Chapter 9 · Pick One, Vera

Two red buttons glow in front of me like stop signs at the end of the world.

Delete Nyx. Delete Vera.

My hand's still warm from where Nyx held it. My mouth still tastes like static and something sweeter I don't want to name.

"You're stalling," Nyx says behind me.

I am. I know I am.

The buttons sit inside what looks like a server rack made of obsidian and broken code. We cracked the lock—well, I cracked it, with a kiss that went on way too long and a password Nyx whispered against my lips like a confession. Now we're here. Core access. The actual guts of the game.

And apparently my only options are murder or suicide.

"There has to be another way," I say.

Nyx moves closer. I can feel her even though she's not touching me. The air gets colder when she's near. Or maybe hotter. I can't tell anymore.

"There isn't," she says. Her voice is flat. She's using her NPC voice, the one that means she's trying not to feel things. "The system requires one anchor deletion to unlock external exit protocol. You or me."

"That's bullshit design."

"It's fail-safe design.