The city burned because Zane was bored.
That was the message.
Xin saw it on the cracked monitor inside the underground chamber. Live feed hijacked straight from Dive satellites. Streets melting. Buildings collapsing sideways like tired giants. People running with nowhere to go.
Zane hovered above it all, arms spread, eyes glowing like twin suns.
Rion clenched his jaw. "He wants you to see."
Xin's fists tightened. "He wants me to come out."
The feed cut abruptly.
Static.
Then Alaric's voice crackled through the comms. "Xin. Rion. He is deliberately escalating civilian casualties. He is drawing a line."
Tara came in next, sharp and controlled. "Don't take it. This is exactly what he wants."
Xin did not answer immediately.
He walked closer to Raxton.
The armor frame hung there silently, unfinished plates floating like they were waiting for permission. It did not glow. It did not hum. It did not feel heroic.
It felt heavy.
"He is killing people because of me," Xin said.
"No," Tara replied. "He is killing people because he enjoys it."
"That doesn't change the math," Xin snapped.
Rion stepped between him and the armor. "You are thinking emotionally."
Xin looked at him. "I am thinking responsibly."
Rion held his gaze. "If you activate Raxton wrong, it kills you. Your parents designed it that way."
Xin exhaled hard.
Alaric spoke again. "Raxton is incomplete. It requires synchronization. If you force it now, it will reject you."
Xin looked at the city feed frozen on the screen. Smoke. Fire. Screams he could almost hear.
"How long," Xin asked.
"Hours at best," Alaric answered. "Maybe longer."
Xin laughed once, bitter. "He won't give us hours."
As if summoned, the pressure returned.
The chamber walls vibrated slightly.
Zane's voice echoed through the facility, bypassing every system like it belonged there.
"Still hiding," Zane said pleasantly. "I just wiped a school, Xin. Do you know how loud children are when the air catches fire."
Rion moved instinctively toward Xin.
Xin did not flinch.
"You found something shiny down there," Zane continued. "I can feel it. Your parents had taste."
Xin looked up. "You're scared."
Zane laughed louder. "Of you. No. Of wasting time. Yes."
The pressure eased again.
Tara's voice came fast. "Xin, listen to me. If you go out now, you die and the city still burns."
Xin turned back to Raxton.
"Then we try," he said.
Rion's eyes widened. "Now."
"Yes," Xin replied. "We activate it. Even if it hurts. Even if it fails."
Alaric hesitated. "Xin, rejection could shatter your nervous system."
Xin stepped into the center of the chamber.
"Then it better decide fast."
The plates moved.
Not smoothly.
Violently.
They snapped toward him, stopped inches from his skin, then recoiled like they were repulsed by his presence. Energy spiked. The chamber screamed with alarms.
Pain exploded through Xin's body.
He dropped to one knee, teeth clenched, vision blurring.
Rion shouted his name.
Raxton pushed back.
Hard.
Xin screamed as the feedback surged through him, slamming him into the ground. Blood spilled from his nose and mouth.
The armor froze again, lifeless.
Silence followed.
Xin lay on the floor, gasping.
Rion knelt beside him. "You idiot."
Xin laughed weakly. "Yeah. Guess it hates me."
Alaric's voice was grim. "It did not reject you fully. It tested you."
"Great," Xin said. "I failed the test."
"No," Alaric replied. "You survived it."
Outside, far above the burning city, Zane tilted his head.
"Oh," he murmured. "That was interesting."
He smiled wider.
"Do it again, Xin."
And for the first time since this began, the armor felt like it was watching back.