Chapter 1 - The Summit begins
Niko's POV
The summit should have felt important.
Historic.
Four rulers standing together beneath the same roof for the first time while the entire dome watched from above.
Instead—
It felt like standing inside a room full of loaded weapons waiting for someone to breathe wrong.
The abandoned government facility groaned softly around them while cold wind slipped through cracked concrete walls and shattered windows. Dust drifted through weak overhead lights while armed fighters from every district remained positioned throughout the chamber with fingers resting dangerously close to weapons.
Nobody trusted anyone.
The dome had beaten trust out of people long ago.
Niko stood near the northern side of the negotiation chamber with his arms crossed tightly over his chest while his eyes remained locked on Kami.
She refused to look at him.
That hurt more than he expected.
Not the anger.
Not even the betrayal.
The indifference.
Weeks ago, he convinced himself that if he ever saw her again, maybe things would be different. Maybe grief had simply buried them both beneath too much pain.
But now—
Standing only a few feet away—
Kami looked at him like he was someone she used to know.
Nothing more.
And beside her stood Zayden.
Calm.
Controlled.
Watching everything with those cold calculating eyes that seemed to strip people apart layer by layer.
Niko hated him immediately.
Not because Kami stood beside him.
Because Zayden looked too comfortable around suffering.
Like pain fascinated him.
The summit chamber remained tense while the rulers settled around the long circular conference table built from old reinforced steel.
Rex sat first.
Of course he did.
The King of the West dropped heavily into his chair while leaning back like he owned the room already. Tattoos stretched along his muscular arms beneath sleeveless black leather while several members of his biker gang stood behind him laughing quietly among themselves.
Predators.
Every one of them.
But honest predators.
Rex looked exactly like the kind of man who would stab you while smiling.
Zayden was worse.
He looked like the kind of man who would convince you to hand him the knife yourself.
Niko remained standing.
So did Niala.
For a brief moment, silence settled between them.
Then Niala quietly moved toward the opposite side of the table.
“You should sit,” she said softly.
Her voice surprised him.
Calm.
Warm.
Too human for a place like this.
Niko finally looked at her properly for the first time.
The Queen of the South looked smaller up close than he expected. Not weak—never weak—but human in a way the rest of them no longer seemed.
Dark hair tied loosely back. Faint bruises visible along her arms. Exhaustion hidden beneath observant eyes that missed absolutely nothing.
And somehow—
Despite the bloodshed surrounding them—
She still looked kind.
That unsettled him more than monsters ever had.
Rex smirked from his chair.
“South Queen worried we’re gonna start killing each other before introductions?”
Niala glanced toward him calmly.
“I’m worried all of you think violence solves everything.”
Rex laughed immediately.
“That’s because it usually does.”
“Only temporarily.”
The biker king’s grin widened slightly.
Interesting.
Niko noticed it instantly.
Rex liked her already.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
The overhead system suddenly activated.
The entire chamber dimmed while glowing projections illuminated the circular table beneath them.
DISTRICT SUMMIT COMMENCING
The familiar cold voice echoed through the chamber.
OBJECTIVE:
ESTABLISH TEMPORARY INTER-DISTRICT RELATIONS
FAILURE TO COOPERATE MAY RESULT IN:
*RESOURCE REDUCTIONS
*TERRITORY PENALTIES
*INCREASED CREATURE ACTIVITY
Silence followed.
The system was threatening them openly now.
Zayden finally sat down smoothly while resting one hand against the steel table.
“It appears cooperation is no longer optional.”
“Funny,” Rex muttered. “You say that like you weren’t planning something already.”
Zayden smiled faintly.
“I’m always planning something.”
At least he admitted it.
Niko finally pulled out a chair and sat heavily beside the North insignia projected across the table surface.
Kami remained beside Zayden instead of taking an independent seat.
That hurt too.
God, everything about her presence hurt.
Niko looked away before she noticed.
Or cared.
The summit chamber fell quiet again while the rulers studied one another carefully.
Four districts.
Four survivors who somehow climbed above thousands of others.
Niko wondered briefly what they all looked like before the dome.
Normal probably.
Ordinary.
The thought almost felt impossible now.
Zayden broke the silence first.
“The creatures are evolving faster.”
Straight to business.
Expected.
Rex crossed his arms.
“No shit.”
“The Burrower attacks beneath the South,” Zayden continued calmly, “combined with the appearance of Executioners near multiple districts, confirms adaptive escalation.”
Niala’s expression tightened slightly.
“You’ve seen them too?”
“Yes.”
The East King touched the holographic display.
Instantly several creature projections appeared above the table.
Crawlers.
Titans.
Behemoths.
Executioners.
The room temperature seemed to drop watching them.
“Each evolution appears specifically designed to counter human adaptation,” Zayden said.
Niko frowned.
“You think the dome is reacting to us?”
“It’s learning from us.”
That answer unsettled everyone.
Because deep down—
They already suspected it.
The dome rewarded survival.
Then punished stability.
Every time humanity adapted—
The system created something worse.
Rex leaned forward slightly.
“So what’s your point?”
Zayden’s eyes moved slowly across the rulers.
“My point is simple. If district conflicts begin now, weaker territories collapse.”
His gaze briefly settled on Niko.
“Then the creatures overwhelm us individually.”
Niko noticed the wording immediately.
Us individually.
Interesting.
For all his manipulation, Zayden feared losing control too.
The summit doors suddenly opened behind them.
Every fighter in the room reached for weapons instantly.
A terrified medic stumbled inside breathing heavily.
“Outside movement!”
The rulers stood immediately.
Niko grabbed his steel rod while Rex pulled a handgun from beneath his jacket.
The medic pointed toward the outer compound.
“There’s hundreds of them!”
The rulers moved fast toward the shattered facility windows overlooking the dead streets outside.
Then everyone stopped.
Because the medic was right.
Hundreds.
No—
Thousands.
The streets surrounding the summit facility crawled with creatures moving through the ruined city from every direction.
Crawlers climbed buildings and wrecked vehicles while larger silhouettes dragged themselves through smoke-covered streets farther back.
Titans.
Executioners.
And something worse moving beneath them.
The summit facility was surrounded.
A system alert exploded overhead.
SUMMIT PHASE TWO INITIALIZING
Niko’s stomach dropped instantly.
Of course.
The summit itself was another event.
Another trap.
The cold system voice echoed again.
*RULERS MUST SURVIVE TOGETHER FOR 12 HOURS
*DISTRICT LEADERS MAY NOT LEAVE THE COMPOUND
FAILURE RESULTS IN:
DISTRICT COLLAPSE PENALTIES
Rex barked out a harsh laugh.
“Oh that’s fucking beautiful.”
The creatures outside shrieked violently.
Then charged the facility all at once.
The first impacts slammed against the outer compound walls hard enough to shake the building.
Screams erupted from lower defensive positions.
Gunfire thundered immediately afterward.
Chaos exploded through the summit.
Niko moved automatically toward the nearest defensive opening while fighters from every district rushed into combat positions.
Then suddenly—
Niala grabbed his wrist.
The contact shocked him briefly.
He turned sharply toward her.
“Listen to me,” she said quickly.
Her eyes were steady despite the chaos erupting around them.
“If we fight each other in this place, everyone dies.”
Another violent impact shook the building.
Niko stared at her for half a second too long.
Because somehow—
In the middle of fear and monsters and betrayal—
Her voice felt grounding.
Real.
Then Rex shouted from the barricades.
“Less flirting, more surviving!”
Niala immediately let go of Niko’s wrist while heat flashed briefly across her face.
Strange timing for embarrassment.
Another explosion echoed outside.
The summit had officially become a battlefield.
And somewhere far beyond the dome—
Millions of viewers leaned forward eagerly in their seats while betting odds skyrocketed across every district.
Because the Kings and the Queen had finally gathered together.
And the world wanted to see who bled first.
