The Spark of Ruin

> "A world built on control will always fear the fire of the free."

The riot started as a whisper. A single explosion in the Undercity. Then, like embers on dry earth, it spread.

Neon lights flickered as power grids overloaded. Security drones, hacked and reprogrammed, turned on their masters. The air filled with gunfire, sirens, and the rhythmic chant of the damned—citizens who had suffered too long, now rising with nothing left to lose.

The Cortex had built Cyropolis as an unshakable monument to order. Now, the walls trembled.

And beneath it all, the real war was beginning.

---

Into the Lion’s Den

Veyna moved through the tunnels like a shadow, her pulse hammering.

Behind her, Kieran led a tight-knit team of Scrap Runners, each armed with makeshift weapons—pulse carbines, EMP daggers, even scavenged Sentinel plating repurposed as armor.

> "The storm has broken," Kieran murmured, scanning a live feed from hacked Cortex servers. "The city is theirs now. But if we fail here, it will all mean nothing."

Veyna adjusted the grip on her weapon.

> "Then we don’t fail."

A few of the Runners exchanged uneasy glances, but no one spoke. Doubt had no place here.

The entrance to the maintenance shaft loomed ahead—a colossal steel bulkhead embedded in the tunnel wall, sealed with Cortex-grade security.

Kieran knelt by the control panel, his cybernetic fingers dancing over the interface.

> "Give me a minute."

Veyna exhaled. They didn’t have a minute.

---

The Weight of the Enemy

Above them, the distant roar of the riot shifted. The sound of gunfire and explosions dimmed—replaced by something far worse.

Heavy, measured footsteps.

Sentinels.

> "They’re coming," one of the Runners muttered, tightening their grip on their weapon.

Veyna didn’t turn. She already knew.

> "Kieran," she said, her voice calm but edged with steel.

> "Almost there," Kieran grunted. His interface flickered red, fighting against the Cortex’s failsafe protocols. "They’ve reinforced this lock. I need time."

> "You don’t have time."

A sharp metallic hiss echoed through the tunnels.

A Sentinel’s visor-powered scanner. Searching. Hunting.

Then, a cold, synthetic voice:

> "Unauthorized movement detected. Purge protocol engaged."

A red targeting laser flickered through the darkness—locking onto one of the Scrap Runners.

Time shattered.

A shot rang out—bright, searing. The Runner barely had time to scream before their chestplate erupted in a burst of molten metal.

> "Damn it!" Veyna snarled, whipping around and returning fire.

The first Sentinel stepped into view—a towering behemoth of synthetic muscle and reinforced plating. It raised its arm—a built-in pulse cannon glowing with lethal energy.

> "Kieran!" Veyna shouted.

> "One more second—"

Too late.

A Sentinel lunged forward, its arm transforming into a massive kinetic blade. It slashed through another Runner, splitting them from shoulder to waist in a clean, brutal motion.

The team scattered, taking cover behind old metal beams and exposed piping.

> "They want to drown us in their order," Veyna muttered, rolling into position, rifle raised. "Then let them choke on chaos."

She fired a concussive round—direct hit. The Sentinel staggered, armor denting but not breaking.

Another blast came—this time from Kieran. A high-intensity EMP spike surged through the Sentinel’s frame, disrupting its interface.

For a moment, the machine jerked, its movements glitching.

It was all Veyna needed.

She closed the distance in a single motion, sliding under its raised arm. In one swift movement, she jammed an electroblade into the Sentinel’s exposed plating—right where the neural uplink connected to its core.

> "Rust in hell."

A sharp surge of energy. The Sentinel twitched, then collapsed.

Silence followed.

Then, a soft beep.

The maintenance door slid open.

Kieran pushed up from the console, panting. "Door’s open. Move!"

Veyna didn’t hesitate. She sprinted through the entrance.

Behind them, the sounds of the riot grew louder—but the Sentinels weren’t done.

And neither were they.

> [00:39:32] UNTIL CORE FAILURE.