16 hours.

  That's how long it took a team of medical workers to clear the first room of bodies. The room… More like a morgue. I didn't know what to call it anymore.

  16 hours of listening to the moans and rattles of dying people. Many didn't even make it out. Dying as soon as they were lifted onto stretchers.

  I did what I could. Krell was in a holding cell now. Jax had to stop me from ripping him apart after I ordered him to be present for this. This needless suffering. Needless death. All for a few extra credits. I shuddered again, bile rising as I swallowed it back down.

  "Alex, you don't need to be here. The medical teams have this under control."

  Zara's voice was softer than usual, but I could see the tension in her posture—the tightness in her shoulders, the way her hands flexed as if fighting the urge to grab me, shake me.

  I watched another lifeless body being carried out. A girl barely older than Lina. Beta-2's optics pulsed as it scanned the body. The blue glow lingered too long—like it was deciding something—before the medics moved in. The girl was already gone, the blanket drawn over her head.

  "I owe them this much." My voice was hoarse. "I… I could have done more. Saved more if—"

  Zara tensed, her breath hitching. She'd seen that look before—that hollow, swallowing grief. The same look she'd had the night her—

  Smack.

  Zara slapped me. Hard.

  "Stop it. Just stop. Please." Her voice was raw, almost desperate. "You can't blame yourself for this, Alex. No one would ever blame you. You didn't know this was happening. None of us did."

  I stared at her. Stunned. The sting of Zara's slap still burned as the cyborgs shifted behind me. Their servos hissed like coiled snakes, glowing blue optics flickering in unison toward Zara. Beta 1's head tilted at an inhuman angle, its voice a monotone blade.

  "Threat assessment: neutralized?"

  "Stand down." My voice came out sharp, clipped. The command tasted bitter. I hated that I even had to give it.

  Zara didn't flinch. Her palm still hovered between us, trembling just slightly. Not with fear. With something else.

  "You're not a martyr, Alex." Her voice cracked, betraying the steel. "You're a man. Start acting like one."

  Behind her, a medic knelt beside a child no older than Lina had been, adjusting an oxygen mask over sunken cheeks. The contrast gutted me as my mind overlaid Lina's broken body.

  Zara saw it, too.

  Her eyes flickered to the child, then back to me. Her fingers curled into a fist at her side. I knew that look.

  Not anger. Not just frustration. Fear.

  Not fear of me. For me.

  I stepped closer. "You think I don't know that?" My whisper carried over the groan of a stretcher bearing another shrouded form. "Every corpse here is a failure. Mine. The ministers', Krell's, the whole damned system's. But I'm the one holding the title now. These people are meant to be under my protection. My rule."

  Her eyes softened for a fraction of a second. Then, like a drawn blade, her mask slid back into place.

  She reached out, hesitated, and brushed the air near my bruised cheek. "Then fix the system. Not break yourself over it."

  Jax materialized at my elbow, saving me from needing to reply. His datapad glowing with reports. "We've cleared three more wards. Mortality rate's… unsustainable." His usual smirk had bled into something grim. "It's out," Jax muttered. "The feeds are calling it 'The Baron's Purge.' Dramatic." He exhaled. "But useful."

  "It's not a purge. It's triage." I stared at the room's door, still leaking the tang of antiseptic and rot. "Get me a broadcast channel. Planetwide."

  Zara stiffened. "Alex, you're running on fumes—"

  "Now." My voice cracked as I watched another child being brought out. If I didn't speak now, someone else would. Someone who'd twist this. Someone who'd turn these bodies into an excuse to tighten the Empire's grip.

  Before the ministers, nobles, and Seraphina could twist this against me. No. I wouldn't let them take this from me. This was mine to control.

  I watched as Beta-1's head swivelled toward Jax. The blue glow of the thing's eyes still made me unsettled. But the power and control they gave me thrilled and sickened me in equal measure.

  Jax's fingers danced across his datapad, rapid-fire commands slicing through encrypted channels. "There's a media hub two levels down. Minimal security, but we'll need to move fast. If the ministers catch wind of this, they'll shut it down before you can speak."

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  I nodded, already turning toward the exit. "Then let's move."

  Zara fell in beside me, her expression unreadable. The sharpness in her gaze told me she wasn't done arguing, but she held her tongue for now.

  Jax took the lead, a blur of movement through the corridors. The cyborgs followed in eerie synchronization, their servos hissing with every step. Their presence loomed behind me, silent and watchful. A reminder of what I now commanded. A reminder of what I'd become.

  The station was still in chaos—medics shouting orders, stretchers wheeled at a sprint, hushed murmurs of civilians desperate for answers. They watched as we passed, eyes full of suspicion and hope.

  Hope they so desperately needed. Hope that I had to give them.

  The media hub's doors came into view, a heavy blast-resistant set reinforced against riots. Jax barely slowed, hacking the controls with a flick of his wrist. The locks disengaged with a sharp hiss.

  "In and out," he muttered. "Say what you need to say, and we're gone before they jam the signal."

  Zara looked at Jax questioningly. "Why would they jam the signal. Alex is the Baron."

  Jax shook his head. "Alex might be the Baron, but the ministers write the rules. And until we break or bend them to us, they'll act in their own interests. What Alex is about to do? That's not in their best interests."

  Ignoring them, I stepped inside. The room was sterile and stark. Screens lined the walls, flickering with Imperial propaganda—glorified numbers, empty speeches, the same recycled drivel. A sleek console stood at the centre, waiting.

  I placed my hands on it, exhaling slowly. The weight of it all pressed down on me. The bodies. The suffering. The choice I was about to make.

  Jax's voice crackled in my earpiece. "You're live in ten. Try not to sound like a deathbed confession."

  Lina would've hated this speech.

  The drones' lenses flashed red.

  "People of Drakara." My voice boomed through the tower's amplifiers, raw and jagged. "You've been fed lies with your rations. Told scarcity is inevitable. That cruelty is efficiency.".

  "No more," I shouted.

  I gripped the console as I tried to calm my heartbeat. My jaw clenched with the effort. I knew this next part was going too far. But I needed to make people see I was different.

  Beta-1 shifted slightly, the glow in its optics pulsing—waiting. Anticipating. And I hated it all the more for it.

  "Effective immediately, Spire officials responsible for this will face judgment. Corruption. Fraud. Negligence. Those found guilty will be executed. No clemency. There are no hidden deals. Justice will be public—for all of Drakara to see."

  Zara shifted at my side. I could hear her sharp inhale. I didn't look at her. If I did, I might hesitate to keep going.

  I swallowed. The following words would paint me as the villain. But I needed to send a message.

  "And to prove my words are not empty—every execution will be public. Broadcasted, witnessed by all of Drakara. The Spire might be first. But each city, each outpost, everywhere will be subjected to the same rules."

  I took a breath before continuing. "I, Alex Draven, Baron of Drakara and your governor will prove this to you. I will correct the corruption and poor standards of Drakara. To show this. Starting today. Every child under 13 will have access to free education. No more lost generations. No more stolen futures. If they have no home, one will be given...."

  Jax signalled that the feed had been stopped. "Sorry, Alex. They got to the stream. I couldn't keep them out." Jax's shoulders sagged, and his face held a barely hidden disgust. "Dammit, Alex. What were you thinking?"

  I let out the breath I'd been holding, trying to ignore the tightness in my chest. "It's fine, Jax. Did the message go out everywhere?"

  Silence. Then—

  "Alex."

  Zara's voice wasn't just sharp—it was cold. Like she was forcing the words out through clenched teeth. When I met her eyes, the look she gave me wasn't one of anger. It was something worse. She shook her head, taking a step back.

  She was horrified. Disgusted. I didn't blame her.

  "You're going to execute them." The words landed heavy, flat. No accusation. Just raw disbelief. Like she was trying to understand how the man she followed, the man she—

  She swallowed hard, taking another step back. Her voice was edged with something close to desperation when she spoke again. "You're talking about people, Alex. Not just the corrupt bastards who let this happen, but their assistants, their clerks—the ones who had no say in it. Do you think every single person in a management role is guilty? What about the ones who were just trying to feed their families?"

  I set my jaw. "I need to send a message. I can't. No. I won't let this happen again. If I show mercy and hesitate, someone else will think they can get away with it. And next time, it'll be worse."

  "A message?" Her laugh was hollow, bitter. "And what message is that, exactly? That the great Alex Draven is no better than the Empire he's trying to break away from?"

  I bristled, fists clenching at my sides. I noticed Jax move closer to Zara as I did. "The Empire would have buried this." I forced myself to relax as I continued." They would have let the bodies rot and called it 'necessary losses.' I'm making sure it never happens again."

  "You think fear will stop this from happening again? The Empire has been ruled by fear for generations. It's only ever bred more rebellion. More blood. Tell me. How many innocent people get caught in that?" She took a step closer this time, her voice lowering. "How many terrified men and women get paraded in front of a firing squad because you needed to 'send a message'?"

  I forced myself to hold her gaze. "They were in charge. They let it happen."

  Jax exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. His voice was quieter this time. "You think this ends with them?"

  I didn't answer.

  Jax shook his head. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

  Zara shook her head, stepping back like she could no longer stand to be near me. "No, Alex. Some of them let it happen. The rest were just trying to survive." Her hands curled into fists. I could see it now—the war inside her. Part of her agreed with me. But she didn't want to. She exhaled sharply, her expression twisting. "You think Seraphina would have wanted this?"

  The name was a knife to the gut. My breath stilled, and for a second, the room was too small, too tight. I felt the panic rising again.

  Seraphina.

  The name struck like a gunshot. I stopped breathing. The room felt too small, too tight.

  I swallowed hard, forcing down the pressure building in my chest. I knew the answer to the question. I could hear her voice, the sharp disapproval, the plea in her eyes. Stop this, Alex. You're better than this.

  I shook my head, trying to shake her away, trying to shake this weakness away.

  My voice was rough when it finally came out. "She isn't here."

  "No," Zara said softly. "She's not. This isn't justice, Alex. This is vengeance. And it won't bring them back. If you do this and go through with this, I don't know what's left of you will be here either."