The air in Renn's room hung heavy, a dull silence stretching between the four of them. Ashen sat with his hands clasped together, mind far away from the present. Even as his teammates quietly exchanged glances, his attention was elsewhere—fixed on the voice lingering at the back of his head.
'Simple,' Nexis's voice broke the quiet, smooth and unhurried. 'I need you to get me somewhere.'
Ashen blinked. 'Get you somewhere?'
'Yeah,' the voice hummed, cheerful. 'And the good news is, you're heading there too.'
Ashen frowned. 'I'm sorry… I'm not following.'
Nexis chuckled, low and amused. 'Theronus.'
Ashen's brow furrowed. 'What's that?'
'It's the name of the world you guys will be heading to—in, if I'm not mistaken, about a week.'
Ashen froze mid-thought, his pulse kicked. 'Hold up, how do you know that? The worlds are supposed to be chosen randomly on the final day. No one knows until the broadcast!'
'Ha, bullshit,' Nexis snorted. 'Random, huh? Sure, kid. If that helps you sleep better.'
Ashen scowled. 'You're saying it's rigged?'
'I'm saying you're naive, you all are' Nexis replied, tone suddenly colder. 'Look, I don't want to drag you into the politics of the cosmos, so let's just leave it at that.'
But Ashen wasn't having it. Not this time. 'No. Tell me. I wanna know.'
For a moment there was silence, even the faint hum of the overhead lights seemed to fade, like the entire world held its breath.
Then Nexis spoke again—this time without his usual mockery.
'Look, kid. There are a lot of things about this damn game that you and the rest of your kind with many other worlds don't know about.' His voice had an edge to it now, something sharp and old, carrying a weariness that didn't belong to a being who joked about everything. 'And I'm not going to start listing them, because we'd be here all day. But let me give you the short version.'
Ashen waited.
'There's no such thing as fairness in the Dominion shitty Games. Never was. It's more like a show—a movie where the people who wrote the script already know how it ends. You're just one of the actors who doesn't realize the cameras are rolling.'
Ashen's throat went dry as he became even more confused. 'That can't be true… You're saying all of this—the Games, the competition, the rankings—none of it matters?'
'Oh, they matter,' Nexis said darkly. 'Just not for the reasons you think.'
He paused, then continued, his tone dipping into something almost bitter. 'All this talk about prestige and titles and ascension—it's a facade. A cover story. There's something far deeper and darker wrapped around the history of this cosmic circus. But that's none of my concern. So I won't insert myself in it.'
Ashen sat in silence, trying to process what he'd just heard.
The Dominion Games—rigged? Predetermined? No. That went against everything he'd been taught, everything humanity had fought for these past ten years. The Games were supposed to be the only fair chance for humanity to rise as a civilization—a contest of skill and survival, not manipulation.
And yet…
Something about the way Nexis said it didn't sound like a bluff.
He sounded like someone who had seen it firsthand.
Ashen swallowed, a knot tightening in his stomach.
'Why are you telling me this?' he asked finally.
'Because you wanted to know,' Nexis replied simply. 'And because I need you alive long enough to help me. The rest? It's just noise.'
'Help you… how exactly?'
'By getting me to Theronus.'
Ashen frowned again. 'You still haven't explained what that place is.'
Nexis hesitated. 'Let's just say it's a world with history—some of it mine. The people who run this "game" think they know everything about the worlds they throw you into. They don't. There are things buried there—old things—that even they'd rather forget.'
Ashen's mind was spinning now. 'And you want me to take you there because… what? You left something behind?'
'Something like that,' Nexis said vaguely.
Ashen rubbed the bridge of his nose again, trying to steady his thoughts. 'You're impossible to read, you know that?'
'I'll take that as a compliment.'
Ashen sighed.
His brain felt like it was overheating. Everything about this situation screamed "bad idea." But despite that, curiosity burned in him. Nexis was infuriating—but he wasn't lying.
Ashen could feel it, there was conviction behind his words.
And then Nexis's voice grew quieter, almost conspiratorial.
'Look, I'm not going into more details now, so don't bother asking. But maybe—if you help me—I'll give you something in return.'
'What kind of something?'
'Information,' Nexis said. 'Information that could save your planet in the long run.'
That made Ashen pause.
Save his planet?
He wanted to ask more—wanted to demand details—but Nexis's tone carried that finality again.
'That's all you get for now. So… do we have a deal?'
Ashen sat there, fingers drumming against his thigh as he thought.
There was no point in denying after everything he had learned.
And the damn parasite had refused to leave his head, and would just annoy him to death if he refused so he would just see how things go.
He exhaled slowly. 'Fine. Let's say I believe you, and we really are heading to a world called Theronus. All I have to do is get you there, and you'll help me win. That's the deal, right?'
'Well,' Nexis replied, tone brightening again, 'that's the short version, but yes. You get me there, I help you win. Mutual benefit, no strings attached… well, maybe a few.'
Ashen gave a mental scoff. 'You're really not helping your case with that last part.'
'I'm just being honest. You humans appreciate that, don't you?'
Ashen shook his head, muttering under his breath. 'You're unbelievable.'
But he wasn't done questioning him.
'And that gravity manipulation from earlier—that's just one of the many tricks you can do, I presume?'
'Oh, absolutely,' Nexis said proudly. 'And I'm willing to teach you how to do it, and much more. As long as we have an agreement.'
Ashen tilted his head slightly, suspicious. 'And this won't have any side effects, right? Because human bodies aren't built for… special stuff like that.'
Nexis chuckled. 'Ah, yes. The famous "human fragility." I think I remember that reputation.'
But Ashen wasn't joking, he knew exactly what could happen when humans tried to become something they weren't.
When the Games first arrived, and humanity realized how outmatched they were, the first solution hadn't been machines—it had been adaptation.
They'd tried to modify themselves, to force evolution where nature had refused.
And for a time, it had almost worked. With the help of a smaller ally planet—one willing to share genetic data—Earth's scientists began experimenting on a select group of volunteers. Brave souls who believed they were sacrificing themselves for humanity's rise.
But the results were catastrophic.
Their bodies couldn't handle it.
The mutations twisted their forms beyond recognition. Most went mad long before their systems gave out.
In the end, the survivors begged to be killed.
Ashen still remembered the old reports that circulated during his first year at the Academy—blurred images, sealed testimonies, entire projects erased from history overnight.
After that, humanity had sworn off genetic tampering entirely.
They turned to the one thing they were good at instead—technology.
Metal didn't mutate, machines didn't scream.
That was how the Rider program had been born.
Ashen's gaze softened.
He looked down at his hand, at the faint marks where the neural-link cables connected during simulation.
They had sacrificed too much already.
'So you understand why I'm asking,' he said quietly. 'I don't want to end up like them.'
For once, Nexis didn't mock, his tone was calm, almost thoughtful. 'I know. And that's why you'll listen carefully when I say—what I offer isn't mutation. It's augmentation. I don't change you; I teach you how to use what's already there. The power is yours, I just… unlock it. Anyone can do it.'
Ashen wasn't sure whether to feel reassured or terrified.
He let out a slow breath. 'Right. Unlock it. Sounds totally safe.'
'Oh, it's not,' Nexis said cheerfully. 'But it's effective.'
Ashen groaned softly, rubbing his face with both hands. 'You're going to get me killed, aren't you?'
'Only if you're careless,' Nexis replied, grin practically audible in his tone.
Ashen slumped back in his chair, mind spinning in circles.
Theronus, rigged games, secrets buried beneath the facade of glory.
He didn't know what to believe anymore—but one thing was certain.
His life had just become a lot more complicated.
And this strange, sardonic voice in his head?
It wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.