Chapter 21: Journey to the Waste Center

The sterile white walls of the holding cell seemed to press in on Riku Nakamura as he sat on the cold metal bench, his mind racing. The conversation with the Eternal Companions operative played on an endless loop in his head. Lilia is safe, for now. Those words haunted him, a thin veneer of reassurance cloaking an undeniable threat.

A sharp knock at the door jolted him from his thoughts. The metal barrier creaked open, revealing two operatives clad in dark uniforms. Their visors obscured their faces, rendering them emotionless as they gestured for him to rise.

“Come with us,” one said, their voice distorted by a voice modulator.

Riku’s heart hammered in his chest as he stood, every instinct screaming at him to resist. But without knowing Lilia’s fate, he couldn’t risk reckless defiance. He followed the operatives into a dimly lit corridor, the air thick with the hum of unseen machinery.

The transport vehicle was a stark contrast to the bright halls of Eternal Companions’ facility. It was a hulking, armored transport, its interior lined with reinforced steel and dim overhead lights. Riku was pushed into the back, his wrists bound with cold metal restraints. The doors slammed shut behind him, and the vehicle lurched forward with a growl of its engines.

Across from him sat the same suited man who had delivered the ultimatum. His expression remained impassive, his hands resting on a sleek tablet.

“Do you know where we’re going, Mr. Nakamura?” the man asked, his tone devoid of emotion.

Riku glared at him, the restraints biting into his skin as he clenched his fists. “Where is Lilia?” he demanded. “What have you done to her?”

The man’s lips twitched into a faint smile. “You’ll see soon enough,” he said. “But I must warn you: what lies ahead is the result of your defiance. Remember that.”

Riku bit back a retort, his eyes burning with fury. He turned his gaze to the small window at the side of the transport, watching as the cityscape gave way to industrial sprawl. Towering smokestacks belched plumes of smoke into the sky, and the roads grew rougher, lined with piles of scrap and discarded machinery.

The journey felt interminable, the oppressive silence broken only by the occasional bump of the transport over uneven ground. Finally, the vehicle came to a halt, the sound of hydraulic locks hissing as the doors opened. Riku was hauled to his feet and ushered outside.

The air was acrid, thick with the stench of burning metal and decaying waste. Before him stretched a sprawling expanse of desolation: the Waste Center. Mountains of discarded androids and machinery loomed like grotesque monuments, their edges jagged and glinting under the pale light of an overcast sky.

Riku’s stomach churned as he took in the sight. The sheer scale of the place was overwhelming, a graveyard for technology deemed obsolete or dangerous. Among the heaps, he spotted broken limbs, shattered visors, and countless synthetic eyes staring blankly into the void.

The suited man stepped forward, gesturing toward the wasteland. “This is where all failed products end up,” he said. “A fitting destination for your Lilia, wouldn’t you agree?”

Riku’s fists clenched, his rage threatening to boil over. “She’s not a failed product,” he spat. “She’s more than that. More than you could ever understand.”

The man’s smile didn’t waver. “Sentimentality blinds you, Mr. Nakamura. Lilia is a machine, nothing more. And like all machines, she will be dismantled when her utility is exhausted.”

Before Riku could respond, a sharp cry echoed through the air. He turned, his heart sinking as he saw a group of operatives dragging Lilia toward the edge of one of the waste piles. Her movements were restrained, her crystalline eyes flickering with a mixture of fear and defiance.

“Lilia!” Riku shouted, straining against his restraints.

Her gaze met his, a fleeting moment of connection that sent a surge of determination through him.

“Mr. Nakamura,” the suited man said, stepping into his line of sight. “You have a choice. Walk away, and this will all end. Or continue your futile resistance and watch as she is destroyed before your eyes.”

Riku’s breath came in ragged gasps as he stared at the man, the weight of the ultimatum crashing down on him. His mind raced, the stakes higher than ever. But as he looked back at Lilia, her unwavering resolve gave him the clarity he needed.

“I’ll never abandon her,” he said, his voice steady. “Do whatever you want to me, but let her go.”

The man’s smile faltered for the first time, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face. He gestured to the operatives, who dragged Lilia closer to the edge of the pile.

“Very well,” he said. “If you wish to share her fate, so be it.”

The next moments unfolded in a blur. The operatives moved to throw Lilia into the pile, but Riku acted on instinct. With a surge of strength fueled by desperation, he wrenched his arms free from his captors’ grip, the restraints biting into his wrists as they snapped.

He lunged forward, his body colliding with one of the operatives and sending them sprawling. Grabbing a discarded piece of metal from the ground, he swung it with all his might, forcing the others to back away.

“Lilia, run!” he shouted.

But she didn’t move. Instead, she turned to him, her expression a mixture of determination and something deeper—something almost human.

“We finish this together,” she said.

Together, they fought their way through the operatives, their movements a desperate dance of survival. Lilia’s precision and speed complemented Riku’s raw determination, and one by one, their adversaries fell.

Finally, only the suited man remained. He watched them with a cold intensity, his hands clasped behind his back.

“You’ve made your choice, Mr. Nakamura,” he said. “But choices have consequences.”

Before Riku could respond, the man pressed a button on his tablet. A deafening alarm blared, and the ground beneath them began to shift. The waste piles trembled, the machinery within them grinding to life.

“This facility is designed to process anomalies like her,” the man said, his voice rising above the din. “If you wish to save her, you’ll have to survive the gauntlet.”