The city's ruins stretched out like a corpse, its bones laid bare under the dying light of a crimson sun. Leo led the way, his machete a black silhouette in the gloom. Shadows coiled around his boots, eager and restless, whispering secrets he wasn't sure he wanted to hear.
Aïcha walked beside him, her staff dim but steady. The trust between them was fragile—splintered by the darkness he'd let in—but it was enough to keep them moving. Camille trailed behind, every step a fight against the infection that still marked his cheek.
They'd traveled for hours, slipping between collapsed buildings and shattered highways, until a crumbling overpass loomed ahead. At its base, a cluster of tents and barricades formed a makeshift camp. Rebel sentries stood watch, their weapons crude but deadly, eyes hard from too many years of fighting.
Leo's chest tightened. He'd been here before—in another life, before the System chose him. Back then, he'd been a scared kid with a stolen knife and nothing to lose. Now, the darkness inside him pulsed with every breath, a constant reminder of what he'd become.
A guard stepped forward, rifle raised. "State your name," he barked.
Leo's jaw tightened. "Leo Dormien," he growled. "We're here to join the fight."
The guard's eyes narrowed. "Leo Dormien." He spat the name like a curse. "The one with the System inside him?"
A ripple of unease spread through the camp. Rebels shifted, hands tightening on weapons, eyes flicking between Leo and the shadows that coiled around his boots.
Aïcha stepped forward, her staff glowing. "He's not your enemy," she said, her voice calm but hard. "He's here to help."
A voice rang out from the barricade—a woman's voice, sharp and cold. "Help?" she sneered. "Or bring the System's corruption into our camp?"
Leo's eyes snapped up, locking on the speaker. She was tall, armor battered but clean, a scar running down her cheek. Her rifle rested easy in her hands.
"You must be Kara," Leo said, his voice low.
She raised an eyebrow. "So you've heard of me."
"I've heard you're the best hope this city has left," he said, shadows curling around his words like smoke.
Kara's gaze hardened. "Then you also know I don't trust the System. Or anyone who carries it."
Leo's fists clenched. The System's voice purred in his mind, cold and amused. She fears you. And rightly so.
Aïcha's staff sparked. "We're not here to fight you," she said. "We're here to fight the Throne."
Kara's eyes narrowed. "Then you'd better prove it."
Leo met her gaze, darkness simmering behind his eyes. "Tell me what you need," he said. "And I'll give it to you."
The wind hissed through the ruins, carrying the scent of dust and old blood. The rebels watched in silence, every eye a question that demanded an answer.
The wind carried the scent of burnt metal and old rain, the air thick with tension. Leo felt every gaze on him, eyes like blades seeking weakness. Shadows coiled at his feet, restless, eager.
Kara crossed her arms, her scarred face hard as stone. "Tell me why we should trust you," she demanded, voice like iron. "You're marked by the System. You're everything we've fought against."
Leo's jaw clenched. The darkness in his veins pulsed, cold and eager. Strike her down, the System whispered. Show them your strength.
He forced the voice back, his breath ragged. "Because I hate it as much as you do," he growled.
Kara's eyes narrowed. "Words," she spat. "Anyone can say them. But you—" She stepped closer, her rifle lowered but her presence like a blade. "You let it in. You made a pact with the very thing that's destroying us."
A murmur rose from the gathered rebels, a tide of suspicion and fear. Leo's chest burned. He could feel Aïcha's eyes on him—trust mixed with worry, hope with doubt.
"I made a choice," he said, his voice low and hard. "To save someone I love." His gaze flicked to Camille, pale and trembling. "I did what I had to."
Kara's lip curled. "And now you're its puppet," she sneered. "How do we know you won't turn on us the moment it suits you?"
The System's laughter echoed in his skull, cold and mocking. They will never trust you, it hissed. Only I will stand by you.
Leo's vision darkened at the edges. Shadows writhed, eager for violence. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to let them loose.
Aïcha stepped forward, her staff glowing with a faint, trembling light. "Leo has fought harder than any of us to stay human," she said, her voice fierce. "He's not the System. He's the one who's going to destroy it."
Kara's gaze shifted, doubt flickering in her eyes. "Prove it," she said.
Leo's breath hitched. "How?"
Kara's rifle rose, pointing at his chest. "Fight me," she said, her voice cold. "Show us you can still bleed. Show us you're still one of us."
The System roared in his head. Kill her. Take her power.
Leo's grip on the machete trembled. "If that's what it takes," he growled, stepping forward.
Kara's eyes narrowed. "No System. No shadows. Just you."
The shadows recoiled at the edges of his vision, but their hunger lingered. Leo felt the System's disapproval, its whispers like venom.
He met Kara's gaze. "Fine," he rasped. "Let's do this."
The rebels formed a loose circle, every eye on him. Camille watched, fear in his gaze. Aïcha's staff dimmed, her lips a tight line.
Kara's rifle clattered to the ground. She raised her fists, eyes blazing. "Come on, then," she spat. "Show me you're still human."
Leo's hands curled into fists. His heart thundered. The darkness waited, a coiled promise.
He stepped forward.
The circle of rebels pressed in, faces lit by dying fires and the brittle glow of Aïcha's staff. Every breath Leo took tasted of smoke and sweat, every movement a reminder of the System lurking in his veins.
Kara's fists were steady, her scarred face impassive. "Ready?" she asked, her voice like stone.
Leo's heart pounded. "Yeah," he growled.
She struck first, a quick jab to his shoulder that rattled his bones. Leo stumbled, catching himself just before he fell. Pain flared, real and grounding. The System hissed in his mind, Let me in.
"No," Leo rasped. He lunged, swinging a clumsy punch. Kara ducked, pivoted, and slammed her fist into his gut. Air whooshed from his lungs. He staggered, darkness blooming at the edges of his vision.
A chorus of cheers and jeers rose from the rebels. Some wanted blood. Others wanted answers.
Kara didn't hesitate. She circled, eyes sharp. "You're fighting the wrong battle," she spat. "The System is inside you. It's already won."
Leo's fists shook. "No," he snarled. "I'm still me."
He lunged again, fists flying. Kara blocked, countered, and drove her elbow into his ribs. Pain burst like fireworks.
He gasped, dropping to one knee. The System's laughter was a blade in his skull. Weak, it hissed. Pathetic.
Leo forced himself to his feet. "I'm… not done yet."
Kara hesitated, something like respect flickering in her eyes. "Then get up," she snapped. "We need every fighter we can get."
Leo's chest burned. "This is your test?"
Kara crossed her arms. "No. This is your test."
A hush fell. She gestured for him to follow. "Come," she said. "You want to prove yourself? Then see what you're fighting for."
Aïcha helped him stand, her staff glowing faintly. "Leo—"
"I'm fine," he grunted, every muscle screaming in protest.
Kara led them through the camp, past makeshift tents and battered weapons. The rebels watched them go, eyes wary. She stopped at a canvas flap, the inside glowing with pale blue light.
She pulled it aside. Inside, a group of engineers huddled around a device—a sphere of crystal and iron, humming with an eerie, cold energy.
Leo's breath caught. "What is that?"
Kara's face was a mask of sorrow. "A bomb," she said. "A failsafe. Designed to kill the Throne—and everything else within a hundred miles."
Aïcha's staff dimmed, her face ashen. "That's… that's suicide."
Kara's gaze was hard. "Sometimes, the only way to kill the disease is to burn the host."
Leo's stomach lurched. The System's voice pressed in, triumphant. They're desperate, it crooned. They'll destroy themselves to destroy me.
He met Kara's gaze. "How many innocents would die?"
Her silence was answer enough.
Leo's chest heaved. Shadows quivered at the edges of his vision. "There has to be another way."
Kara's eyes were cold. "You'd better find it," she said. "Because this is all we've got."
The camp's air grew heavy, thick with the scent of smoke and tension. Leo's heart thudded, every beat an echo of the System's cold laughter.
Kara's words still hung in the air like a guillotine. Burn the host to kill the disease.
Aïcha's staff trembled in her hands. "Leo," she whispered, her eyes wide with worry. "If they use that bomb, everyone here—"
A scream split the night, a sharp, tearing sound that curdled Leo's blood. Gunfire crackled in the darkness beyond the barricades.
Kara's head snapped up. "Positions!" she barked. Rebels scrambled, weapons drawn, eyes wild with panic.
Leo's machete was already in his hand, the shadows coiling like vipers around his arms. The System's voice purred, Let me in. Let me help you.
"No," Leo growled, but the darkness pressed closer.
A soldier stumbled into the clearing, clutching a bleeding wound. "Régime patrol!" he gasped, before collapsing.
The shadows surged. Leo felt the System's power at his fingertips, a tide of darkness eager to drown everything.
Kara aimed her rifle at the perimeter, her voice cold. "If you want to prove yourself, now's the time."
Leo's breath came ragged. He could feel the darkness in him, pulsing like a second heart. Use me, the System whispered. Show them what true power looks like.
A roar erupted beyond the barricade, followed by the crackle of gunfire. Figures in black armor surged from the shadows, their eyes glowing red. The Régime had arrived.
Aïcha's staff flared, lightning arcing. "Leo!" she shouted. "We can't fight them all!"
Leo's vision blurred, the darkness flooding his senses. Let me in, the System urged. Save them. Save everyone.
Leo's hands trembled. He looked at Kara, her rifle spitting fire at the advancing soldiers. Her eyes met his, defiant. "Well? Are you with us or them?"
The System roared in his mind, a black tide he couldn't hold back. Shadows exploded from his skin, lashing the ground, the walls, the air itself.
The rebels fell back, eyes wide with terror. Kara's rifle lowered, her face a mask of disbelief. "Leo…?"
He roared, the darkness surging. The first Régime soldier lunged—and Leo's machete met him in a blur of steel and shadow. Blood sprayed the ground.
Another came, and another. Leo's movements were a blur, the darkness guiding his blade with lethal precision. Every strike felt like a part of him slipping away, swallowed by the System's hunger.
The rebels watched, frozen. Fear and awe warred in their eyes.
Aïcha's voice cracked through the chaos. "Leo! Stop! You're becoming—"
He turned, shadows dripping from his arms like ink. "I'm saving us," he rasped, his voice a growl.
The System laughed, cold and triumphant. Now they see you. Now they fear you.
The last Régime soldier fell, a ragged scream fading into silence. Leo stood alone, his breath ragged, the darkness receding slowly.
The rebels stared at him, weapons lowered. Kara's eyes were wide, her voice shaking. "What… are you?"
Leo met her gaze, his eyes burning with shadows. "Your only chance," he said.
The night air was thick with the scent of blood and smoke. Shadows still clung to Leo's skin, reluctant to retreat. His chest heaved, every breath a battle to hold the darkness at bay.
The rebels stood in a loose semicircle, weapons lowered but not forgotten. Their eyes darted from the bodies of the fallen Régime soldiers to the darkness that still shimmered in Leo's veins.
Kara stepped forward, her rifle held like a shield. "What are you?" she asked, voice low and cold.
Leo met her gaze, the System's laughter a cold echo in his mind. "I'm the weapon you need," he said. "I'm the only one who can stand against the Throne."
Kara's lips tightened. "And what happens when you turn on us? When the System decides we're in the way?"
Aïcha stepped beside Leo, her staff glowing faintly. "He's not the System," she said, voice trembling. "He's the one fighting it."
Leo's breath trembled. "I've let it in," he admitted. "I had to, to save Camille, to save all of us." His eyes met hers, dark but resolute. "But I'm still me. And I will fight this thing until my last breath."
Camille's weak voice rose behind them. "Leo… you promised."
Leo turned, his chest tightening. The boy's face was pale, eyes rimmed with exhaustion. "I remember," Leo said softly.
Kara's gaze softened, but only a fraction. "If we follow you, you lead us to the Throne," she said. "No more running."
Leo nodded, shadows retreating from his arms like a dying flame. "No more running."
A hush fell. The rebels shifted, uncertainty flickering in their eyes. One by one, weapons lowered. Heads nodded.
Kara stepped forward, extending her hand. "Then let's end this," she said.
Leo clasped her hand, the darkness inside him thrumming with anticipation. "Together," he said.
The System's voice purred in his mind, a promise of power and destruction. Together, it whispered.
Leo's jaw clenched. "No," he growled under his breath. "Not with you."
He turned to face the rebels, his voice steady. "We fight the Throne. And when this is over—I find a way to be free of this thing. Or die trying."
A murmur rose from the crowd—fear, but also hope.
Aïcha's staff glowed brighter. "We're with you," she said.
Leo lifted his machete, the shadows swirling but held at bay. "Then let's get ready for war," he said.
And together, they turned toward the horizon, where the Throne waited—where destiny itself would be decided.