Darkness gave way to dull light as Ratom's eyes blinked open. He lay on a narrow bed, the room silent except for the low hum of hidden machinery. His body felt heavy, his head thick with leftover pain from whatever had happened before.
He wasn't alone.
Aki stood beside him, expression blank, hands folded behind his back. Lucas leaned near the wall, eyes on the floor as if he wanted to be anywhere else.
"The hell are you staring at?" Ratom muttered, voice rough.
Aki didn't flinch. "Are you okay?" he asked, his tone flat, like he was asking about the weather.
Ratom smirked weakly. "Oh, you do talk. That's new."
"I talk when I have reason to," Aki said simply. He offered a hand and helped Ratom sit up.
Ratom rubbed his temples, trying to shake the haze. "Yeah... I'm fine. How's the old man?"
"Stable. Resting," Aki replied, his voice still steady, emotionless.
Lucas said nothing. He just crossed his arms tighter.
Aki gestured to the door. "Come. We have things to show you."
Ratom was handed a fresh outfit—black fabric woven with flexible armor along the arms and chest. His old coat was gone, too damaged from battle to save. He dressed and followed them out into the city.
They walked through Yomi's streets, their steps quiet on smooth magnetized paths. The city looked different now—sharper, clearer in the dim light. People moved between dome-shaped homes, tending to plants that grew along rooftops and in hanging baskets. Wires hummed beneath the ground, invisible currents keeping the city alive.
"This is Yomi," Aki said calmly. "A city built on scraps. A city built to last."
"Yomi... land of the dead," Ratom muttered, half to himself. "Ghost Town was a better name."
Aki didn't reply.
They stopped at a building with no windows, only a thick metal door. Aki stepped forward, face blank. "Aki Hatsune. S-rank engineer," he said. A scanner bathed him in blue light. A mechanical voice answered: "Identity confirmed." The door slid open.
Inside was a room filled with old and new tech, screens glowing softly, charts and data scrolling. Strange devices lined the walls—tools Ratom couldn't name, some humming, some still. A faint buzz of electricity filled the air.
They descended a metal staircase, the air growing cooler as they went deeper. At the bottom, Ratom froze.
In front of him stood a massive pillar made of humanoid cores. The metal and glass cores were stacked in a spiral, wires running through them, lights flickering inside like dying stars. A faint hum echoed from the structure—a sound Ratom felt in his bones.
"What... what is this?" he asked, his voice low.
Aki's tone didn't change. "The heart of Yomi. This keeps us hidden. This powers everything."
Ratom stepped closer, unease crawling up his spine. He could feel it—the pain, the weight of souls still trapped inside. These weren't just machines. These were the remains of people, minds uploaded, bodies lost. Souls left behind, caught between life and death.
"You built your peace on this?" Ratom said, disgust in his voice. "On their torment?"
Aki said nothing.
Lucas broke the silence. "We need more cores. Another ten years of life for Yomi depends on it. Will you help us?"
Ratom clenched his jaw. The idea of adding to this tower of suffering turned his stomach. But he kept his voice steady. "Maybe. But first—I want to see the Divergent Key."
Aki didn't argue. Instead, he tapped on a console, bringing a map to life. A 3D model of the slums appeared, dotted with markers. A red dot moved steadily across the map's surface.
"The Divergent Key moves constantly," Aki explained. "It's guarded. In seven days, it leaves for the capital. No one here can follow without it—not those outside the Cratosphere."
He switched to another screen, showing logs: Drone scans. Heat signatures. Time-stamped movements.
April 17, 2350 - Divergent Key detected at Zone H4.Next destination: Capital sector gate.Departure window: 7 days.
Ratom stared at the data. It felt real. It was real.
Aki continued. "If you succeed—if you bring us the cores we need—we will give you the exact location of the Divergent Key before it's too late."
Lucas stepped forward. "Or maybe you don't care. Maybe you feel for them—because you're not one of us. You're no human."
Ratom's eyes flared with anger, but he kept control. "Don't push me, Lucas. You wouldn't like what happens next."
Lucas fell silent, but the tension in the room thickened.
Ratom took a long breath, gaze locked on the moving red dot on the map. He thought of the souls trapped in the pillar. The weight of Yomi's secret pressed heavy on him.
"I'll do it," he said at last. "I'll bring you your damn cores. But don't think for a second I'm doing it for you. I want that Key. And I want to see this through."
Aki nodded once. "Understood."
And so the deal was struck. The countdown had begun.
Seven days. One chance to change everything.