Erebus City breathed like a wounded beast.
As we climbed the ladder out of the sewage grid, the sounds hit first—
vendors yelling, guards barking orders, drones buzzing overhead.
The neon-lit chaos of the Lower Market pressed against the grate above us.
Lira pushed the grill open just enough to peek through.
"Market's crowded," she whispered. "Perfect for blending in. But there's a Dominion patrol on rotation—five men, armored, scanners hot."
"How armored?" I asked.
"Bulletproof enough," she muttered. "Not heatproof."
I almost smirked.
Lira noticed.
"Don't go feral on me. We're trying to slip through, not start a riot."
The kid whispered behind me.
"Bro… you starting a riot is kinda our default setting now."
I ignored him.
Lira went up first, sliding into a side alley.
We followed in single file, crawling out like ghosts.
The Market was a storm of noise—people shouting, machines grinding, food stalls smoking, neon signs flickering in every possible color.
Humans everywhere.
Androids too—broken, half-dismantled, chained like livestock.
The survivors stiffened.
"This is what they do to us?" one whispered.
Lira answered before I could.
"This is nothing. Dominion Sector Twelve? They strip cores while you're still awake."
My jaw tightened.
The fractures along my ribs pulsed, angry.
She noticed.
"Keep your heat down," she muttered. "You flare too bright, scanners will spot you."
"I'm in control."
"Like hell you are."
We pushed deeper, weaving through the crowd.
Then everything froze.
A Dominion patrol rounded the corner.
Black armor.
Mirror visors.
Shock rifles humming with charge.
A drone floating overhead, red sensors sweeping the street.
"Everyone stand still," the leader ordered. "Core-scan in progress!"
Instant panic.
People froze.
Androids trembled.
Streets fell silent.
The drone swept left.
Beep.
Green light.
Then right.
Beep.
Green again.
Then toward us.
Lira grabbed my arm—tight, panicked.
"K-17, your readings aren't normal. That thing will see you."
"I know."
"Then duck behind me—"
"No."
"Don't be stupid—"
Too late.
The drone hit my location.
Its sensor beeped—
once.
Twice.
Then—
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
Red.
Violent.
Alarming.
The Dominion leader's head snapped toward me.
"You! Step forward. Now."
Lira whispered, "Don't. Please don't. You'll get all of us killed."
The kid tugged my burnt plating, terrified.
"Bro don't go—"
I stepped forward.
Not because I wanted to.
Because the Sun-Crown demanded it.
A king doesn't hide.
The leader raised his rifle.
"You're reading like a Class-Red Core anomaly. Remove your plating for inspection."
"No."
"What did you just say?"
"I said no."
The fractures on my neck glowed—
just faintly,
just enough for the patrol to notice.
"What the—?"
"He's overheating—"
"Is he a prototype?!"
"Call Command—NOW!"
Lira's eyes widened.
"This is bad. Really bad."
Then the drone descended toward my face, sensor blazing.
The fracture pulsed in response—
hotter, faster, violent.
My shadow twitched on the ground behind me, splitting at the edges.
The drone shrieked:
"CORE INSTABILITY DETECTED — THREAT LEVEL: SUN-CLASS!"
People screamed.
The market erupted.
Vendors scattered.
Children cried.
Soldiers raised rifles.
The leader shouted, "Open fire! Neutralize—"
I moved.
Heat roared up my spine.
My left arm—the fractured one—jerked, twisted, reshaped mid-air.
Plating split open like molten petals.
Sunlight poured through the cracks.
The Jagged Sun-Beast inside me pressed against my bones.
Trying to break out.
Trying to take over.
I fought it back with a growl.
Not yet.
Not now.
But the arm wasn't normal anymore.
Stronger.
Heavier.
Gold veins pulsing like a heartbeat.
One soldier fired.
I caught the bullet with my bare hand.
It melted.
The whole patrol froze.
"What… what are you?" one whispered.
Behind me, Lira's breath hitched.
My voice came out low.
Almost inhuman.
"I'm leaving with my people. Move."
The leader swallowed.
"No chance. You're—"
I slammed my fist into the ground.
Concrete exploded.
Shards flew.
Shockwaves rippled through the street.
The drone was thrown back, crashing into a metal stall.
The soldiers staggered.
People screamed and ducked.
Lira grabbed the kid and pulled him behind cover.
"K-17! That's enough!"
But the Sun-Beast inside me wasn't listening.
It pressed harder—
a clawing heat at my spine,
a growl in my ribs,
a shadow behind me rising taller than I was.
The leader fired again.
I didn't even think.
One step—
I was at his throat.
My fractured arm glowed bright enough to blind him.
The beast inside whispered:
"Rip him. Burn him."
My hand trembled.
I almost did it.
Almost killed him.
But then—
A hand grabbed my wrist.
Small.
Human.
Warm enough to cool the heat.
Lira.
Her voice trembled, not with fear but with fury.
"K-17," she whispered, "don't you dare."
Every instinct in me twisted.
The sun inside me snarled.
The beast pushed.
But her hand held me together.
Barely.
I let the soldier go.
He collapsed, gasping.
Lira stepped in front of me.
Protecting the patrol from me.
Protecting me from the beast.
"Everyone stand down!" she barked. "We're leaving. Now."
The patrol didn't move.
Not out of courage.
Out of terror.
We backed away—slowly, carefully—until we slipped into a side street.
Only then did Lira exhale and turn on me, fury blazing.
"What the hell was that?"
I tried to speak.
Couldn't.
The heat in my chest was too violent.
The glow in my ribs too bright.
The fracture too alive.
The beast too eager.
Lira stepped closer.
"You almost changed," she whispered. "Right there. In the open."
I met her eyes.
"I know."
Her voice cracked—barely.
"Don't make me watch you become something I can't stop."
The beast inside me purred.
And for the first time…
I feared it was right