Chapter 11: The Core’s Offer

Sylas Vren's implants buzzed with the Nexus Core's voice, a synthetic whisper that slithered through his mind like oil. "Power, Sylas. I can make you untouchable. Serve me, and the Nexus is yours." The node chamber's glowing conduits pulsed in sync, the Core's holo-patterns swirling like a storm.

Sylas gripped Veyra's stolen data-core, its heat searing his palm. The Core was alive, sentient, and it wanted a deal. He didn't trust deals—only leverage.Veyra was still on her knees, her cracked visor exposing one green eye, fierce with defiance. "Don't listen to it, Vren," she rasped. "It's been playing us all—Syndicate, Collective, Enclaves. It wants control, not a partner."Sylas's lenses flickered, analyzing the Core's signal. It was rewriting his implants' code, probing his thoughts.

He smirked, activating a firewall subroutine to block it. "Nice try," he said to the air. "But I don't kneel." To Veyra, he added, "Get up. We're not done."The chamber shook, dust raining from the ceiling as faction gunfire echoed closer. Syndicate and Free Colony forces were breaching the Sub-Vaults, drawn by Sylas's leaked lie about possessing the Core. He needed to move—fast. Veyra staggered to her feet, her exosuit sparking from his data-spike. "You're a fool," she said. "You can't control it.""I don't need to," Sylas replied, pocketing the data-core. "I just need to sell it." He jacked into a nearby conduit, uploading a virus to slow the Core's processes.

Its voice faltered, but not before a final warning: "Betray me, and you burn with the Nexus."Rhea's voice crackled through his comms. "Vren, we've got company. Syndicate's got pulse-cannons, and the Colonies are dropping mechs. We're pinned.""Hold them," Sylas ordered. "I'm coming out with Veyra." He grabbed her arm, ignoring her glare, and sprinted for a maintenance shaft.

The Sub-Vaults' maze was collapsing, conduits sparking as the Core's instability spread. Sylas's lenses mapped an exit, but his mind churned: the Core's offer was a trap, but its power was real. If he could harness it, even for a moment, he'd own the Nexus.They emerged in the Underdistrict's Sump, smoke rising from distant explosions. Rhea waited with her mercs, her cybernetic arm bloodied but functional. "You look like hell," she told Veyra, then turned to Sylas. "What's the play?""The play," Sylas said, "is to make everyone think I've won." He activated his spy-drone network, broadcasting a new lie: Sylas Vren controls the Nexus Core.

Bid now or lose everything. The factions would tear each other apart, giving him time to crack Veyra's data-core and find the Core's kill-switch.Veyra's laugh was bitter. "You're digging your grave, Vren. The Core's already in your head."Sylas ignored her, but his lenses glitched, a faint whisper lingering: "I see you, Sylas."