Ben bit his lip as doubt crept in.
He had not tried it.
Not yet.
Not because he could not, but because he was afraid.
Not of failure, but of success.
He knew what it meant to play god.
He knew how those stories usually ended.
Artificial beings that were too smart and too strong, and then they turned on their creator.
The hive mind kept his creations loyal.
The system bound them.
But his old-world fear still whispered at the back of his mind.
Maybe he was just being paranoid.
Maybe not.
BOOM.
Another shockwave rolled through the ground.
A golden column of flame erupted behind them and split the dark.
The earth shook under the impact.
Draeven stumbled mid-stride.
His fists clenched and his breath came out ragged.
That was it.
The final flare.
The last of his brother's light.
Ben did not slow down. "Pick up the pace," he called, his voice steady. "We don't have much time."
Draeven did not answer, but he ran.
Neither of them looked back.
