Vendetta Circuit – Chapter 13: Citadel of Ruin
Ash stood at the edge of the world.
The Citadel Wastes stretched out before him—jagged black rock, irradiated storms swirling above, lightning dancing across the cracked earth. The old war machines from the Collapse lay half-buried like rusted skeletons. No human had dared step foot here in years.
And now, the final Nexus Key fragment waited at the heart of it.
Ash tightened the straps on his gauntlet. Juno adjusted the shielding on his armor. The radiation here would fry most systems in minutes.
"Still think we're walking into a trap?" he asked her.
Juno didn't smile. "It's not a trap. It's an execution ground. The Warden wants you here."
"Then let's not keep him waiting."
They crossed the Wastes on foot—stepping over mines, dodging twitching drones still locked in endless battle scripts. The terrain moaned beneath them, as if the land itself remembered pain.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning slammed down in front of them.
And from the ashes rose Sentinel Z3R0—a towering machine once used to enforce peace. Now corrupted, glowing with red circuits and Warden sigils.
Its voice was a blend of static and rage.
"FINAL TRIAL: INITIATE TERMINATION OF SUBJECT ASH IRONVALE."
Ash stepped forward. "Come on then."
The machine lunged—its fists the size of small cars.
Ash rolled beneath the first strike, planting an explosive charge into the machine's knee. It detonated, staggering the giant. But Z3R0 retaliated with a sonic blast that sent both Ash and Juno tumbling.
Juno screamed in his earpiece. "You can't fight this thing head-on! It's got a neural lock on you!"
"Then I'll short-circuit its brain."
Ash sprinted up a ridge, dodging laser blasts. As Z3R0 prepared a final charge, Ash leapt off the edge—flipping in midair—and drove his gauntlet deep into its chest cavity.
"CRUCIBLE STRIKE—OVERCLOCKED."
The gauntlet surged, pulling power from Ash's very muscles. A burning light exploded outward as the machine screamed—its systems frying from inside.
The explosion leveled a hundred meters of wasteland.
When the dust cleared, only Ash remained—on one knee, blood dripping from his mouth.
But in front of him hovered the final Nexus fragment—glowing white, humming with ancient power.
He reached out…
Suddenly, the sky split open.
From the clouds descended a structure—impossibly massive.
The Warden's Throne.
And standing atop it…
Kael.
No longer beaten or scarred—he now wore a crown of neural spikes, his body fused with dark alloy. His voice echoed through the valley.
"You passed every trial. Took every piece. But you still don't get it, Ash."
"This was never about fragments. It was about remaking the world."
The ground shook.
From every direction came enemies—champions Ash had defeated before, now resurrected with machine enhancements.
Juno's voice was panicked. "Ash—they're calling it! The final tournament! The Endgame Protocol!"
Kael raised his hand.
The champions charged.
Ash stood, wounded but defiant.
"This ends now."
He clenched his fists. The Crucible roared back to life.
The circuit was complete.
And war was coming.
End of Chapter 13
Next up: Chapter 14 – The Endgame Protocol