ended as a golden brand appeared on his neck.

[Contract Signed. Subject: Brux. Status: Eternal Slave.]

"Now," I said. "System, restore the oxygen."

The vents hissed. A blast of fresh, cold air hit the room. Brux collapsed, sucking in huge gulps of oxygen. I stood over him, watching him shiver on the floor.

"Get up," I said.

"I... I need a minute," Brux groaned.

"I said get up!" I barked.

Brux’s body jerked upward like a puppet on strings. He stood perfectly straight, his eyes wide with shock. He couldn't even control his own muscles.

"What... what did you do to me?" He asked.

"I told you," I said. "You're mine now. When I speak, your body moves. That's the law. This is a promotion. You’re the first soldier in my new army."

"The droids will be back soon," Brux said. "The Correction Units. They'll kill us both."

"The droids answer to the Warden," I said. "And the System still thinks I'm the one in charge."

I reached the hatch and placed my hand on the lock. It clicked open. I stepped out into the corridor. Behind me, Brux followed, his head bowed.

"Arix?" A voice called out.

I looked down the hall. A group of inmates were huddled near the corner. They had seen the lights. They had heard the screams.

"It’s him!" One of them shouted. "The Prince! He’s alive!"

"Wait," another whispered. "Is that... is that Brux?"

The crowd went silent. These were the men Brux had beaten and tortured for years.

They expected to see my head on a pike. Instead, they saw me walking tall. And behind me, the most feared man in the Scrap Heap was kneeling.

"Brux," I said, without looking back. "Show them who you work for."

Brux’s body moved automatically. He dropped to both knees, his forehead touching the dirty metal floor.

"I serve the Warden," Brux said, his voice cracking. "I serve Prince Arix."

The inmates gasped. Some backed away in fear, while others stepped forward, their eyes filled with hope.

"He broke him," someone whispered. "The Prince of Trash actually broke the boss."

"I didn't just break him," I told the crowd. "I'm breaking this whole prison. If you want to rot here, stay where you are. If you want to follow the man who owns the Master-Key, then get on your feet."

"Where are we going?" An inmate asked.

"To the Steampunk Wing," I said. "We're going to find the rest of our army."

"But the Wardens!" Another cried. "They have guns! They have droids!"

"I have the codes," I said, looking at the golden screen in my vision.

I started walking toward the Great Gate. Every inmate I passed fell in line. Even the guards on the balconies didn't fire. They were frozen, staring at the golden light coming from my body.

"Arix!" 

I turned to see Pip running through the crowd. He looked bruised, but his eyes were bright.

"I knew you'd come out!" Pip said, jumping onto my shoulder. "I told them you were the Warden!"

"Good job, Pip," I said. "Are you ready for a long walk?"

"I'm ready for anything," Pip said.

We reached the Great Gate. It was fifty feet high, made of solid steel. 

"Open it," I commanded.

[Command Accepted. Overriding Gate Locks.]

The massive gears began to turn. The screech of metal filled the air as the doors swung open. A blast of hot steam and the smell of coal hit us.

"Welcome to the Clockwork Grave," I told my followers.

I stepped through the gate, my boots clicking on the brass walkway. I could see the giant gears of the Steampunk Wing turning miles above the city of smoke.

"Arix, look," Pip whispered.

A massive mechanical eye was rotating toward us from the center of the wing. It was the Eye of the Abyss.

"Target sighted," a booming voice echoed. "Initiating Sector Purge."

"Get ready," I told Brux, who was trailing behind me like a dog. "This is where it gets difficult."

"What are you going to do?" Brux asked.

I looked at the giant eye and smiled.

"I'm going to blink," I said.

The brass walkway beneath us suddenly groaned, the heavy plates shifting to reveal a churning pit of gears below.