The night sky burned with the orange glow of watchfires and distant artillery, casting shifting shadows over the shattered remains of what had once been a proud city. Leo crouched on a broken wall, eyes fixed on the fortress that rose like a blackened heart at the city's center: the Throne.
Its towers loomed against the smoke-stained sky, a testament to the Régime's power—and the System's hold on this dying world. Searchlights cut across the rubble-strewn streets, sweeping for signs of insurgents.
Aïcha stood beside him, her staff dim but steady. "It's worse than I thought," she whispered. "Look at those walls—layered defenses, runic wards, automated guns. We'll be slaughtered if we try to rush it."
Leo's breath misted in the chill night air. Shadows coiled around his boots, eager and restless. The System's voice pressed at the edge of his mind, seductive and cold. Let me in, it whispered. I will open the gates for you.
He clenched his jaw. "No," he muttered.
Kara approached, her rifle slung over one shoulder. She carried the weight of a thousand lives in her eyes. "We've scouted the perimeter," she reported. "Four main gates, each guarded by a platoon of Régime loyalists. Anti-magic wards cover the approaches—no easy way in."
Leo's gaze hardened. "There's always a way," he growled.
Kara's lips tightened. "Not without a lot of bodies."
Camille stumbled forward, sweat beading on his forehead. The black veins on his neck had faded, but his skin still held a sickly pallor. "Leo," he croaked, his voice thin, "they'll kill us all. We can't fight them head-on."
Leo's heart twisted. He'd promised to save Camille, to save them all. But the System pulsed beneath his skin, promising victory—at any cost.
Aïcha's staff trembled in her grasp. "There might be another way," she said, her voice hesitant.
Leo's head snapped up. "What?"
She met his gaze, her eyes shadowed. "A secret passage beneath the city—an old service tunnel that leads into the fortress. It's dangerous. Traps, wards, maybe worse. But it's our best chance to get inside without alerting the entire Régime."
Kara's eyes narrowed. "If it even exists."
Aïcha's jaw set. "It exists. I've seen the plans."
Leo's shadows coiled tighter, the System's voice whispering. Why sneak when you can conquer?
He shook his head. "We take the tunnel," he said. "If it's our best shot, we do it."
Kara studied him for a long moment. "And if it's a trap?"
Leo's eyes glowed faintly in the darkness. "Then we fight our way out."
The rebels shifted, their fear palpable.
Leo stood, the machete at his side a dark promise. "Gather the fighters," he commanded. "We move at dawn."
The System's laughter echoed in his mind, cold and triumphant. Dawn brings shadows, Leo Dormien. And shadows belong to me.
The rebel camp hummed with tension. Fires crackled low, casting jittery shadows on the cracked asphalt and broken walls. Fighters huddled in small groups, checking weapons, sharing silent prayers, their eyes drawn again and again to the fortress that loomed beyond the ruins.
Leo walked among them, his machete sheathed at his hip. Shadows coiled beneath his feet, responding to every flicker of emotion. The System's voice pulsed in his mind—a steady, insidious thrum. They're afraid of you, it purred. And rightly so.
He ignored it.
Aïcha stood near the largest fire, staff in hand, her face pale with exhaustion. Camille sat nearby, bandaged and bruised but alive. He watched Leo with a mixture of awe and fear.
Kara was waiting for him, arms folded, her eyes cold as steel. "You're making them nervous," she said without preamble.
Leo's jaw clenched. "They need to see strength."
"Strength?" Kara spat, stepping closer. "Or a monster? I saw what you did to those soldiers."
The System's laughter slithered through Leo's skull. She fears you. They all do.
He shoved the voice aside. "I did what I had to," he growled.
Kara's eyes narrowed. "You let it in," she hissed. "You embraced the darkness."
Leo's breath hitched. "And you'd rather I'd let them kill us all?"
Kara's fists clenched. "If that's the price of keeping your soul intact—maybe."
A hush fell over the camp. Fighters turned, eyes wide, waiting for the next blow.
Aïcha stepped forward, staff trembling. "Enough," she said, voice hoarse. "We don't have time for this. Leo—there may be a way to sever your bond with the System."
Leo's heart stumbled. "What?"
Her eyes glistened. "There's an ancient rite—something from before the Collapse. A ritual that can break the System's hold, but it's dangerous."
The System hissed, a sound like knives on bone. Lies. She would destroy you.
Leo's mind whirled. "How dangerous?"
Aïcha's staff dimmed. "It would require a sacrifice. Of energy—of will. Maybe even… your life."
Kara's face softened. "Do it," she urged. "Before it's too late."
Leo's chest heaved. The darkness pulsed, eager. They would kill you to save themselves.
Aïcha's eyes locked on his. "It's your choice," she whispered.
Leo's gaze fell on Camille—so small, so fragile. The System's laughter rang in his mind. They cannot save you, it crooned. Only I can.
Leo's hands trembled. "We'll talk about it after we breach the fortress," he rasped. "Right now—we need to focus."
Kara's jaw tightened, but she nodded. "Agreed."
Aïcha's staff glowed faintly. "Just remember, Leo," she said, voice trembling. "It's still your choice."
Leo's breath came in ragged gasps. Is it?
The System's laughter echoed in the darkness as the rebels turned their eyes to the fortress.
The night air trembled with the drumbeat of war. The fortress loomed above them, its black spires stabbing the sky like broken teeth. Fires burned on the walls, casting harsh light across the shattered cityscape.
Leo stood at the head of the rebel force, machete in hand, shadows coiling around his arms. Every breath felt like a battle, the System's voice pressing closer with every heartbeat.
Let me in, it whispered. Let me fight.
Kara stood to his left, rifle ready, eyes cold but determined. Aïcha to his right, staff glowing faintly. Her gaze met his, pleading and fierce. "Remember who you are," she whispered.
Leo's jaw clenched. "I remember," he rasped, though doubt clawed at the edges of his mind.
The signal came—a single flare arcing high into the night, bursting like a dying star.
Kara raised her rifle. "For the free!" she roared.
The rebels surged forward, a wave of ragged warriors armed with stolen weapons and desperate hope. Gunfire rattled through the darkness. Magic flared as Aïcha's staff unleashed bolts of lightning that danced along the fortress walls.
Leo's machete met the first Régime soldier in a blur of steel and shadow. The System's power surged through him, a cold flood of strength. Shadows lashed out, tearing through armor and flesh.
Screams filled the air. Leo felt the darkness roaring in his veins, every heartbeat a promise of power—and corruption.
"Leo!" Aïcha's voice cracked through the chaos. "Don't lose yourself!"
He turned, eyes black with the System's hunger. "I'm trying," he snarled, his voice thick with rage and something else—fear.
A bullet whined past his head. Leo spun, shadows lashing out. A soldier fell, his body rent by darkness. Leo's breath came in ragged gasps. More, the System whispered. Give me more.
The rebels pressed forward, Kara leading a charge through the breach. Explosions rocked the walls, fire and smoke billowing into the night.
Aïcha reached him, her staff trembling. "Leo! You have to stop—"
"Not yet," he growled, shadows dripping from his arms like oil. "We have to win."
Her eyes filled with tears. "At what cost?"
Leo's vision blurred, the darkness pressing closer. "At any cost," he whispered.
The System roared in triumph. Shadows exploded from him, a tide of black fury that carved a path through the Régime's defenses.
The rebels surged behind him, unstoppable.
But as the fortress gates fell, Leo wondered if he'd already lost the battle within.
The fortress walls fell like brittle glass, the rebels pouring through the breach in a tide of desperation and fury. Smoke and blood choked the air, every breath thick with the scent of burning oil and old stone.
Leo led the charge, his machete slick with blood and shadow. Every movement felt like swimming through darkness, the System's laughter a constant hiss in his mind.
Aïcha's staff glowed weakly, her voice hoarse from shouting spells. "Leo! Slow down!" she called, but he barely heard her.
The inner gate loomed ahead—a massive iron portcullis etched with runes that shimmered in the flickering light. A warning. A ward. A challenge.
Leo's breath caught. Shadows curled tighter around his arms, eager. The System's voice pressed in. It's waiting for you, it crooned. Your destiny.
A tremor shivered through the ground, a deep, grinding sound that rattled the rubble underfoot. A shape moved in the darkness beyond the gate—a massive, twisted thing of metal and flesh, its eyes glowing like dying stars.
A Régime experiment. A guardian.
It stepped forward, every movement an unnatural lurch. Its mouth opened in a soundless roar, barbed arms raised high. The shadows at Leo's feet shuddered, reaching toward the thing like kin.
Aïcha's staff flared. "Leo! That's not just a machine—it's a Revenant, merged with the System!"
Leo's machete trembled in his grip. One of mine, the System whispered, proud and cold.
The Revenant's gaze locked on Leo, its voice a chorus of agony. "Candidate…" it moaned. "Join… me…"
Leo's chest ached. The darkness surged. Yes, the System urged. Take its power. Become unstoppable.
Aïcha's voice cracked. "Leo, don't—"
The Revenant lunged, its barbed arms swinging in a blur. Leo ducked, rolling aside as the ground split under the blow. Dust and debris filled the air.
The shadows roared inside him, a tide of black fury that threatened to drown every thought. Leo screamed, the machete rising in a blur of steel and darkness.
The Revenant shrieked, its voice a dying scream that rattled the stone. Leo's blade met its chest, the darkness surging. Shadows exploded, devouring the creature in a tide of ink.
When the dust cleared, only Leo remained—kneeling, breath ragged, eyes glowing black.
Aïcha reached him, staff trembling. "Leo—"
He looked up, the darkness still clinging to him like oil. "The gate is open," he rasped.
She swallowed. "At what cost?"
Leo's chest heaved. The System's voice purred. One step closer.
He stood, the fortress's inner sanctum looming beyond the gate. "Let's finish this," he growled.
The corridor beyond the gate yawned like a wound, darkness thick and heavy. Leo's breath came in ragged gasps, each step an act of defiance against the System's relentless whisper. Shadows rippled beneath his feet, eager and restless.
Aïcha walked beside him, her staff trembling, her eyes rimmed with fear. "Leo," she whispered, "this is it. Whatever happens… don't let it win."
Leo's hand clenched around the machete. The System's voice pressed against his skull, a seductive purr. It's time, it crooned. Your destiny awaits.
He stumbled forward, through a final archway, into a vast chamber lit by a thousand flickering candles. At its heart, the Throne loomed—a jagged mass of black iron and crystal, shadows pouring from its surface like smoke.
It pulsed, a living thing, its voice a chorus of every doubt, every fear, every whispered promise. Leo Dormien, it hissed. Welcome home.
Leo's knees buckled. Every memory flooded his mind—his mother's screams, his sister's laughter, Camille's tears. All of it twisted, corrupted by the System's touch.
Aïcha's voice cracked through the haze. "Leo! Fight it!"
He raised his head. The darkness filled his vision. Join me, the Throne beckoned. Become what you were meant to be.
Leo's machete trembled in his grip. The shadows pulsed, promising power beyond imagining. He could end it all—no more pain, no more fear, only strength.
Take it, the System urged. Take it and rule.
He saw Camille's face, pale and fragile. He saw Aïcha, staff raised, tears in her eyes.
Leo's jaw clenched. "No," he growled, his voice raw. "I'm not yours."
The Throne's voice rose in a scream of rage. Then die!
The shadows surged, crashing into him like a black tide. Leo's scream echoed through the chamber as he fought to hold himself together, every thought a battle.
His machete rose, trembling. "I won't—"
The darkness poured into his veins. The System's voice thundered. Then let's see who wins.
Leo's world went black.