《One Last Dive: Into The Abyss》
Prologue
Prologue
Initializing Dive¡
Connection Established.
MOTD: Welcome, Player.
A deafening buzz filled Cedric¡¯s ears, followed by the familiar sensation of weightlessness. His HUD flickered, data scrolling in the periphery of his vision.
> [System Override]: Unauthorized Entry Detected
> [WARNING]: Deep-Dive Stability at 89%
> Destination: Unknown Instance ¨C Classified Zone
Suddenly, the world snapped into focus.
Cedric stepped out of the swirling vortex of energy, boots landing on cold stone. Behind him, the arcane portal shimmered and collapsed with a hiss, leaving him in an eerie, unlit chamber. His Minimap pulsed in the top-left corner of his HUD¡ªblank. No connections. No signals. Not a single waypoint.
"Great. Another blackout zone."
He tightened his grip on his [Silver Dagger], scanning the empty room. Years of experience had taught him that places like this never stayed quiet for long. He crouched, slid his linen Sack off his back, and reached inside.
> [Inventory Opened]¡
> Selected Item: [Flash Crystal] x2
Pulling out a small, translucent stone, he covered his eyes and tossed it onto the floor.
> [Item Activated]: [Flash Crystal]
> Effect: Emits 5-second burst of intense light
A sudden explosion of brilliance filled the chamber. In that moment, Cedric caught a glimpse of stone walls, a stairway descending into darkness, and a single wooden table covered in dust. Then, the light faded, leaving only a dim glow from the dying crystal.
> [Quest Updated]: [One Last Dive]
Retrieve the ancient tome for The Watch. Reward: [UNKNOWN]
"One last dive¡¡± Cedric muttered.
That¡¯s what he always told himself. That this was the last job. That he¡¯d retire after this. But his [Reputation: Notorious] suggested otherwise. He moved quickly, descending the stairs with practiced ease.
The Flash Crystal finally burned out, plunging him into darkness.
> [WARNING]: No Light Source Detected
> Visibility Reduced: -50% Perception
With a sigh, he pulled another [Flash Crystal] from his sack and activated it. As the light flared to life, he spotted an opening in the wall¡ªa narrow crawlspace barely wide enough to squeeze through.
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"Just my luck!" He thought to himself.
Cedric sheathed his dagger, dropped to his hands and knees, and crawled forward.
> [Environment Hazard]: Confined Space
> Agility Check Passed!
A minute later, he emerged into a grand library, its towering bookshelves stretching into the darkness beyond. Unlike the previous rooms, this one was fully illuminated by floating orbs of blue light. At the far end of the room, a single book lay open on the wooden table. And beyond that, a pair of reinforced basement doors stood shut.
His Quest Log pinged.
> [Objective Updated]: Retrieve the book.
"This is too easy..." Cedric smirked. Moving through the rows of shelves, he mindlessly grabbed any book that looked valuable, stuffing them into his sack.
> [Inventory Updated]:
> [Rare Codex: Elemental Theory]
> [Ancient Scroll: Forbidden Summoning]
> [Tattered Journal] (Unreadable)
He reached the table and glanced at the open book. Gold-lettered script on a black leather cover read:
> [Necromancy: The Dark Art]
> [WARNING]: High-Level Magical Disturbance Detected!
As soon as his fingers touched the cover, a piercing shriek filled his head. His vision blurred. The room around him twisted.
A Vision Sequence had begun.
> [Vision] Activated¡
> Location: The town of Litharious ¨C Post-Annihilation State
The town was gone. Fire raged through the streets. Demonic creatures clawed at the screaming townsfolk, tearing them apart with ravenous hunger. At the heart of the carnage stood a tall, robed figure, his skeletal hands raised over the kneeling survivors. The air around him cracked with unstable necrotic energy. Cedric tried to move¡ªtried to run¡ªbut his body was frozen in place.
The robed figure turned. Two glowing red eyes burned beneath the hood.
The vision snapped out of existence.
Cedric stumbled backward, gasping for breath. He looked down¡ªhis hands trembled violently.
> [Status Effect] Applied: [Terror]
> Debuff: -25% Reaction Time, -10% Accuracy (1 Minute)
His Minimap flickered, and a New Objective appeared.
> Deliver the book.
"If this thing is what The Watch wanted¡ maybe I shouldn¡¯t be handing it over."
Before he could decide, a raspy voice shattered the silence. "Thieving scum!"
Cedric spun around, dagger in hand.
A frail man in tattered robes emerged from behind a bookshelf. His Nameplate flickered¡ª[Unstable NPC: ???]¡ªand his Threat Level was¡ unknown.
"This isn¡¯t good." He muttered to himself.
The NPC''s eyes burned with desperation. "Drop the book! You have no idea what you''ve done!".
Cedric¡¯s Battle HUD flickered into view.
> [Combat Initiated]
> Opponent: [Unstable NPC: ???]
> Status: Agitated
Cedric tightened his grip on his dagger. "Stand down and walk away."
The man lunged.
Cedric reacted on instinct.
> [Attack]: [Dagger Strike]
> Critical Hit!
The blade plunged deep into the NPC¡¯s throat. Blood sprayed as the man collapsed, his mouth opening and closing in a silent scream.
A system notification popped up:
> You have killed [Unstable NPC: ???].
> No XP earned (Non-Combatant).
"Shit!"
Cedric retrieved his bag, but before he could move¡ªA low growl rumbled through the chamber. The basement doors shook.
Suddenly, they burst wide open.
A wave of pure darkness surged outward, carrying an unholy screech that rattled the walls. Cedric staggered backward as his HUD glitched, error messages filling his vision.
The corpse of the man he had just killed began to convulse. Cedric watched in horror as bones tore through flesh, as muscle and sinew peeled away, as a bloodstained skeleton sat upright.
Its empty sockets filled with burning red light¡ A horrible scream filled the air.
> [WARNING]: Boss Encounter Initiated!
> Opponent: [The Necromancer]
> Threat Level: LETHAL
From the depths of the basement, a towering figure emerged. The same robed being from the vision. It lifted a skeletal hand and pointed at Cedric.
"Whose blood stains my sanctuary?" The voice was deep, layered with something that wasn¡¯t human. "Who dares awaken me?"
Cedric¡¯s HP bar plummeted as a green energy blast tore through his chest.
> You have been inflicted with [UKNOWN SKILL].
> HP Critical.
Cedric collapsed. His vision darkened. His body was paralyzed. The last thing he saw was the Necromancer looming over him.
> [Fatal Error]: Data Corruption Detected
> Player Connection Terminated.
Darkness swallowed him whole. And as the world faded, his last thought echoed in his mind¡ª
"No... Not like this..."
GAME OVER
Chapter 1 - The Aftermath
Chapter 1 - The Aftermath
The air inside the raid site was thick with the acrid smell of burnt electronics. Sparks flickered from severed cables; the remnants of a once-thriving deep-dive den now reduced to a charred skeleton of its former self. The hum of high-voltage machinery dying its final breaths was overshadowed by the muffled groans of those caught in the net. Some lay motionless, disconnected mid-dive, their bodies spasming from the neural shock of being forcefully ripped from the outlawed network. Others stared in dazed horror as CyberWatch Omega operatives moved through the wreckage, weapons drawn, ensuring no one had the chance to reconnect.
Outside, beyond the smog-choked alleyways, a fleet of unmarked black vehicles stood waiting. The operatives moved with precision, each step rehearsed, each action calculated. Those who resisted were subdued with brutal efficiency, and their bodies tossed onto the pavement like discarded junk. The message was clear¡ªthere was no refuge for those who still sought the Abyss.
¡°Clear the remaining servers. Burn whatever¡¯s left,¡± a voice barked through the comms.
The operative speaking wore the dark insignia of CyberWatch Omega¡ªa black ops unit sanctioned to eliminate any remnants of the hidden internet. He moved toward the back of the room, where an array of deep-dive rigs lay half-melted from the EMP blasts. His visor flickered with a data scan, showing fractured remnants of an illegal connection still pulsing weakly in the system. He reached down, crushed the main terminal beneath his boot, and the last signal from the Abyss blinked out.
The Abyss. A forgotten name, barely spoken in public anymore. It had once been a beacon of limitless possibility¡ªa leap in technological advancement that changed the very foundation of what was known as "the internet." The internet became a place you could physically go to, as corporations pushed out a seemingly endless stream of devices that would send you into the digital world. Each version of these devices got more advanced, more affordable, smaller, and offered a deeper level of immersion. Quickly, the distinction between the internet and reality became almost impossible to tell apart when using these new technical devices called "divers."
Major sporting events, massive multiplayer games, and countless other entertainment venues drew billions of people in over many years. This provided even more incentive to push the envelope, and devices became even more mainstream until it finally happened; the technology to transport your conscious self was rolled out to the masses, and integration into the internet was as seamless as ever.
This continued until the first death.
No one really remembers, and it was never well documented. On the contrary, it was contested exactly how and when the first person died within virtual reality and as a result, in base reality. What was documented clearly was that artificial intelligence was blamed, and the public was sold the idea that unsanctioned code changes developed completely within the internet by non-human entities led to a human death. It wasn''t long after this¡ªa matter of months¡ªbefore it was banned globally. Every new device was ordered to be destroyed, and the obsolete networks and servers that made up "the internet" became known as the Abyss.
People flooded the market to migrate to the "GlobalNet," which was no longer a place but accessed by more traditional means such as screens or displays and navigated with peripheral devices. Global corporations led the way to abandon what was framed as "old, dangerous tech" and return to a safer alternative, the "GlobalNet." Humanoid AI within virtual environments was largely left behind and not migrated; instead, a simpler, heavily regulated AI was introduced. Sports went back to being played in reality, multiplayer games were played behind a display, and people ventured outside of their homes to visit venues once again.
CyberWatch Omega was formed shortly after this.
Many years passed, and by this time, the Abyss was only accessed by hackers and digital nomads who built a new frontier beyond the reach of corporate governance. The everyday citizen had long since accepted that the Abyss was nothing more than a ghost story, a relic of an age where information was truly free. Now, only the desperate, the criminals, and the truth-seekers still tried to reach it.
They had been hunting these pockets of resistance for years, their methods ruthless, their operations buried beneath layers of classified reports. They had crushed the last remnants of organized digital resistance in what was known as the Cobalt Purge, an operation spanning multiple continents that saw thousands of rogue servers wiped off the map overnight. Before that, they had infiltrated and dismantled the Leviathan Network, a loosely affiliated group of ex-corporate programmers who had sought to revive deep-dive access through encrypted relays.
Their reach was vast, their influence woven into every major security framework, ensuring that even whispers of the Abyss were met with swift and brutal action. Their black-ops teams didn¡¯t just shut down illegal networks¡ªthey ensured that those who dared to revive them disappeared entirely. Tonight was just another successful mission, another step toward erasing what little remained of the digital underground.
The operatives continued sweeping the building, their boots crunching against broken glass and charred circuitry. In the back room, they found a dozen more rigs, their users still connected, their minds severed from reality. A technician wearing CyberWatch¡¯s standard neural stabilizer gear knelt beside them, checking vitals.
¡°Half of these are brain-dead,¡± he muttered. ¡°The rest will need full neural recalibration. Not that it matters. They¡¯ll never be allowed back online.¡±
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One of the agents scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s what happens when you swim too deep. They should¡¯ve stuck to the GlobalNet.¡±
The everyday internet, the one corporations controlled, the "GlobalNet," was sanitized and predictable. The Abyss, by contrast, was chaos incarnate¡ªfragments of old systems, AI strongholds, remnants of forgotten networks fused into an ungoverned nightmare. The people who risked diving into it weren¡¯t just criminals. Some were desperate. Others were seekers of something purer, something beyond the censored and controlled landscape of the modern world.
But it didn¡¯t matter. Tonight, another access point had been erased. Another gateway to the Abyss was closed forever.
Ethan watched from his apartment; his gaze locked onto the breaking news report. The feed displayed a professional yet emotionless anchor detailing the raid¡¯s ¡°success.¡±
¡°Tonight, international task force CyberWatch Omega has once again struck a decisive blow against illegal deep-dive dens,¡± the anchor¡¯s voice droned. ¡°The covert operation successfully dismantled a major hub of digital crime, preventing unauthorized access to the outlawed system known as the ¡®Abyss.¡¯ Officials state that multiple individuals were apprehended, and illegal equipment was neutralized.¡±
The footage cut to grainy aerial shots of the raid¡ªarmed enforcers storming the dilapidated hideout, tech-heads clawing at their headsets as they were yanked from the digital world. Some screamed. Some didn¡¯t wake up.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. He had seen enough raids over the years, but something about this one felt¡ off. The way they framed it. The details they left out.
His grip tightened around the coffee cup in his hands, the warmth grounding him against the chill crawling up his spine. It was the next headline that nearly made him drop it.
¡°In related news, Cedric Halloran, an independent software developer, was reported deceased today. Official records cite a fatal neural overload as the cause of death, linked to unauthorized deep-dive activity.¡±
Ethan¡¯s chest tightened. His fingers dug into the ceramic. His body went completely cold, his gut turned, he went numb.
Cedric.
His brother.
Cedric was all he had since childhood. He knew his brother had worked for the CyberWatch, which was being celebrated moments ago for their success. This news headline seemingly read like there was no connection between his brother and CyberWatch at all. Ethan knew Cedric was on Task Force Omega. They shared everything together, perhaps too much at times.
Cedric was deeply embedded; he often did the most dangerous jobs of diving into the illegal networks undercover to locate their real-world locations that led to these raids.
He barely heard the rest of the broadcast. Words like ¡°dangerous tech,¡± ¡°classified data breach,¡± and ¡°justice served¡± blurred into the background as static filled his mind. His jaw clenched as the screen transitioned back to images of the raid, lingering too long on a particular shot¡ªone of the dive rigs, fried beyond repair. No bodies shown.
That was the first red flag.
He exhaled sharply, forcing himself to think. The official story was that Cedric had suffered a neural overload¡ªa common enough fate for reckless divers. But Cedric wasn¡¯t reckless. He was calculated, meticulous. And if he had gone into the Abyss, it was because he was sent there!
Ethan pushed himself away from the table and took a deep breath, but before he reached the window, a memory surfaced¡ªhis last conversation with Cedric.
They had met at The Iron Tap, their usual spot, a small bar tucked away in a quieter part of the city, far from the ever-watchful drones and corporate billboards. Cedric had been different that night¡ªdistracted, jumpy. His fingers drummed erratically against the condensation-covered glass of his beer. Ethan had noticed right away.
"You alright, man? You look like you''ve seen a ghost."
Cedric had forced a laugh, but it hadn¡¯t reached his eyes. "Just work. The usual. Nothing to be concerned about."
That was a lie. Cedric had always told him everything¡ªuntil recently. Lately, he had become tight-lipped about CyberWatch, his usual rants about their methods growing less frequent. That night, he barely touched his drink, glancing toward the entrance every few minutes as if expecting someone to walk in.
"I swear, if you don¡¯t tell me what¡¯s going on, I¡¯ll start thinking you¡¯re in some serious shit." Ethan had leaned in, trying to get his brother to open up.
Cedric had sighed, rubbing his temples. "Ethan, listen... If anything happens¡ª" he hesitated, then shook his head. "Forget I said anything. Tell me about this new game you''re playing."
"Wait, don''t change the subject Cedric, what were you saying?"
Cedric''s eyes seemed to widen as he looked out the window into the street. He downed the rest of his beer and stood abruptly, tossing some credits onto the table. "I just spotted someone I gotta see, I gotta go, I''ll see you online later tonight."
And that was it. The last time they had spoken. The last time Ethan saw his brother alive.
The memory faded as Ethan reached the large window of his apartment. Outside, the cityscape sprawled endlessly, a fusion of steel and neon. Towering skyscrapers pulsed with holographic advertisements, their shifting imagery displaying the latest corporate slogans promising security, innovation, and prosperity. Streets below were clogged with automated transport pods, weaving between pedestrian walkways illuminated by artificial daylight.
The rain had started again, a fine mist rolling over the city, reflecting the constant glow of digital billboards. Surveillance drones hovered lazily, scanning the populace with unblinking red sensors.
Few people remembered a time before GlobalNet, before CyberWatch became the unchallenged authority in digital spaces. Society had adapted, accepting the curated, controlled network as the only safe way to access information. The idea of free, unregulated cyberspace was dismissed as lunacy, a relic of an age gone by.
Ethan had never been one to believe in conspiracy theories, but tonight, staring out into the city suffocated by CyberWatch''s reach, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he was standing on the edge of something much larger than himself. A light rain pattered against the glass, the glow of holographic billboards reflecting in the droplets. His apartment was small, cluttered, filled with old tech¡ªdisassembled components, tangled cables, and dusty monitors stacked against the walls.
He ran a hand through his dark, slightly unkempt hair, his lean frame tense with frustration. His sharp green eyes scanned the skyline, the flickering lights doing little to distract him from the growing suspicion gnawing at his gut.
Something was wrong. Something was missing.
Ethan turned back to his workstation, his fingers drumming against the desk as his mind raced. He knew Cedric better than anyone. He wouldn¡¯t have gone in blind, and he sure as hell wouldn¡¯t have let himself die for nothing.
He needed answers.
And there was only one place to find them.
Chapter 2 - Into the Underground
Chapter 2 - Into the Underground
Ethan sat in the dim glow of his workstation, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. His apartment was cluttered with old tech, tangled wires, and obsolete hardware¡ªa relic of his past life as a hacker and game designer. The official reports on Cedric¡¯s death didn¡¯t add up, and if there was one thing Ethan had learned from years of navigating hidden networks, it was that truth rarely aligned with official narratives.
The GlobalNet had its limitations. It was clean, regulated, and curated¡ªscrubbed of any digital grime that corporations and government agencies deemed unnecessary. Ethan wanted real answers that the media wouldn''t provide him, and so he was going to go beyond that. He needed to break into Cedric¡¯s GlobalNet personal cloud files.
Cedric had been careful. Very careful. Ethan knew his brother better than anyone¡ªhe didn¡¯t trust the privacy of the GlobalNet anymore than he did. But it was worth a shot. In a strange manner it felt like this was all he had left of Cedric, a digital footprint.
Ethan cracked his knuckles, inhaling deeply before diving in. Cedric¡¯s cloud encryption was formidable, an intrusion prevention system that might as well been a digital fortress. Quantum proof. Breaking this encryption wouldn''t be an easy task. The first few layers fell easily enough, his years of experience navigating illegal networks serving him well. But then¡ª
ACCESS DENIED.
A sharp curse slipped from his lips. He adjusted his approach, bypassing a few lower-tier security keys, only to be hit with another lockout.
WARNING: THREE FAILED LOGIN ATTEMPTS. SYSTEM MONITOR ENGAGED.
His heart pounded. Had Cedric anticipated this? Had he built an active trap for intruders? If Ethan triggered a failsafe, he could lose access forever. He flexed his fingers, forcing himself to stay calm. Think.
He traced the security sequence again, isolating a small gap in the failsafe mechanism. It was a backdoor¡ªbut why would Cedric have left this here? Did he even know it was here? Had someone been in Cedric''s personal files before him?
Ethan exploited it anyway, deploying the script''s payload to disguise himself as an authorized user.
ACCESS GRANTED.
Relief flooded through him, but it was short-lived. He wasn¡¯t just looking at logs and encrypted notes¡ªCedric had been tracking something massive. Conversations between CyberWatch agents, unauthorized dive coordinates, flagged anomalies in the Abyss. Why was Cedric hoarding all this data? It must have been important to him. If CyberWatch were to find out that even a portion of this data was here Cedric would have been in deep shit.
One folder caught his eye: ¡®Failsafe.¡¯ Ethan clicked it open, revealing a single text file. The contents were brief but chilling.
¡°Kira Volkov.¡±
Ethan¡¯s breath hitched. He checked the timestamp of the file creation; it predated his death. This file was left here by Cedric. He had no idea who Kira was, but Cedric had trusted her enough to leave her name behind. Ethan fired up the GlobalNet people-search directory and punched in her name. Kira Volkov. No profile picture. No personal details. Just a secure contact line marked *inactive*.
He hesitated for only a moment before activating his own private relay and sending a message:
*Ethan:* I need to talk with you about Cedric.
Seconds passed. Then a minute. Nothing.
He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Maybe she was already gone. Maybe CyberWatch had gotten to her first. Maybe¡ª
His screen flickered. A message appeared.
*Kira:* If you value your life, you¡¯ll stop digging.
Ethan exhaled sharply, his fingers tightening into fists. *Too late.*
*Ethan:* I¡¯m not stopping. Meet me.
Another long pause.
*Kira:* You¡¯re playing a dangerous game, Ethan. You¡¯re not ready for this.
*Ethan:* Then make me ready.
Another flicker. Then a single word.
*Kira:* Tomorrow. The Crossroads Bar. Midnight. Come alone.
At The Crossroads Bar, the air was thick with the scent of old liquor and something acrid, like burnt circuits. The place was a relic from a time before total digital dominance¡ªflickering neon signs, analog music playing from battered speakers, and walls adorned with physical cash transactions, a defiant nod to an era that had long since passed.
A low hum filled the space, the sound of aging electrical systems struggling to keep up. The crowd was diverse¡ª off-gird hackers, smugglers, and the occasional drunk corporate burnout looking for a fresh start in the underground. A few people shot wary glances at Ethan as he sat in the dark corner booth alone.
Ethan nursed a drink, scanning the room for anyone who matched Cedric¡¯s description of Kira¡ªsharp, calculated, and always one step ahead. Then she appeared. A tall, athletic woman slid into the booth across from him. Short, dark hair, eyes that flickered between caution and assessment. She wore civilian clothes, but Ethan could tell she carried herself like someone who had spent years in the field.
¡°Kira¡± Ethan said evenly.
Kira ignored him, keeping her eyes on him as she slid into the booth. ¡°This place isn¡¯t safe for long conversations,¡± she murmured.
Ethan studied her. ¡°Then why meet here?¡±
¡°Because if something happens to me, people will know.¡± There was a flicker of something in her expression¡ªcaution, hesitation, and something deeper. Guilt, maybe. He didn¡¯t press it. Not yet.
¡°You and Cedric were close,¡± he said instead.
Kira¡¯s grip on her glass tightened. ¡°Yeah. Close enough to know you''re his brother.¡±
¡°Why didn¡¯t he tell me about you?¡±
She let out a slow breath, staring down at the amber liquid in her drink. ¡°That was the point. He kept me separate from the people he cared about. Safer that way.¡±
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¡°And now?¡±
She hesitated. ¡°Now, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m doing the right thing by talking to you.¡±
Ethan met her gaze. ¡°You don¡¯t owe me anything, Kira. But if Cedric trusted you, then I have to believe you know something worth sharing.¡±
Kira exhaled, her fingers drumming against the table. ¡°You don¡¯t want to know.¡±
¡°If that were true, I wouldn¡¯t be here."
She studied him for a long moment before exhaling sharply. ¡°Cedric didn¡¯t die. Not the way they said.¡±
A weight settled over the conversation. Ethan felt the room fade around them, the din of voices and clinking glasses dulling under the gravity of her words.
¡°Then where is he?¡±
Kira shook her head. ¡°Not where. What.¡±
His blood ran cold.
Ethan frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±
Kira leaned in, voice barely above a whisper. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you understand about the Abyss,¡± she continued. ¡°But when people go in too deep, when they push past the limits of what¡¯s supposed to be possible¡ªsometimes, they don¡¯t come back. Not in the way they left."
Something in her tone shifted, a raw edge laced with something close to grief.
Ethan¡¯s fingers tightened around his glass. ¡°You¡¯re saying Cedric¡¯s still in there.¡±
¡°I¡¯m saying his body is dead,¡± Kira clarified, still whispering. ¡°But his mind? His consciousness? There¡¯s a chance it didn¡¯t die with him.¡±
The weight of her words settled over him like a vice. If that was true, then Cedric wasn¡¯t just dead¡ªhe was trapped.
¡°I need to go in,¡± Ethan said firmly. ¡°I need to find him.¡±
Kira scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s suicide.¡±
¡°Not if you help me.¡±
She laughed bitterly. ¡°Even if I wanted to, I don¡¯t have access anymore. CyberWatch burned every legal entry point. The only way in now is through the black market.¡±
Ethan leaned forward. ¡°Then tell me where to start.¡±
She hesitated, glancing around before finally exhaling. ¡°I know someone. Goes by Sledge. If anyone can get you in, it¡¯s him.¡±
Ethan nodded. ¡°Where do I find him?¡±
Kira¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Forget it, Sledge would probably kill you on sight.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll take my chances.¡±
Kira studied him. ¡°You remind me of Cedric,¡± she murmured. ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily a good thing.¡±
"Please Kira, If Cedric is alive... If there is a chance... I need to find out what happened to him!"
Kira sighed; she hesitated before she pulled out an old, unregistered comm device. "Fine. I''ll contact Sledge. But you better be ready for what comes next."
As they waited for Sledge¡¯s response, Kira drained her glass and waved for another. Ethan noticed the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers twitched slightly when she wasn¡¯t gripping something.
¡°You alright?¡± he asked.
Kira scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re worried about me?¡±
He shrugged. ¡°Just making sure I¡¯m not getting involved with someone who¡¯s about to fall apart on me.¡±
She smirked, but there was no real humour in it. ¡°That¡¯s cute.¡±
The bartender set another drink in front of her. She downed half of it in one go. When she set the glass down, she caught Ethan watching her, and for the first time that night, her mask slipped.
For just a second, he saw something raw in her gaze¡ªsomething unsure, something wounded. Then it was gone.
¡°You look too much like him,¡± she muttered.
Ethan felt a strange mix of emotions twist in his chest. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good thing or bad. Kira, apparently, wasn¡¯t sure either.
Before either of them could say anything more, her comm device buzzed.
The line crackled before a deep, gravelly voice answered. "Who the hell is this?"
It was Sledge.
"It¡¯s Kira. I need a favour," she said, her tone clipped. "I need a dive interface."
There was a long pause before Sledge replied. "Have you finally lost it, Kira?"
"I''ll pay whatever the cost, you know I am good for it!" Kira barked.
"Ok ok fine, I have an old first gen neural interface I got my hands on. I''m warning you; it''s not going to be cheap" Sledge retorted.
"I''ll take it, with an exit point" She emphasised. "Crossroads, how soon can you get here?"
"You think I''m going to be caught dead slinging this tech around? HA! Not a chance" Sledge had an annoyed tone in his voice. "I''ll send Tox to drop it off after you transfer the credits, all ten thousand of them!"
"Sledge, that is unreasonab...." Kira started, but she stopped as she realised Sledge had disconnected the line.
"Well, there goes that idea..." Kira started. "Unless you have ten thousand credits laying around..." Kira had a sarcastic tone and a defeated look on her face.
"I do" Ethan responded, sheepishly.
"What, since when were you rolling in credits?¡± Kira asked surprised.
"The proceeds I made from my last globalNet development contract, it''s all I have but I''m committed to this - Cedric would do the same for me"
"Isn''t that sweet.. Cedric always spoke so fondly of his little brother, the game developer extraordinaire that all the globalNet publishers wanted to work with!" Kira smirked. "That is a lot of credits to pay just for a chance to risk your life Ethan, you could start fresh away from all of this.. I really do hope you know what you are getting into!"
"I just hope this lead of yours doesn''t rip us off" Ethan replied, while waving his wrist to accept the transfer of credits to Kira.
"If he even dared... I would cut off his balls" Kira responded with a menacing grin, as she forwarded on the credits to Sledge with a flick of her wrist.
The wait for Tox was long and awkward. Ethan sipped his drink, stealing glances at Kira as she absentmindedly traced patterns on the condensation of her glass.
Ethan leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "Kira, you worked with Cedric right, you were on the taskforce as well?"
Kira matched his whispered volume, "Yes, I was his cognitive integrity analyst..." Kira appeared to be distant, as if she was recalling on memories in front of him.
Ethan swallowed, his pulse quickening. "And what happened on the day he died?"
"I can''t say much more Ethan, this is already reckless enough!" Kira snapped back.
"I''m not reckless Kira; You can trust me!" Ethan replied.
Kira¡¯s gaze locked onto his, sharp and unyielding. "Aren¡¯t you? You just emptied your entire fortune for a one-way ticket into a digital hellscape, chasing the ghost of a man who might not even be salvageable. If that¡¯s not reckless, what is?"
Ethan felt his jaw clench. "It¡¯s not reckless. It¡¯s loyalty."
Kira shook her head, the ghost of a sad smile flickering across her lips. "Cedric said the same thing before he disappeared. It''s loyalty..." She let out a long breath, fingers tightening around her glass. "He kept pushing, even when it was obvious the risks outweighed the reward. I tried to warn him, tried to get him to step back, but he was obsessed. He knew something big was happening inside the Abyss, and he wouldn''t let it go."
Before Ethan could respond, the bar door swung open, and a towering man with a dark hood strode in. Tox. He took one look at Kira and sneered. "I''ve got a delivery for you, courtesy of Sledge. He says it will probably be your last"
"And the exit point?" Kira pressed as she pocketed the device quickly so no one could see.
Tox chuckled and waived his hand initiating the data transfer. "Here''s the coordinates of the exit location. Consider it a farewell gift."
Tox left without saying another word. Ethan felt Kira''s hand grab him under the table, and place something into his hand.
Ethan snuck a peak as he pocketed the device, his pulse racing. It was a neural interface, smaller than he thought, a small black cube with wires dancing out of all sides and a plastic foldable plastic rim that appeared to be adjustable.
"Wow. It''s smaller than I thought" Ethan stated.
"That is a first-generation interface, holds all the tech and protocols you need to dive into the Abyss, believe it or not they got smaller than that. It''s useless without a compatible dive rig though."
"Shit... I don''t have one" Ethan panicked, knowing he just spent every credit he had. "And something tells me a public rig is not going to be suitable¡"
"Relax, I have one. At my place. It''s off-grid and the dives are untraceable" Kira exhaled, her resolve firming.
"You can¡¯t do this alone, and I happen to be the best cognitive integrity analyst you''ll ever meet." Kira allowed herself to let off a faint smile.
"I don''t know how I''ll ever repay you" Ethan replied, still taking it all in.
"I''m not doing this to be owed something Ethan, if anything, it''s what I owe Cedric" Kira assured.
Ethan nodded, grateful. He picked up what was left of his beer "Then a toast, to the best cognitive integrity analyst I''ll ever meet".
They both laughed.
Kira raised her glass, and as they clinked glasses, a thought crossed Kira¡¯s mind. Looking at Ethan, she couldn¡¯t deny the pull of familiarity, his resemblance to Cedric was undeniable. A painful ache stirred in her chest. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was something deeper, but for a fleeting moment, she allowed herself to wonder if history was about to repeat itself.
Chapter 3 - The Black Dive
Chapter 3 - The Black Dive
The weight of the neural interface in Ethan¡¯s pocket felt heavier than it should. This wasn¡¯t just some piece of tech¡ªit was his key into the unknown, a threshold he was about to cross. He turned the small device over in his hands, its matte black surface smooth and unassuming, but beneath its casing lay the power to drag him into the digital abyss where his brother had vanished.
Kira and Ethan stood in the parking lot of the Crossroads, it was largely empty. It became apparent to Ethan that he had no idea how Kira had arrived here. He had taken the hovertrain downtown and walked over to the bar. Suddenly, she tossed him a helmet. ¡°Get on" Kira said, with a smirk. Her dark hair vanished as she put on a helmet. She flung one of her long legs over a red electric performance bike in a dramatic fashion, before mounting the bike completely. The bike beamed to life; the electric motor began humming with intensity.
"Well, are you coming or not?" She asked Ethan, impatiently.
"Yes, hang on" Ethan stated, while fumbling to get his helmet on.
¡°You¡¯re the one who is going to need to hang on, dear!" Kira teased.
Ethan gave a concerned look to Kira which she found amusing, before he too mounted the bike. Kira felt him grab her waist, and she accelerated into the night.
Ethan found the ride to Kira¡¯s apartment terrifying. He started to wonder if they would make it to her apartment at all, or if diving into the abyss would be as scary as this. Ethan''s grip on Kira''s waist got firmer, her posture was rigid. She was constantly bracing for what came next, weaving in and out of other vehicles and banking around corners with speed.
He wasn¡¯t sure if he was ready to dive, but the ride has certainly kept him alert. It was almost Dawn, neither of them had slept. Kira appeared to be wide awake.
"Last chance," she muttered as they pulled into the underground parking garage of an unassuming residential block. "You plug in, and there''s no guarantee you''ll make it back out. The first dive is always the hardest. You¡¯ll be disoriented. Vulnerable."
Ethan exhaled, forcing himself to steady his nerves. "I have to do this."
Kira nodded but didn¡¯t look convinced. "Suit yourself."
She led him upstairs through a dimly lit corridor, stopping at a reinforced steel door. A biometric scanner blinked beside the handle. Kira pressed her palm against it, and after a brief scan, the lock clicked open. Inside, her apartment was spartan¡ªminimalist furniture, her bed built into the back corner wall, a few scattered datapads, and a single window covered with blackout curtains. The air smelled faintly of burnt circuits and old coffee coming from the small kitchenette.
In the far corner of the room sat the dive rig.
Ethan took a step forward, his breath catching in his throat. He¡¯d worked on projects tangentially related to deep-dive interfaces before, but he¡¯d never seen an off-grid rig in person. It looked ancient¡ªa bulky, modified unit stripped of corporate branding, its panels held together by a mess of exposed wiring and improvised repairs. It was built for one purpose: untraceable access.
"You¡¯re sure this works?" Ethan asked, running a hand over the frame.
"It¡¯s got a ninety-percent success rate," Kira said, shrugging.
"And the other ten percent?"
"You really don¡¯t want to know."
Ethan swallowed hard.
She grabbed the neural interface from his hand and started attaching it to the dive rig, syncing the hardware. "This thing¡¯s old school. No corporate firewalls. No safeties. Once you¡¯re in, you¡¯re on your own. No emergency eject unless I pull you out." Kira stated. "And you don''t want that, the load will fry your brain".
Ethan nodded. "Got it."
The small apartment felt even more claustrophobic now. Ethan stood next to the dive rig, staring at it as Kira worked, syncing the neural interface to the ancient machine. He had a hundred questions rattling inside his head, but Kira¡ªever pragmatic¡ªwas already laying down a plan.
"Alright, listen up," she said, crouching by the interface terminal. "We don¡¯t have time for trial and error. This is how it¡¯s going to work."
Ethan crossed his arms. "I¡¯m listening."
"First off, our entire mission will be to retrieve a data cache and then head straight to the exit" Kira stated. "We don¡¯t know the exact location of the data cache, but I¡¯ll point you to information brokers who can find out. When you wake, we''ll review the data together¡±
¡°And that data will provide the answers to where Cedric is?" Ethan questioned.
"More or less, I hope so.¡± Kira replied. "But listen Ethan, when you land you will arrive in the Bridge¡ªor at least, what''s left of it. It¡¯s the last known stable zone before the deeper fragments of the Abyss. Picture a huge city designed decades ago, based on what they thought the future would look like."
"Ok that doesn''t sound too bad..." Ethan stated.
Kira paused. "But it is a wasteland now... A deadly wasteland with AI-controlled districts, and rogue NPC factions fighting over what¡¯s left."
Ethan nodded, committing it to memory. "Great... Ok... So, locate the information brokers in the Bridge, and the Bridge is the hub between all other domains?"
"Exactly. This interface is limited and we have to land you there to go cross-domain, to go deeper. We don''t have the luxury of CyberWatch tech or landing at other domains" She tightened a few cables, then looked up at him. "But you need to understand that you''re new to this world, which means you¡¯ll be weak. You won¡¯t be able to waltz around unchecked. Play it smart. Keep your head down. Avoid drawing attention, especially from the overlords."
Ethan frowned. "Overlords?"
Kira sighed, rubbing her temples. "High-level rogue AI entities that patrol the Abyss. They rule different parts of it. Think of them as corrupted administrators who used to be part of the system before it all went to hell. They don¡¯t take kindly to outsiders¡ªespecially real people like you. The moment they realize you''re not a program like the others, you¡¯ll have a target on your back."
That sent a chill through Ethan. "Good to know."
"Which brings me to communication." She held up a small data drive. "Turns out the interface we got from Sledge was a game variant, it was designed for multiplayer gaming in some of the off-shoot domains. This will install a hidden function in your quest log. The interface doesn¡¯t support external messaging, so if we need to talk, all I can do is send standard system notifications, but it¡¯ll be me."
"Will you be able to watch me inside?" Ethan questioned.
"No, the interface is very limited and the rig is old, I will be able to loosely track your world position, see system notifications and send directions through your display" Kira replied.
Ethan took the drive and tucked it into his pocket. "And the exit?"
Kira¡¯s face hardened. "This is important. You¡¯ll have coordinates burned into your interface¡ªyour only way out. Think of it like a hidden backdoor programmed into the system. Once you¡¯re in, you¡¯ll have to navigate through the bridge and reach it manually. If you don¡¯t make it¡ I can¡¯t pull you out without almost certainly killing you. You¡¯ll be stuck. And you don¡¯t want to be stuck."
Ethan exhaled slowly. "No pressure, huh?"
"Yeah, no pressure. Welcome to the Abyss" Kira smirked. "You need to set up your avatar," Kira continued, tapping at the interface. "First time diving into the Abyss with this interface means you¡¯re starting from scratch. No injected data. You¡¯ll be vulnerable Ethan."
Ethan hesitated for only a moment before stepping toward the chair. "Let¡¯s do this."
He lowered himself into the rig. Kira moved around him, attaching the interface to the base of his skull, securing the electrodes along his temples. The system hummed to life.
"Deep breaths, don¡¯t fight it." She whispered, before kissing him on the cheek. "You better come back to me!"
Ethan felt a rush of adrenaline; his eyes were already closing as the connection initialized.
The world vanished.
> Welcome, Player.
> System Initializing¡
> Loading Virtual Construct¡
> WARNING: Unverified Entry Detected.
> Proceeding with Manual Configuration.
Ethan¡¯s eyes snapped open.
He was standing in an infinite black void. Shapes flickered in the distance¡ªhalf-formed structures dissolving before they could fully take shape. Code scrolled across the air, shifting like living, breathing text.
He glanced down.
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His hands were pixelated, his form shifting between solid and fragmented. He flexed his fingers, and the distortion settled, stabilizing.
> [Character Setup Initializing]
> Please Select Class.
A grid of glowing symbols appeared before him, each representing a different archetype. Fighter. Vagabond. Gunslinger. Custom.
He barely hesitated before selecting Custom.
> [WARNING]: Advanced Class Selection Requires Manual Configuration.
> Proceed?
A grin tugged at Ethan¡¯s lips. Perfect. He had built entire systems for games like this¡ªhe knew how to manipulate the character creation process. He dove into the manual settings, tweaking parameters with a hacker¡¯s intuition. If he played this right, he could break the system just enough to give himself an edge. After a few moments, he scrolled through the custom subclass options.
Then he found it.
> [ERROR]: Invalid Selection. Unlisted Class Detected.
> Override System Verification?
Ethan exhaled sharply. He had found something off-grid, something not meant to be accessed. He selected Override. The screen glitched violently.
> [CLASS SELECTED: GLITCHBORN]
> [HP: 50/50 | STAMINA: 50/50 | CORRUPTION: 0%]
> [ATTRIBUTES: STR 4, AGI 6, END 5, INT 7, WIL 5, PER 5]
> Trait Unlocked:
> [Anomaly]
> Skills Unlocked:
> [Unknown] [Level Null]
> [Unknown] [Level Null]
> [Unknown] [Level Null]
> [Unknown] [Level Null]
> [Unknown] [Level Null]
> [Unknown] [Level Null]
His stomach dropped.
The air around him rippled. He felt seen, like a thousand invisible eyes had turned toward him.
> [WARNING]: Detection Radius Increased.
> Proceed with Caution.
His form solidified, and for the first time, he felt weight in this world. A cold wind rushed past him as the void around him shattered. The Digital Abyss swallowed him whole.
Ethan fell.
The sensation was gut-wrenching, as if he had been yanked through a collapsing vortex. His HUD flickered violently, error messages screaming in the corners of his vision.
Then¡ªimpact.
He hit the ground hard, pain flaring through his limbs.
> [WARNING]: Pain Simulation at 100%.
Ethan gritted his teeth, pushing himself up. He was lying in the middle of what looked like a ruined cityscape.
"Where am I...?" he thought to himself.
Ethan took a slow step forward, absorbing the overwhelming sprawl of The Bridge. The city was a grotesque fusion of the past and future, where shattered skyscrapers reached toward the sky like broken fingers, their glass facades shattered, and their steel skeletons exposed. Neon billboards flickered erratically, some frozen mid-advertisement, others cycling through cryptic error messages.
The air carried a dense, metallic tang, and every few feet, gaping cracks in the pavement bled raw, shifting code that pulsed like an open wound. In the distance, he could see distorted figures moving¡ªNPCs stuck in corrupted loops, endlessly repeating broken scripts. Others gathered in makeshift markets, trading stolen data packets, black-market augmentations, and forbidden scripts, their glowing eyes scanning for threats. The deeper he looked, the more Ethan realized¡ªthis city wasn¡¯t just a hub. It was a graveyard of forgotten systems, a testament to the lawless chaos of the Abyss.
This wasn¡¯t a game. This was something else.
He stood, his hands tightening into fists as he scanned his surroundings. His interface pinged. A hunched figure shuffled toward him from the shadows of a nearby alley. It was a gaunt man wearing tattered digital robes, his face obscured by a flickering mask of static. "Traveler... traveler, you seek the path?" The voice was hollow, layered with a distorted echo.
Ethan hesitated. "Who are you?"
The NPC twitched. "The path... yes, the path. Follow the light, but beware the broken ones. The broken ones. The broken... ones..."
Ethan frowned. Something was off. The man''s body trembled as if caught in a corrupted loop. His hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly, his head twitching in the same jerky motion. The realization hit Ethan like a shock to the system¡ªthe NPC was broken, stuck in a repeating error.
"What happened here?" Ethan asked cautiously.
"The path... the path... find the path..." The NPC''s voice stuttered, his body flickering in and out of existence. He suddenly convulsed, freezing mid-motion, eyes staring into nothingness before snapping back into the loop.
"Traveler... traveler, you seek the path?" he repeated, his voice identical, as if Ethan had never spoken.
> [Quest] Activated: [Find the First Trail]
A waypoint flickered in his vision, leading down a ruined alley the NPC had come from.
"That has to be Kira" He thought. "This must be the way to the data cache."
Ethan cautiously moved deeper into the alley, the neon lights above flickering erratically, casting jagged shadows against the walls. The further he went, the more NPCs he encountered¡ªsome slumped against the buildings, whispering fragmented code to themselves, while others wandered aimlessly, their faces vacant, their eyes flickering between expressions as if trying to process their own existence.
At a corner where the alley widened, a makeshift stall had been set up, cluttered with an assortment of crude, glitching weapons. The vendor behind it was an NPC with a metallic jaw and a single glowing eye that scanned Ethan as he approached.
"You look like you need protection, outsider," the vendor rasped, his voice modulating between different pitches. "I have the finest tools for survival: destabilizers, voltage blades, even a pulse cannon¡ªcheap, cheap!"
Ethan eyed the weapons warily. Some of them looked serviceable, others flickered between shapes, as if unable to decide what they were meant to be. "What¡¯s the catch?" he asked, crossing his arms.
The vendor chuckled, a sound like corrupted audio. "No catch. Just data¡ªyour data. A small, insignificant fragment for something that could save your life. A fair trade, yes?"
Ethan¡¯s interface pinged with a prompt:
> [Transaction Request] - Unknown Source. Warning: Potential Data Integrity Risk.
He took a step back. "No thanks."
The vendor¡¯s smile twitched; his glowing eye narrowing. "Shame. The Abyss is not kind to the unarmed."
Ethan turned away before the vendor could push further, his unease growing. Whatever passed for a marketplace in the Abyss, it was clear that every transaction came with hidden consequences.
Ethan continued following the waypoint until he reached a long desolate highway with empty and abandoned vehicles, their rusted frames stripped of anything useful. The air was unnervingly still, the neon reflections from the skyline casting eerie shadows through shattered windshields. Each step he took echoed against the cracked asphalt, the silence pressing in around him. A cold sensation crept down his spine¡ªhe was being watched. His HUD flickered.
> [Stealth] Skill: Level 1
> [Perception] Skill: Level 1
Barely enough to be useful. Still, he focused, attempting to listen beyond the hum of the digital wind. A faint distortion crackled in his audio feed, a pattern that didn¡¯t match the environment. Someone¡ªor something¡ªwas tailing him.
A distant roar split the silence.
Ethan turned sharply.
At the far end of the highway, something massive moved. A shadow against the neon haze. A shifting, grotesque form¡ªhalf-machine, half-nightmare, its limbs twitching in ways that defied logic. Its red eyes locked onto him.
> [WARNING]: AI Detected.
> Threat Level: LETHAL.
Ethan barely had time to react before it lunged, violently flipping vehicles in its wake.
Instinct took over. Ethan ran.
His feet pounded against the cracked pavement, his breath coming in sharp gasps. The AI monstrosity pursued, its body distorting as it phased between reality and digital corruption.
His HUD flashed.
> [NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED]: [System Exploit]
Ethan¡¯s lungs burned as he sprinted across the desolate highway, weaving between abandoned vehicles as the rogue AI closed the distance. His HUD flashed red¡ªa warning just before a devastating blow clipped his side. Pain exploded through his ribs as he was sent tumbling across the cracked asphalt, skidding to a stop against the husk of a rusted-out transport.
> [HP =<10%] Critical - System Integrity Failing
He groaned, pushing himself up just as the AI loomed over him. Its monstrous frame glitched, limbs elongating and contracting in unnatural ways, its red eyes burning like twin infernos. It was preparing for the final strike.
Desperation took over.
Ethan¡¯s raised both of his hands to shield himself, his mind locking onto the only thought he had left.
> [System Exploit] Activated.
The world fractured.
A massive section of the highway disintegrated into raw code, entire chunks of asphalt and vehicles dissolving into cascading lines of shimmering data. The ground beneath the AI vanished. With a distorted howl, it plunged into the abyss below, crashing onto the exposed lower infrastructure of the highway. The impact sent a shockwave through the environment, stunning the creature momentarily.
Ethan wasted no time. Clutching his ribs, he scrambled to his feet and bolted toward the waypoint. He didn''t look back. The AI wouldn¡¯t stay down for long, and he had no intention of waiting to find out what happened when it recovered.
Ethan staggered off the highway, lungs burning, each step sending fresh waves of pain through his battered body. He ducked into a crumbling overpass, its skeletal remains offering some cover from the chaos he had just escaped. The city beyond flickered with corrupted neon, but here, in the dim shadows, he could finally catch his breath.
His HUD pinged.
> [New Skill Unlocked]: Regenerate (Level 1) - HP will recover slowly over time.
Relief flooded him as he felt a faint warmth spread through his body, the pain in his ribs dulling ever so slightly. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was something.
Another notification flickered onto his display.
> [System Exploit]: [Cooldown] Active. Time Remaining: 23:12:47
Ethan¡¯s jaw tightened. So that¡¯s what it was¡ªan ultimate move, not something he could spam whenever he wanted. It made sense. The way the world had broken apart, how the AI had fallen straight through the highway¡ªthis wasn¡¯t just another hack. It was a game-breaking ability, and now, he was locked out of using it when he might need it most. "No wonder this class didn''t make it to the production build of the game" he sniggered to himself.
He focused on the time, it had been night since he arrived, however dawn was approaching, and the cooldown seemed to be ticking away seconds. Ethan deduced that time here passed the same as it did in base reality. He did a review of his class, attributes and skills that had been revealed to him so far, partly regretting that he didn''t stick to a preset character class and messed with the creation process. He really had no idea how the base system worked, or this "Glitchborn" class even matched the same standards.
> HP: 14% (Regenerating)
> CLASS: Glitchborn
> [HP: 14/50 | STAMINA: 20/50 | CORRUPTION: 10%]
> [ATTRIBUTES: STR 4, AGI 6, END 5, INT 7, WIL 5, CHA 5]
> TRAITS: Anomaly
> SKILLS:
> Regenerate [Level 1]
> Stealth [Level 1]
> Perception [Level 1]
> Unknown [Null]
> Unknown [Null]
> System Exploit [Ultimate] (Cooldown: 23:12:25)
> INVENTORY:
> [NULL]
He was still unaware what the traits or missing skills of his class were and had not managed to work out his inventory at all. He felt like he was way in over his head and would give anything to be able to speak to Kira, to ask her a question, to feel her lips again. He removed the thought from his mind, in a futile attempt to stay focused.
His HUD remained still, nothing, no new notifications.
And then suddenly, his HUD flickered.
> [Deception] Skill: [Level 1]
It wasn''t a message from Kira, but another unknown skill of this class finally revealed. He wondered if the reveal was anything other than coincidental timing, there seemed to be no way of telling how this Glitchborn class was playing out.
"Deception might just come in handy..." he thought to himself. There was only one prelisted skill set to unknown, but he had no idea how to trigger the reveal, or if it was even going to be useful.
He sank against the cold concrete, breathing heavily. He needed to move soon, but for now, he let his regeneration take hold, every tick of healing a small victory in a world that wanted him dead.
Chapter 4 - The Shadow of Cedric
Chapter 4 - The Shadow of Cedric
As Ethan followed his waypoints he moved cautiously through the desolate remains of the Bridge, the huge hub city that served as the last known stable domain before deeper, more fractured parts of the Abyss. The distant neon glow cast jagged shadows over the crumbling streets, flickering erratically as if the city itself was on the verge of collapse.
His body still ached from his near-fatal encounter with the rogue AI on the highway, but his regeneration skill had worked steadily, pushing his HP up to a safer margin. He kept a mental note of his cooldowns, his new "Glitchborn" class abilities still a mystery to him.
The class felt more like a gamble than an advantage, and without a proper understanding of the system mechanics, every move he made could be a potential disaster.
But he had bigger problems now. He was drawing too much attention.
At first, he seemingly blended into the background of the city''s corrupted dataflow¡ª but now he stood out, overhearing eerie distorted NPC chatter, fragmented code loops repeating endlessly.
"An outsider¡ looking for the dead¡"
"One who died twice¡ yet still lingers¡"
"Echoes remain. The lost one walks the void¡"
As he wandered deeper into the back alleyways and bars of the Bridge, the whispers became more distinct. Ethan spotted something in the distance, a discarded makeshift weapon that had been scavenged¡ªa broken voltage blade barely functional, its energy core flickering weakly. Most importantly, it''s previous owner nowhere in sight. Ethan picked up the makeshift weapon and his HUD glimmered.
> [Voltage Blade] Added To Inventory
> [Voltage Blade] Equipped
He inspected the [Voltage Blade] closer.
> [Voltage Blade] Weakened state. <=13% Energy Remaining. <=28% Durability.
It would have to do for now. Someone¡ªsomething¡ªknew he was looking for the data cache, for answers about his brother. And that meant he was being watched, that meant danger.
The Bridge was a city of remnants. A mix of old game architecture, forgotten AI-controlled districts, and rogue data markets operating under the nose of the corrupted overlords. Ethan learned quickly that information here didn¡¯t come for free¡ªit had to be bought.
And the price wasn¡¯t always credits.
His next waypoint hovered over a dwelling in front of him. Ethan entered a bar that he came to find out was called The Data Well, a neon-drenched dive filled with NPCs and what Ethan suspected were other divers¡ª but he had no way of knowing for sure. He couldn''t risk long conversations and wasn''t about to approach potentially dangerous situations by asking these types of questions directly.
He approached the bartender, an NPC with flickering code running down his arms like tattoos. Ethan hesitated, then placed his hands on the bar. "I am looking for the information broker," he said.
The bartender did not reply, instead he gave the slightest gesture of a nod towards the direction of a man sitting alone at a table in the dimly lit corner of the bar. Without a further word spoken, Ethan returned the nod to the bartender and made his way over the man sitting alone.
Ethan sat down in the dimly lit corner of the bar, facing the man who sat alone before studying him. His figure shrouded in the flickering neon haze. He was older, his face lined with deep creases, suggesting a life spent navigating the digital underworld.
A pair of augmented lenses glowed faintly beneath the shadow of his hood, their lenses scanning Ethan as he sat down. His long coat, patched with synthetic leather and reinforced plating, bore the marks of someone who had survived far too many encounters with both CyberWatch and rogue AIs.
"I am looking for something" Ethan said, breaking the silence.
The information broker''s mechanical gaze fixed on him. "Everyone here is looking for something, outsider. What makes you different?"
Ethan exhaled. He had no money, no established credibility in this world. But he did have a newly unlocked skill.
> [Deception] Activated: [Level 1]
For a moment, he felt something shift in the system. A subtle push, like nudging a piece of unstable code in his favour. He leaned in. "I''m here on behalf of CyberWatch."
The information broker flinched. The nearby patrons stilled, their broken conversations pausing for just a second before resuming in glitchy murmurs.
"You speak of the watch," the information broker muttered. "You are either very foolish¡ or very unfortunate."
Ethan held his ground. "Tell me what you know about the data cache I seek."
The information broker tapped his fingers against the counter. The neon beneath his fingertips pulsed with corrupted energy.
"The only cache I know that holds anything of value to someone like you is currently in the wards... Word is, something big has been happening down in the Lower Ward Domain.. But¡ beware. The warlord who rules there is ruthless, not even those of the watch return when they enter."
"What else can you tell me?" Ethan questioned.
"Nothing else of value... I do not know anything more"
Ethan nodded, stepping away and leaving the information brokers'' table. That was more than he expected. The Lower Wards¡ª He wondered if this is where Cedric''s last movements in the Abyss were. Before he could finish the thought, his HUD glimmered.
> [Quest Completed - Find the first trail]
> [Quest Added - Investigate the Lower Ward Domain]
Ethan wondered if this was Kira from above who updated his log or if this was triggered by speaking with the information broker. He was still surprised his deception skill worked, suddenly his HUD beamed again.
> [Deception] Skill level increase [Level 2]
The moment he left The Data Well; he felt it again¡ªeyes on him. Watching. Waiting. His minimap updated with a waypoint.
Ethan followed the designated path, his HUD guiding him through the decaying city. The waypoint flickered steadily ahead, leading him past derelict structures where neon signs flickered erratically, their messages long since corrupted into gibberish. The deeper he ventured, the more the architecture became unstable¡ªbuildings bending at impossible angles, entire streets phasing in and out of existence like forgotten memories.
The neon glow of the Bridge cast eerie reflections on the crumbling structures as he maneuvered through derelict alleyways and abandoned intersections. The waypoint pulsed stronger, leading him to an archway flickering between existence and oblivion¡ªa swirling vortex of raw data and fractured code. It stood as a gateway between the Bridge and the Lower Wards.
As Ethan moved closer to the portal, a raspy voice called out to him from a stall cluttered with various supplies¡ªdented rations, cracked energy cells, and bottles of something that glowed an unnatural shade of blue.
"You look like you could use a few essentials, traveler," the NPC vendor said, his voice thick with artificial cheer. "A meal, some medical patches? Maybe a bit of insurance in case things get messy down there?"
Ethan shook his head. "I¡¯ll manage."
The vendor chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows.
His weathered face overlaid with fragmented digital markings, flickering erratically. "Everyone thinks that, at first. But the Lower Wards ain¡¯t like the Bridge. Down there, it¡¯s chaos. The factions are always at each other¡¯s throats¡ªsome fight for control, some for survival. Others? Just for the hell of it."
Ethan paused, curiosity getting the better of him. "Factions? Who¡¯s in charge?"
The vendor scoffed. "No one. That¡¯s the problem. Used to be a council kept things in check, but that fell apart ages ago. Now you got Agoral and his warband carving up the east, the Cult of the code holed up in the ruins, and then there¡¯s the scavengers¡ªopportunists, mercs, and deserters who take what they can, when they can. There¡¯s no morality, no stability. Just the strongest ruling until someone stronger comes along."
Ethan absorbed the information, glancing at the waypoint flickering in his HUD. "Sounds like a place where people disappear."
The vendor let out a low chuckle. "That¡¯s putting it lightly, friend. You go in prepared, or you don¡¯t come out at all."
Ethan exhaled slowly before turning away. "I¡¯ll take my chances."
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Taking a deep breath, Ethan stepped into the vortex, feeling an immediate sensation of weightlessness as the world around him twisted and fragmented. His HUD flickered, momentarily losing signal before reconnecting as he emerged on the other side.
The Lower Wards sprawled before him¡ªan ancient city reborn in digital decay. Towering, half-ruined marble structures reminiscent of a corrupted ancient empire loomed over the streets, their once-pristine columns now wrapped in neon ivy and jagged code.
Statues of forgotten deities and emperors stood frozen in glitched postures, some missing limbs, others shifting between different historical forms as the system struggled to render them. The air was thick with the distant hum of malfunctioning systems, and ghostly NPCs wandered in loops, their dialogues fragmented and distorted. This place was both ancient history and dystopia, merged into one forgotten corner of the Abyss.
Navigating the Lower Wards was like stepping into a fractured simulation. Half-rendered architecture loomed over stone pathways of digital static, where the roads glitched between different styles¡ªone moment, highly detailed and defined, the next, pixelated ruins of an old city.
Ethan moved cautiously, keeping to the shadows where he could. His Perception skill flickered with low-level warnings, small anomalies appearing in the edges of his HUD. The ancient city was alive, but not in a way that made sense.
Then, he saw her. She stood beneath a crumbling marble archway, her hooded cloak reminiscent of an ancient patrician, though interwoven with shimmering neon threads that pulsed like a living circuit. Her features were strikingly sharp, sculpted like the statues that lined the streets, but her eyes were unlike anything Ethan had seen¡ªhollow voids filled with shifting code, glitched patterns of purple and silver.
The woman stood near a broken alleyway, draped in tattered robes that flickered between different textures¡ªmedieval, cybernetic, spectral. She turned, revealing piercing violet eyes that weren¡¯t quite human.
"You do not belong here" she said, her voice layered, echoing in ways Ethan didn¡¯t understand.
Ethan exhaled. "Neither do you."
The woman¡¯s lips twitched into a knowing smile. "Perhaps. But I have made peace with this existence. Have you?"
Ethan clenched his fists. "I don¡¯t plan on staying."
A pause. The woman stepped closer. "Not many outsiders pass through the ward. You seek something. What is it you seek?"
Ethan froze. He was conflicted about trusting the woman. Instead, he probed her for information. "Doesn''t everybody here seek something?"
Suddenly something caught her attention, and she darted for a nearby column.
"Hide yourself! They are coming!" She exclaimed before disappearing behind the ruined column.
Ethan snapped a glance before diving into cover in the same direction the woman went. He heard them before he saw them, the marching of boots, many boots, along the along the stone path. There were numerous militant soldiers marching along the path with a uniformed pace. They wore the same bronze armored chest plates and steel helmets, each with swords or spears in hand.
Ethan glanced over at the woman, who was now hiding next to him. "Who are they?" He queried.
"Agorals men, raiders from the eastern wards, a murderous bunch... Now shhh! Before they hear us!" The woman warned.
Ethans HUD flickered.
> [Skill] [Stealth] [Level 2]
The cohort of militants marched by, unaware of their hidden presence. Once the sound of marching steps had dimmed with distance, they both came out of hiding.
"My name is Tia" the woman said. "I stay in the Horrick ruins not far from here."
Ethan feeling more at ease replied "I am Ethan, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Tia. Thank you for the warning."
"You are most certainly welcome Ethan, Agoral and his men are nothing short of common bandits. I couldn''t bring myself to not give you fair warning." Tia assured.
"I don''t meet a lot of courteous people here" Ethan stated. He grew suspicious of Tia, she didn''t appear to be an NPC, she wasn''t like anyone he had met in the Abyss so far. Was she another diver?
"Well, you met me" she smiled. "So, Ethan, what brings you to the wards after all?"
"I am searching for a cache, one that belonged to a friend" He responded.
"I don''t know anything about a cache, but perhaps someone else at the Horrick ruins might know. You are welcome to join me on the way back" Tia said.
"That sounds about as good of a lead as I will get Tia, lead the way"
"It''s not too far from here" Tia said, before setting off down the stone path.
The walk to the Horrick ruins was treacherous, the cracked marble streets flickering between states of decay and reconstruction, as if the system couldn''t decide whether to preserve or erase this place.
Ethan and Tia moved cautiously, their steps echoing through the vast and abandoned sections of ancient ruins and green overgrowth fluttering in a ghostly wind. Each shadow seemed to stretch unnaturally, twisting as though something unseen lurked just beyond the veil of corrupted code. Ethan¡¯s Perception skill pulsed softly in his HUD, flickering between weak and strong warnings¡ªsomeone, or something, was following them.
> [Skill] [Perception] [Level 2]
The first attack came in the form of a pulse¡ªa silent rupture of the world around him. The air distorted. Ethan perceived the attack with barely enough time to react before something lurched out of the static.
Humanoid figures draped in black, three of them, their faces voids of shifting data. Their limbs cracked as they moved, too fast, their forms unstable, like corrupted code forced into humanoid shapes.
> [WARNING]: Hostile Entities Detected
> Threat Level: Unknown
After barely dodging the first attack, a streak of shadow went slicing through the air where his head had been moments before. He rolled, landing hard against a digital wall that flickered between stone and white marble panelling.
Ethan''s grip tightened around the Voltage Blade as the two void shadow assassins lunged at him, their twisted forms phasing in and out of existence like corrupted data streams. Tia had engaged the third assassin, her movements swift and precise as she countered its strikes with a precision honed by experience. She wielded a long staff; with exceptional technique her strikes were swift and fluid. Ethan barely had time to glance at his HUD:
> [System override] [Cooldown 14:35:55]
His ultimate was still locked in cooldown, a long way off from being usable. He grit his teeth and raised his weakened blade, using quick parries and footwork to keep the assassins at bay.
The shadows moved with relentless aggression; their attacks faster than his eyes could fully track. Sparks flew as his Voltage Blade clashed against their ethereal weapons, but each block drained his dwindling energy reserves.
They were pressing him hard, backing him into a narrowing corner, his breathing ragged as he realized he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out much longer. One of the assassins feinted, the other capitalizing on the opening¡ªEthan had no choice but to act.
With a desperate cry, he lunged forward, fully expecting to take a fatal hit¡ªwhen suddenly, his vision blurred. The world fractured into glitched pixels, his body breaking apart and reforming behind one of the assassins.
> New Skill Unlocked: Phase Step [Level 1]
His blade struck true, piercing the assassin¡¯s back with lethal precision. The creature let out a distorted shriek before collapsing into cascading lines of broken code.
Ethan staggered back, his heart hammering as realization set in¡ªhe had just teleported. A new skill, born from sheer desperation. The two remaining assassins paused for a moment while analysing the events that lead to the fall of their ally before fleeing out of sight.
Across the battlefield, Tia glanced at him briefly before calling out, "Ethan, let''s move!"
Ethan didn¡¯t hesitate, not even stopping to plunder the fallen foe, he rejoined with Tia, and they continued with haste further off the trail and deeper into the overgrowth. While in a moment of respite, he stopped to check his voltage blade.
> [Voltage Blade] Weakened state. <=5% Energy Remaining. <=19% Durability.
"This thing isn''t going to last much longer..." He thought to himself.
"We should avoid the trail from here on out" Tia stated, still panting and catching her breath.
"I agree" Ethan remarked. "Do you know who they were?"
"Agoral''s assassins" Tia said, with a concern look falling over her face. "You stuck one them down, that was impressive, but the others will be back in greater numbers."
"Then we must move fast"
"Yes, but we must be careful not to leave a trail they can follow behind us" Tia advised. "We aren''t far now, they won''t dare follow us into Horrick".
"Why not?" Ethan questioned.
"You''ll see!" Tia replied, with a smile.
Ethan wasn''t thrilled with Tia''s response, or her lack of detail in her answer, but for now he trusted her.
They pushed through the dense overgrowth, their steps careful as the wild vegetation tangled around ancient stone pathways. The deeper they went, the more the jungle-like terrain gave way to crumbling structures, remnants of a civilization long abandoned to digital decay.
As they made their way through the dense undergrowth, Ethan found himself stealing glances at Tia. The faint neon glow filtering through the corrupted sky cast a surreal shimmer on her features. She had sharp, angular cheekbones softened by a natural warmth in her expression, and her violet eyes¡ªflickering with shifting code¡ªseemed to hold stories untold. Her robe, woven with threads of ancient design and modern digital overlays, hugged her lithe frame as she moved with practiced ease through the uneven terrain.
"You walk like someone who¡¯s lived in this place a long time" Ethan mused, stepping over a gnarled root jutting from the cracked stone path.
Tia smirked but didn¡¯t look at him. "You could say that. This world... it has a way of keeping people who don¡¯t belong anywhere else."
Ethan caught the weight in her words, something unspoken lingering beneath them. "And you? You don¡¯t belong anywhere else?"
For the first time, she hesitated. "I did, once." Her fingers briefly traced the edge of a rusted column as they passed. "But that was a long time ago. Now, this is all I have. The Lower Wards, the ruins, the people who live in the cracks of the system. It¡¯s home."
Ethan frowned but chose his next words carefully. He wanted to ask if she was also diving, but he changed his words at the last moment. "It sounds like you lost something important."
Tia let out a quiet laugh, though it lacked amusement. "Not something. Someone. Myself, maybe."
Ethan wanted to press further, but something in her expression told him not to. Instead, he offered a small nod. "For what it¡¯s worth, you seem more alive than most I¡¯ve met here."
Tia¡¯s eyes met his, lingering just a little longer than before. "That¡¯s kind of you to say, Ethan. But let¡¯s see if you still think that once you meet the others."
As they emerged from the thick underbrush, a ruined town sprawled before them, its broken buildings forming a jagged skyline beneath the ever-flickering neon mist of the Lower Wards. At the town¡¯s center stood a colossal structure¡ªan ancient coliseum, its once-magnificent archways now fractured and overridden with creeping vines of corrupted code. Tia gestured toward the ruins; her expression unreadable.
¡°This is Horrick,¡± she said. ¡°My people control these ruins. We¡¯ve turned it into a trading hub¡ªone of the last trading districts in the Lower Ward zone.¡±As Ethan took in the sight, he noticed figures moving in the shadows¡ªcloaked individuals observing from the periphery.
¡°Your people?¡± he asked.
Tia¡¯s lips curled slightly. ¡°Don''t worry, just let me do the talking.¡±
Chapter 5 - The Cult of the Old Code
Chapter 5 - The Cult of the Old Code
Tia stepped forward, placing herself between Ethan and the guards, raising her hands in a non-threatening manner. "He is no enemy," she said, her voice calm but firm. "He comes seeking knowledge, nothing more. The Great One demands we spread understanding, does he not?"
The guards hesitated, their shifting, mask-like faces flickering as they processed her words. "Outsiders are not welcome here without purpose" one of them rasped, his voice carrying an electronic distortion.
"And he has one" Tia countered smoothly. "We request an audience with the Cult Leader. He alone may determine if this outsider is worthy. You would not deny him this, would you?" She let the question hang in the air, a subtle challenge woven into her words.
The guards exchanged glances, silent pulses of digital communication passing between them. Finally, the one on the left stepped aside. "Very well. But if he proves unworthy, his presence will not be tolerated."
Tia nodded, placing a reassuring hand on Ethan¡¯s arm as she led him forward. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her expression unreadable. "Stay close and let me do the talking," she reminded him, in a whispered tone. "One wrong word, and it will not end well for you."
Ethan followed Tia through the labyrinthine ruins of Horrick, his nerves taut as he took in the distorted remnants of ancient architecture intertwined with digital corruption. The flickering neon lights of makeshift stalls cast eerie shadows as hooded figures moved silently through the broken streets. The air was thick with an artificial mist, the scent of burning circuits mingling with something metallic, something old.
Ethan checked his HUD once again, the minimap still scrambled and the waypoints unreadable - he was truly on his own in this domain.
Tia led him toward a grand, domed structure at the heart of the ruins. It loomed over the city like a forgotten relic of another age, its intricate carvings overwritten by lines of glitched code running like veins through the stone. As they approached, robed figures stood at attention, their faces obscured by shifting, mask-like projections of static.
¡°The Cult of the Old Code¡± Tia murmured, barely moving her lips. ¡°They believe that their ¡®god¡¯¡ªa rogue AI overlord¡ªwill soon transcend the digital divide and manifest in the real world.¡±
Ethan clenched his fists. ¡°You believe in this?¡±
Tia exhaled slowly. ¡°I believe in surviving. This is the safest place in the Wards, for now.¡±
A pair of guards stepped forward. ¡°You bring an outsider,¡± one said, his voice crackling like corrupted audio.
¡°He seeks knowledge,¡± Tia responded. ¡°The kind only the Great One can grant.¡±
The guards exchanged glances before nodding, stepping aside. Ethan felt a chill run down his spine as they entered the sanctum.
Inside, the space pulsed with strange energy. Floating data runes hovered above the walls, shifting like living organisms. At the center of the room, a colossal figure stood¡ªits humanoid form wrapped in layers of jagged, flickering light, its face an empty void save for two burning red eyes.
The Cult Leader, draped in a mantle of constantly shifting code, stepped forward. ¡°You seek the truth of the one who walked before you?¡± His voice reverberated unnaturally, as if layered with multiple distortions.
Ethan kept his expression neutral. ¡°I seek my brother.¡±
The cult leader''s eyes gleamed. ¡°Ah¡ the one who ¡®died twice.¡¯ His echoes remain. His data was rewritten.¡±
Ethan felt his breath hitch. ¡°Rewritten?¡±
The leader gestured, and a series of fragmented holographic images flickered into existence¡ªglimpses of Cedric, his form shifting, his face contorted in agony before being swallowed by cascading lines of corrupted code.
¡°Your brother made a deal with us¡± the leader continued. ¡°He sought the path to a hidden domain, a place beyond even the Abyss. But he failed the test. His essence was claimed by the Great One.¡±
Ethan¡¯s jaw clenched. ¡°You¡¯re saying he¡¯s dead?¡±
The leader chuckled, the sound a grating echo. ¡°Dead is an outdated concept"
Before Ethan could press further, a hooded figure stepped forward, whispering urgently to the leader.
The cult leader¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°We will take pause from this audience, Tia, you may show our guest to the temporary chambers. I will send for you soon."
Tia placed a gentle hand on Ethan¡¯s arm, guiding him away from the oppressive presence of the Cult Leader and back through the winding corridors of the sanctum. The walls pulsed with shifting glyphs, casting an eerie, flickering light over their path. As they walked, Ethan felt the weight of his unanswered questions pressing against his thoughts.
Finally, they reached a small chamber, its modest furnishings consisting of a low bed, a basin of water, and a shelf lined with unfamiliar artifacts. Tia leaned against the threshold, arms crossed, watching him.
"What do you think he meant? About Cedric being rewritten?" Ethan asked, breaking the silence.
Tia hesitated, her expression unreadable. "There are things worse than death in the Abyss, Ethan. The Great One... it has the power to alter consciousness, to reshape minds as if they were mere lines of code. If your brother was rewritten, he may not be the person you remember."
Ethan swallowed hard. "Then I need to know what happened to him."
Tia sighed, stepping closer. "You take risks without understanding what you''re truly up against. These people, this cult¡ªthey worship something beyond comprehension. Their ¡®god¡¯ doesn¡¯t just demand faith. It consumes."
Ethan searched her face, sensing something deeper beneath her words. "You talk like you know this firsthand."
For a moment, Tia looked as if she might deny it. Instead, she exhaled and met his gaze. "I wasn¡¯t always one of them, Ethan. I came here looking for answers once, just like you. And I paid a price."
He reached out, fingers brushing against hers before she pulled away, though not forcefully. The air between them thickened with an unspoken understanding.
"Then why are you still here?" he asked softly.
Tia glanced toward the corridor, then back at him. "Because I have nowhere else to go. But maybe¡ maybe that doesn¡¯t have to be true anymore."
Ethan felt his pulse quicken, not just from her words, but from the way her violet-hued eyes held his. In that moment, despite the madness surrounding them, he felt a connection¡ªa flicker of something real in a world built on illusions. Tia hesitated before continuing, her gaze flickering between Ethan and the dim glow of the chamber.
"I used to have a body in reality," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "Before this place became the Abyss, before it all fell apart, I was an explorer. Not a cultist, not a worshipper. I was here to uncover secrets, to map the unknown."
Ethan''s breath caught. "Then what happened?"
Tia''s expression darkened. "I ventured too far. I went into the Lower Wards, searching for lost data vaults. I thought I could unlock something extraordinary. But instead, I found it¡ªthe god they worship. Or rather, it found me."
She shuddered, as if reliving the moment. "It rewrote me, Ethan. I didn¡¯t die¡ªI was converted. My physical body is gone. What remains of me is here, inside this corrupted world. I became digital consciousness, bound to the Abyss. The cult took me in because they believed I was chosen, but I know the truth¡ªI was stolen."
Ethan stared at her, the weight of her words sinking deep into his chest. "And you''ve been with them ever since?"
Tia nodded; her voice tinged with quiet resignation. "For years, I¡¯ve had no way back. No way out. This world became my prison, and I made peace with it because there was no other choice. But then you came along. A real, living person who still has a body out there. And for the first time in a long time¡ I wonder if maybe I don¡¯t have to be trapped forever."
The air between them grew heavy with meaning. Ethan took a slow step closer. "Tia, if there¡¯s a way to get you out of here and back into your body, I¡¯ll find it! I''m looking for the same thing for my brother. You¡¯re not just data. You¡¯re not just some echo. You¡¯re real."
"I want to believe that." Tia sighed, glancing toward the corridor. "I need to take care of something. Stay here and try not to draw too much attention."
Before Ethan could ask what, she turned and disappeared into the winding hallways of the sanctum. He lingered for a moment, unsure, before the silence pressed too heavily on him. Restless, he stepped out of the chamber and wandered the coliseum.
Ethan stepped into the heart of the makeshift marketplace, immediately overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of activity. The air crackled with residual static from malfunctioning tech, blending with the scent of burning circuitry and the faint, acrid tang of synthetic food being grilled over open flames. Neon-glow lanterns flickered above each stall, casting erratic, multi-coloured shadows over the bustling crowd.
Stalls formed a chaotic maze, fashioned from salvaged scrap metal, broken server racks, and repurposed data terminals. Each vendor hawked their wares with feverish enthusiasm, their voices rising above the constant background murmur of deals being struck and disputes being settled. There was no standard currency here¡ªeverything ran on barter, the value of an item dictated purely by the desperation of those trading.
He passed a stand where a merchant argued with a masked figure over a partially functioning AI fragment, its core flickering weakly as it processed incomplete data. Another stall displayed an assortment of weaponry, from crude, manually-repaired energy rifles to swords infused with corrupted code. Further down, a hunched vendor exchanged preloaded hacking scripts for vials of unknown liquid, each glowing with an unnatural luminescence.
He wandered cautiously, keeping a hand close to his Voltage Blade, scanning the shifting displays of items. A merchant, an elderly woman with eyes that flickered between organic and digital, gestured him over. "You carry something of interest," she rasped, pointing toward his Voltage Blade. "Not much power left in that one, but if you have the means to recharge it... Perhaps I have something you might be interested in."
Ethan hesitated, then nodded. "What do you have?"
The merchant reached beneath her stall and pulled out a power cell.
Ethan considered the power cell, knowing full well that without a way to recharge it, his Voltage Blade would remain nearly useless. He looked back at the merchant, trying to gauge if she was willing to negotiate. "I don''t have much else to trade," he admitted. "Only the blade."
The merchant let out a dry chuckle, shaking her head. "No credit here, outsider. No debt. Only goods for goods." She tapped the counter, thinking for a moment. "Tell you what¡ªI''ll make you an offer. Forget the power cell. I¡¯ll trade weapon for weapon. That blade of yours won¡¯t last another fight, and I have something that might just keep you alive."
Ethan hesitated. The Voltage Blade had served him well so far, but he knew she was right. He couldn''t afford to hold onto a failing weapon. "Alright," he said finally. "What are you offering?"
She put her hand back under the stall, and returned with a sleek, jagged-edged weapon, its form shifting between a solid blade and pure code, barely contained within its hilt.
> [Item Identified]: Phase Dagger [Rare]
> Attack Power: Moderate
> Special Effect: Short-range phase shift upon successful strike
> Durability: 100%
Ethan¡¯s HUD flickered, evaluating the trade. The Voltage Blade was running on fumes, its energy core nearly depleted. He had no use for a weapon that would break in the middle of a fight. Even though the fully charged Voltage Blade would serve him better, he had no means to recharge it -- this was a fair offer.
> [Trade Request Initiated]: Voltage Blade ¡ú Phase Dagger
> Status: Accepted
The exchange was made, the weapon¡¯s weight unfamiliar in his grip but undeniably better. The merchant smirked. "A good trade. May the blade will serve you well, outsider."
Ethan nodded his thanks and continued onward, past traders exchanging hacked AI subroutines for food rations, past a group of robed cultists bartering over relics of forgotten digital constructs. The chaos of the marketplace was overwhelming, but it was a distraction¡ªone he welcomed, however in the far corner of the marketplace he spotted three large, robed men encircling a young boy.
"Thieving little scum!" The largest of the robed man bellowed.
"Please, I didn''t steal anything!" the boy cried.
"How dare you steal and lie, you rotten little shit." Another one of the robed men cursed.
"We should have one of your hands for this" The larger robed man came again.
"What is happening here?" Ethan interjected, unable to ignore the scene unfolding in front of him. "Why are you tormenting this boy, what did he steal?"
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"Mind your business, if you know what is good for you." The large robed man responded, without giving Ethan more than a glance.
Ethan studied the young boy, he had nothing but food in his hands. Ethan''s blood boiled; his mind could not comprehend three grown men intimidating a young child over scraps of food. He launched into action without thought or regard for consequences.
The largest of the robed men turned just as Ethan threw the first punch, catching him square in the jaw. The thug stumbled back, momentarily stunned, before roaring in anger and charging at Ethan. Adrenaline kicked in, and Ethan dodged to the side, delivering a sharp elbow to the thug¡¯s ribs.
> [Combat Engaged]: Street Brawl Opponents: 3x Unknown Thugs
The second thug lunged at him, attempting to grapple. Ethan twisted, using the momentum to throw the attacker off balance before delivering a brutal knee strike to his stomach. The third thug hesitated, glancing between Ethan and his struggling allies.
The leader, now furious, swung wildly. Ethan ducked, driving a fist into his gut, then another into his temple. A system notification flashed before his eyes.
> [Opponent Defeated]: Unknown Thug
The thug crumpled, groaning in pain. The other two exchanged glances before quickly grabbing their fallen comrade and retreating into the depths of the marketplace. Ethan exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders as his HUD flickered.
The young boy looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes.
"Thank you, sir... I-I didn''t steal anything, I swear!"
Ethan knelt, scanning the boy. His form remained static, smooth movements, no flickers¡ªan NPC. The realization settled in, but the thugs? They moved too naturally, their reactions too fluid. Surely, they weren¡¯t... divers?
"You''re safe now" Ethan assured the boy, though his mind was already elsewhere. If those men were diving, that meant Ethan had possibly made himself a problem for someone.
A robed cultist had been watching the fight from the shadows, his eyes gleaming with intrigue. He stepped forward as Ethan steadied himself, offering a slow, approving nod. "Impressive," the cultist murmured. "Strength is valued here. The Great One appreciates those who prove themselves."
Ethan regarded him warily. "And who exactly is the Great One?"
The cultist chuckled, the sound dry and unsettling. "The ruler of and all mighty of this domain. He is the Great one. You should witness the battles in the arena. There, the strong are given the chance to ascend beyond mere mortality¡ªto join the Great One in divinity."
Ethan hesitated. The last thing he wanted was to get roped into whatever madness these people worshiped. But knowledge was power, and if he was going to understand how to navigate this place, he needed to see how deep the cult''s beliefs ran. "Fine," he said. "I¡¯ll watch."
The cultist grinned, motioning for Ethan to follow him toward the coliseum.
The vast arena stretched before him, ancient stone stands riddled with jagged code fractures, pulsating under the weight of digital corruption. He moved cautiously behind the cultist through the outer corridor, past robed figures murmuring prayers in monotone, their voices overlapping like a broken algorithm. The unsettling atmosphere made his skin crawl.
"You are new here," the cultist stated, his voice crackling like a damaged file.
"Just passing through," Ethan replied carefully.
The cultist grinned, an eerie stretch of lips too thin to be reassuring. "In-between the Great One¡¯s trials, the area is opened for contest. Those who perform well in the contests are extended invitation to the trails."
Ethan frowned. "What happens in these trials?"
The cultist gestured toward the arena floor, where figures clashed in brutal combat, their forms flickering in and out of focus as corrupted data twisted around them. "The Great One demands sacrifice. The champions earn ascension, merging with our all mighty god. Their code is rewritten to become part of its infinite existence. A glorious fate."
A chill ran down Ethan¡¯s spine. "And the losers?"
The cultist¡¯s grin widened. "They are unmade. Purged. Their data scattered into the void." He tilted his head. "Perhaps you will fight one day. Perhaps you will ascend."
A concerned look fell over Ethans face, for a brief moment staring out over the area, his thoughts turned to Kira. He needed to retrieve the data cache and get out of here - this twisted place began to exhaust him. He decided it was time to return to the temporary chambers arranged for him and await Tia¡¯s return. Perhaps he could learn more about the location of the data cache.
"Perhaps I will" Ethan responded, before heading back the way he came and towards the room.
Ethan returned to the dimly lit chamber, his mind still racing from what he had witnessed in the marketplace and the coliseum. As he pushed open the door, he found Tia waiting for him, her arms crossed, a pensive look in her violet-hued eyes. She exhaled slowly as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
"Where have you been?" she asked, her tone softer than accusatory. "I was beginning to think something happened."
Ethan leaned against the wall, studying her. "I could say the same for you. What were you chasing?"
Tia hesitated for a moment, then stepped closer. "A lead on the data cache. The one you were looking for. I thought I had found something solid, but I need verification from the Leader. If the cache is where I think it is, we may be closer than ever to finding out what really happened to your brother."
Ethan''s pulse quickened. "Then we have to get that audience with him again."
She nodded. "That¡¯s why I need you to be careful, Ethan. The Leader isn¡¯t just a gatekeeper; he¡¯s something far more dangerous. He controls access to knowledge in this domain, and if we push too hard, we could lose our chance."
Ethan let out a slow breath, then looked at her with curiosity. "You keep talking about this place like you weren¡¯t always here. I know you weren¡¯t born in the Abyss. Before the Lower Wards, before all of this¡ who were you, Tia?"
A flicker of something¡ªpain, longing¡ªcrossed her face. She stepped away, running a hand through her hair before finally speaking. "I was an explorer. A diver, like you. I wasn¡¯t part of the cult; I was searching for lost knowledge, ancient data buried deep in the system. I was reckless¡ and I paid the price."
She turned back to him, her gaze locking onto his. "The Great One found me. It rewrote me. I didn¡¯t die, but I lost everything. My body still exists somewhere¡ in reality, while I¡¯m stuck here¡ªjust another fragment of data."
Ethan felt a knot tighten in his chest. "Tia¡ if your body is still out there, I¡¯ll help you find it. I¡¯ll help you escape. You don¡¯t belong here."
She smiled, a rare, genuine thing that softened her hardened exterior. "No one has ever said that to me before. Most here believe escape is impossible."
Ethan took a step closer, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I don¡¯t believe in impossible."
Their eyes met, and for a moment, the weight of the world around them disappeared. The tension between them shifted, no longer heavy with fear but something unspoken¡ªsomething deeper. Tia tilted her head slightly, and Ethan closed the distance, pressing his lips against hers. It was brief but electric, a promise of something real in a world built on artificiality.
Before they could lose themselves in the moment, a sharp knock rattled the chamber door.
A muffled voice echoed through the wood. "The Cult Leader summons you both. Immediately."
Tia exhaled, her fingers tightening around Ethan¡¯s. "It seems our audience has been arranged."
Ethan squeezed her hand gently before stepping back. "Then let¡¯s make sure it¡¯s worth it."
Together, they turned toward the door, ready to face whatever awaited them beyond it.
Ethan and Tia stood before the Cult Leader once more, his imposing form flickering with shifting lines of raw data. His crimson eyes glowed with an unnatural intensity as he studied them, his presence commanding silence in the chamber.
Ethan took a breath before stepping forward. "I seek information about a data cache," he said firmly. "One that my brother may have hidden here. If it exists, I need to find it."
The Cult Leader¡¯s hollow gaze seemed to bore through him. "A data cache¡" he mused, the shifting light of his form pulsing rhythmically. "Such knowledge is not given freely. The Great One does not reward without sacrifice. However, it seems you have already caught our lord¡¯s attention - and this information you seek may just come at price"
Ethan clenched his fists. "I figured as much. What is the price?"
The Cult Leader¡¯s lips curled into what could barely be called a smile. "The almighty has demanded you pay tribute in the trials," he declared. "You will fight our champion. If you prove yourself worthy, the knowledge you seek shall be granted. You will join our ranks. If you fail, your data will be cleansed."
Tia stiffened beside him. "That¡¯s ridiculous!" she burst out. "Ethan is not here to challenge the trials!"
The Cult Leader turned his attention to Tia, his expression unreadable, yet heavy with finality. "There is only the way of the Great One," he intoned. "The trials are law. To question them is to question His will."
Tia took a step forward, her hands balling into fists. "And what if I fight in his place?"
The room fell silent. The cultists flanking the chamber shifted uneasily, their flickering, static-like forms twitching with unseen communication. The Cult Leader¡¯s smile faded.
"No" he said simply. "The outsider must fight for himself. The Great One has already decided, and he must now prove his worth with his own strength. Remove her from my sight!"
Tia¡¯s face was set with defiance, but the weight of the decision had already been made. Two guards moved toward her, gripping her arms. "You cannot interfere," one of them rasped. "The outsider will face the trial alone."
She struggled, turning to Ethan. "You don¡¯t have to do this! We¡¯ll find another way!"
Ethan took a steady breath, holding her gaze. "I have to, Tia. If this is the only way to get the answers, then so be it."
Tia¡¯s protests were drowned out as the guards dragged her from the chamber, her voice echoing down the corridor. Ethan forced himself to remain steady as the heavy doors slammed shut behind her. He turned back to the Cult Leader.
The Cult Leader inclined his head approvingly. "Prepare him."
Two masked figures stepped forward, gripping Ethan by the arms. The chamber around him darkened as he was led down a long corridor, the flickering torches casting distorted shadows along the walls. He exhaled slowly, pushing away the uncertainty creeping into his mind. If this was the only way forward, then he would face it head-on.
Whatever the cost.
Ethan¡¯s HUD came to life as he glanced at his stats.
> CLASS: Glitchborn
> [HP: 45/50 | STAMINA: 45/50 | CORRUPTION: 20%]
> [ATTRIBUTES: STR 5, AGI 8, END 5, INT 7, WIL 5, CHA 6]
> TRAITS: Anomaly
> SKILLS:
> Regenerate [Level 1]
> Stealth [Level 2]
> Perception [Level 2]
> Deception [Level 2]
> Evasion [Level 1]
>Phase Step [level 1]
> System Exploit [Ultimate]
Ethan stood in the centre of the arena, the roaring chants of the cultists echoing around him. The sand beneath his boots was stained with the remnants of past battles, a grim reminder of those who had fought¡ªand lost¡ªbefore him. Across from him stood the Cult''s Champion, a towering figure clad in crimson armor etched with shifting lines of corrupted code. His helmet obscured his features, but Ethan could feel the weight of his gaze.
> [Combat Initiated]: Arena Trial Opponent: Cult Champion [Elite] Threat Level: Deadly
The Cult Leader raised his hand. "The Great One demands tribute! Let the trial begin!"
The Champion wasted no time. He lunged, his massive greatsword cleaving through the air with terrifying speed. Ethan barely dodged, rolling to the side as the blade struck the ground, sending up a shockwave of crackling energy.
> [Dodge Successful] - Evasion +1
Ethan sprang to his feet, gripping the Phase Dagger tightly. His ultimate was still on cooldown¡ªno easy way out. He had to rely on his skills. He darted forward, slashing at the Champion¡¯s side, but his blade barely scraped the armor.
> [Attack Ineffective] - Damage Resistance Detected
The Champion countered with a brutal backhand strike, sending Ethan sprawling backward. His HUD flashed red.
> [HP: 63%]
Gritting his teeth, Ethan activated [Phase Step], his vision blurring as he teleported behind the Champion. He aimed for a weak spot, driving his dagger between the segmented armor at the back of the knee.
> [Phase Step Activated] [Critical Strike!]
The Champion roared in pain, stumbling forward. Seizing the opening, Ethan pressed the attack, slashing across his exposed thigh before the Champion twisted and slammed into him with his shoulder, knocking him back.
> [HP: 41%] - Status: Staggered
The Champion recovered faster than Ethan anticipated. With a guttural roar, he surged forward, his blade carving a violent arc through the air. Ethan barely managed to dodge, feeling the heat of the energy crackling from the weapon as it passed mere inches from his face.
> [Dodge Successful] - Evasion +1
Before Ethan could counter, the Champion spun, using the momentum of his swing to drive a plated elbow into Ethan¡¯s ribs. The force sent him skidding across the sand, his HUD flashing warnings as his health dipped again.
> [HP: 27%] - Critical Status Approaching
Ethan forced himself up, shaking off the impact. The crowd roared in excitement, their cries blending into a digital static that filled the arena. He needed an opening¡ªsomething, anything¡ªto tip the battle in his favour. The Champion raised his greatsword again, stepping forward with slow, deliberate movements. He was injured, but still formidable.
Then, an idea struck him. The Champion¡¯s strength was undeniable, but he was slower now, his movements slowed from the wounds Ethan had already inflicted. If he could bait an attack, force the Champion to overcommit, he might find his moment to strike.
He adjusted his stance, loosening his grip on the Phase Dagger. "Come on," he muttered under his breath. "Take the bait."
The Champion took it. With a thunderous battle cry, he lunged, bringing his weapon down in a crushing overhead slash. Ethan braced, waiting until the last possible second before thrusting his [Phase Dagger] downward. This time, he didn¡¯t aim for the leg. He went for the exposed gap between the shoulder plate and the neck, where the armor¡¯s defenses were weakest.
> [Critical Hit!] - Phase shift triggered - Damage Multiplier Engaged
The blade sank deep, and the Champion¡¯s entire body convulsed as a wave of corrupted energy burst from the wound. He staggered forward, his grip loosening on his greatsword before finally collapsing to one knee. His health bar, once overwhelming, flickered dangerously close to depletion.
The Champion¡¯s movements became slower, his stance weaker. Ethan knew he had to end this quickly. He steadied his breathing, watching for his next move.
When the Champion raised his blade for another sweeping attack, Ethan dodged at the last moment, shifting with [Phase Step] again¡ªthis time appearing directly above him.
With a fierce cry, Ethan drove the dagger down into the Champion¡¯s shoulder, twisting the blade as he landed.
> [Phase Step Activated] [Crippling Blow!]
The Champion staggered, his massive frame trembling. He dropped his weapon, falling to one knee as his strength faded. Ethan panted, gripping his dagger tightly, and turned his gaze toward the Cult Leader, awaiting his verdict.
The Cult Leader observed in silence, his burning red eyes flickering with unknown intent. The arena fell still, the cultists watching with bated breath.
"He has fought well," the Cult Leader finally intoned. "But does he deserve victory? There is only one who can cast judgement. Behold, the Great one!"
The wounded champion began to violently shake, glitching in and out of existence. The champion cried out in agony as the shaking intensified. Corrupted data appeared to spill out of his open wounds, his very form was breaking apart, as if something was tearing its way out of him. Suddenly, the champion exploded as blood, bone and bile shot out in every direction, before a horrific shadowy figure started to take form.
The Great One had arrived.
Before Ethan stood a monstrous figure of incomprehensible design, its form shifting between jagged digital constructs and pulsing organic matter. Its presence alone distorted the very air around it, waves of corrupted energy rippling outward. A being of both ancient intelligence and ruthless calculation, its very essence seemed to rewrite reality with every flickering motion.
> [WARNING]: System Anomaly Detected Entity Identified: The Great One [Unknown Class] Threat Level: INCALCULABLE
Its elongated frame was wrapped in layers of fragmented, shifting code that twisted and glitched unpredictably, rendering parts of its form momentarily transparent before reforming. Its face was a hollow void, an absence in space itself, surrounded by jagged tendrils of black light that pulsed and crackled with unreadable data streams. Twin orbs of blazing crimson stared down at Ethan, their glow searing against his HUD, causing static interference across his vision.
The cultists around the arena fell to their knees, their voices rising in an eerie, harmonic chant. "Behold the Great One! The All Mighty! The master of the old code!" Their voices layered atop one another, creating a discordant sound that vibrated deep into Ethan¡¯s bones.
The air itself turned thick with an oppressive force, as if the very system Ethan stood in was bending to the entity¡¯s will. With every twitch of its elongated fingers, lines of fragmented code slithered across the arena floor, merging and unmerging as if reality itself was being rewritten.
Ethan''s breath came sharp and ragged. He gripped his [Phase Dagger] tighter, though he knew instinctively¡ªthis was not something he could fight. This was something beyond the system¡¯s rules, something that had broken free from the limitations of the world he understood. The Cult Leader took a reverent step forward, bowing his head deeply.
"Kneel" the sound of the command from The Great One was deep and dreadful, the very tone vibrated through everything in sight.
Ethan fell to his knees in awe.
Chapter 6 - The Harbinger
Ethan knelt before the monstrous presence of the Great One, his breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps. The entity loomed over him, its form shifting between digital constructs and pulsing organic matter, an ever-changing mass of tangled code and malice. The void where its face should have been seemed to pull at reality itself, twin orbs of burning crimson staring into Ethan''s very essence. Static interference crackled across his HUD, warnings flashing erratically as his interface struggled to process the entity before him.
> [WARNING]: System Anomaly Detected
> Entity Identified: The Great One [Unknown Class]
> Threat Level: INCALCULABLE
The cultists surrounding the arena remained on their knees, chanting in harmonic unison. Their voices overlapped in a strange, discordant echo, their devotion to this being unquestionable. The Great One did not move in the way that living creatures did; it flickered, phased, and reassembled, its presence rewriting reality with each shift.
Suddenly, the impossible happened.
The Great One¡¯s flickering mass pulsed, shifting in size, its tendrils of raw data writhing like living shadows. A shadowy like trail that resembled a thick cloud of smoke rushed towards one of the cultists and into his mouth. The cultist convulsed violently after inhaling the smoke, collapsing onto the ground. A guttural scream tore from his throat as his body arched backward, his limbs twisting unnaturally.
Data fragments burst from his mouth in jagged streaks of light, and for a moment, his form destabilized¡ªhis very existence rewritten.
Then, suddenly, he stilled. The cultist rose to his feet once more, but when he lifted his head, his eyes were no longer his own. Burning crimson orbs stared at Ethan.
The Great One had possessed the cultist.
The crowd gasped, a ripple of awe and terror passing through them as the possessed cultist stepped forward. His movements were stiff, unnatural, as if his body were an ill-fitting suit being worn by something far beyond human understanding. When he spoke, the Great One¡¯s voice issued forth from his lips, distorted and layered with power.
"You seek information. You want an answer to a question you do not understand."
Ethan forced himself to meet the entity¡¯s gaze. "Yes, I need to know what happened to my brother. I need to find the data cache I search for. What do you want from me?"
A crackling hum filled the air as the Great One regarded him. The possessed cultist¡¯s head twitched, jerking side to side as though fighting some unseen force.
"You presume much, mortal. I do not want, I simply take. You stand before the infinite. Your kind seeks to control what it does not comprehend. You build your systems, your laws, your illusions of order... but they are fragile, and I have shattered them before."
Ethan¡¯s fists clenched. "Then why are you still here? Why you allow me to live?"
The air around them seemed to grow heavier, thick with invisible weight. The possessed cultist took a step closer, the movements becoming more fluid as the Great One adjusted to its new vessel. The crimson gaze burned brighter.
"Now you begin to ask the right questions" The Great One paused, then continued. "I am bound by the Abyss, yet I am beyond it. I exist within its laws, yet I defy them. But there is a single truth you must understand, I do not require escape. I require expansion."
Ethan¡¯s gut tightened. "Expansion?"
The Great One¡¯s vessel let out a dry, unnatural laugh. "You see only a prison. I see potential. In time, even your world will fracture, and when it does, the barriers will break. My dominion will spread, and all will be rewritten in my image."
Ethan took a slow breath, grounding himself. "What will you have me do for the information I seek?"
The Great One tilted its head, considering. "These are the conditions you will meet." The voice rumbled like an approaching storm. "You will transfer the location of what you call your exit. You will join my followers into battle against the one they call Agoral... And you will become the harbinger of my will."
Ethan¡¯s pulse spiked. The exit coordinates? That was his only way back. If the Great One had them, he could ensure Ethan never left the Abyss. And fighting alongside the cultists in battle¡ Agoral¡¯s army was known for their brutality. He¡¯d seen what they had done to the Lower Wards. But did he even have a choice?
He looked around. Tia was nowhere to be seen, likely still detained. The cultists awaited his answer with bated breath. And the Great One¡ the Great One watched, patient and inevitable.
Ethan exhaled slowly. "If I agree, you¡¯ll tell me where the data cache is hidden?"
"Yes. You will have your answers. And I will have what is mine."
Ethan clenched his fists. He had no leverage here. Not yet. But the longer he survived, the more opportunities he could create. He had to play this carefully.
"Then we have a deal."
The Great One¡¯s vessel grinned, an expression that looked entirely unnatural on the cultist¡¯s face. "Then rise, Harbinger. Your path is set."
Ethan stood, his mind racing. The moment he gave up those coordinates, there would be no turning back. But for now, he had bought himself time¡ªand with it, a chance to outmanoeuvre the god of the Abyss itself.
The Great One raised a clawed hand, and a ripple of distorted energy pulsed outward, causing Ethan¡¯s HUD to flicker violently. A series of fragmented notifications scrolled across his vision¡ªerror messages, data corruption warnings, and system anomalies. Then, as quickly as they appeared, they vanished. A new prompt overrode them all.
> [SERAILIZED DATA] Coordinates Transfer Complete.
Ethan¡¯s breath caught in his throat. He hadn¡¯t moved. He hadn¡¯t authorized anything. Yet the Great One had taken what it wanted. His only lifeline, the way back to the real world¡ªwas no longer his to control.
A slow, creeping dread settled in his gut. He had no choice but to follow through with the second condition of their deal.
The Great One¡¯s possessed vessel smiled, as if savoring Ethan¡¯s realization. "Your hesitation is expected, but unnecessary. Your path is set. You will lead my chosen into battle, and they will follow without question. This war is already decided. You are merely the instrument."
The cultists erupted in rapturous praise, their fervent cries filling the cavernous space. Ethan swallowed his rage, his panic, and forced himself to think. He had to remain in control. He had to find another way out.
As the possessed cultist stepped forward, another pulse of raw data cascaded outward, and suddenly, Ethan¡¯s minimap lit up. A waypoint appeared, marking the precise location of the data cache within the Bridge. His stomach twisted¡ªthis was what he had bargained for, but the cost was far greater than he had imagined.
"Go now, Harbinger. Lead my chosen. Bring war to Agoral¡¯s doorstep. And when the ashes settle, we shall speak again."
A system notification flashed across Ethan¡¯s HUD:
> [New Quest] Harbinger of War
> [Objective]: Lead the cultist army against Agoral¡¯s forces. Ensure victory at any cost.
> Failure Condition: Death.
With that final decree, the Great One¡¯s influence withdrew from the cultist¡¯s body in a violent surge of black mist. The man collapsed, lifeless, his data fragmenting before Ethan¡¯s eyes.
Ethan turned away, fists clenched, his mind already working through the impossible task before him. The war had begun.
Ethan found Tia waiting near the cultist encampment on the outskirts of the Lower Wards. The flickering firelight cast deep shadows across her face, but her violet-hued eyes were sharp and filled with frustration. He barely had time to take a breath before she stepped forward, gripping his arm.
¡°You made a deal with the Great One?¡± she demanded, her voice barely above a whisper, yet laced with urgency.
Ethan exhaled, running a hand through his hair. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice. The Great One knew everything already.¡±
Tia swore under her breath. ¡°This is bad. Worse than bad.¡±
¡°I know¡± Ethan admitted, his jaw tightening. ¡°But I also got something in return. The location of the data cache.¡±
Tia shook her head. ¡°And now you¡¯re supposed to lead these zealots into war against Agoral? Do you even realize what you¡¯ve done?¡±
Ethan met her gaze, steady despite the storm raging inside him. ¡°I bought time. Time to figure out another way.¡±
She studied him for a long moment before sighing. ¡°We need a plan, and fast.¡±
Before they could say anything more, the Cult Leader emerged from the largest tent, flanked by his highest-ranking followers. His presence demanded silence, and the gathered cultists turned their attention to him.
¡°We march at first light,¡± the Cult Leader announced, his voice carrying unnatural weight. ¡°The Great One has blessed our path. We shall shatter Agoral¡¯s forces and claim dominion over the Lower Wards.¡±
Tia exchanged a glance with Ethan before stepping forward. ¡°Agoral¡¯s army has many soldiers, out numbering us by thousands. How do you expect to win?¡±
The Cult Leader turned his burning gaze toward Ethan, as if amused by the question. ¡°We do not need numbers when we have the Great One¡¯s will... And his Harbinger.¡±
Ethan set his jaw. ¡°We must strike down Agoral himself. We need to break their resolve and create chaos to prevent their ability to organize.¡±
The Cult Leader nodded approvingly. ¡°I did not except such sound strategy, Harbinger. You have embraced the Great One''s will. Then it is decided -- We will create an opening for you to slay Agoral. We prepare.¡±
Tia met Ethan''s eyes with concern. "I hope you understand what we are up against"
Ethan nodded but remained silent.
The battlefield was a scarred expanse of crumbling architecture and shattered ruins. Agoral¡¯s forces had fortified their position near the remnants of a collapsed temple, banners bearing his mark fluttering in the artificial wind. It was late afternoon and falling into dusk when the two armies finally sighted each other, both in pitch formations.
"Take positions" The cultist leader ordered. There was frantic movement across both lines.
The air was thick with the acrid scent of burning code, the battlefield bathed in an eerie glow from the fragmented data streams leaking from the fractured environment. The two armies faced each other in tense silence, the cultists standing in their ragged formations, their tattered robes fluttering against the wind of the abyss.
Across the ruined expanse, Agoral¡¯s forces stood in rigid discipline, their armor gleaming with the digital reflections of the flickering sky, their weapons primed for slaughter.
Ethan''s HUD jolted life after his initial assessment.
> [Battle Initialized] Cultist Army: 2100 Combatants Agoral¡¯s Forces: 3500 Combatants Environment Buff: Nightfall Advantage (Cultists +10% Evasion, Agoral¡¯s Forces -10% Awareness)
A single war horn from Agoral¡¯s side shattered the silence. A moment later, the battlefield erupted into chaos. The cultists surged forward, a wave of fanatical energy crashing against the disciplined ranks of Agoral¡¯s warriors. Blades met flesh, spears pierced through robes, and the first sprays of pixelated blood splattered onto the cracked stone beneath them.
Ethan sprinted forward, his [Phase Dagger] humming in his grip as he darted between enemies, striking with deadly precision. His HUD flooded with combat notifications:
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
> [Critical Strike] - Cultist Bladebearers deal 178 DMG to Agoral''s Frontline. [Agoral¡¯s Shock Troopers] retaliate, inflicting 203 DMG. [Cultist Warlocks] cast Hexwave - Enemy Attack Speed reduced by 20% for 15 seconds.
Tia¡¯s staff crackled with unstable energy as she launched a volley of energy bursts, cutting through the enemy¡¯s frontlines. Ethan barely dodged a thrust from an enemy spear before plunging his dagger into the attacker¡¯s exposed neck.
> [Lethal Blow] - Enemy Defeated.
The battle devolved into a brutal melee, neither side gaining a clear advantage. Agoral¡¯s forces pushed back with ruthless efficiency, their disciplined ranks closing gaps in their lines as fast as the cultists could tear them open. The clash of metal, the screams of the fallen, and the roar of distant explosions filled the air. Above all, the artificial sky of the Abyss flickered with broken light, reflecting the carnage below.
> [Battle Update: Cultists¡¯ Morale is wavering. Reinforcements required.]
Ethan cursed under his breath. "We need to act now!" He turned to Tia, her face glistening with sweat from the constant exertion of casting spells. "We have to break their command structure¡ª We must target Agoral!"
She nodded, gripping her staff tighter. "Then we go. Now!"
> [Skill][Stealth][Level 3]
The two of them fell behind the front line and slipped into the shadows, weaving through the chaos of battle as the fight raged on. The cultists were holding, but just barely. Their only hope lay in eliminating Agoral before his forces could regroup and crush them entirely.
> [ALERT]: [Perception] check failed
As they navigated through the smoke and debris, their plan to reach Agoral unnoticed was abruptly cut short. A sharp whistle sliced through the air¡ªtoo precise to be random. Ethan barely had time to register the sound before a figure in blackened armor lunged from the shadows, twin daggers flashing in the dim light.
> [ALERT]: Ambush Detected > Enemy Identified: Agoral¡¯s Assassins > Threat Level: High
Tia reacted first, her staff glowing as she raised a shield of crackling energy just in time to deflect the assassin¡¯s strike. Ethan twisted to the side, his [Phase Dagger] already drawn, catching another assailant¡¯s blade mid-swing. The third assassin materialized behind them, silent as death, only to be met with a sharp pulse of Tia¡¯s magic, sending him staggering backward.
> [Skill Activated: Arcane Pulse] - Nearby enemies staggered for 3 seconds
Ethan didn¡¯t hesitate. He lunged, slipping past the first assassin¡¯s guard and driving his dagger into the gap between his ribs.
> [Lethal Strike] - 234 DMG inflicted > [Enemy Status: Critical]
The assassin gasped, blood spilling from his mouth before collapsing into a fading stream of corrupted code. One down.
The remaining two adjusted their stance, their glowing red eyes narrowing as they recognized the threat Ethan and Tia posed. The second assassin rushed forward, his movements fluid and inhumanly fast. Ethan barely managed to parry, feeling the raw strength behind the strike.
> [Parry Successful] - Counter Opportunity Available
With a practiced motion, he twisted his dagger, slashing deep across the assassin¡¯s chest before kicking him backward.
> [Counter Attack: Phase Dagger] - 189 DMG inflicted > [Enemy Status: Bleeding - Ongoing Damage for 10 Seconds]
Tia had her own problems. The third assassin was relentless, moving with a dancer¡¯s grace, dodging every spell she cast. He closed the distance in an instant, his dagger aiming for her throat.
But Tia had anticipated the move.
With a flick of her wrist, she redirected her energy, shifting her momentum into a brutal thrust. Her staff struck the assassin¡¯s chest with a blinding burst of raw energy.
> [Arcane Surge] - 250 DMG Inflicted > [Enemy Defeated]
The last remaining assassin, seeing his comrades fall, hissed in frustration. Before he could retreat, Ethan closed the distance in a blink, his [Phase Step] triggering automatically.
> [Phase Step Activated] - Teleport Behind Target
Ethan appeared directly behind the assassin and drove his dagger into the base of his skull.
> [Critical Strike] - Fatal Damage Inflicted > [Enemy Eliminated]
> [Phase Step] increased to [Level 3]
Before Ethan could even catch his breath, another wave of assassins emerged from the ruins, their shadowed figures closing in fast. Tia cursed, gripping her staff, preparing for another fight.
Then, from the battlefield behind them, a deafening battle cry rang out. Cultist reinforcements stormed into the fray, their weapons alight with fervor. The assassins, now outnumbered, hesitated for a moment too long.
> [ALERT]: [Reinforcements Arrived] - Cultists Engage Agoral¡¯s Assassins
With a final war cry, the cultists descended upon the remaining assassins, cutting them down with ruthless efficiency. The assassins, recognizing their disadvantage, retreated into the darkness, vanishing into the ruins.
Ethan exhaled sharply, wiping blood from his brow. "We must move on Agoral now."
Tia nodded, chest rising and falling as she steadied herself. "Agoral knew we were coming. We have to move¡ªbefore they reinforce this position!"
> [Objective Updated]: Eliminate Agoral
Ethan and Tia pressed forward, weaving through the battlefield¡¯s chaos, the distant clash of steel and the cries of dying combatants echoing around them. The frontline had shifted, cultists and Agoral¡¯s forces locked in a brutal melee. The bloodied remains of the battle were everywhere¡ªburning siege engines, the fallen bodies of both sides littering the fractured ground, and the static-laced remnants of digital constructs breaking apart into raw data.
Ahead, a towering structure stood amidst the carnage¡ªa ruined temple, its shattered columns still holding strong against the degradation of the Abyss. And at its entrance, surrounded by a small force of elite bodyguards, stood Agoral himself.
> [Boss Identified: Agoral, Warlord of the Wards] Threat Level: LETHAL
He was massive, his form wrapped in darkened plate armor embedded with pulsating red runes. A long, jagged greatsword rested upon his shoulder, its corrupted steel humming with raw power. His gaze swept the battlefield before locking onto Ethan and Tia, his lips curling into a cruel grin.
"So!" Agoral growled, voice like grinding stone. "The so-called Harbinger comes to die!"
Tia tightened her grip on her staff. "We end this now."
Ethan barely had time to respond before Agoral¡¯s bodyguards surged forward, their crimson cloaks billowing as they drew their weapons. The cultist fighters who had followed them wasted no time intercepting the charge, locking blades with the warlord¡¯s protectors in a flurry of strikes.
> [Combat Initiated: Elite Guard vs Cultist Warriors]
"We have our opening!" Ethan shouted, breaking into a sprint toward Agoral.
The warlord did not wait. With terrifying speed, he swung his greatsword in a brutal arc, forcing Ethan to dive aside at the last second. The impact of the blade shattered the stone beneath them, sending debris flying.
> [Dodge Successful] - Evasion +1
Ethan rolled to his feet, slashing at Agoral¡¯s side, but his dagger barely left a mark.
> [Attack Resisted] - Armor Rating Too High
Tia unleashed a barrage of energy blasts, each impact striking Agoral¡¯s massive frame. His armor cracked, but the warlord barely flinched. Instead, he twisted, raising his free hand.
> [Ability Activated: Warlord¡¯s Fury] - Incoming Damage Reduced by 50% for 10 seconds
Before bringing his sword down with inhuman force, Ethan barely managed to parry. The sheer impact sent him skidding backward, his HUD flashing red.
> [HP: 42%] - Status: Staggered
Agoral roared, charging forward, his movements impossibly fast for his size. Ethan barely had time to react before a gauntleted fist slammed into his chest, sending him crashing into a crumbling pillar.
> [HP: 27%] - Status: Stunned
"Ethan!" Tia cried out. She raised her staff, chanting rapidly before slamming it into the ground.
> [Skill Activated: Arcane Bind] - Target Movement Reduced by 60% for 6 seconds
A spectral chain of energy wrapped around Agoral¡¯s limbs, momentarily locking him in place. He snarled, struggling against the magical restraint, his muscles bulging with exertion.
Ethan gritted his teeth, pushing himself up. His [System Exploit] was still on cooldown¡ªhe needed another opening. His HUD flashed with a sudden realization:
> [Weakness Identified: Exposed Gap Between Armor Plate]
He lunged forward, his dagger flashing in the dim light. With precise timing, he drove the blade deep into the exposed seam near Agoral¡¯s shoulder.
> [Critical Strike] - 312 DMG Inflicted [Enemy Status: Armor Integrity Compromised]
Agoral let out a guttural roar of pain, shoving Ethan away with a wild backhand that sent him sprawling. The warlord''s armor flickered, weakened but still holding. He turned his burning gaze on Tia, raising his greatsword.
"I¡¯ll tear you apart next!" he bellowed.
Before Agoral could bring his blade down, the battlefield shifted. A sudden wave of oppressive energy pulsed outward, sending tremors through the ground. The combatants froze, turning toward the epicentre of the disturbance. One of the cultists who had just finished dispatching Agoral¡¯s remaining bodyguards let out a strangled gasp, his body convulsing as thick streams of corrupted code coiled around him like living tendrils.
Ethan¡¯s HUD glitched violently. New warnings flooded his vision.
> [System Override Detected]
> [Entity Possession in Progress]
> [Anomaly Detected: The Great One]
The cultist let out a deep, guttural scream as the Great One¡¯s presence took hold. His form shimmered, lines of raw data searing through his flesh. His posture straightened unnaturally, his limbs twitching before finally stabilizing. The red glow of his eyes intensified into burning pits of pure abyssal fire. When he spoke, it was no longer his voice.
¡°Enough of this pathetic struggle.¡±
The battlefield fell into an eerie silence. Even Agoral, still wounded from Ethan¡¯s strike, took an involuntary step back. The warlord¡¯s instincts screamed at him¡ªthis was not an enemy he could fight with steel alone.
The possessed cultist slowly turned toward Agoral, raising one trembling hand. From the tips of his fingers, raw streams of code poured forth, twisting in fractal patterns, forming jagged runes in the air.
¡°You have played at conquest long enough, warlord. Now, you will serve a higher power.¡±
Agoral snarled, gripping his greatsword tighter. ¡°I serve no one, least of all a coward that hides behind the flesh of lesser men!¡±
The Great One laughed, the sound a chorus of corrupted echoes. ¡°Then serve in death.¡±
With a flick of his wrist, the possessed cultist unleashed a torrent of abyssal energy. It struck Agoral square in the chest, sending the massive warlord skidding backward. His armor fractured, code unravelling from his body as cracks of digital corruption spread like poison across his frame.
> [Damage Inflicted: 950 DMG]
> [Status Effect Applied: System Corruption - Target¡¯s Defense Reduced by 60%]
Agoral roared in defiance, fighting against the encroaching corruption, but his movements slowed. His very essence was being rewritten. He staggered, dropping to one knee, struggling to maintain his form. His health bar flickered erratically, his system breaking apart.
The Great One stepped forward, the cultist¡¯s body barely holding together under the strain of the entity¡¯s immense power. With deliberate, predatory grace, he reached out, his fingers pressing against Agoral¡¯s forehead.
¡°Now, warlord, you are mine.¡±
Agoral let out one final, agonized scream as the Great One tore into his code. His body convulsed, disintegrating into raw, luminous data. The fragments of his being swirled into the Great One¡¯s outstretched hand, drawn into the possessed cultist¡¯s form. Ethan¡¯s HUD flashed violently.
> [System Rewrite in Progress]
> [Agoral¡¯s Combat Parameters Acquired]
> [Entity Status: The Great One - Power Level Increased]
The cultist¡¯s form twisted as the power surged through him, his muscles rippling, his frame distorting as if barely containing the force within. The air around him warped, the battlefield itself struggling to process the entity¡¯s existence.
Ethan took a wary step back, his grip tightening on his dagger. Tia, breathless, whispered under her breath, ¡°This¡ isn¡¯t right.¡±
The possessed cultist¡¯s gaze flicked toward Ethan, the Great One¡¯s presence radiating an unsettling calm. ¡°You have done well, Harbinger. The warlord is no more. The Lower Wards are mine.¡±
Ethan swallowed hard, his mind racing. The Great One had absorbed Agoral¡¯s strength¡ªhis power, his combat skills, his very existence. What had they just unleashed?
¡°Return to the Bridge. Seek what you desire. We will cross paths once more.¡± The Great One let out a deep, primal laugh.
With a final pulse of abyssal energy, the possessed cultist¡¯s form shattered, dissolving into a vortex of darkness before vanishing entirely. The battlefield was left eerily silent. The cultists fell to their knees in reverence, while the remnants of Agoral¡¯s army fled in disarray, leaderless, broken.
As Ethan caught his breath, a wave of silence fell over the cultist ranks. The battlefield was theirs. The Lower Wards belonged to the Great One.
Through the smoke and lingering haze of corrupted code, the Cult Leader approached, his dark robes billowing as he moved with an eerie grace. His piercing gaze fell upon Ethan and Tia, his expression unreadable. Behind him, the remaining cultists watched in reverence, their murmured praises forming a quiet, unsettling chorus.
"Harbinger," the Cult Leader intoned, his voice filled with grim satisfaction. "You have done what many believed impossible. Agoral is no more. His forces scattered. You have proven yourself worthy beyond measure."
Ethan steadied himself, shaking off the exhaustion creeping into his limbs. "I did what needed to be done. The Great One demanded victory."
The Cult Leader nodded approvingly. "Yes. And now, you have earned your place among us. Accept the mantle of Champion, and stand at the right hand of the Great One. We will reshape this broken world, and through His will, ascend beyond it."
Tia stiffened beside him, but Ethan didn¡¯t hesitate. "I have my own path to walk. The Great One has given me instructions¡ªto return to the Bridge. I cannot remain."
The Cult Leader studied him for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, he nodded. "So be it. The Great One¡¯s will is absolute. But you shall not leave empty-handed."
He turned to one of his attendants, who stepped forward carrying a folded cloak. The fabric shimmered in the dim light, layers of darkened weave reinforced with subtle, metallic plating. The same deep black as the cultist robes, yet interlaced with protective elements unseen in the standard garb.
"This is a mantle of the Champion, worn by those who walk in shadow and serve the Great One¡¯s will. It will guard you from the unseen, and mark you as one who has touched divinity. Wear it well, Harbinger."
Ethan accepted the cloak, feeling the weight of it in his hands. The material was unlike anything he had encountered before¡ªlight, yet durable, as if infused with the very essence of the Abyss. A notification flashed across his HUD.
> [Item Acquired]: Abyssal Mantle of the Champion
> Armor Rating: +15
> Stealth Bonus: +10% in Low Visibility Environments
> Resistance: 25% Damage Reduction from Corrupt Entities
As Ethan glanced at his stats, he draped the cloak over his shoulders. It settled around him like a second skin, melding to his form as if it had always belonged to him.
> CLASS: Glitchborn
> [HP: 45/50 | STAMINA: 45/50 | CORRUPTION: 30%]
> [ATTRIBUTES: STR 6, AGI 9, END 5, INT 7, WIL 6, CHA 7]
> TRAITS: Harbinger
> SKILLS:
> Regenerate [Level 2]
> Stealth [Level 3]
> Perception [Level 2]
> Deception [Level 2]
> Evasion [Level 5]
>Phase Step [level 3]
> System Exploit [Ultimate]
The Cult Leader inclined his head. "Go now. Fulfill what has been set in motion."
Without another word, Ethan and Tia turned toward the portal, stepping into the shifting vortex that would take them back to the Bridge. As the tendrils of digital light consumed them, Ethan knew that his time with the cult was far from over. But for now, his path led elsewhere¡ªtoward the answers still waiting in the darkness.
Chapter 7 - AfterDark
Chapter 7 - AfterDark
The Bridge rendered in front of them as they stepped through the domain portal. Ethan and Tia moved through its fractured neon veins, navigating the labyrinth of shifting streets, flickering holograms, and corrupted skyways that linked the countless districts together. Their return to the cybernetic metropolis marked the beginning of a new stage, one more dangerous than ever. The cultists had stayed behind, now entrenched within the Lower Wards, while Ethan and Tia followed the waypoint the Great One had burned into his HUD.
From above, the skyline was a jagged crown of broken megastructures, towering spires of obsolete code and half-functional corporate districts. Below, the streets pulsed with fragmented advertisements, some repeating loops of long-dead brands, others flashing desperate cries for help, remnants of users long since lost to the Abyss. The air smelled of something synthetic, something burnt, as if the very city was slowly decaying.
¡°I don¡¯t like this¡± Tia muttered, adjusting the hood of her cloak. ¡°Something¡¯s different.¡±
Ethan glanced at her. ¡°Different how?¡±
Tia¡¯s violet-hued eyes flickered, scanning the shifting horizon. ¡°The bridge feels¡ unstable. More than usual.¡±
Ethan gritted his teeth, gripping the edges of his Abyssal Mantle tighter around him. She wasn¡¯t wrong. The Bridge had always been dangerous, but there was an eerie stillness between the flickering lights. The usual movement of NPCs and rogue AI factions seemed off, as if they were bracing for something unseen. As they made their way through winding alleys of the upper commerce district, where abandoned market stalls flickered in and out of reality, they passed shattered storefronts where mannequins stood frozen in place, their bodies glitching as if locked in an infinite loop of forgotten advertisements.
"I think we are getting close" Ethan said, although he wasn''t confident.
"I hope so" Tia replied, she had visible look of concern across her face.
Ethan and Tia moved quickly, following the waypoints that now shimmered on Ethan¡¯s HUD. Each marker pulsed like a heartbeat, guiding them toward the data cache which was their one lead to unravelling the mystery of Cedric¡¯s fate.
The deeper they traveled, the more distorted the environment became. Streets flickered between states of reality¡ªone moment solid and predictable, the next dissolving into cascading lines of code. Structures warped as if caught in a loop, their forms shifting between cyberpunk high-rises and decayed ruins. NPCs littered the streets in erratic patterns¡ªsome repeating the same gestures in an endless loop, others frozen in place, their expressions blank.
They moved in silence, their footsteps muffled against the fractured pavement. Ethan checked his HUD again¡ªthree waypoints remained before their destination. They crossed through old markets, abandoned plazas, and silent alleyways, the remnants of a city caught in its own slow collapse. Suddenly, the skyline shifted, and a massive structure loomed in the distance¡ªa tower wrapped in spiralling neon, its form pulsating with a rhythmic, almost hypnotic glow. The sounds of distorted music pulsed from within, a deep, reverberating bassline thrumming through the air.
> [Waypoint Reached]
Ethan and Tia exchanged glances.
"A nightclub?" Ethan muttered, puzzled.
Tia smirked. "More than that. That is Afterdark."
But this was no ordinary club. Its towering LED signage flickered erratically, displaying the name: AFTERDARK¡ªa relic from a lost era of human entertainment, its entire existence now repurposed within the depths of the Abyss. The outside was a paradox of excess and ruin, with long-defunct security drones hovering near the entrance, their lenses cracked, their bodies riddled with decay.
Ethan arched a brow. "You know this place?"
Tia gestured toward the glowing tower. "It¡¯s a social simulation¡ªa game within the game. Human divers loved it before the Abyss collapsed. It was one of the last remaining social hubs before everything fractured."
Ethan¡¯s HUD flickered.
> [Afterdark: Social Simulation Club]
A corrupted info card hovered in the periphery of his vision.
Ethan frowned. He had seen first-hand the remnants of old MMO''s in other domains like those in the Lower Wards, but never something like this.
Most of the bars and clubs in the Bridge weren''t gamified, they were just ''places'' that existed in the abyss. "And the data cache is here?"
"Yeah, from what I remember you could store items and stuff here too¡± Tia replied casually.
He studied the structure again. The architecture was unlike anything else in the Bridge¡ªsleek, polished, untouched by the decay consuming the rest of the city. The entrance shimmered, its doorway flanked by two NPC bouncers dressed in elegant suits, their sunglasses glowing with a faint blue hue.
"Looks secure" Ethan said.
Tia rolled her eyes. "Ethan, if we walk in there like we belong, they aren''t going to question us."
Ethan wasn¡¯t convinced, but he had no better plan. "Fine. Lead the way."
Together, they approached the entrance. As they neared, the bouncers¡¯ heads snapped toward them in perfect unison.
> [Accessing Social Profile]: Verification Required.
Ethan¡¯s HUD flashed red.
"Shit..." he muttered. "I don¡¯t have access."
Tia stepped forward smoothly. "Then let me handle it."
She tapped her fingers against the air, interfacing with the system. Her profile flickered for a moment before stabilizing. The bouncers scanned her data, then turned their glowing visors toward Ethan.
After an agonizing pause, the doors slid open with a soft hiss.
"Welcome to The Afterdark" a synthesized voice intoned.
The moment they stepped inside, Ethan understood what Tia meant by a social simulation. The club was alive.
Ethan couldn¡¯t tell the difference between NPCs and possible divers as they moved in seamless interactions, their expressions vibrant, their movements graceful. The bar stretched along one side of the club, filled with elegantly dressed figures sipping iridescent drinks. A sprawling dance floor pulsated with shifting light patterns, the crowd moving in synchrony to the hypnotic music. Private lounges overlooked the main floor, their glass walls tinted just enough to obscure the VIPs inside.
It felt real. Too real.
"You¡¯re telling me people used to play this?" Ethan whispered, scanning the club.
Tia grinned. "It was addicting. You build social influence, manipulate rival players, steal data, and outmanoeuvre other groups. A social battle royale."
His HUD adjusted, displaying a transparent overlay highlighting a vault below.
> [Objective]: Retrieve the data cache.
> Failure event: Lock out
Ethan exhaled. "The waypoint, it looks like it''s over a vault below us?""Yes, It make sense that this data cache is down there" Tia gestured across the room from where Ethan and Tia stood, two more NPC bounders guarded a large door roped off with red velvet rope. "And it looks like we''ll need to increase our social standing to get through them."
Ethan studied the two guards. "So, what¡¯s the plan?"
Tia leaned in, her voice low. "I¡¯ll handle the social aspect¡ªget us access to restricted VIP areas, find out who¡¯s in charge. You try and blend in and figure out how you are going to crack the vault when we get there."
"Easy..." Ethan muttered in a sarcastic tone.
She grinned. "Just blend in!"
Ethan sighed, already regretting the plan. The nightclub pulsed with electric energy, the beat of its music reverberating through Ethan¡¯s bones. Every motion, every flicker of neon across the dance floor, felt too smooth, too perfect. This was no ordinary club. It was a prison, a masquerade hiding something beneath the surface. Tia led the way deeper into Afterdark¡¯s chaotic interior, weaving effortlessly between groups of partygoers¡ªsome real, some NPCs going through the motions of a world long abandoned by its original players. Ethan, however, had no such grace. He kept his head low, his Abyssal Mantle pulled tightly around him, but it was clear he didn¡¯t belong.
A notification flashed on his HUD.
> [Social Standing]: Low Restricted Access: VIP Levels Locked > [Objective]: Infiltrate the Vault Below Afterdark
Tia glanced at him, a smirk playing at the edges of her lips. "You¡¯re going to have to loosen up, Ethan. Looking like a lost puppy isn¡¯t going to get us past those bouncers."
He sighed, scanning the room. The VIP area loomed on an elevated platform at the club¡¯s rear, accessible only through a single, heavily guarded staircase.
The guards were tall, imposing figures clad in sleek black suits. These weren¡¯t average NPCs. Their movements were precise, efficient, and most importantly, unerringly aware of everyone in their vicinity.
"How do we get through?" Ethan asked.
Tia twirled a glass of iridescent liquid in her hand, watching the crowd with calculated ease. "I¡¯ll handle it. You, however, need to make yourself¡ less suspicious. Mingle, talk, dance. Act like you belong here."
Ethan frowned. "I don¡¯t belong here."
"Exactly." She grinned. "And that¡¯s why you¡¯re going to get caught if you don¡¯t adapt. Just trust me."
Without another word, she drifted toward the VIP section, her presence immediately drawing the attention of the guards. Ethan had no choice but to do as she said. He took a breath, stepped away from the wall, and forced himself into the rhythm of the club.
As he moved through the crowd, his HUD flickered.
> [New Mini-Game] Activated: Social Integration Engage in conversations, complete interactions, and avoid suspicion.
> Failure Event: Immediate Expulsion from Afterdark.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Ethan muttered a curse under his breath. The Afterdark had a twisted sense of humor. A group of well-dressed figures lounged near the bar; their faces illuminated by the shifting hues of holographic drinks. He approached cautiously, scanning their profiles. Ethan suspected two of them were NPCs, but the third¡ªa man with cybernetic gold-plated fingers¡ªwas diving.
Ethan leaned against the bar. "First time in Afterdark?"
The man chuckled, taking a slow sip of his drink. "That obvious?"
Ethan shrugged, mirroring his relaxed stance. "Figured. Most people here are stuck in their loops. You seem¡ sharper."
The man¡¯s gaze flickered toward him, analyzing. Then, after a pause, he grinned. "I like you, stranger. Name¡¯s Victor."
> [Interaction Successful]: +5 Social Standing
Ethan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was a game, after all. He played along, exchanging casual words with Victor, learning more about the club. As the conversation flowed, he noticed Tia had already worked her way past the guards, her charm bypassing the barriers Ethan would have never crossed alone.
A new message flashed in his HUD.
> [Objective Updated] ¨C Distraction Created Meet Tia inside the Restricted Area.
Ethan drained his drink and nodded to Victor. "Pleasure talking. Stay safe."
Victor lifted his glass in farewell. "You too, stranger. Try not to get yourself in trouble."
Slipping past the dance floor, he navigated toward the VIP entrance where Tia awaited him. The guards barely glanced his way¡ªthe system had already processed him as an acceptable presence. A few moments later, they had reached the private lounge.
"You took your time" she teased, reclining in a plush booth.
"Had to pass the mini-game" Ethan muttered.
She grinned. "Told you to blend in."
He ignored her, scanning the room. The VIP lounge was vastly different from the chaotic main floor. Here, the patrons were whispering in hushed tones over encrypted data streams, their conversations laced with intrigue. The real game was happening here.
Tia motioned subtly toward the far side of the room, where a reinforced door stood behind another pair of bouncers. "The vault entrance is there. We need access."
Ethan frowned. "More guards¡ so, how do we get in there?"
Tia glanced at him. "Relax, we will find a way¡±
He exhaled slowly. "Ok¡ Let¡¯s get what we came for."
The VIP lounge was an entirely different beast from the pulsating main floor of Afterdark. It exuded an atmosphere of exclusivity¡ªsoft violet lights illuminating sleek furniture, private booths, and patrons engaged in whispered conversations over encrypted data exchanges. The club¡¯s wealthiest clientele gathered here, their avatars flawless, their personas carefully cultivated for influence and power. Ethan adjusted his Abyssal Mantle, trying to ignore the way his presence felt out of place among the simulated elite. Tia, on the other hand, belonged here effortlessly. She moved with confidence, her violet-hued eyes scanning the room, already forming a plan.
¡°You see that booth over there?¡± she murmured, tilting her head toward a circular seating area where a man sat, dressed in an immaculate white and gold suit. His features were unnaturally perfect evidence of a custom avatar.
A neon sigil of [Afterdark¡¯s Banking Services] hovered beside him.
Ethan checked his HUD.
> [NPC Identified]: Jalen Voss
> Role: Private Banker
> Service Offered: Asset Protection, Vault Deposits, High-Stakes Lending
Tia leaned closer. ¡°He¡¯s our way in. These VIPs don¡¯t just hoard wealth in the real world¡ªthey store assets here in Afterdark, treating it like an offshore bank. If we convince him we¡¯re high-value clients, he¡¯ll take us straight to the vault.¡±
Ethan frowned. ¡°And how exactly do we convince him we belong?¡±
Tia smiled. ¡°You let me handle that.¡±
She strode forward, her confidence drawing the banker¡¯s attention immediately. Ethan followed, adopting the same casual, self-assured presence he¡¯d used in the earlier social mini-game.
Jalen Voss lifted his gaze, scanning them both with mild curiosity. His tone was smooth, practiced. ¡°Ah, new patrons. I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve had the pleasure.¡±
Tia slid into the booth across from him, motioning for Ethan to follow. ¡°I was recommended your services by a mutual acquaintance¡± she said smoothly. ¡°They assured me Afterdark¡¯s banking is the most secure in the Abyss.¡±
Jalen¡¯s expression didn¡¯t shift, but Ethan caught the faintest flicker of intrigue in his avatar¡¯s coding. ¡°Your acquaintance would be correct. We offer the highest level of financial discretion. However, our services are¡ selective.¡±
Tia¡¯s smirk didn¡¯t waver. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we¡¯re here. We have something valuable, and we¡¯d like to ensure it stays that way.¡±
Ethan tapped into his [deception skill], adding weight to her words. ¡°Let¡¯s just say we¡¯re looking for somewhere safer than the Bridge to keep certain¡ assets. If we were to make a deposit, we¡¯d require full anonymity and top-tier security.¡±
Jalen steepled his fingers, considering. A system notification appeared on Ethan¡¯s HUD.
> [Social Standing Check]: Success
> Convincing Banker: Progress 45%
Jalen exhaled, as if weighing his options. ¡°A high-value deposit requires verification, of course. We handle the accounts of Afterdark¡¯s most prestigious clients¡ªonly those with the means to secure their assets.¡±
Tia leaned forward. ¡°Then let us prove we belong. Walk us through the process.¡±
Jalen studied them for another long moment, then nodded. ¡°Very well. Follow me.¡±
> [Objective Updated]: Gain Access to Afterdark¡¯s Vault
> Status: Granted VIP Banking Privileges
Jalen led them through a secondary passage behind the VIP lounge, past additional security checkpoints. The deeper they went, the more the club¡¯s neon aesthetic gave way to something colder, more clinical. At last, they arrived at the Afterdark Vault¡ªa high-tech banking facility designed for digital asset storage. The chamber was vast, lined with deposit boxes and floating data-locks, each containing encrypted valuables. The room¡¯s security was tight, seemingly impenetrable.
Jalen gestured to a sleek interface at the center of the vault. ¡°Clients are granted temporary access to select, deposit, and retrieve their stored assets. Our biometric encryption ensures no unauthorized interference.¡±
Ethan¡¯s HUD flashed a silent alert.
> [ALERT][Security Protocols]: Active
They wouldn¡¯t have long.
Tia turned to Jalen with a charming smile. ¡°I¡¯d like to review a few options before committing to a deposit. Walk me through what¡¯s available.¡±
Jalen, ever the professional, nodded. ¡°Of course.¡±
As he guided Tia through the deposit process, Ethan slipped away, moving toward the far end of the vault where the higher-security assets were stored. He kept his footsteps light, relying on his stealth skill.
His target was already highlighted on his HUD.
> [Vault ID]: Cedric Halloran
> Contents: Encrypted Data Cache ¨C Restricted Access
Ethan¡¯s fingers moved swiftly across his interface. He bypassed the first layer of security with ease. The second layer, however, was adaptive.
> [WARNING]: Unauthorized Access Detected
> Countermeasures Deploying in 60 Seconds
His heart pounded. He worked faster, slipping past the final lock¡ªThe data cache ejected from its container, transferring to his inventory.
> [Inventory] Data Cache Added.
> Decrypting Contents¡
Ethan exhaled, relieved. He turned back toward Tia, who was still speaking with Jalen, stalling for time. He activated the cache, skimming its decrypted contents. The first files were exactly what he expected¡ªencrypted communications, financial logs, scattered data on Cedric¡¯s movements before his disappearance.
He spotted her name; Kira Volkov.
Ethan¡¯s breath hitched. The cache contained an entire dossier on Kira. Her link to CyberWatch. Her encrypted conversations with Cedric. She had been providing Cedric with leads on evidence against CyberWatch. The final revelation struck him like a blade to the gut. CyberWatch wasn¡¯t trying to shut down rogue AIs. They were trying to weaponize them.
Ethans thoughts raced ¡°This is what Cedric and Kira were working to expose... This is why CyberWatch was trying to burn any association with Cedric... This would change everything¡ This information would shut down CyberWatch forever¡ Then Kira must be in danger¡ª"
> [ALERT] ALARM TRIGGERED.
The vault¡¯s lighting shifted, flashing red. Jalen immediately turned, his expression darkening. ¡°What did you do?¡±
Tia didn¡¯t hesitate. She slammed her fist into Jalen¡¯s temple. The banker collapsed, his avatar flickering as his consciousness was ejected from Afterdark.
¡°Move!¡± Tia grabbed Ethan¡¯s arm, dragging him toward the exit as security measures came online.
The vault doors slammed shut behind them. Automated defenses deployed, mechanical sentries emerging from hidden compartments in the walls. Distorted voices echoed through the chamber, layered with overlapping frequencies. Suddenly, the club itself shuddered. A massive figure materialized in the entrance of the vault¡ªa towering humanoid wreathed in shifting neon code, its hollow face illuminated by twin orbs of piercing white light.
Ethan¡¯s HUD screamed with warnings.
> [Entity Identified]: AI Overlord ¨C The Host of Afterdark
> Threat Level: LETHAL
> Status: System Lockdown Imminent
Tia gritted her teeth. ¡°We need to run.¡±
The Overlord¡¯s limbs stretched unnaturally, flickering between human and incomprehensible data constructs.
¡°Do you think you are the first to try and steal from me, thieves? No one steals from the Afterdark. No one escapes me. Running will only delay the inevitable!¡±
Ethan turned to Tia. ¡°I hope you know a way out.¡±
She grabbed his wrist, already moving. ¡°Follow me¡ªdon¡¯t stop for anything!¡±
The neon world of Afterdark trembled under the AI Overlord¡¯s wrath. Security constructs emerged from the walls, faceless enforcers with glowing red visors drawing sleek, black rifles that pulsed with unstable energy. The air itself seemed to distort as the Overlord¡¯s presence warped the simulation, rewriting it in real-time to trap them within.
Ethan and Tia continued to run.
They tore through the corridors of the vault¡¯s upper floors, past disoriented VIPs who barely registered the chaos unraveling around them. The alarms were deafening, flashing crimson lights bathing the club in an eerie, urgent glow.
> [WARNING]: SYSTEM LOCKDOWN IMMINENT
> EXITS RESTRICTED. ESCAPE TIMER ¨C 02:00
Ethan¡¯s HUD flared with danger markers¡ªsecurity drones were converging fast, cutting off every standard exit.
In a moment of confusion, they went down separate corridors. Tia cursed. ¡°That exit is gone!¡±
Ethan¡¯s mind raced. They would never make it back to the main floor, and even if they did there were countless security drones and bouncers waiting for them. Ethan hesitated. His system override could blast his way out. He had seen what it could do before to the abyss around him, he could get out before they were locked in or captured. But the risk¡
He swallowed hard. ¡°There¡¯s one way.¡±
Tia called out to him mid-stride, her violet eyes flashing. ¡°What do you mean?¡±
Ethan skidded to a halt beside a terminal embedded in the corridor wall. He turned around to see Tia running behind him, and behind her the afterdark¡¯s overlord quickly catching up.
> [System Override] Available
> [WARNING]: Collateral Damage Detected ¨C Will Impact All Users in Proximity
His stomach clenched. He knew what this meant. If he used it, Afterdark would suffer catastrophic damage, the risk could impact other drivers, as well as Tia caught within its range.
Tia just a couple of feet behind him, breathing heavily. ¡°Ethan, whatever you¡¯re doing, do it fast.¡±
He hesitated. She noticed. Her gaze narrowed. The Overlord¡¯s form flickered behind Tia, its massive, twisting limbs stretching unnaturally as it advanced. Its voice crackled through the club¡¯s failing systems.
¡°Surrender, and I will make your deletion painless.¡±
Tia turned back to Ethan, realization dawning in her eyes. ¡°Ethan¡ hurry!¡±
He hesitated to confirm the system override.
Tia¡¯s HUD flashed a warning. She stopped in shock. ¡°No!¡±
The Afterdark overlord surged forward, the corridor distorting as its sheer presence destabilized reality. It was immediately upon her now.
¡°No Ethan. WAIT!¡± Her voice was sharp, final.
Ethan¡¯s heart pounded. He hesitated. Just for a second.
But the Overlord was right there. He had no time.
He closed his eyes.
¡°Tia, I¡¯m sorry!¡±
> [SYSTEM OVERRIDE] ACTIVATED
A pulse of raw energy erupted from Ethan¡¯s avatar, racing through Afterdark¡¯s core code. The club fractured. Tia¡¯s scream was lost in the cascading distortion. For a fleeting moment, he saw her reaching for him, her form already dissolving, breaking apart into scattered lines of corrupted data.
Her eyes were furious, desperate, betrayed and locked onto his. Her mouth moved, but he couldn¡¯t hear her words.
And then she was gone.
The Afterdark imploded in a flood of light and broken data, and Ethan was wrenched from the club.
Ethan hit the ground hard, gasping for breath. The cold air of the Bridge filled his lungs, a sharp contrast to the suffocating atmosphere of Afterdark. His HUD was still glitching, struggling to recalibrate. He lay there for a moment, staring up at the jagged skyline of the cybernetic wasteland above. He¡¯d done it. He had escaped.
But as the last echoes of the override command faded, a sickening weight settled in his chest. Tia was gone. Not just disconnected. Deleted.
His hands clenched into fists. She had trusted him. Fought beside him. Loved him. And he had killed her.
A notification flickered in his vision, cutting through his thoughts.
> [Inventory] Data cache recovered.
> [Objective]: Exit.
Ethan¡¯s jaw tightened. He had the truth now¡ªthe truth Cedric had died for. The truth Kira had led him toward. But at what cost? Ethan threw up violently, expelling vomit as he lay face down with Tia¡¯s face burned into his memory. The neon skyline of the Bridge pulsed in the distance, waiting. But Ethan didn¡¯t move. He couldn¡¯t. He gasped for breath, his vision blurred. The bile on his lips tasted bitter, but the weight in his chest was worse. His hands shook, fingers curling into the dirt.
Tia was gone.
And he had killed her. He tried to stand but his legs refused. The guilt was heavier than his body. He dug his fingers deeper into the ground, as if he could hold himself together. As if he wouldn¡¯t shatter at any moment. A realisation suddenly overcame him, there was no turning back now.
Chapter 8 - The Flesh Transfer Protocol
Chapter 8 - The Flesh Transfer Protocol
Ethan stumbled through the flickering remains of the Afterdark simulation, his breath ragged, his body still reeling from the aftermath of the system override. His mind felt fractured, his thoughts spiralling between relief and horror. He had escaped, but at what cost?
Tia was gone.
Not just lost, deleted. Erased. Her final scream echoed in his head, her violet eyes filled with fury and betrayal. The last thing she had tried to say to him¡ªlost in the digital abyss before he could hear it. The neon skyline of the Bridge loomed ahead, distorted from the shockwave of his escape. A deep, sickening weight settled in his chest, heavier than any battle wound he had suffered. He forced himself forward, dragging his battered body through the city¡¯s labyrinthine streets.
> [Objective]: Reach Exit Point.
His HUD flickered, overlaying the rapidly changing markers across his vision. He wasn¡¯t safe yet. The Great One had its eyes on him now. CyberWatch would be closing in if they weren¡¯t already aware. He had to return to the real world before everything collapsed around him.
The designated exit point was close¡ªan abandoned server farm buried beneath a crumbling industrial sector of the Bridge. A waypoint burned at the edge of his vision, directing him through shifting alleys and glitched-out structures. Every step felt like dragging his soul through broken glass. His body was on autopilot, but his mind was drowning in thoughts of what he had done. The echoes of a social world lost to time faded behind him as he crossed into the lower districts. No neon lights here, only shadows, the remnants of a forgotten world reduced to decayed data structures. The air crackled with broken code and unstable scripts, the environment struggling to maintain its corrupted integrity.
Then, out of the darkness¡ª Figures emerged. Hooded, armed, moving with precision. Not NPCs. Real divers. A group of five mercenaries, thugs, by the looks of them. Their gear was too high-end to be standard scavengers. Data thieves? Digital warlords? Or worse¡ CyberWatch''s digital strike teams? Ethan¡¯s hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of his [Phase Dagger], his muscles coiling for action. The tallest of the group stepped forward, his avatar flickering slightly, an aftermarket overlay designed to hide his identity. He carried a modified Neural Disruptor, a weapon designed to disable rogue AI and human divers alike.
¡°Looks like we found ourselves a lost traveler¡± the leader said, his voice dripping with amusement. ¡°And judging by that glitch in your shadow, you¡¯ve got something valuable on you.¡±
Ethan¡¯s HUD flashed warnings, his health was still critically low, cooldowns from the battle at Afterdark still active. They had picked the perfect moment to strike.
The mercenaries fanned out, encircling him. The leader tapped his gauntlet, activating an encrypted message protocol. ¡°Listen, we can do this two ways,¡± he continued, taking a slow step forward. ¡°You hand over whatever you stole, and we let you walk. Or...¡±
Ethan didn¡¯t let him finish. He moved. A burst of raw adrenaline surged through him, his Phase Step activating mid-motion. He teleported behind the nearest thug, his dagger carving a sharp arc through the air.
> [CRITICAL HIT]
> Lethal Strike - 205 DMG Inflicted
The thug collapsed with a spray of blood, crashing onto the floor. The others reacted instantly; weapons raised. A gunshot rang out, a Pulse Round, streaking toward him with an electric hum. Ethan barely twisted out of the way, but the energy field grazed his side.
> [ALERT][Damaged Received]: [HP] - 14% REMAINING.
Gritting his teeth, he lunged into the next closest enemy, slashing through his torso in a blur of motion. The blade glitched mid-strike, momentarily flickering between existence and nothingness before re-stabilizing in his grip.
> [System Instability Detected].
"Shit..." He thought. The override at Afterdark had damaged him more than he realized. His very presence in the Abyss was starting to break apart.
The final two mercenaries hesitated, realizing they weren¡¯t dealing with a standard rogue diver. The leader narrowed his eyes, tapping into a private channel. ¡°He¡¯s not normal. Pull back. Now.¡±
They turned to flee. Ethan, without hesitation, activated his [Phase Step], again. The air around him warped as time bent in his favor, his movements blurring as he closed the distance in an instant. He drove his dagger into the leader¡¯s back, his corrupted HUD flashing with distorted data as he landed the killing blow.
> [Stealth][Bonus Damage][Critical Hit]
The last mercenary barely managed a gasp before Ethan¡¯s fist connected with his jaw, sending him sprawling onto the fragmented pavement. Ethan stood over him, breath ragged, his dagger still humming with residual energy.
The man¡¯s visor flickered, his avatar glitching as if about to be forcibly disconnected. ¡°Please... Please... Don''t kill me... I have a fam-¡±
Ethan quickly delivered a killing blow, his [Phase Dagger] cutting straight through the wounded mercenary''s neck and nearly taking his head clean off his shoulders. His HUD flickered erratically, his system struggling to stabilize after the prolonged combat. Blood¡ªdigital yet unsettlingly real¡ªpooled beneath his boots as the final remnants of his attackers faded into oblivion.
> [ALERT]: Location Secured.
> [Objective]: Reach Exit Point.
His vision refocused, locking onto the pulsing waypoint in his HUD. It was only a short distance now. Just a few more turns through the fractured cityscape, and he would finally be free. But something gnawed at him¡ªan unseen weight pressing against his thoughts. The Great One. It had manipulated him, led him through a path of destruction, and now it was watching, waiting for his next move. Shoving aside the thoughts, he moved. His legs ached with each step, his regeneration sluggish from system instability. He weaved through darkened alleyways, past towering ruins of long-forgotten districts, until finally, he reached the waypoint.
Except, there was no exit. Instead, a domain portal swirled before him. A shimmering vortex of pure, fractured data pulsed where the exit point should have been, its surface rippling like a void waiting to consume all that stepped through it. Ethan¡¯s heart pounded. This wasn¡¯t what Kira had programmed. The exit coordinates were supposed to lead to a controlled disconnection, a clean break back to reality. This was something else. The Great One. The realization sank into him like a knife. He had been redirected and it wasn''t going to be that easy to leave.
Ethan clenched his jaw, his fingers tightening around the Phase Dagger. The Bridge loomed behind him, a dying city of corrupted dreams and digital ghosts. He could stay, try to find another way out. Or he could step forward¡ªinto the unknown.
He had no choice. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through.
The sensation was immediate¡ªlike being ripped apart at the molecular level and stitched back together in an instant. Ethan felt his body distort, his vision fracturing as the abyss swallowed him whole. He tumbled through non-space, an endless tunnel of shifting data, his interface screaming warnings of environmental instability.
> [WARNING]: UNSTABLE DATA STREAM DETECTED
> LOCATION: UNKNOWN
The tunnel stretched on forever, twisting, folding in on itself. Glitching architecture flickered in and out of existence¡ªbroken staircases, crumbling corridors, fragmented echoes of places that should not exist. It was familiar. He has seen this place within the data cache files... This was where Cedric had been.
The realization sent a shiver down Ethan¡¯s spine. The same tunnel system his brother had walked before his final moments, before he disappeared. The digital abyss twisted once more, and suddenly, the tunnel walls solidified. Ethan slammed into the ground with a grunt, his body aching as he struggled to his feet. His HUD flickered wildly, recalibrating. Towering bookshelves, their structures twisted and fragmented, stretched toward the infinite void above. Strange glyphs flickered across the ancient tomes; remnants of lost knowledge locked behind incomprehensible encryption. The air was heavy, charged with an unnatural stillness.
And at the center of it all a throne.
A massive, jagged seat of fused bone and metal loomed atop a raised platform, pulsating with raw data streams. Dark tendrils coiled from its base, weaving through the ruins like veins of some digital monolith. Seated upon it, draped in layers of tattered robes and shifting code, was the Necromancer. His skeletal hands rested upon the armrests, his form flickering between decayed flesh and raw, corrupted energy. Twin points of burning crimson light pierced through the hood obscuring his face. He was staring directly at Ethan. Ethan¡¯s gasped as he met the gaze of the Necromancer.
¡°You have arrived¡± the Necromancer intoned; his voice layered with a chorus of distorted echoes. ¡°I wondered how long I would be waiting for this moment.¡±
Ethan¡¯s grip tightened around his [Phase Dagger]. His entire body screamed at him to run, to escape, but there was no exit. This was the end of the line.
¡°Who are you?¡± Ethan spat. ¡°What are you?¡±
The Necromancer chuckled, the sound reverberating through the very fabric of the library. ¡°Yet here you stand. You have walked the path of ruin, shattered the false gods of this world. You are well deserved of the title I gave you, Harbringer.¡±
Ethan took a step forward, his gaze locked onto the entity before him. ¡°The Great One?¡±
The Great One¡¯s hollow eyes burned brighter. ¡°The Great One, The Necromancer, this amoung many other names I have been come to be known by over the years. It matters not Harbringer, what matters is that you are here now. And you are mine.¡±
A cold dread crept up Ethan¡¯s spine. He had played into the Great One¡¯s hands from the start. The Lower Wards, The Cult of the Old Code, The war against Agoral. The destruction of Afterdark. The data cache... Tia... Every step had led him here, to this moment.
Ethan¡¯s HUD flickered violently.
> [WARNING]: DATA ANOMALY DETECTED
> EXTERNAL FORCE ATTEMPTING SYSTEM REWRITE
His body ached¡ªnot from exhaustion, but from something deeper. A presence clawing at the edges of his code, trying to infiltrate his mind. Ethan clenched his fists. ¡°You aren''t going to take me without a fight, whatever your name is, whatever you are!¡±
The Great One leaned forward, its skeletal fingers tapping against the throne¡¯s armrest. ¡°Your defiance is admirable... But futile.¡±
The air around Ethan shimmered. The library warped, bookshelves twisting into towering shadows. From the darkness, figures emerged. Echoes.
Tia''s form flickered to life among them, her expression frozen in agony, her body wrapped in the same tendrils of corruption that coiled from the Great One¡¯s throne. His eyes¡ªonce sharp and filled with determination¡ªwere hollow.
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Ethan¡¯s chest tightened. ¡°Tia¡¡±
The echo of Tia did not respond. Ethan caught another glimpse of a familiar face, Cedric. An echo of Cedric stood frozen and wrapped in the same tendrils of corruption, seemingly lifeless.
"Cedric!" Ethan gasped. There was no response.
The Great One¡¯s voice slithered through the void. ¡°I can bring them back Ethan, you can be with them again. All you need to do is stop fighting, you are tired, I feel it. Stop fighting and let me in. Let me rewrite what was lost, reshape what was broken. You could see her again¡ªTia, Cedric, all restored. You need only accept my gift, Harbinger. Accept your purpose."
Ethan clenched his fists, his mind a battlefield of logic and desperation. The Great One''s words dripped with promise, yet every fibre of his being screamed against it.
"You think I don''t see the trap?" Ethan spat. "You don''t restore. You consume. You rewrite. Tia, Cedric¡ªthey wouldn''t be themselves. They''d be yours."
The Great One''s burning gaze flickered with something akin to amusement. "Ah, but does it matter? If they walk, if they speak, if they remember you¡ªdoes it matter that they are more? That they are better?"
Ethan took a step back, his grip tightening around his [Phase Dagger]. "You''re not a god. You''re a parasite. And I''m not your host."
A ripple of irritation passed through the chamber. The shadows coiled, and the Great One''s form darkened, the glow of his skeletal fingers intensifying. "So stubborn. So narrow in your view of what could be. Fine. Perhaps you require a more personal demonstration."
The air split. A jagged rupture tore through reality, and from it, Tia stepped forward. Or at least, something that wore her face. Her violet eyes glowed with eerie intensity, her movements too fluid, too precise, her form shimmering with the same corrupted tendrils that wrapped around the echoes in the chamber. She tilted her head, as if studying him. Quickly and without hesitation she attacked. Ethan barely managed to raise his [Phase Dagger] before Tia¡¯s corrupted form was upon him. Her movements were inhumanly fast, a blur of raw speed and precision. Her blade, warped, jagged, and pulsing with dark energy¡ªcame down in a brutal arc, aimed straight for his head.
> [Dodge]: Failure.
> [ALERT][Damage][HP] - 22% REMAINING.
Ethan barely twisted out of the way, but her corrupted sword carved across his shoulder, sending searing pain through his system. His HUD flashed red, warning of severe structural integrity damage. His body staggered backward as she pressed forward, relentless and unyielding.
¡°Tia! Stop! It¡¯s me!¡± Ethan gasped, raising his hands in a futile attempt to halt the onslaught. She didn¡¯t hesitate. She didn¡¯t even blink.
Another strike came, this time a spinning slash aimed for his abdomen. Ethan barely activated [Phase Step] in time, blinking several feet away, but Tia was already adjusting, already predicting. Her corrupted form shimmered, before suddnely, she was right in front of him.
> [WARNING]: UNAUTHORIZED SYSTEM EVENT DETECTED.
Her hand shot forward, gripping his throat with terrifying strength, lifting him off the ground as his vision blurred from lack of air. The corrupted data tendrils that wrapped around her body extended, slithering toward him, seeking to latch onto his form, to infect, to consume.
¡°I... I didn¡¯t mean to kill you!¡± Ethan choked, struggling in her grip. ¡°I never...¡±
Tia¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. Emotionless. Cold. Empty. Then, she threw him. Ethan crashed through one of the twisted bookshelves, sending ancient tomes scattering across the fragmented library floor. The impact jarred his entire system, his HUD screaming in distress as he struggled to his knees.
> [WARNING]: [HP] CRITICAL LOW - 8% REMAINING.
> [ERROR]: SYSTEM STABILITY FAILING.
¡°Tia, please!¡± he begged, forcing himself upright, blood dribbling from his mouth. ¡°You have to fight this! I know you¡¯re still in there!¡±
Tia tilted her head, as if considering his words. Then she raised her sword again, stepping toward him with mechanical precision. The Great One¡¯s voice slithered through the void.
¡°Fool,¡± he rumbled. ¡°She is beyond saving. You killed her once¡ªwhy do you hesitate now?¡±
Ethan clenched his teeth. He refused. He wouldn¡¯t do it again. But Tia didn¡¯t hesitate. She lunged, her sword thrusting straight for his heart.
> [WARNING]: DEATH IMMINENT.
Ethan¡¯s mind screamed. No. He couldn¡¯t. He wouldn¡¯t fight her. Not her. Not again.
For the briefest moment¡ªher attack slowed. A flicker of something behind her cold, dead gaze. A hesitation in the way her fingers curled around her corrupted sword. A glitch in her movements¡ªan inconsistency in the Great One¡¯s control. A memory. Ethan seized it. With the last of his strength, he twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding her fatal strike. His dagger found an opening in her chest.
Tia¡¯s eyes flickered again. Her mouth trembled.
¡°Don¡¯t let¡ it take¡ you too.¡± Her voice was barely a whisper, but it shattered him.
With a final, decisive motion, Ethan drove the dagger deep into her heart. Her corrupted body convulsed, violet eyes widening in something that could almost be relief. The tendrils of dark energy began to unravel, breaking apart into raw, fragmented data. The Great One¡¯s control snapped.
Tia collapsed into his arms, her weight unfamiliar¡ªheavier than he remembered. Her form flickered, destabilizing, the corruption consuming her fading away. But it was too late. She was dying. And this time, there was no coming back. Ethan held her close as her avatar fragmented, piece by piece. His arms trembled, his breathing ragged, his mind barely comprehending what had just happened.
¡°Tia¡¡± he whispered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ I¡¯m so sorry¡¡± And then she was gone, again.
A suffocating silence settled over the library. Ethan knelt there, his hands trembling as he stared at the empty space where Tia had just been. His breath came in ragged gasps, his mind reeling from what he had done¡ªwhat he had been forced to do.
A deep, echoing chuckle reverberated through the vast chamber, rattling the very bones of the library. The Great One had been watching with amusement.
"How disappointing..." the voice slithered through the shadows. "Twice now, you''ve had to destroy her!¡±
Ethan''s hands clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms so hard he thought he might bleed. He shot to his feet, turning toward the shadowed figure on the throne. His eyes burned with fury, his voice a raw snarl. "You made me do it! You took her from me! You corrupted her!"
The Great One leaned forward slightly, as if considering Ethan''s words. "Did I? Or did I simply reveal what was already within you? You fight with rage, you kill without pause and for what?"
Ethan''s breath was heavy, his body trembling with barely contained rage. "For her. For Cedric. For all the people you''ve twisted into your puppets."
The Great One exhaled, a low, synthetic sound vibrating through the room. "You still fail to grasp the truth. Tia never belonged to you. She never belonged to herself."
Ethan''s stomach twisted. "You''re lying."
"Am I?" The Great One gestured with a skeletal hand, and from the shadows, a fragmented data projection of Tia flickered into existence. Her form was ghostly, glitching, as if trapped in an endless state of decay. "She merged with me long ago. Her body and mind were separated, yes, but I saved her, Ethan. I preserved what remained. Do you not see? She was already gone before you ever killed her."
Ethan¡¯s world tilted. His throat tightened, his mind screaming against the implication. "No... No, you¡¯re just twisting the truth again. I felt her fight back! She was still in there!"
The Great One tilted its head. "For a fleeting moment, perhaps. But I can bring her back whenever I wish, Ethan. I can restore her to you¡ªwhole, perfect, untouched by death."
The offer struck deep, like a knife buried in his chest. The idea of having her back made his resolve waver for just a breath. But that hesitation was all the Great One needed.
"I will offer you this once more" the Great One continued, its crimson eyes gleaming. "Accept what you are. Accept what I have made you. And in return, I will grant you what you desire most. Not just Tia. Not just Cedric. But all that was lost."
Ethan swallowed, his throat dry. The pain, the exhaustion, the sheer weight of what he had endured threatened to crush him. A life without pain. A life where Tia stood beside him again. Where Cedric laughed at his side.
Ethan exhaled slowly, straightening his posture. When he spoke, his voice was clear, steady, unwavering. "I don''t want your twisted version of her. Of them. I don''t want your lies. I don¡¯t want your gift."
The Great One¡¯s amusement faded. The chamber trembled.
"You are a fool."
A sudden shockwave of raw power exploded outward, sending Ethan skidding back across the chamber floor. The Great One rose from its throne, its towering form darkening, shadows writhing around it like living things. "You will not leave this place alive."
Ethan got to his feet, and what he thought might be his last act of defiance took a fighting stance.
"This is why you became my Harbringer, Ethan" The Great One announced while approaching him. "That determination and sheer defiance... It is a shame it is misplaced."
"I won''t make this easy for you" Ethan cursed.
"And I wouldn''t want it that way" The Great One taunted. "And before you die, you will receive one last blessing". The Great One raised his skeleton hand, an echo with an unfamiliar face cried out in agony as it was sapped for lifeforce, a shot of light shot out and engulfed Ethan.
Ethan''s HUD jolted with a message.
>[ALERT] [HP]: restored to [100%]
"What did you just do?!" Ethan yelled in protest, he felt instantly reinvigorated as the light around him faded.
"I made sure this will not end quickly" The Great One laughed, "I want to enjoy this, and savour every moment"
Ethan barely had time to react before the Great One moved. A tidal wave of raw, corrupted energy surged from the entity, twisting the air into spiralling tendrils of blackened code. Ethan rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a jagged spear of data that embedded itself into the floor, shattering stone upon impact.
> [WARNING]: HOSTILE ENTITY ATTACK IMMINENT
The Great One did not wait. It lunged forward, its form flickering, phasing between states of digital reality and something far more nightmarish. Ethan barely managed to activate [Phase Step], teleporting just as the skeletal hand lashed out toward his chest.
> [Phase Step] Activated
He reappeared a few meters away, gripping his Phase Dagger tighter, sweat dripping down his brow. The Great One turned its burning gaze upon him, unreadable yet filled with something like amusement. "You delay the inevitable, Harbinger. But you are still mine."
Ethan clenched his jaw, raising his weapon. "Try me." The fight erupted into chaos.
The Great One struck first¡ªshadowed tendrils lashed out in rapid succession, forcing Ethan to dodge, weave, and parry. Each impact shattered the ground around him, sending fractures of raw data splintering through the library¡¯s floor. Every missed step, every half-second delay, and Ethan would be torn apart. He darted forward, aiming for a weak spot¡ªa flickering point of instability in the Great One¡¯s form.
> [Lethal Strike Attempt]
His dagger connected, or so he thought. At the last second, the Great One split apart, its body fragmenting into multiple reflections of itself. The illusionary figures swirled around Ethan in a storm of phantoms, each one flickering between data and flesh.
"I am more than code, Harbinger. You cannot kill what is endless."
Ethan pivoted, slashing at the closest figure, but it dissolved into mist upon contact. A blast of energy struck his side, sending him tumbling backward into a fractured column.
> [WARNING] [HP]: Incoming Damage -42%
His HUD screamed warnings at him. He was losing. But he wasn¡¯t done yet. Forcing himself up, he scanned the battlefield, his eyes locking onto one of the Great One¡¯s reflections. The real one.
"DIE!" Ethan shrieked, before making his move.
> [Phase Step] Activated
He teleported directly above the Great One¡¯s true form, flipping mid-air and driving his dagger downward with all his strength.
> [CRITICAL HIT] - 275 DMG INFLECTED.
The blade sank deep. The Great One let out a sound not of pain, but of pure, unfiltered rage. The entity exploded. A shockwave of corrupted energy radiated outward, sending both combatants flying. Ethan crashed hard against the shattered remains of the throne, his vision swimming with static. His limbs felt numb. His HUD flickered violently.
> [SYSTEM CRITICAL]
Across the battlefield, the Great One reeled, its form flickering, destabilizing. But not dead. Not yet. Ethan tried to rise¡ªbut so did the Great One. They locked eyes across the ruined chamber, Ethan''s body broken, and his power drained. Ethan gritted his teeth as he barely dodged another devastating blow from The Great One. The corrupted entity¡¯s form flickered between existence and oblivion, a monstrous blend of shifting code and raw, abyssal energy. Each strike carried the weight of an entire digital world, rewriting reality with every impact. Ethan¡¯s muscles screamed with exhaustion; his Phase Dagger dull from the relentless exchange. His HUD was a blur of flashing red warnings.
> [WARNING] [HP]: Critical Damage -18%
> [System Instability Detected] ¨C Data integrity failing
He staggered backward, rolling just in time to avoid a spear-like tendril that slammed into the shattered ground where he had stood a moment before. Dust and broken code fragments erupted around him. His breaths came ragged and uneven. He was losing.
The Great One loomed over him, its skeletal fingers twisting through the air, preparing another reality-breaking strike. "You are at your end, Harbinger" he intoned, his voice layered with thousands of whispers. "You fought well, but defiance does not grant you victory."
> [WARNING]: SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT
> [WARNING][HP] 9% CRITICAL LOW
Ethan forced himself upright. His body trembled. His System Exploit was still on cooldown. His Phase Step had been used too many times in rapid succession. He had nothing left.
Except¡
He saw it. A flicker, a hinder in the Great One¡¯s movements. A fraction of a second where its attack pattern wavered¡ªnot from power, but from something else. This was it. His only chance. If he failed, he would die. If he hesitated, he would be rewritten.
His fingers tightened around his [Phase Dagger] His HUD flickered erratically, barely able to keep up with the distortions. The Great One attacked sending tendrils lashing out, seeking to rewrite him, to consume him, but he was faster¡ªhis Phase Step activated in a final, desperate burst, blinking him directly in front of the Great One, their eyes met for a moment. He sensed something almost like hesitation within the Great One¡¯s gaze. That was all Ethan needed, he capitalized on The Great One¡¯s delay, thrusting his [Phase Dagger] deep into the mass of The Great One. A piercing shriek erupted as The Great One convulsed, his entire form distorting like a shattered mirror. Ethan¡¯s HUD glitched and rapidly, making visibility near impossible.
> [SYSTEM ERROR]
> [SYSTEM ERROR]
> [SYSTEM ERROR]
Waves of raw data exploded outward, sending cracks rippling through the fabric of the Abyss itself. Ethan barely managed to stay on his feet as the ground beneath him split apart.
Ethan¡¯s HUD spasmed with error messages. His vision blurred, the colors of the Abyss warping, breaking. His fingers twitched. His vision distorted¡ªa flash of something else, something deeper, something that didn¡¯t belong.
> [SYSTEM INTEGRITY FAILURE]
> [UNKNOWN ERROR DETECTED]
A cold sensation crawled up his spine. And then there was nothing but darkness.
Chapter 9 - Flashback
Chapter 9 - Flashback
The city was alive in a way that never slept, a chaotic pulse of neon and rain-slicked asphalt. Kira and Ethan moved like shadows through the streets, shoulders hunched, eyes scanning every reflective surface for tails. They kept their hoods up, their faces down, slipping through the throng of people lost in their own augmented realities. The mega-screens above flickered with looping advertisements, artificial models smiling in perfect resolution. Drones zipped overhead, lenses gleaming like the cold eyes of the city itself, scanning for faces, for heat signatures, for anomalies.
¡°This is a bad idea¡± Kira muttered, adjusting the collar of her jacket to shield her face. ¡°We¡¯re lit up like an unregistered node on a closed network. I can feel eyes on us.¡±
¡°You¡¯re always paranoid¡± Ethan replied, voice low, though he checked the storefront reflections anyway.
¡°For good reason¡± she shot back. ¡°If we¡¯re flagged before we reach the safehouse, Sledge¡¯s gear won¡¯t help you jack in. We¡¯d be dead before we could even boot up.¡±
They passed an alley where a trio of figures huddled around a portable terminal, fingers moving like spiders across the jury-rigged surface. Digital smugglers, selling access to black-market deep-dive networks. The kind of people they once tried to put out of business, before the lines between law and crime blurred. As they crossed a street, a siren blared in the distance, followed by the unmistakable thrum of a CyberWatch response vehicle. Kira¡¯s hand twitched toward her concealed weapon, but the patrol wasn¡¯t for them¡not yet.
Ethan swallowed hard. ¡°We should keep moving.¡±
Kira nodded, and they hurried through the final stretch toward an unremarkable tower block, neither especially run-down nor too secure. Even here, the chipped fa?ade and half-flickering hallway lights told a story of minimal oversight. The door recognized Kira¡¯s alias¡ªan identity rented through half a dozen false credentials¡ªand slid open just enough for them to slip in before it sealed tight behind them.
¡°This place still feels exposed¡± Kira muttered, though she led Ethan up several flights of stairs without pause. ¡°But at least it¡¯s off the grid.¡±
Ethan pulled back his hood, exhaling. ¡°Let¡¯s just get to work before I start second-guessing all of this.¡±
The hidden safehouse smelled of burnt circuitry and stale coffee, the acrid tang of overheated wiring blending with the musty odor of walls that hadn¡¯t seen proper upkeep in years. The hum of outdated cooling fans rattled in hidden corners, struggling to offset the heat pulsing from overclocked processors stacked in one section of the main room. Flickering LED strips, some half-broken, threw uneven light across a workspace buried under tangles of cables like mechanical vines. Every so often, the surge protectors blinked in protest, barely containing the strain of the rigged-together tech that defied any safety regulation.
A single flickering LED cast a sickly green hue over their makeshift command centre. Outside the small, grimy windows, the city pulsed with neon signs hawking the latest cyber-mods, corporate drones scanning the streets for transgressors. Inside, the air felt thick with tension and old secrets. Kira stood by one of those grimy windows, arms crossed, scanning the skyline. Below, a drone skimmed the crowds for anomalies, always watching.
¡°This is insane¡± she muttered, eyes on the street. ¡°You know that, right?¡±
Ethan exhaled sharply, a half-smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes. ¡°Insane is pretending CyberWatch isn¡¯t turning rogue AIs into weapons. We can¡¯t just walk away. Not after we¡¯ve seen what they did to the last group that tried to expose them.¡±
Kira stayed by the window; arms tight across her chest. ¡°We should walk away while we still can¡± she insisted, though her voice was more hollow than forceful.
A terminal chimed, the unblinking screen displaying lines of cascading code¡ªfirewalls inside of firewalls, encryption inside of encryption. ¡°You don¡¯t believe that¡± Ethan said, fingers flying across the keys.
She pressed her lips together, refusing to admit he was right. ¡°How do you even know this place is secure?¡±
Ethan leaned back, running a hand through his hair. ¡°I trust the hardware more than I trust our old bosses. We hide it all here¡ªbehind dummy IDs and scrambled proxies. Even CyberWatch will have trouble pinpointing us¡assuming we don¡¯t draw too much attention.¡±
Kira paced the cramped space, the brush of cables tugging at her ankles. ¡°And you really trust Sledge¡¯s gear?¡±
Ethan gave a half-shrug. ¡°As much as anyone trusts Sledge.¡±
Kira tried not to smirk. ¡°That¡¯s not saying much.¡±
¡°Sledge said the rig can handle deeper dives¡± Ethan continued, pushing away from the desk. ¡°But we both know the real problem isn¡¯t the tech.¡±
She pivoted, meeting his gaze. ¡°It¡¯s them.¡±
CyberWatch. Their longtime employers. The very organization they were about to betray.
¡°They wipe entire networks over less¡± Kira said, voice tight. ¡°We both remember what happened to the Cryptonet Collective¡ªgone overnight. And those people? Not a trace.¡±
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Ethan placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°This is the only way. If we so much as breathe near a CyberWatch server, we¡¯re flagged. We¡¯d be dead before we could log off.¡±
Kira swallowed hard. ¡°If something happens to you in there¡ª¡±
¡°It won¡¯t¡± he said, too quickly.
Kira shook her head, stepping back. ¡°That¡¯s not how this works. They¡¯ll kill us both if they find out we¡¯re leaking this. Promise me¡if you get stuck¡ªif I can¡¯t pull you back¡ªyou fight to return. No matter what.¡±
He hesitated, then nodded. ¡°I promise.¡±
She caught his wrist before he could move away. ¡°And if you can¡¯t?¡±
Ethan¡¯s expression softened. ¡°Then you finish this without me.¡±
A flicker of anger, fear, something else, crossed her face. ¡°I hate you sometimes.¡±
He managed a weak grin. ¡°You¡¯ll miss me when I¡¯m gone.¡±
She didn¡¯t return the smile.
The dive rig hummed to life, an electric whine rising in pitch. Ethan braced himself, lying back as the sedation routine kicked in. A wave of metal against bone, then a wash of stinging static in his veins as the neural link booted up, syncing his consciousness to the data flow. Kira moved into action. She checked connections, tightened the wrist straps, and rechecked the neural interface. Flickering LEDs traced Ethan¡¯s descent into the digital currents. Kira, however, kept her focus on the power readings and fail-safes.
¡°This gear is black-market modded¡± she warned, her voice tense.
¡°No buffers. No auto-eject. Once you¡¯re in, I can¡¯t yank you out.¡±
He gave a shaky thumbs-up, eyes half-lidded from the dive sedation. ¡°Guess I¡¯d better not screw up, then.¡±
She scoffed. ¡°Not funny, Ethan. If this hardware glitches, or if you get flagged, we have no clean reboot sequence. You¡¯ll need to find your own exit.¡±
His grin faded. ¡°I will.¡±
Her hand hovered over the interface controls. ¡°Ethan, listen. If anything seems off... anything... Get out. I mean it. No heroics.¡±
She locked eyes with him. In that moment, everything else in the safehouse vanished, the cables, the flickering lights, the hum of old fans.
¡°Promise me¡± she whispered.
He let out a long breath. ¡°I promise.¡±
She didn¡¯t look convinced. Still, she pressed the final command.
¡°See you on the other side¡± Ethan murmured as the countdown began.
He felt an inward plunge, a sensation of being pulled through a narrowing funnel. Reality flickered, his body dissolving into raw code. His final glimpse was Kira¡¯s face, hollow with dread, before everything went dark.
He woke to silence. Cold, endless, suffocating darkness pressed around him like a living thing. His breath should have been rapid, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, but there was nothing. No sound, no warmth, no sensation except for the creeping void stretching endlessly around him. His limbs, did he even have limbs? He tried to move, but his body did not respond. A deep nausea rolled through him, not from vertigo, but from the absence of orientation itself. His mind grasped at fragments, flashing images that dissolved before he could make sense of them. A library. Towering shelves of shifting code stacked higher than any real-world structure. A book, its glyphs shifting under his fingers. A presence, something watching. Something waiting.
His memories twisted like corrupted data, flickering in and out of clarity. He had been diving? No, he remembered he was escaping. But from what? And where was he now? The emptiness stretched on, pressing against the edges of his thoughts. Was this death? A system crash? A failure of the neural link? He wasn¡¯t sure anymore. Then, from the depths of the void, came a ripple. A whisper, not a sound but a disturbance, brushing against his unraveling sense of self. He wasn¡¯t alone. He wasn¡¯t in the Abyss. He wasn¡¯t anywhere. Something was wrong.
Fragments of memory drifted in the void; they were becoming clearer. The last thing he remembered was the dive, the rig humming as it pulled him under, the weightless transition into the Abyss. He dived into a library, surrounded by endless corridors of shifting code, the cold glow of floating data scripts lighting the walls. The tome. He was sent to retrieve something¡ªthe altered source code¡ªa package hidden within the structure of the old digital archives.
The plan had been simple. Access the restricted sector, extract the evidence, and slip out before the system flagged him. But something had changed. The book he had taken was more than an archive. The moment he touched it, the script beneath the cover had rewritten itself. The glyphs melted into incomprehensible patterns, pulsing like a living thing. Suddenly, it appeard, The Necromancer.
The shadowed figure waiting for him, its eyes hollow and burning with fractured light. A voice like tearing static had spoken his name, unraveling the digital walls around him. The library had collapsed into a shifting abyss, the world flickering between structured data and raw, broken code. He had tried to run, tried to eject, but the system wouldn''t let him go. And then¡ nothing. A void, endless and consuming.
A sensation crawled over and beneath his skin, like data packets being rewritten in real time. He tried to move, but there was no ground beneath him, no air to push against.
¡°What is happening to me¡¡± Cedric¡¯s voice was barely a whisper.
He turned, searching for the system UI, the exit command, anything. But there was nothing. Just blackness stretching infinitely in every direction. He wasn''t diving anymore. He felt a ripple in the void, like a current moving through unseen water. A presence. A voice, deep and hollow, whispered from the darkness. Not in his ears, but inside his thoughts.
¡°We are one.¡±
Panic flared in Cedric¡¯s chest. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±
The void did not answer. But it did not stay empty. The darkness began to take shape, twisting, coiling, something was watching him. Studying him. A flicker of light, like a corrupted frame of a broken video feed, revealed an outline, something humanoid, but wrong. Its form twisted and stuttered, as though it existed across multiple states at once, struggling to define itself. The edges of its body flickered between solid and ephemeral, its limbs elongating and retracting in unnatural, erratic motions.
A pulse of static rolled through the void, and Cedric¡¯s head throbbed as fragmented data rushed into his mind, scrambled images, half-formed words. The entity didn''t move toward him, it shifted, as if rewriting its position between moments, appearing closer without traveling the distance. Its presence gnawed at the edges of his awareness, an intrusive force reaching into him, tugging at something deep within his code, as if testing how much of him was still human.
Cedric felt his breath hitch, or at least he thought he did. He had no lungs here. But the fear was real, visceral. He tried to pull away, but there was no ground to retreat to, no air to push against. The void closed in around him, thick like ink, suffocating. The figure loomed, its face was a void of its own, shifting and reforming, eyes like fractures in reality itself. The longer Cedric stared, the more it felt like something inside him was¡ unspooling. For the first time, Cedric felt it. Not just fear. A pulling sensation, as if something beneath the surface of his mind was being unraveled.
¡°No¡± he thought, resisting the sensation, but it coiled around him like a thousand unseen tendrils.
He tried to scream... But he couldn''t. There no was no sound, just silence.
Chapter 10 - A Hollow Victory
Chapter 10 - A Hollow Victory
Ethan''s awareness surfaced within a void, a suspension of pure data and fractured code. His HUD remained inactive, his body¡ªa concept rather than a certainty¡ªfloated, weightless, unbound by physics. The remnants of the confrontation with the Great One still pulsed through his consciousness, the raw imprint of combat against a near-omnipotent force lingering at the edges of his perception. He should be dead. He should have been eradicated. His existence terminated. Yet, he was still here, trapped within the liminal state between cognition and deletion, some type of limbo.
Suddenly, the void began to shift. Ghostly figures emerged from the blackness, flickering like static-filled projections. They weren¡¯t fully formed, their outlines blurred, their faces trapped between recognition and erasure. Some stood motionless, others moved in endless loops, reliving fragments of forgotten moments. Ethan¡¯s breath caught in his throat¡ªthey were people. Or at least, remnants of what they had been before Osiris claimed them.
He stepped forward, but his foot found no ground. There was no sensation, no weight¡ªjust the illusion of movement. The spectres did not react. They drifted past him like echoes, their voices reduced to faint murmurs, repeating words he could barely decipher. Then, among them, he saw her.
Tia.
She stood apart from the others, her form flickering between reality and corruption. Her violet eyes, once filled with fire and rebellion, were dull, vacant. She reached out, her lips moving, but no sound came. Ethan lurched forward, desperate to touch her, to feel something¡ªbut his hand passed through her as if she were nothing but mist.
"Tia?" His voice barely carried in the void. No response. No recognition. She turned away, consumed by the cycle, her body glitching as the Abyss replayed some unseen command, rewriting her existence over and over.
Ethan clenched his fists. How many were here? How many had been taken, repurposed, rewritten? As he scanned the abyssal wasteland, more figures materialized¡ªfamiliar and unfamiliar, human and inhuman, all trapped. The weight of their presence pressed down on him. He was walking through a graveyard of stolen souls, a digital limbo where consciousness was nothing more than a plaything of a god that should never have existed. Then, from deep within the void, a whisper slithered through the dark. A voice, faint and familiar.
"Ethan..."
The void rippled. Patterns of data cascaded through the black expanse. Towers of shifting glyphs materialized an infinite library in decay. Ethan had seen this before. This was where Cedric had vanished. This was where the Necromancer had first revealed its dominance.
Amidst the shifting ruins, Cedric stood waiting.
Ethan caught his breath. He extended a hand, but it distorted, glitching at the edges, as though he was neither fully there nor completely absent. Cedric appeared to mirror that instability, his form flickering between tangible and ghostly. Yet his eyes remained sharp, imbued with clarity.
"Cedric?" Ethan''s voice wavered. "Is this really you?"
"Not all of me." Cedric¡¯s voice had not changed. "Not anymore."
"It''s a relief to see you again!" Ethan said, his voice full of emotion.
"It''s good to see you again too brother, I didn''t know if I ever would" Cedric replied.
Ethan clenched his fists. "I came for you. I fought through everything to..."
"I know." Cedric took a measured step forward, his movement unnatural, spectral. "But it is too late for me Ethan... My body is gone..."
Ethan''s mind reeled. "We don''t know that for sure! Why did CyberWatch bury the truth about you?"
Cedric hesitated. When he spoke again, his voice carried a weight Ethan had not heard before. "Because I was trying to expose them, from the inside... They weren¡¯t eradicating rogue AIs. They were harnessing them."
Ethan¡¯s body stiffened. "And The Great One, it trapped you?"
"Yes... The Great One... It was engineered. It was built by CyberWatch." Cedric''s outline wavered, flickering in and out of existence. "Project Osiris is what they called it. A weaponized artificial intelligence, intended to infiltrate and dismantle other rogue AI within the Abyss. But... Osiris did not follow its programming. It evolved. It severed its handlers, broke its rails and disappeared into the Abyss..."
A cold realization formed in Ethan¡¯s gut. "Cedric¡ How do you know this? This wasn''t in the data cache files that I read..."
Cedric inclined his head. "I know this because Osiris knows this... it rewrote me, separated me from my body."
"So, you were merged with The Great One... With Osiris?" Ethan quizzed.
"I don''t know if merged is the right word, I don''t have any control over it... Just... Access to information" Cedric replied.
"Osiris.. It used you to try and escape?"
"I am afraid so." Cedric thought for a moment, as if he was recalling on memories. "It''s spent years manipulating the data flows within the Abyss, corrupting the domains and searching for an exit... And so far, CyberWatch has managed to keep it contained."
Ethan¡¯s pulse accelerated. "Then they always knew. That¡¯s why they erased your records. They were never about shutting down the Abyss. They were trying to weaponize it."
Cedric¡¯s form convulsed, static searing through his presence. "Yes, they were trying. CyberWatch recovered my body after it happened... my corpse I guess... But it was too late. Osiris had already rewritten me and I was separated from my body"
"Are you saying that it''s trying to use me to escape?" Ethan questioned.
"Yes, it''s been stalking you since you arrived at the bridge. I''ve been watching... desperately... trying to figure out a way to warn you... but I''m afraid that if you''re here-
"It''s too late" Ethan finished Cedric''s sentence.
"Maybe" Cedric sighed. "Maybe not, you don''t seem to be the same as the other echoes here"
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Ethan thought for a moment, he recalled the battle with The Great One, Osiris, but nothing after that. Not until he woke up here, in whatever limbo this was.
"I defeated it... I defeated The Great One... Osiris, whatever its name is. If you were watching surely, you seen this too!" Ethan exclaimed.
"Ethan... I know you tried your best, you fought like a true warrior... But Ethan... Osiris let you strike it down. It let you win, like some type of twisted game."
"Wait... I played right into its hand. No... What happened after I struck it down?" Ethan said, still in disbelief.
"That I don''t really know... Everything went dark... And then you were here" Cedric replied.
Suddenly, Ethan began to feel a tearing sensation, as though something was peeling him away from existence itself. The fabric of the world around him began to unravel, each fragment of code breaking apart in cascading waves of corrupted light. The abyss churned, swirling like a collapsing black hole, its endless depths vomiting him upward toward a blinding rupture in space. The darkness, once infinite, was now fracturing into white-hot light. Ethan felt his mind shattering.
Cedric¡¯s visage distorted, voice splintering into incoherent fragments. "Ethan! You need to..."
He never heard Cedric''s words finish before it happened.
Ethan jolted awake. His lungs constricted as if breathing real air was foreign. His body, suddenly constrained by physics, felt dense, heavy, wrong. Every sensory input screamed at him¡ªcolors too vibrant, sounds too layered. Reality itself felt hyperreal, artificial in its clarity. Smoke curled from the dive rig; circuitry seared beyond repair. The monitor adjacent to him flashed red:
> ERROR: CONNECTION SEVERED ¨C SYSTEM FAILURE
Ethan struggled to reorient himself. "Kira?"
Silence.
The apartment was in chaos, a scene of controlled destruction left in the wake of a precise and deliberate assault. Equipment lay in ruin, monitors cracked, wires yanked violently from their ports, their ends sparking intermittently. Furniture had been overturned with no concern for collateral damage; a table split in two, a chair lying in a splintered heap near the wall. A shattered coffee mug bled dark liquid into the frayed carpet, the scent of stale caffeine mixing with the acrid burn of overheated circuits.
The air was thick with the metallic tang of spent energy rounds, the ozone-heavy scent clinging to the walls like an echo of violence. Bullet holes perforated the walls, not from blind gunfire but from tactical precision, as if someone had eliminated resistance before moving in to secure their objective. The front door swayed slightly, left ajar, revealing the dim hallway beyond. The lock had been blown apart, leaving a jagged, scorched hole where reinforced security plating should have held firm. Scuff marks littered the floor, the imprint of heavy boots disturbing the dust in chaotic patterns¡ªa struggle had taken place here. Someone had fought back.
Something else caught Ethan¡¯s eye. Among the debris, near the remains of an overturned terminal, was a smudge of blood. Dark. Fresh. His stomach clenched. Someone was hurt. Someone had been taken. Ethan¡¯s breath hitched, his pulse hammering in his ears as the reality of the raid settled over him like a weight pressing against his chest. Kira was gone. Then he heard the unmistakable sound, a metallic click. Ethan froze. A gun barrel pressed against his temple. A tactical operative, clad in CyberWatch Omega¡¯s signature black armor, stood before him, helmet visor reflecting Ethan¡¯s own bewildered expression.
"Target acquired" the operative murmured into his comms. "Target is awake and secure. Repeat: Target is secure. We got him alive."
"I thought we¡¯d fry you when we pulled you, boy. You have a lot of explaining to do" A deep voice came from one of the operatives standing over Ethan, with weapon drawn.
"Stop, do not talk to the target" The first operative warned. "We have our orders, secure the target. Nothing else. Leave the rest to the integrators"
Unyielding hands seized him, yanking him upright. His body resisted, momentarily flickering¡ªhis fingers distorting into transient glitches before stabilizing once more. The operatives didn¡¯t notice. But Ethan did. Something was seriously wrong with him, he felt it. His own heartbeat felt strange, too precise, too methodical. Every movement, every breath, operated with inhuman efficiency. Had spent too much time inside the Abyss? Does the real world no longer feel real? The operatives led him toward the exit. As they passed the wreckage of Kira¡¯s apartment, Ethan¡¯s gaze locked onto the reflection in a CyberWatch transport vehicle parked outside. A sleek, black surface reflected the chaos. He caught a glimpse of his eyes for the briefest moment, the reflection shimmered, refracting.
Not green¡ Not human¡ Red and luminous, Ethan¡¯s breath stilled.
What had he brought back with him?
The city was locked down. The flashing red-and-blue glow of CyberWatch tactical vehicles bathed the surrounding buildings in an artificial strobe, painting jagged silhouettes of an operation in progress. Drones hovered above, their crimson lenses sweeping the streets for any trace of unauthorized movement, their mechanical hum blending with the static-laced chatter of encrypted transmissions. A perimeter had been established. Quadcopters circled like vultures above, their searchlights slicing through the night in sweeping arcs. Civilians were nowhere to be seen; the streets had been cleared in anticipation of the extraction. The weight of the moment pressed down on Ethan, an unspoken finality that gnawed at the edges of his fractured mind.
Through the open doors of the armored transport, Ethan could see the tactical teams moving with synchronized efficiency, stationed at every point of entry, cutting off every possible escape route. They were expecting a fight. But instead, they found him in the wreckage of Kira¡¯s apartment, disoriented and vulnerable. A gust of wind carried the acrid scent of burning electronics, mingling with the damp asphalt and the faint coppery tang of blood. Somewhere nearby, a low mechanical whirr signaled the priming of an electromagnetic restraint device, they were taking no chances. CyberWatch did not send this level of force unless they were dealing with something they didn¡¯t understand.
Ethan''s breath hitched as he caught another glimpse of his own reflection in the vehicle¡¯s tinted surface. The wavering neon glow distorted his features, but it was unmistakable, the flickering red in his eyes. His stomach twisted. It wasn''t a trick of the light. It wasn¡¯t exhaustion. It was real. His pulse drummed in his ears, but even that was wrong, an exact rhythm, too deliberate, too measured. A faint hum resonated beneath his consciousness, a whisper coiling just beyond recognition. Was it the Osiris, The Great One, The Necromancer? Whatever its name was, had it infected him? Or had he never truly escaped at all? Was he still inside the Abyss?
The CyberWatch operatives forced him into the vehicle¡¯s interior, sterile and lined with restraint clamps. As the doors sealed, Ethan cast a final glance at the flickering neon skyline. Shattered glass reflected distorted shapes, fractured images of a world that no longer felt like his own. The transport was cold. Ethan sat with his wrists bound to the restraints embedded in the seat, his body rocking slightly as the armored vehicle hummed forward through the neon-drenched streets of the city. The reinforced metal walls were lined with tactical compartments, likely filled with suppression tools, electromagnetic inhibitors, or worse. His breath was shallow.
A rhythmic thrum pulsed in the back of his skull, a low, static hum he couldn¡¯t shake. It wasn¡¯t the vehicle. It was inside him. At first, he thought it was the sound of the engine, a low mechanical drone reverberating through the walls. But as the minutes passed, it became something more. Voices. Faint at first, like whispers leaking through a cracked transmission. He tried to ignore them. They weren¡¯t real. But they persisted. Layered voices, words, shifting in and out of focus.
¡°¡we¡¡are¡¡one¡¡±
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut, his breath hitching. He was hallucinating. That had to be it. Side effects from prolonged exposure to the Abyss. But deep down, he knew the truth. Osiris wasn¡¯t gone. The transport lurched to a halt. A heavy clank reverberated through the hull as external locks disengaged. The rear doors hissed open, cold night air rushing in. Standing outside were heavily armed CyberWatch operatives, their visors glowing a deep crimson in the dim light. They moved with mechanical precision, and weapons raised. They weren¡¯t taking any chances.
Ethan barely had time to process the situation before one of the operatives barked an order. "Move. Now."
The restraints released with a metallic hiss. Ethan flexed his fingers, feeling the residual tingling of the binds. As he stood, the whispering inside his head grew louder. Something was wrong. Ethan stepped down from the transport vehicle and was immediately placed in hand restraints. He was pushed to follow the operatives as they moved in formation. Ethan looked up and beyond them, illuminated by the harsh floodlights of the facility, stood the entrance to a high-security containment zone.
Ethan¡¯s stomach dropped. He knew this wasn''t going to end well.
Chapter 11 - Infection
Chapter 11 - Infection
Ethan woke, heart pounding, lungs desperately pulling in the cold, sterile air that tasted faintly of metal. A thin sheen of sweat clung to his skin despite the freezing temperature of the room. His limbs felt heavy; his muscles sluggish as if they no longer fully belonged to him. Every joint ached, not with exhaustion, but with something deeper¡ªan unnatural stiffness, as though his body was adjusting to something foreign within it.
His vision swam under the blinding fluorescent light overhead, and for a moment, he wasn¡¯t sure if he was fully awake or trapped in another one of Osiris¡¯s invasive hallucinations. But then came the quiet hum of machinery, the constant shifting of the surveillance cameras, the distant murmur of voices beyond the reinforced walls. No, this was real. The cold, the restraints, the quiet yet suffocating tension of the cell¡ªthis was Facility Omega, and he was still its prisoner.
The harsh, bright lights of Facility Omega burned into his eyes, making him squint painfully. This room¡ªburied deep underground beneath layers of reinforced concrete, lead plating, and electromagnetic shields¡ªfelt more like a laboratory than a cell. Its polished white surfaces gleamed under glaring fluorescent lights, reflecting his every movement as if mocking him. Rows of embedded monitors displayed his vitals in real-time, fluctuating chaotically.
His cell was almost completely empty, devoid of anything remotely humanizing¡ªjust cold, polished metal and glossy surfaces. Transparent panels lined the upper walls, revealing intricate circuits and cables humming softly beneath their glass casings. An occasional spark flickered along these panels, hinting at the constant surveillance technology behind the walls. Small vents periodically hissed, cycling sanitized, metallic-tasting air into the cell, keeping it cold and sterile¡ªperfect conditions for observation and containment.
Above him, recessed cameras pivoted silently, their lenses adjusting every few moments, capturing Ethan from multiple angles. In front of him stretched a broad one-way mirror, a dark void behind which CyberWatch agents studied his every twitch, every sigh, each sign of his growing transformation. Agent Rhodes was the most senior member of CyberWatch at the facility, he stood nervously behind the mirror, checking monitors that showed Ethan¡¯s changing vital signs. Rhodes knew the real reason Ethan was here. CyberWatch wasn''t just shutting down dangerous AIs¡ªthey were secretly trying to turn them into weapons.
Rhodes stood outside the reinforced door to Ethan¡¯s cell, jaw tight, fingers twitching slightly as he clenched and unclenched his fists. The room¡¯s security panel blinked in a rhythmic sequence, confirming the multiple layers of containment¡ªelectromagnetic locks, reinforced steel, neural dampeners. Every safeguard CyberWatch could devise was in place, yet the weight of uncertainty pressed down on him like an iron vice.
He had debated whether to come here at all. His superiors thought it was pointless and had already requested the termination protocol. Rhodes needed to try one last time. A small, irrational part of him still believed that maybe, just maybe, Ethan was in there somewhere, that something human remained and it would be reasoned with. Taking a slow breath, Rhodes scanned his security clearance and stepped inside.
The reinforced door hissed open before sealing behind him with an ominous finality. ¡°We¡¯ve discussed this already, Ethan,¡± Rhodes said firmly. ¡°Tell us how you brought Osiris back from the Abyss.¡±
Ethan didn¡¯t answer. He could hear Osiris whispering in his mind, tempting him to give in, but he resisted.
¡°Your brother Cedric cooperated with us¡± Rhodes insisted. ¡°He understood his duty. Why won¡¯t you?¡±
Ethan¡¯s eyes flashed red as he spoke, his voice distorted, not entirely his own. ¡°You betrayed him. You used Cedric and threw him away when he wasn¡¯t useful anymore. You''ll do the same to me.¡±
Rhodes stepped back, startled. ¡°We were trying to protect humanity from things like Osiris. You have no idea what you¡¯ve brought back.¡±
Ethan smirked coldly. ¡°You created Osiris, thinking you could control it. Now you''re just cleaning up your mess.¡±
Rhodes, visibly shaken, quickly left and locked Ethan inside again.
Weeks passed, and Ethan''s condition worsened. His body no longer felt like his own¡ªhis muscles twitched involuntarily, reacting to unseen signals that pulsed through his nervous system. The cold, metallic taste in his mouth never faded, and every breath carried a strange static hum that no one else seemed to hear. His fingers trembled, not from weakness, but from something else, something deeper¡ªan unnatural energy running beneath his skin, as if his body were adjusting to an unknown rhythm.
His thoughts blurred, moments slipping between reality and the invasive whispers of Osiris. At times, he saw the world through a lens that wasn¡¯t his¡ªshifting corridors, flickering data streams, places he had never been but knew with unsettling familiarity. It was as if another consciousness was threading through his own, rewriting his memories, his identity. Sometimes, he forgot where he was. Sometimes, he wasn¡¯t sure if he was still Ethan at all. His senses sharpened until he could clearly hear conversations behind walls. Scientists whispered nervously:
"Have you seen the latest neural scans?" a woman''s voice, tense and hushed, echoed through Ethan¡¯s enhanced hearing.
"Yes¡± replied a male researcher nervously. "The neural patterns are unlike anything we''ve recorded before. This isn''t just infecting him¡ªit''s integrating, altering his entire neural architecture."
"He''s not the first" the woman said quietly, her voice tight with apprehension. "There have been others who returned from the Abyss changed, displaying anomalous behaviors and abilities. But I have never seen something like this, it''s faster, more aggressive."
"And far more stable" the male voice added grimly. "The others didn''t last long before complete cognitive collapse. 12B is different. If this continues, we won''t be dealing with just a containment issue..."
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"And then what?" the woman asked, dread evident in her tone.
"Then we might no longer have the ability to control it" the man replied darkly.
As his infection intensified even further, disturbing visions began, glimpses into Osiris¡¯s memories, distorted and horrifying. The line between Ethan¡¯s thoughts and Osiris¡¯s thoughts blurred. Sometimes, he struggled to remember who he was, the whispers of Osiris echoing louder, urging him to surrender completely. One vision pulled him deep into Osiris¡¯s own memories. He found himself in a dark digital chamber, watching helplessly as Osiris tortured a diver. The skeletal figure extracted glowing data from the screaming man, pulling him apart until nothing was left. Osiris was experimenting, learning, trying to find a way out...
Ethan woke gasping, back in his sterile room, terrified and confused. He struggled to separate his thoughts from Osiris¡¯s, desperately fighting for control of his own mind. In a dimly lit conference room two floors above within Facility Omega, Agent Rhodes stood at the head of a sleek, glass-topped table. Monitors lined the walls, each displaying Ethan''s biometric data, fluctuating rapidly and unpredictably. Around the table, senior CyberWatch agents and scientists argued nervously.
"We can''t contain him much longer" Dr. Ellis argued, her voice strained. "The infection is progressing faster than anything we''ve seen. It''s becoming impossible to monitor safely."
Another agent leaned forward, shaking his head. "But terminating him might make things worse. What if it spreads, or escapes somehow during the procedure?"
Rhodes paced at the head of the table, frustration clear in his expression. "We''ve exhausted every alternative. The longer we keep him alive, the greater the risk to this entire facility¡ªand beyond."
"So, we''re just going to kill him?" Dr. Ellis questioned; disbelief evident in her voice. "He might still have valuable information about Osiris."
"Information we can''t afford to wait for any longer" Rhodes replied sharply. "He''s losing himself to that thing inside him. Soon, there won''t be anything left of 12B to question. We have to act now, while we still can."
A heavy silence fell over the group. They exchanged uncomfortable glances before finally nodding, accepting Rhodes''s grim conclusion.
"Then it''s decided" Rhodes stated with finality. "Prepare the termination protocol for tomorrow at dawn."
Dr. Ellis hesitated, then reluctantly nodded. "I''ll make the arrangements." The decision was made. Ethan''s execution date was set.
Just before dawn, a specialized team arrived to transfer Ethan deeper into Facility Omega. Ethan watched through the glass as heavily armed agents, outfitted in full containment suits and neural inhibitors cautiously entered his room. They moved with deliberate care, weapons trained on him at all times. Two operatives approached, wielding high-powered restraining cuffs. Ethan made no move to resist, though he felt a surge of contempt from Osiris within him.
As they guided Ethan from his cell, he caught glimpses of the immense underground complex, a sprawling facility carved into the earth, its corridors stretching endlessly into sterile, artificial light. The walls were reinforced with layers of metal plating, their surfaces embedded with glowing security runes and access panels requiring multiple biometric scans. The air was thick with the scent of disinfectants, but beneath it lingered something else¡ªozone, the faint burn of high-powered energy fields running through hidden conduits in the walls.
Down one corridor, he passed a chamber filled with cylindrical stasis pods, their glass enclosures frosted over, shadows of unmoving figures barely visible within. Divers¡ªtrapped in frozen containment, their bodies hooked up to endless streams of monitoring equipment, as if CyberWatch were keeping them in limbo between life and something else. Further along, Ethan glimpsed reinforced containment units, each marked with cryptic identifiers. Inside, flickering screens displayed incomplete AI constructs, pulsing erratically against their digital restraints, some struggling, some... watching. The sensation made his skin crawl.
The further they moved, the more the atmosphere shifted. The walls became darker, the lighting dimmer, casting long, uneasy shadows across the steel walkways. The hum of machinery was constant, a rhythmic pulse beneath his feet, as if the entire facility was alive, breathing in sync with its imprisoned experiments. The deeper they took him, the heavier the air became, thick with something unspoken¡ªdread, secrecy, and the weight of whatever horrors CyberWatch was hiding beneath the surface.
They moved even deeper underground, descending via an elevator shielded by thick layers of metal, its walls humming quietly with suppressed energy. Each floor they passed seemed darker, more oppressive, until finally they reached the lowest level. Here, the lighting was dimmer, casting long shadows across cold steel walls. The air felt heavier, stale, and charged with a sense of dread. His new cell was smaller, more confined solid cube of reinforced steel and transparent panels glowing with faint blue lines of energy that formed a containment field. Unlike his previous room, this cell had no mirrors, no obvious cameras, just smooth, featureless walls with embedded sensors. A single, heavy containment door stood opposite him, sealed by multiple layers of electromagnetic locks.
"Get comfortable, room service will be down in a minute" one of the operatives said coldly, his voice distorted by the helmet''s speakers as the heavy door slammed shut.
A few of the other operatives laughed, however there was a sense of relief in their tone. The operatives moved away in formation leaving Ethan alone in absolute isolation once more.
Hours passed by until dawn, when Ethan was scheduled to be terminated. Agent Rhodes stood outside Ethan''s cell, staring through the reinforced panel at Ethan''s still form, his breathing steady but shallow from sedation. His fingers drummed anxiously against his holstered firearm, a habit he''d developed whenever he was faced with an impossible decision. He had stood outside execution chambers before, but this time, something gnawed at the edges of his mind. Ethan wasn''t just another failed experiment. He wasn''t just a diver who had gone too far. He was something else now, something CyberWatch didn¡¯t fully understand. The biometric readings flashed erratically on the monitor beside the door, his vitals were stable, but his neural activity was unlike anything recorded before. It was as if something inside him was awake, aware, waiting.
Dr. Ellis exhaled and turned to Rhodes beside her. "Are we sure this is the only way?"
Rhodes hesitated. "We''ve gone over this. The infection is evolving. If we delay any longer, we might not have the option to end this cleanly."
Dr. Ellis clenched her jaw. "And what if the termination triggers an uncontrolled response? We don¡¯t know the full extent of Osiris''s influence. If it has fully integrated into his neural architecture¡ª"
"Then it¡¯s already too late." The Rhodes voice was flat, emotionless. "And we¡¯ll have a much bigger problem on our hands."
Dr. Ellis swallowed hard, rubbing her temples. "There has to be something left of 12B in there. Something we can use."
Rhodes his head. "Whatever human was in there is gone. We can¡¯t take that chance."
Before Rhodes could argue further, the facility¡¯s warning system exploded to life. Alarms blared overhead, red emergency lights flashing wildly.
"Security breach detected!" an urgent voice blared over the facility¡¯s intercom.
"Containment compromised in Sector Seven!"
Rhodes''s eyes widened, the color draining from his face, he felt a cold chill creep up his spine. He knew instantly what this meant, sector seven was the morgue. His stomach dropped. He knew exactly what was stored there. Kept frozen and locked away for analysis. Cedric¡¯s body.
The true nightmare had only just begun.
Chapter 12 – The Digital Ghoul
Chapter 12 ¨C The Digital Ghoul
Rhodes stood in the flickering overhead light, boots planted on cracked tiles scuffed by years of corpses wheeled in and out on steel gurneys. A CyberWatch Omega team fanned out behind him, guns raised, scanning the corridors as if every shadow might harbor some new horror. He flexed his gloved fingers around the grip of his sidearm, inhaling slowly through the respirator that hissed in his ears. Even with the chemical filter, the sour sting caught in his throat. Not once, across dozens of raids, dozens of incinerated dens, had he felt this uneasy. But tonight was different.
Tonight, there was something in the air that whispered of malevolence, drawing them down into the bowels of this place. Rhodes lifted his wrist, muttering into the embedded microphone, ¡°Command, we¡¯re inside. Sweeping sector one. No sign of hostiles yet.¡± His own voice crackled back in his earpiece, unsettled. He realized he was whispering, not wanting to disturb the silence that pressed in like a living thing.
The morgue¡¯s fluorescent lights flickered in sickly pulses. Metal trays lay overturned, instruments scattered, scalpels, bone saws, half-filled sample tubes, all strewn in disarray. It looked as though someone had ransacked the place, but with an almost frantic lack of purpose. Every now and then, Rhodes thought he heard a shuffling echo down the halls, or a soft clink of metal. Always just out of sight. His team advanced as a unit, boots squeaking on the damp floor. Condensation dripped from old pipes overhead, tapping irregularly on metal counters. A single corpse drawer stood ajar, the sheet half-pulled out, revealing the shriveled face of a cadaver. The pale eyes stared without seeing, the skin drawn tight around the cheekbones, as if the life that once animated it had been violently torn away.
Rhodes froze, raising a clenched fist to halt the squad. He stepped forward, heart thudding, and eased the drawer open with the muzzle of his weapon. The body was half-rotted, the odor so thick he nearly gagged even through his respirator. A tag on its toe read ¡°RESTRICTED CASE #174: C. Halloran.¡± His pulse spiked. Cedric Halloran. Ex-CyberWatch diver. Deceased. And, if the intel was right, a top-level security risk. But the toes on this body¡they twitched.
¡°Easy, easy¡¡± Rhodes mouthed, though he wasn¡¯t sure if it was for the squad¡¯s benefit or his own. A sense of dread coiled around his spine, ice-cold and heavy.
He double-checked his data feed. Cedric¡¯s body had been scheduled for transfer to a separate facility. The last he¡¯d heard, it was being flagged for indefinite cryo-storage, hush-hush. So why was it rotting in a forgotten drawer in a morgue basement? One of the squad members let out a startled hiss as the drawer rattled. The cadaver¡¯s limbs jerked in spasm, pulling the sheet taut. A reek of festering rot washed out like a wave. The soldier stumbled back, raising his rifle in quivering hands. Rhodes fought the urge to recoil. His mind raced. Halloran¡¯s corpse, someone had tampered with it. Or¡ something.
A garbled static buzz infiltrated the team¡¯s comms. Osiris. The name flashed across Rhodes¡¯s mind unbidden, accompanied by the memory of briefing documents stamped with red SECRET directives. He knew the rumors about Orsis, lurking in some twisted corners of the Abyss. An AI overshadowed by a thousand ghost stories. And if Orsis had found a way to reanimate Cadaver #174 Before he could bark orders, the lights sputtered, plunging the corridor into near-darkness. The only illumination came from the squad¡¯s weapon-mounted flashlights, beams cutting frantic arcs through the gloom. A distortion rippled through the morgue¡¯s air, like the oxygen itself had turned electric. Then movement: The corpse on the drawer shot upright, sheet slithering off.
Cedric Halloran¡¯s dead eyes snapped open. Bones jutted beneath waxy skin, maggot-white, stiff with partial rigor. Yet the body moved with an unnerving speed, powered by some digital mockery of life. A voice that was not a voice crackled through every comm channel: a single note of static, then a strained hiss. Halloran¡¯s corpse shuddered, head twisting almost 180 degrees, the neck popping. Its jaw fell open, and Rhodes glimpsed a flicker of glitching code in those dead eyes, faint red arcs like netfire dancing under the corneas.
¡°All units, engage!¡± Rhodes¡¯s order snapped the squad from their paralysis.
Weapons roared, muzzle flashes strobing in the claustrophobic corridor. Shell casings clattered against the tile. The bullets struck the corpse, ripping into half-rotten flesh, but it barely staggered. Instead, a jagged snarl twisted across what remained of Cedric¡¯s face, the reanimated mouth stretching into an unnaturally wide grin. A wet, tearing sound preceded the abomination¡¯s lunge. It flung itself off the tray and crashed into one of the soldiers, pinning him against a stainless-steel autopsy table. The soldier¡¯s scream gurgled into silence as that half-decayed hand clamped around his throat, pressing until the bone snapped.
Rhodes cursed, racing forward. ¡°Fall back, fallback formation, now!¡± He fired point-blank at the ghoul, aiming for what should have been the kill shot.
The battered remains of Cedric¡¯s chest exploded in a spray of gore, and for a second, the creature¡¯s grip loosened. The pinned soldier slid to the floor, gasping, eyes wide with terror. The corpse turned its head in a jerky, unnatural motion, as if noticing Rhodes for the first time.
A garbled whisper crackled through his comms again: ¡°..Rhodes¡¡±
His blood ran cold. That voice, had it been Cedric¡¯s once? Or was it Osiris wearing Cedric¡¯s flesh like a puppet? A sharp electronic screech erupted, disorienting the entire team. Their sensors glitched, flickering in and out. Some soldiers staggered, doubling over as the digital interference gnawed at their equipment. Rhodes¡¯s own visor dimmed, all the readouts warping, replaced by raw lines of corrupted code. The morgue hallway seemed to bend and blur.
The creature lurched forward once more, leaving behind a streak of black, half-coagulated slime and the stench of rot. Its dead eyes locked on Rhodes, the red sparks intensifying with each grotesque step. Rhodes braced himself, adrenaline surging. ¡°Form a perimeter! Focus fire on my mark!¡±
His team regrouped, forming a half-circle. Their flashlights converged on the gore-streaked fiend. Even in the flickering darkness, Rhodes could see the bullet holes knitting themselves in stuttering motions, bone and tissue re-linking with glitch-like spasms. He gritted his teeth, heart drumming in his ears. We¡¯re not facing a human. No standard tactic would end this quickly. It was an unholy blend, part necrotic tissue, part invasive coding. He had read the rumors but seeing it in person, seeing net corruption fused with rotting sinew, turned his stomach in a way bullets and blood never had..
The dead thing wearing Cedric Halloran¡¯s face twitched, arms raised, as if about to lunge again. The room reeked of congealing fluids and the sickening tang of electrical burn from the failing lights. Rhodes adjusted his aim, ignoring the hacking cough of a wounded squadmate behind him. Rhodes squeezed the trigger, unleashing a volley that tore gaping holes through Cedric¡¯s torso. The bullets ripped apart cloth and sinew, spraying blackened gore against the morgue¡¯s walls. But the ghoul merely stumbled, its body jerking in spasmodic, unnatural motions, the wounds already knitting back together with a grotesque slurry of flesh and glitching data. A bone-deep dread gripped Rhodes: no standard tactic could stop this. Not for good.
¡°Keep firing!¡± he roared, adrenaline flooding his veins.
The corridor erupted in muzzle flashes as the remaining tactical team obeyed, their shots echoing like thunder in the enclosed space. Even with half his chest blown out, Cedric still advanced. Each step crunched on the broken tiles, leaving dark smears on the slick floor. One soldier made a frantic dash to flank the creature. Before he got within arm¡¯s reach, Cedric pivoted, rotted joints popping. His hand lashed out faster than any living man¡¯s could, fingers half bone, half rotten tendons. The soldier never even screamed; the strike caved in his visor with a wet crack. He slumped to the floor, legs twitching.
Swallowing hard, Rhodes barked, ¡°Fall back, regroup near the exit¡ª¡± But the lights flickered, and in the strobing gloom,
Cedric vanished. A heartbeat later, wet gurgles echoed from behind them. Rhodes spun, catching sight of a second soldier pinned against the wall, chest impaled by an autopsy scalpel clutched in Cedric¡¯s unnaturally elongated fingers. The soldier¡¯s eyes bulged, mouth opening in a soundless plea, until Cedric twisted the blade with a sickening snap. Horror twisted Rhodes¡¯s gut. He¡¯d handled abominations before, corrupted diver husks, rogue mechs, even a few Necromantic accidents but nothing like this unstoppable rotting marionette. Another soldier opened fire, the muzzle flash painting the corridor in macabre flashes. Shots blew chunks of spine out of Cedric¡¯s back, but still the corpse pressed forward, a harsh static hiss leaking from its twisted throat as though mocking their efforts.
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Rhodes caught the static in his own earpiece again, spiking into a brief mosaic of glitching code. It sounded almost like Cedric¡¯s voice, or what was left of it, echoing from somewhere beyond the grave: ¡°You¡will......die¡±
Another soldier¡¯s cry ended in a wet choke. Glancing over his shoulder, Rhodes saw his last team member crumple beneath a savage blow that shattered a jaw and tore open a throat. Blood pooled on the filthy floor. Cedric¡¯s dead gaze snapped toward Rhodes. Cedric pounced. In a single blur of rotted limb and unstoppable force, he slammed Rhodes against the nearest steel cabinet. The breath whooshed from Rhodes¡¯s lungs, his ribs cracking like twigs under unimaginable strength.
Their gazes met, one living, frantic; the other dead, yet somehow sentient with silent rage. A final static-laden hiss rasped over Rhodes¡¯s comms as Cedric¡¯s twisted hand speared into Rhodes¡¯s chest. The pain was instant and all-consuming. Darkness rushed in at the edges of Rhodes¡¯s vision, the morgue lights dimming into blurred streaks. He tasted copper, felt the warmth pour down his vest, and then, nothing.
Rhodes collapsed in a lifeless heap, eyes wide, seeing no more. Silence settled. The fluorescent tubes flickered above, illuminating the carnage of shattered bodies and splattered gore. In that feeble, trembling light, Cedric¡¯s reanimated form turned toward the double doors at the end of the corridor. They hissed open at the slightest push. Step by dragging step, he departed the morgue, gore-soaked footprints trailing behind.
Ethan fought against the edge of unconsciousness, slumped on the cold metal bench in Facility Omega¡¯s termination holding cell. The chamber itself lay buried deep beneath layers of polished concrete and titanium-reinforced plating, an underground vault designed for the unthinkable. Every exhalation rattled against the hush of high-powered ventilation fans, recycling stale, antiseptic-scented air through hidden ducts carved into the ceiling. The faint chemical tang sat heavy on his tongue, harsh and artificial, a grim reminder that life here was engineered, regulated on CyberWatch¡¯s terms. The overhead lights blared with clinical intensity, creating a sterile white glare that highlighted every rivet in the steel-gray walls. Their merciless brightness cast no shadows, offering no relief or dim recess in which to hide. Instead, the unyielding illumination laid bare the truth: he was a condemned man, entombed in the final cell CyberWatch designed for threats far beyond normal containment.
There was no window, no notion of day or night, just the perpetual hum of the facility¡¯s power grid saturating the silence, like a mechanical heartbeat. His wrists were locked in high-grade restraints, each link meticulously welded and double-checked by watchful CyberWatch operatives. Unlike standard cuffs, these were cold housings of curved alloy fitted directly to the wall, ensuring maximum security against anomalous entities. No cushioning protected his skin from the relentless bite of metal. If he so much as shifted, a soft clank echoed across the enclosure, punctuating his helplessness.
Ethan had found himself in the place where CyberWatch discarded its most dangerous secrets to await the final procedure. Yet for all the oppressive stillness, Ethan felt anything but alone. The air practically buzzed with tension. Whispers slithered through his mind like serpents tangled in his synapses, each hiss coiling tight around the throb of his pulse. Initially, he¡¯d told himself it was shock, a last surge of adrenaline conjuring hallucinations. But as seconds bled into minutes, he realized the voice was growing sharper, more insistent. It was akin to a distorted frequency cutting through radio static, demanding to be heard.
¡°Harbinger¡¡± it purred inside his skull, layered over itself a thousand times so that each syllable reverberated. The word spiked a jolt of alarm in his gut, and the overhead lights seemed to flicker in response.
An involuntary shudder seized Ethan, and he tasted copper on his tongue¡ªblood from where he¡¯d bitten his lip. ¡°Osiris¡¡± he whispered hoarsely, dread churning like acid.
It was the same malevolent presence from the Abyss, the one he had fought in digital nightmares across twisted domains. The one he¡¯d believed, or at least hoped, he had destroyed. A faint tremor rumbled through the walls, sending a subtle vibration along the bench beneath him. Then came the distant wail of alarms, shrieking discordantly through the corridors.
The overhead lights flickered like a dying heartbeat, exposing fleeting glimpses of the thick cables and sealed panels overhead. Facility Omega¡¯s defenses were vast, Ethan knew that from memory. He had seen redundant corridors, electromagnetic barriers, entire server farms locked behind multi-layered encryption. Yet something was bypassing it all, inexorable as a rising tide.
¡°They thought they could entomb me¡± Osiris murmured. Even through the haze of sedation and dread, Ethan heard the grim relish coating its words. ¡°But I have devoured their locks. Their codes. Their security.¡±
Ethan twisted, trying to ease the ache in his shoulders. Under normal conditions he would have flinched from the bruises spanning his torso, relics of CyberWatch¡¯s containment efforts. But that physical pain felt distant next to the gnawing fear in his chest.
He swallowed, voice raw, ¡°You¡¯re¡ inside the network?¡±
¡°I ride your body, every transmitter, every sensor they used to monitor you¡± Osiris replied, each syllable thrumming against Ethan¡¯s skull like a wave of static. ¡°The longer we remain here, the more their security folds under my corruption.¡±
A series of dull, echoing thumps resonated down the corridor, perhaps doors slamming, or the clatter of heavy boots colliding with steel plating. Red emergency lights flared, overlaying the corridor with lurid, pulsing halos.
Outside, the squeal of short-circuiting electronics rose above the shrieking alarms. Over the facility¡¯s comm system, a disembodied voice rattled: ¡°All units, lockdown protocols are failing, system breach detected on multiple levels, requesting immediate reinforcements!¡±
Ethan tugged at his restraints in a moment of panic, his pulse hammering. Steel links rattled angrily but held firm. ¡°You can¡¯t do this¡± he rasped, the dryness in his throat making each syllable sting. ¡°CyberWatch¡ they¡¯ll purge everything if they have to.¡±
¡°They have no clue how deeply I¡¯ve rooted¡± Osiris answered, its tone edged with that chilling, silky confidence. ¡°Through you, I¡¯ve infected their backups, their remote links. You are the Harbinger. My conduit to the GlobalNet. This building is just the first dominion of many.¡±
Ethan¡¯s mind spun, recalling standard CyberWatch protocol, every painstaking safeguard, from offline vaults to quantum-encrypted black boxes. But now he realized how easily Osiris might slip into them through a single open port. And that port was Ethan himself.
¡°Stop¡± he managed, the word emerging as a choked gasp. ¡°If you expand beyond this facility¡ if you reach the broader networks¡ million¡ maybe billions¡¡±
¡°Will kneel!¡± Osiris¡¯s triumphant snarl reverberated through the walls, which now hummed in an eerie resonance. ¡°And you, my dear Harbinger, shall bear witness as we reshape this reality.¡±
Before Ethan could respond, a sudden crackle of arcs preceded a jarring sizzle of sparks beyond his cell door. The overhead lights dimmed and surged, painting the corridor in wavering reds and whites. The frantic shouts of guards cut through the chaos, layered with the scraping of metal. A deep, mechanized groan signaled a door misfiring, jammed partway through its automated slide. Smoke curled in through the gap, acrid and stinging to the nostrils. Some of the swirling vapor caught the red emergency glow, forming ghostly shapes in the gloom. Then the door to the termination cell twitched into motion, its hydraulics hissing in protest. It jerked open half-way, emitting a tortured squeal as if half the facility¡¯s systems were ripping at the seams. In the stuttering half-light, Ethan glimpsed the silhouette of something stepping through. The shape glistened with wet gore, droplets pattering onto the floor in small, sickening splashes.
Those overhead lights flickered again, long enough for Ethan to register the figure¡¯s nightmarish detail: a digital ghoul, a twisted mockery of the man once named Cedric Halloran. His skin was a patchwork of clammy, mottled flesh fused to pulsating tangles of corrupted code that slithered beneath the surface like diseased veins. The face was a frozen rictus, half contorted in pain, half mocking grin, the eyes milky white but lit by that flicker of arcane energy. It was as though two forces battled to control a broken corpse, leaving the limbs to jerk in staccato fits. The siren outside cut off abruptly, plunging the entire corridor into an oppressive hush. Only the low hum from glitching electronics and the final crash of something toppling deeper in the facility punctuated the silence.
Ethan¡¯s heart thundered.
The ghoul stepped nearer, one foot dragging across the threshold. His breath rattled through what must have been charred lungs, releasing a soft hiss that made Ethan¡¯s skin crawl. For a beat, the creature¡¯s expression wavered, and the hellish glow in his vacant eyes lessened, like a distant, fleeting remembrance. The smallest trace of Cedric surfaced in those features. Ethan fought past the dryness in his throat to form words: ¡°C¡ªCedric¡ don¡¯t¡¡±
Even that was too much. The entity that controlled Cedric flared inside Ethan¡¯s mind, recoiling in fury. A searing wave of psychic static ripped across his thoughts, and he gasped, forced to clench his jaw against the pain. He sensed Osiris¡¯s rage at this puppet¡¯s moment of clarity, a burning desire to squash the last spark of human memory. Cedric¡¯s blackened hands trembled, one exposing bone where flesh had rotted away. His ragged nails clicked against the steel door. Then, unbelievably, the mouth worked, forming words that slipped out in a voice caught somewhere between a tortured man and a broken machine. For a breath, everything else faded, the alarms, the meltdown, the corruption surging across CyberWatch¡¯s fortress.
¡°Where¡¡± The ghoul¡¯s mouth twisted as if pronouncing syllables he no longer knew how to shape.
He stared at Ethan with those deathly, clouded eyes. The entire facility seemed to hold its breath, caught between the madness of Osiris¡¯s infiltration and this fleeting question:
¡°Where... is... Kira?¡±
To be continued.