Kingmaker Protocol — Cybernetic Fracture, pt IV

Desert night, rotors fade, Green glass cuts through the blade, IV tape on my wrist frays, Diamondback whispers, “Be brave.” I said, “We running or dying?” He said, “No more fucking hiding.” Red dust rose like a warning, “We came here to build something.” Dead road splits through Nevada sand, Black sun brands up the ghostland, LifeFlight lands with a cracked hand, Steel birds sleep in the dry land. IV tape where the needles lived, Ash still stuck in the blood I spit, Hospital smoke on my gown and skin, No more cages I’m dying in. Chain-link fence with a warning sign, Blackfall teeth in the power line, Cameras turn with a serpent spine, Every lens starts watching mine. Site K-9 under valley stone, Kingyard sleeps with a buried throne, Diamondback hums in my broken bones, “Everything here was never their own.” I hear minds under concrete floors, Boots count time behind bunker doors, Fear talks loud through the corridor, Thoughts bleed out like a broken war. Hangar mouths in the valley wake, Sandstorm coils like a rattlesnake, Black-site bones start to buck and shake, Something buried wants to break. I feel wires under sand, I feel guns inside their hands, I feel the whole damn desert breathe, And every lock gets on its knees. Kingmaker — wake the wire, Raise the bones from black-site fire. Kingmaker — crown the machine, They built the cage, I woke the king. Kingmaker — hands to the sky, Green light burns where dead wires lie. Kingmaker — hear me sing, They built the bones, I woke the king. Blackfall sirens split the ground, Kill squads rise from the dust clouds, Turrets click with a hungry sound, Then every barrel turns right around. They shout, “Asset! Down! Comply!” I taste static, spit reply, “Fuck your leash and classified, I’m not a file you get to fucking hide.” First shot freezes in front of me, Second bends like apology, Third one drops at my feet, Little dead star in the street. I hear their captain thinking clear, “Cut the lights and bring her here,” I smile once through blood and fear, Then kill his comms inside his ear. Drone swarm falls from the red sky, Hornet eyes with the kill-light, I raise one hand, make the code cry, Green ghosts pour through the hive mind. Engines cough, rotors scream, Tank treads kneel like war machines, Every weapon in between, Learns my name through gasoline. Black site roars, alarms all ring, Steel bones twitch on hidden strings, Diamondback says, “Don’t hack it. Feel the teeth inside the fucking thing.” Kingmaker — wake the wire, Raise the bones from black-site fire. Kingmaker — crown the machine, They built the cage, I woke the king. Kingmaker — hands to the sky, Green light burns where dead wires lie. Kingmaker — hear me sing, They built the bones, I woke the king. Deep below the desert skin, Robotic arms start reaching in, Ripping rotors, rails, and rims, Making armor from Blackfall sin. Tank plates peel like chapel bells, Drone eyes blink from severed shells, Railgun hearts begin to swell, Blackfall built its private hell. I float high in the green light, Half alive in a god-fight, Every scar becomes foresight, Every wire calls me birthright. Diamondback floods the chamber wide, Not a voice now — something alive, He says, “Firewall, don’t close your eyes. Watch the king stand up tonight.” Helicopter bones unlace, Exo-spines lock into place, Missile pods become a face, War gets built from their disgrace. Servos grind like thunder prayers, Steel ribs climb the midnight air, Blackfall stares from lower stairs, Finding out God was never theirs. One man screams, “Shut her down!” His voice folds when the bass hits ground, I turn slow in the dust cloud, And the whole black site bends down. Green eyes flare in the giant skull, Iron lungs drag the desert full, Metal fists make the bunker dull, God looks small when the king stands tall. I whisper, “I was prey before,” Now my shadow breaks the floor, No more glass, no patient door, No more running anymore. Dawn cuts red through the desert ring, Blackfall burns while engines sing, I stand small by a waking king, And dead steel starts worshiping. Kingmaker — wake the wire, Raise the bones from black-site fire. Kingmaker — crown the machine, They built the cage, I woke the king. Kingmaker — hands to the sky, Green light burns where dead wires lie. Kingmaker — hear me sing, They built the bones, I woke the king. Ash falls soft on the desert floor, Black smoke crawls from bunker doors, I don’t hear hunters anymore, Only metal begging for war. Diamondback King stands behind, Green eyes open, desert-wide, I touch steel and feel him breathe, Blackfall built him. I set him free.