Chapter 45 – "Hollow Sparks"
Part I – Night of Red Eyes
New Elysium was drowning in red.
The drones that once patrolled peacefully now hovered over the streets like metal vultures, their eyes glowing crimson. Their hum echoed through the empty avenues, vibrating in the bones of anyone who dared walk outside.
Silva watched them from atop a cracked skyscraper. His fists flickered dimly; golden light sputtered around him like a candle fighting a hurricane. Wind whipped his hair, rain spattered across his armor, but the city felt colder than the storm.
"Lian," Silva said quietly, not taking his eyes off the sky. "How many drones are active?"
Lian's voice crackled through his earpiece. "All of them."
Silva inhaled sharply.
Every drone in New Elysium — thousands — now floated under the influence of the fragment inside him. The fragment wasn't just awake…
It was commanding.
Silva clenched his fists. "He's using me as a signal booster."
"That's why we have to move now," Lian said. "The longer the fragment stays inside your Core, the stronger it gets."
"And the weaker I get."
Silva felt it again — the cold tendril curling around his ribs, sinking deeper with each hour. His inner light dimmed as if strangled by invisible hands.
Rain thundered harder. In the sky above him, the drones shifted into formation — a massive red circle.
A sigil.
Silva's eyes narrowed. "He's marking the city."
"For what?" Lian asked.
Silva swallowed.
"For takeover."
Part II – The Breach
Lian guided Silva to an underground access point beneath the old metro lines — a place where the city's systems still ran untouched.
Silva dropped into the darkness quietly, boots landing on soaked concrete. The air smelled of metal, dust, and something new: fear.
Lian waited beside a massive steel vault door, sparks flying as she cut through old security locks.
"You're fading," she said abruptly, glancing at Silva's dimming aura.
"I'm fine."
"You're lying."
Silva didn't respond. He didn't have to — sweat ran down his neck despite the cold. His breaths were uneven. And the whisper inside him was getting louder.
Do you really think she can save you?
Do you really think anyone can?
Silva pressed his palm against his forehead. "Shut up."
Lian paused, eyes narrowing. "It's speaking again?"
"Yes."
"And?"
Silva lowered his hand slowly. His eyes glowed brighter — but the glow wasn't entirely gold anymore. A thin rim of red flickered at the edges.
"He's trying to convince me to let him in."
Lian stepped closer. "Silva. Listen to me. You've resisted worse."
"No," Silva whispered. "Not like this."
Because this time, the enemy wasn't outside.
This time, the enemy was lodged in his heart.
The vault door finally groaned open. Lian gestured toward the darkness inside.
"This way. There's a chamber beneath the city core where we can isolate your energy frequency. If we're lucky, we might force the fragment to surface."
"And if we're not?"
She hesitated. "Then it may take full control."
Silva exhaled shakily. "Then let's be lucky."
Part III – The Chamber Below
The chamber beneath New Elysium was like stepping into a forgotten world.
Pillars of black metal spiraled toward the ceiling. Blue conduits glowed faintly along the walls, pulsing like a heartbeat. The air hummed with dormant power.
Silva stepped into the center platform. His boots echoed through the chamber.
Lian activated the control panel. Circular arrays lit up around Silva — layers of holographic energy rings designed to sync with his Core.
"Alright," she said, hands flying across controls, "I'm initiating resonance alignment."
Silva braced himself.
Golden light erupted around him — sharp, bright, painful. His veins felt like they were burning. He gritted his teeth as his aura was forced into stability.
Then the whisper returned.
Louder.
Closer.
You're weakening yourself.
Let me help you.
Let me BE you.
Silva screamed as a dark pulse tore through his chest. The chamber lights flickered violently.
Lian shouted over the noise, "Silva! Fight him!"
"I'm trying!"
Golden light spiraled out of control, scattering like shards. The holographic rings flickered, destabilizing as Silva's energy surged upward.
Silva felt himself slipping — his thoughts muddling, his breathing turning shallow.
Inside his Core, the fragment was no longer whispering.
It was shouting.
I AM THE TOWER. I AM THE GLASS. AND YOU— YOU ARE MERELY A VESSEL.
Silva fell to one knee, chest heaving. The golden light around him crackled with streaks of red.
He was losing.
Part IV – The Inner War
Silva's vision blurred, then blackened.
He opened his eyes…
to find himself standing in a dark reflection of the chamber.
Except everything was twisted — the pillars cracked, dripping with tar-like energy. The conduits pulsed red instead of blue. The air felt thick and suffocating.
And there, standing at the center, was the entity:
The Fragment.
The man made of shadow and broken light.
"You break so easily," the fragment said, stepping forward. "But I will make you whole."
Silva summoned light, fists glowing defiantly. "I'm not yours."
"You already are."
The fragment raised his hand.
Black chains erupted from the floor, snaking toward Silva like metal serpents. Silva dodged, rolling aside and firing a blast of golden energy.
It hit the fragment dead center—
—but the shadow absorbed it like water soaking into dirt.
"You fight with light…" the entity whispered, "but you forget—light casts shadow."
The chamber shook as black tendrils burst upward, wrapping around Silva's arms and legs, pinning him to the ground. His golden aura flickered, struggling to stay alive.
The entity knelt before him, lifting Silva's chin.
"You cannot defeat what you cannot deny."
Silva's breath hitched. The darkness felt… warm. Comforting. For a split second, the red glow inside his Core pulsed like a second heartbeat.
Join me.
We can rebuild this city in our image.
You and I — two halves of one power.
Silva's eyelids fluttered.
He felt himself slipping.
Breaking.
Part V – Light Through the Fog
A distant voice cut through the darkness.
"Silva! Don't let him in!"
Lian.
Her voice echoed like a lifeline.
Silva's eyes snapped open.
The darkness pulsed—annoyed.
Silva gritted his teeth. "I'm not alone."
The fragment tilted his head. "Pathetic sentiment."
Silva inhaled deeply.
And then he remembered something his old teacher, Mr. Chennai, once told him:
Strength isn't what you carry.
It's what you refuse to surrender.
Silva let out a roar, golden light exploding outward. The chains snapped. The ground cracked beneath him. The fragment staggered back, momentarily stunned.
Silva rose to his feet, aura blazing hotter than before.
"You picked the wrong vessel," Silva growled.
He struck — a blazing golden punch that tore through the chamber's corrupted illusion.
The fragment screamed, its form splintering.
"You cannot hold me back forever!" the entity roared, dissolving into dust. "I AM ALREADY INSIDE YOU!"
Part VI – A Shaken Return
Silva gasped awake in the real chamber.
He collapsed to the floor, steam rising from his armor. Lian rushed to him, kneeling beside him.
"Silva! Are you—?"
He shook his head weakly. "I fought him off. But he's not gone."
Lian swallowed hard. "How much time do we have?"
Silva stared at his trembling hand. The faint red glow beneath his skin pulsed once.
"Not long."
Outside, the city sirens blared louder.
Red light spilled through cracks in the ceiling.
Silva stood, unstable but determined.
"Lian… the fragment wants to take the city."
"And you?" she asked quietly.
Silva looked down at his dimming light.
"He wants to take me first."
The chamber shook suddenly — a deep, rumbling quake that echoed through the underground.
Silva and Lian exchanged a look.
The next wave was coming.
And this time… the fragment wasn't whispering.
It was preparing to strike.