Peace was a strange concept in the underworld. It wasn't the absence of noise; it was the change of rhythm.
For three weeks, Station Zero had hummed with the industry of survival. The frantic screaming of the Purge had been replaced by the rhythmic clang-hiss of the Iron Forge.
Varian stood on the mezzanine level of the station, looking down at his growing empire.
To the east, near the old ticket booths, Scrap-Jack had set up a production line. Piles of dead Rust-Roach carapaces—harvested from the tunnels by Rix's scouts—were being processed. The Dregs boiled the shells to soften them, then molded them over steel forms.
Hiss.
A worker dipped a molded chest plate into a vat of chemical hardener. When he pulled it out, it was a dull, iridescent green. Lightweight, acid-resistant, and harder than leather.
[Standard Issue: Legion Carapace Armor.][Defense Rating: Tier 1.]
To the west, near the escalators, Lady Venom walked among rows of hydroponic trays. The hybrid children followed her like ducklings, their mutated hands gently pruning the glowing violet mushrooms.
"Gentle," Venom's voice drifted up, surprisingly soft. "The spores are volatile. Treat them like glass, and they will give you medicine. Squeeze them, and they will give you paralysis."
Varian took a deep breath. The air smelled of ozone, stew, and hope.
"It's working," a deep rumble came from beside him.
Gorgon leaned on the railing. His new armor—a patchwork of heavy steel plates and Roach-shell lining—creaked. "The people are eating. They're sleeping without one eye open. I haven't seen that in... ever."
"It's a start," Varian said, his eyes not resting. He was looking at the dark corridor leading deep into the station's bedrock. "But we're hitting a ceiling. We have armor, but no weapons. We have food, but no power grid. Iron-Jaw says the station's backup batteries will die in a month."
"And the Vault?" Gorgon asked.
Varian touched the black metal band on his left wrist. "It's stubborn. It wants something I don't have yet."
"Maybe it just needs a bigger hammer?" Gorgon grinned, hefting his engine-block maul.
"We tried force, remember? You broke the handle of your hammer."
Varian pushed off the railing. "Get Iron-Jaw and Rix. Meet me at the Vault. I have an idea."
The Sovereign's Threshold
The corridor leading to Armory 7 was colder than the rest of the station. The dust here hadn't been disturbed in three hundred years, save for Varian's footprints.
The massive circular door, made of gold-titanium alloy, stood defiant in the gloom. The symbol in the center—the Solar Eye—seemed to watch them.
Varian stood before it. Behind him, Iron-Jaw adjusted a bulky, portable generator he had wheeled in on a trolley. Rix was bouncing on the balls of his feet, sparks jumping between his claws.
"Explain this again," Iron-Jaw buzzed, connecting thick copper cables to the generator. "You want to jump-start a Pre-War bio-lock using a scavenged diesel engine and a rat?"
"The door isn't just a lock," Varian explained, running his hand over the cold metal. "It's a Resonance Gate. It opens for energy signatures. My Solar Core gives the right frequency, but I don't have enough amperage. It's like having the key but not the strength to turn it."
Varian pointed to Rix.
"Rix has the new Spark-Gland. High voltage."
He pointed to the generator.
"The generator provides raw current."
He tapped his own chest.
"And I provide the frequency. I'll act as the filter. We funnel the power through me, into the door."
Iron-Jaw stared at him. "You want to be a living fuse? If the resistance is too high, you'll cook your internal organs. Again."
"I have the Cryo-Gauntlet," Varian raised his arm. "And I have the Symbiote. It can handle the load. Probably."
"Probably," Iron-Jaw sighed, shaking his head. "Scrap-Jack was right. You're insane."
"Ready, Sparky?" Varian asked Rix.
Rix chittered, his blue-ringed eyes glowing. "Rix is ready. Rix make big zap."
"Okay. Connect the leads."
Iron-Jaw attached the positive cable to a conduction port on the doorframe. He attached the negative cable to... Varian's metal arm.
"Rix, grab the other side of the generator. When I say go, dump everything you have into the coil."
Varian stepped up to the door. He placed his left palm flat against the Solar Eye symbol.
He closed his eyes. He reached into his gut, finding the ember of the Solar Core.
"Ignite."
His veins began to glow gold. The Symbiote shifted, exposing the conductive channels.
[Resonance Detected.][Door Status: Awaiting Power Input.]
"NOW!" Varian shouted.
Iron-Jaw slammed the generator switch. The diesel engine roared. CHUG-CHUG-CHUG.
Rix grabbed the exposed copper coils of the generator.
ZZZZZT!
The Rat-Boy screamed—not in pain, but in exertion. A massive arc of blue electricity shot from his body into the machine, supercharging the output.
Raw energy flooded through the cables. It hit Varian's arm like a freight train.
"ARGH!"
Varian's back arched. His teeth clenched so hard he thought they would shatter. It felt like his blood was turning into lightning.
[Warning: Energy Overload.][Symbiote Capacity: 110%.][System Integrity: Critical.]
"Channel it!" Varian roared internally at the Symbiote. "Don't store it! Pass it through!"
The black sludge on his arm vibrated violently. It acted as a bridge, taking the raw, dirty electricity from the generator and Rix, mixing it with the pure Solar energy from Varian's core, and firing it into the door.
The Solar Eye symbol flared. It went from dull gold to blinding white.
THRUMMMMM.
The deep, bass vibration shook dust from the ceiling. The heavy locking gears inside the wall groaned.
"It's moving!" Iron-Jaw yelled over the roar of the engine.
The circular door began to rotate. Click-Clack-Click.
"More!" Varian screamed, smoke rising from his skin. "Give me everything!"
Rix shrieked, his fur standing on end. He discharged a final, massive bolt of blue static.
CRACK.
The locks disengaged.
The door hissed—a sound of pneumatic seals breaking after centuries. It slid open, retracting into the walls.
Varian collapsed.
The connection broke. Iron-Jaw killed the generator.
Varian fell to his knees, gasping. His left arm was smoking, the Cryo-Gauntlet hissing frantically as it pumped coolant onto his skin.
[Caloric Debt: 4,000.][Status: Stabilizing.]
"Did... did we do it?" Rix wheezed, lying on his back, twitching slightly.
Varian looked up.
Beyond the threshold, soft, white strip-lights flickered on, illuminating the room one by one.
"Yeah," Varian whispered. "We did it."
The Legacy of the Sovereign
They walked inside.
It wasn't just an armory. It was a laboratory.
The walls were lined with white polymer panels, spotless and sterile. In the center of the room stood a circular console table. And along the walls...
"By the Machine God," Iron-Jaw whispered.
Glass display cases held weapons. But not scavenged pipe-rifles or rusted swords. These were works of art.
A hammer with a head made of transparent blue crystal. A suit of armor that looked like liquid mercury frozen in time. A bow that had no string, only magnetic rails.
But most of the cases were empty. Looted long ago, or perhaps never filled.
Only one case in the center remained sealed.
Varian walked toward it.
Inside floated a spear.
It was seven feet long. The shaft was matte black, made of a material that seemed to absorb the light. The blade... the blade was a jagged shard of golden crystal, pulsing with a faint, rhythmic heartbeat.
[Item Detected: The Sun-Piercer (Prototype).][Rank: Growth-Type Artifact.][Origin: The Solar Sovereign's Personal Armory.][Condition: Dormant.]
"Growth-Type," Varian murmured. "It evolves like a beast."
He reached for the case.
Suddenly, the central console table lit up.
BEEP.
A holographic projector whirred to life. A column of blue light formed in the air, resolving into the shape of a man.
He was tall, wearing a white lab coat over tactical armor. He had messy hair and tired eyes. He looked... human. Not a god. Just a tired man.
"If you are seeing this," the hologram spoke, its voice crisp and clear, "then the Project failed. Ouroboros has fallen."
Varian, Iron-Jaw, and Rix froze.
"My name is Arthur Vance. They call me the Sovereign, but I was just the head researcher."
The hologram walked—paced—around the room.
"We tried to create the Symbiotes to fight the Invaders. We thought we could control biology. We were wrong. The Rot... it wasn't a disease. It was a counter-measure. The planet's immune system turning against us."
Varian stepped closer. "The Rot is the planet?"
The hologram didn't answer; it was a recording.
"I have locked the Zero Point—the Core Control Room. The keys are scattered. The Church has one. The Union has one. And the last one... lies within the Beast Emperors of the Wilds."
Arthur Vance looked directly at the camera. It felt like he was looking at Varian.
"Whoever you are... do not let the Church open the Zero Point. They think they can 'cure' the world by burning it. They are wrong. If they activate the Core Protocol, it won't heal the world. It will reset it. Total biological sterilization."
Varian's grip on the console tightened. Sterilization. That's what the Purge Notice meant.
"Take the Spear," Vance said. "It contains the only sample of Solar-Star Matter left. It is the key to the Zero Point. And... it is the only thing that can kill a Rot-God."
The hologram flickered.
"Survive. Adapt. Evolve. That was our motto. Make it yours."
The light died.
Silence filled the room.
"Reset the world," Iron-Jaw whispered, horrified. "Kill everything to start over?"
"That's why they hunt the mutants," Varian realized. "They think we are the infection. They want to wipe the slate clean."
Varian turned to the case. He placed his hand on the glass.
[Bio-Metric Match Confirmed.]
The glass hissed open.
Varian reached out and grabbed the Sun-Piercer.
It was heavy. Immensely heavy.
As his skin touched the black shaft, the Symbiote on his arm surged forward. It didn't consume the spear; it wrapped around the handle, fusing with it.
The golden crystal blade flared to life.
[Weapon Bonded.][Synergy: 100%.][Effect: The Spear acts as an extension of the Solar Core. It channels heat with zero caloric cost.]
Varian swung the spear. It hummed, cutting through the air with a sound like a choir.
"Zero cost," Varian smiled dangerously. "Now I don't have to starve to fight."
He turned to the other shelves.
There were vials of liquid.
[Item: Titan Blood Serum (Strength Booster).][Item: Void Essence (Stealth Booster).]
Varian grabbed them.
"Gorgon needs the Titan Blood," Varian said. "And Rix... the Void Essence might stabilize your new spark."
He handed the purple vial to the Rat-Boy.
Rix held it up to the light. "Shiny drink?"
"Power drink," Varian corrected.
Varian walked out of the vault, the Sun-Piercer in his hand. The weight of the spear felt right. It felt like destiny.
"Iron-Jaw," Varian said as they walked back into the main station.
"Yes, Sovereign?" Iron-Jaw used the title without sarcasm for the first time.
"We have a weapon. We have a base. And now we know the enemy's endgame."
Varian looked at the ceiling, imagining the miles of rock and city above them.
"The Church wants to reset the game? Fine."
He slammed the butt of the spear against the floor. A pulse of golden light rippled through the station.
"We're going to break the board."