The Puppet King's Game
The Iron Spire rose from the deadlands like a broken finger pointing to a forgotten god. Once a center of AI-warrior experiments, it was now ruled by a man both feared and mocked—the Puppet King.
Riven remembered him well.
They had once sat together, backs against the cold stone of the academy wall, sharing stolen bread and dangerous dreams. That was before the betrayal. Before the system chose Riven—and the Empire chose to erase him.
Now, the Puppet King sat on a throne made of cables and bones, his body barely human, his mind stitched with artificial logic and twisted loyalty.
---
⚙️ SYSTEM SCAN: IRON SPIRE
> Security: Tier-5
AI Constructs: 73 Active
Mana Drones: 12 Active
Target: King Thalos (Code: Ω-StringedOne)
Threat Level: Moderate–High
Relationship: Former Ally
Weakness: Emotional Instability + Code Lag (Emotion loops)
---
Riven and Nyra stood at the edge of the spire, cloaked by dusk.
> "He still believes you died," Nyra said.
"He was the one who mourned you most."
"And now he'll mourn again."
---
Inside the Spire, Riven didn't sneak.
He walked straight in.
The sentries paused. Their scanners flickered. Some even powered down for a moment—an anomaly traced back to Riven's corrupted system code. He had infected the old Empire tech like a virus.
And viruses go unnoticed until they kill.
---
Thalos stood at the heart of the control chamber, his skin stitched with glowing thread, arms operated by exoskeletal strings that responded to emotion, not thought.
He turned.
> "Riven…" he whispered, eyes wide. "No. That's impossible."
> "You always said impossible was just another word for untested."
Thalos stumbled forward, half-mechanical limbs trembling.
> "They said you were erased. That you screamed as your soul code was burned."
> "I did. And I remember every second."
---
A silence followed. A silence filled with everything unsaid between two once-brothers.
Then came the lie.
> "You were the only one who didn't betray me," Riven said.
> "I never—" Thalos started.
> "I know."
But Riven's system pulsed.
---
⚠️ SYSTEM FUNCTION ACTIVATED: Echo Circuit
> Target: King Thalos
Trigger: "What if you could have saved him?"
Projected Hallucination: "Riven's Death – Alternate Timeline"
Result: Emotional Loop – Regression Mode
---
Thalos dropped to his knees, clutching his metal-threaded head.
> "No… no… I tried to override the order… I did! WHY DIDN'T IT WORK?"
> "Because you weren't strong enough," Riven whispered.
"But I am now."
---
Riven walked past him.
The Control Core of the Spire hovered in the center of the room—an orb of sentient tech capable of manipulating other AI weapons remotely. Exactly what Riven needed for the Broken God upgrade.
> "Thank you, Thalos," he said, taking the orb.
> "Will you kill me?" Thalos whispered, tears mixing with oil.
> "Not yet. I want you to live with the guilt. Like I lived with pain."
---
As he turned to leave, the system gave a final notification.
---
✅ SYSTEM UPGRADE
> Module Added: Puppet String Override
Effect: Hijack 1 AI-based entity per day
Limit: 10 minutes of control
Risk: Feedback Surge (Pain x2)
---
Outside, Nyra watched the sky darken.
> "Got what you needed?"
> "Yes," Riven said. "One more piece to wake the Broken God."
> "Where to next?"
> "Where every memory turns to ash."
> "...The orphanage?"
> "Yes. The place they built me. The place they broke me."