The morning air inside Ash Fortress was unusually still.
Lucian stood atop the observation platform, looking over Sector 12. His eyes scanned the crowd gathering below—the survivors, the engineers, the soldiers in training.
And one of them… wanted him dead.
[Alert: Internal Threat Detected][Passive Scan Complete – Intent to Kill Registered: 1 Subject]
[Name: Darius Venn][Status: Survivor – Cook – Former Militia][Mental Resistance: 61%][Action Suggested: Memory Extraction]
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
So… someone had grown bold.
In the Mess Hall
Darius wiped grease off his hands, eyes flicking to the blade hidden beneath the stove.
He didn't know how—but Lucian had corrupted everything. Maxwell's death. Raine's silence. The system of fear spreading like rot.
Tonight, when Lucian came for his ration check, it would end.
A clean stab. Straight to the heart.
He thought he could still save the camp.
Ash Fortress – Interrogation Room
Lucian arrived before nightfall.
With Darius already chained.
"How…?" the man hissed.
Lucian simply gestured.
[Skill Activated: Memory Dive – Subject: Darius Venn]
[Warning: High Neural Stress – Subject survival not guaranteed]
The world around them blurred.
Suddenly Lucian stood inside Darius's memories. His childhood. His military past. His fear. His anger.
And finally—the moment he stole the knife.
"You really thought you'd get away with it," Lucian said, voice echoing through the memory space.
Darius screamed. Blood ran from his ears.
Lucian pulled back.
[Memory Extraction Complete][Subject Stability: 19% – Critical]
Execution
The survivors were gathered again.
A steel pillar had risen from the center square. Bound to it: Darius Venn.
Lucian's voice rang out, amplified by the system.
"This man planned to kill me. You call it justice. I call it foolishness."
He looked at Raine, then at the crowd.
"There will be no trial. No debate. Only consequence."
He raised a single hand.
A plasma lance shot from the sky—incinerating Darius in a flash of white light.
Gasps. Cries. One child began to sob.
Lucian spoke again, voice cold:
"You are free to hate me. You are not free to disobey."
System Update
[Dominion Loyalty Index: +4%][Terror Efficiency: +15%][New Function Unlocked: Psychological Profiling]– Predict disloyalty– Mark unstable minds– Brainwash select targets
Lucian walked away without looking back.
But Raine stayed.
She stared at the ashes for a long time.
Then whispered: "How long… before you burn me too?"