Chapter 13: The Dorian Collective

The Righteous Path

Burns riddled the surface of his arms, but the work could not stop. 

He’d been told to be careful—cautious was the word they’d used—but they’d also made it clear that the mechanism needed to be finished on time. No exceptions.

“Or what?” Endo had asked. 

“Or there will be consequences. Dire ones.” 

And Endo wanted nothing to do with that, so he worked tirelessly, pushing through long nights and sweltering days until the hour finally arrived—the moment of the machine’s long-awaited completion.