The desert stretched endlessly, a vast expanse of jagged rocks and lifeless dunes under a sky painted in perpetual twilight. Above, the Black Sun loomed—a massive, inky sphere that cast a dim, eerie glow over the barren landscape. It had appeared centuries ago, blotting out the true sun, and its presence marked the end of the old world. What remained was a land of survivors eking out an existence in the shadow of the ominous celestial body.

Korrin adjusted the tattered scarf around her face, shielding herself from the biting winds of grit and ash. She pulled her goggles tighter, glancing back at her companion, Jek. His lean frame was silhouetted against the swirling horizon as he dragged their scavenged sled, loaded with rusted metal scraps and fragments of ancient tech.

“Keep up, Jek!” Korrin called, her voice muffled by the scarf.

Jek grunted in reply, his pace slowing. “If we push too hard, the Wraithers’ll spot us,” he muttered.

The Wraithers were a constant threat—bands of raiders who prowled the wasteland, seeking to take what little others had. Korrin and Jek had managed to avoid them so far, but the closer they got to the Dead City, the riskier it became. The city was a crumbling husk of twisted skyscrapers and shattered highways, a treasure trove of scavenging opportunities—and a deathtrap for the unwary.

The two had been scavengers since they could walk, surviving on the razor-thin margins of the broken world. But this trip was different. It wasn’t just another search for parts to sell or trade. They were looking for something specific: an artifact whispered about in half-forgotten legends, a device said to hold the power to bring light back to the world.

Korrin didn’t believe in legends. She was practical, grounded. But their village was dying. Crops struggled to grow in the dim light, and water sources were becoming poisoned. If they didn’t find a solution soon, there wouldn’t be anyone left to save. So when the village elder had spoken of the artifact buried deep beneath the Dead City, Korrin had volunteered. Jek, ever loyal, had followed.

As they approached the city’s outskirts, the air grew heavier, tinged with the metallic tang of decay. The skeletal remains of the metropolis loomed ahead, towers leaning like ancient gravestones.

“Stay sharp,” Korrin said, her hand resting on the hilt of her makeshift blade.

They wove through the ruins, stepping carefully over broken glass and twisted steel. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the occasional creak of collapsing structures or the distant howl of wind through empty streets.

Hours passed as they navigated the labyrinth of debris. Finally, they reached their destination: the central plaza, dominated by the crumbled remains of a colossal monument. At its base was a jagged opening leading underground—a gaping maw into the city’s forgotten depths.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“This is it,” Korrin said, her voice low.

Jek hesitated, glancing into the darkness. “You sure about this? Feels... wrong.”

“It always feels wrong,” Korrin replied, lighting a small flare. “Let’s go.”

The tunnel spiraled downward, the air growing colder and thicker the deeper they went. The walls were lined with rusting pipes and faded warnings in a language no one could read anymore.

After what felt like hours, they entered a massive chamber. At its center stood a structure unlike anything they’d ever seen—a black, obelisk-like machine that seemed to hum faintly, its surface rippling like liquid. Around it were the remains of those who had come before: skeletons clutching shattered tools and weapons, their stories lost to time.

“This has to be it,” Korrin said, her voice filled with awe and dread.

Jek approached the machine cautiously. “If this thing’s so powerful, why didn’t they use it? Why leave it here?”

“Maybe they couldn’t figure it out,” Korrin said, though the unease in her chest suggested another answer.

As they examined the machine, they found a console embedded in its base. Its surface lit up as Korrin touched it, displaying strange, shifting symbols. She pulled out a salvaged data reader, one of the few tools she trusted, and began trying to decode the interface.

The machine responded almost immediately, its hum growing louder. Lights flared across its surface, casting eerie shadows on the walls.

Jek stepped back, his hand on his weapon. “This thing’s waking up.”

Before Korrin could reply, a deep voice echoed through the chamber—not spoken, but felt, as if vibrating in their bones.

“Why have you come?”

Korrin froze, her mind racing. “We... we’re here to fix the world,” she stammered. “Our people are dying. We need light.”

The machine’s response was slow, deliberate. “You seek the Sun Core. But power comes at a price. Do you accept the cost?”

“What cost?” Jek demanded, his voice shaking.

The machine did not answer. Instead, it projected a vision: the Black Sun dissipating, light returning to the world. But the vision darkened, showing a sprawling wasteland as the machine unleashed catastrophic energy to fuel the transformation. The price wasn’t just their lives—it was the destruction of everything around them to bring balance.

Jek shook his head, backing away. “We can’t do this. There has to be another way.”

Korrin stared at the vision, torn. The lives they could save, the generations that could thrive again—it was everything she’d ever wanted. But could she doom others to achieve it?

“Is there no other way?” she asked the machine, her voice breaking.

The machine hesitated, its hum faltering. “A sacrifice must be made. The balance must be restored. You choose.”

The console glowed brighter, and Korrin realized she could activate the machine with a single command. Her hand hovered over the controls as Jek grabbed her arm.

“Korrin, don’t. We’ll find another way,” he pleaded.

She looked at him, then back at the machine. Every decision she’d made led to this moment. The lives of her people weighed against the unknown destruction she would unleash.

Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

She pressed the activation key.

The chamber shook violently as the machine roared to life. Energy cascaded through the tunnels, and the Black Sun above began to crack and splinter. Blinding light poured through the fractures, illuminating the world for the first time in centuries.

Korrin and Jek held each other as the ground beneath them crumbled. The last thing they saw was the brilliance of the sun reborn.

Above, the desert bloomed, life returning to a world long thought dead. Beneath the Black Sun’s ruins, the sacrifice of two scavengers became the foundation of a new beginning.