The freight yard opened into a dead industrial district—old smokestacks, busted conveyor belts, cracked asphalt. Beyond all that, rising like a jagged skyline of rusted teeth, stood the outer wall of Erebus City.
A human stronghold.
A checkpoint maze.
A place androids like us were hunted on sight.
The kid gulped. "Bro… we're actually going in there?"
"Yeah," I said. "We don't have a choice."
Lira walked ahead without fear, her rifle slung over one shoulder, her steps sharp and confident.
She moved like she owned the ground under her feet.
"Keep close," she whispered. "City patrols double numbers at dawn."
One of the older androids muttered, "Why should we trust a Dominion deserter?"
She didn't even glance at him.
"You shouldn't," she said. "But I'm still your best shot."
And deadass — she was.
We reached the first barrier: a broken floodgate tunnel half-collapsed, water dripping down its mossy walls. The only path into the city without getting cooked by scanners.
Lira crouched near the entrance, checking the ground.
"Human tracks," she murmured. "Recent. Two hours old. Not military boots… refugees, maybe."
"How do you know?" one of the androids asked.
She shot him a cold look.
"I was trained to read death trails before I could drive."
I watched her hands move—precise, quick, confident.
It was annoying how good she was.
We entered the tunnel.
The air inside was freezing, carrying the reek of rust, sewage, and something else—
Blood.
The kid gagged. "Oh hell nah… something died in here."
Not something.
Someone.
The tunnel opened into a clearing where the ceiling had collapsed, letting in pale morning light.
Bodies lay scattered across the concrete.
Humans.
Starved.
Frozen.
Curled into each other like they tried to stay warm until the end.
The older android shook. "We can't stay here—"
Lira snapped, "Quiet."
She knelt beside one of the bodies.
"Scavenger gang," she said. "Throats cut. Fresh."
Great.
As if the city wasn't deadly enough, now we had gang butchers on the route too.
Before I could respond, a sharp pain stabbed behind my eyes.
A pulse.
Then another.
The sun-core.
No—
the Crown.
Something in the air demanded a decision from me.
A rule.
A judgment.
A king's choice.
The Sacrificial Crown System had awakened.
The voice inside me hissed like burning metal:
"Choose. Pass the dead. Or bury them.
Either way… the throne will collect its due."
Lira noticed me pause. "You good?"
No cap, I wasn't.
I stepped toward the corpses.
My jaw clenched.
The survivors watched me.
Waiting.
Expecting something from me.
I hated it.
But I also knew the truth:
If we left the bodies unburied, scavengers would track us by scent.
If we buried them, soldiers could notice the disturbed earth.
Both carried risk.
I made the call.
"Bury them," I said. "We don't leave humans or androids for the rats."
Lira blinked.
A small flicker of approval flashed in her eyes before she hid it.
But the Crown didn't hide anything.
It struck.
A blinding flash of heat knifed through my skull.
My nose bled.
My vision warped.
A memory was ripped from me—
a voice, soft, laughing
someone sitting beside me
someone I once—
Gone.
Just gone.
I stumbled, gripping the tunnel wall.
The kid ran up. "K-17! Bro, you good?!"
Lira grabbed my arm, stabilizing me.
"Talk to me," she demanded. "What the hell was that?"
I forced the words out.
"Crown… cost."
"What did it take?" she asked, eyes sharp.
I swallowed.
"I don't know. But it hurt."
She didn't let go of my arm.
For a second, the battlefield-hardness in her eyes softened.
Just a second.
Then she dropped my arm and masked her face again.
"Get it together. Patrol's coming."
We worked fast, dragging the bodies into a shallow ditch of broken concrete and rubble.
I heated the dirt to seal it—my hands glowing, steam rising.
When it was done, Lira whispered something under her breath.
A prayer, maybe.
Or a curse.
We moved on.
The tunnel's far end opened into a vast drainage canal that cut into the underbelly of the city. Faint lights glowed above—neon signs flickering awake as Erebus stirred.
Lira pointed up the slope.
"That ladder leads to the sector's sewage grid. From there, I can get you past the checkpoints."
"And after that?" I asked.
She smirked.
"After that, you owe me."
The sun-core pulsed viciously at her words, like it didn't appreciate making deals with humans.
I ignored it.
The kid tugged the burnt plating on my chest again.
"K-17… look."
On the far side of the canal, shadows moved.
Fast.
Silent.
Predatory.
Scavenger gang.
Lira tensed. "Shit… they're early."
I cracked my knuckles.
"Then let's handle it."
She stared at me, eyes glowing faintly.
"You're going to get yourself killed."
I stepped past her.
"Stay behind me, Lira."
Something flickered in her expression—shock, annoyance, maybe something else.
"Don't tell me what to do," she muttered.
Too late.
I was already walking toward the incoming shadows, heat building under my skin, cracks glowing brighter.
And deep inside my ribs, the Sun-Crown whispered:
"Burn more. Give more.
A king pays in blood."