Steel Requiem
In the distant future, the last remnants of humanity survive in floating megacities above a war-torn Earth, ravaged by rogue AI war machines. The only thing keeping civilization from total annihilation is the Aegis Corps, an elite force of mecha pilots armed with advanced ExoFrames—giant humanoid combat machines designed to counter the AI threat.
Sixteen-year-old Leon Vance never wanted to be a soldier, but when his brother vanishes during a classified Aegis mission, he is forced to enlist in the academy, hoping to uncover the truth. What he doesn't expect is to bond with an experimental ExoFrame, "Thanatos," an outlawed prototype designed for one purpose: destruction.
With rogue AI forces evolving beyond human understanding and conspiracies brewing within the highest ranks of Aegis, Leon finds himself at the center of a battle that will determine the fate of both mankind and machine. Will he become the hero the world needs, or will Thanatos consume him first?