shreyash_shankar

In 2179, Earth lies fractured, dominated by four rival factions: the capitalist Consortium, the devout Covenant, the feudal Dominion, and the idealistic Collective. Amid the chaos, the neutral zones offer lawless refuge and perilous opportunity.

Kael Drayen, a scavenger from the neutral zone, discovers something he shouldn't have. Pursued by factions and torn between their promises of salvation, Kael forms a fragile alliance with a doubting priestess, a haunted knight, and a conflicted operative.

As secrets unravel, Kael faces impossible choices: wield the Aegis to unite the world, destroy it to prevent tyranny, or forge a new path in a fractured age.

A gripping tale of survival, power, and the cost of hope, "The Fractured Age" explores the fate of a broken world—and whether it can be saved.

The Fractured Age

Kael closed the door behind him, locking it with a mechanical click before shrugging off his coat. The room was dimly lit, the faint hum of electronics filling the space as he crossed to the far wall.

A data pad hung there, waiting. He retrieved a small, nondescript data chip from his pocket and slid it into the slot.

The screen flickered. Lines of encrypted text ran across the interface, symbols shifting as Solver—his modified decryption computer—began its work.

He still didn't fully understand Solver.

It had been a black-market acquisition, something he had stumbled upon years ago when he barely understood half the tech he was working with. It could crack encrypted data chips—sometimes in minutes, sometimes in weeks. He had never questioned its origins before.

Now he was starting to realize what kind of monster he had been using blindly.

The screen stabilized, displaying a list of energy substations across Gron.

This is where my death seems to be waiting.

The data didn't lie. The more he pieced together, the clearer the picture became: some of these substations weren't just drawing power—they were siphoning it in ways that didn't match the city's infrastructure at all.

He started reorganizing the data, sorting by energy consumption.

Station No. 7 and 9 were drawing the highest amounts—so much that they could have been running entire separate grids.

Station No. 4 sat in the middle, fluctuating between spikes and lows.

Station No. 8 had the lowest draw—but was still well above standard usage.

Kael leaned back, running a hand through his hair.

This wasn't just an anomaly.

This was something big.

And someone was trying very hard to keep it hidden.

The Problem with Being Too Smart

For two years, Kael had pushed boundaries.

At first, it had been simple—fixing broken circuits, optimizing systems, making things run better. But then came the real work—the black-market tech, the energy siphons, the questions that weren't supposed to be asked.

And now, Kael had crossed the line.

Because whoever controlled these substations was going to notice.

And they weren't going to like what he had found.

Kael exhaled sharply, cracking his knuckles before bringing up additional system logs.

First order of business: Map the connections.

If these substations were pulling energy off the grid, then they had to be redirecting it somewhere.

Second: Identify the purpose.

Was this a research facility? A hidden weapons project? A rival faction's base?

Or was it something far worse?

And if someone was planning to shut him up before he could?

Kael had spent years learning how systems worked.

Now, he was about to break them.

Ch 69: The Silent War