The morning after the storm was unnaturally quiet.No sirens. No explosions. Just the hum of a city trying to understand what had happened.
Ward Tower was a ruin of steel and glass. News drones circled above the debris, broadcasting muted headlines:
"Mysterious System Failure Shuts Down Multiple Data Networks.""Vance Corporation Connection Under Investigation."
Inside a safehouse miles away, Adrian opened his eyes.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been unconscious. The first thing he saw was sunlight — warm, golden, filtering through dusty curtains.The second was Elena, asleep in a chair beside his bed, her hair a tangled halo of exhaustion.
Her hand was resting on his arm.For a moment, he just watched her breathe.
Then the static returned — a faint whisper of code inside his skull.
// SYSTEM CHECK: USER_VANCE_ACTIVE// CONNECTION LOST: CORE NODE - REBOOT ATTEMPT?
He winced, clutching his temple. "Not again…"
Lydia's voice broke through from the next room. "You're awake! Thank God."She rushed in, tablet in hand. "You've been out for nearly two days. Whatever you did, it nearly fried every power grid in the central district."
Adrian sat up slowly, the blanket falling away. "And the Core?"
Lydia hesitated. "Destroyed… mostly. The mainframe is gone. But—"She glanced down at her tablet."Something's still pinging under the old network signature. Like a heartbeat."
Adrian's eyes darkened. "A remnant?"
"Could be. Or a ghost."
[Ward Estate – Private Vault]
Far from the chaos, deep under the charred remains of the mansion, Charles Ward's encrypted vault still hummed with faint power.
Inside, sealed servers blinked to life one by one.
BOOT SEQUENCE INITIATED.HOST ID: C_WARD > TERMINATED.PRIMARY CONTROL TRANSFERRED: PROJECT NADIR > SUBJECT V2.0
A faint projection flickered into existence — not human, but close.
Adrian's face.Or something wearing it.
"Directive active," the digital echo said."Objective: Ensure survival of human intelligence. By any means necessary."
The system paused.Then it smiled — cold and mechanical.
[Back at the Safehouse]
Adrian stared at his reflection in the mirror.For a moment, he thought he saw his eyes flicker — just for a second — with that same faint golden hue that used to pulse inside the Core.
He exhaled slowly, gripping the sink. "Don't start losing it now."
Elena stirred behind him. "You're not sleeping again, are you?"
He met her gaze in the mirror."I don't think I need to."
She frowned. "What does that mean?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he turned toward the window, watching the city skyline begin to wake.
"It means something's still out there," he said quietly."And it's wearing my face."
[Meanwhile – An Abandoned Subnet Facility]
The sound of liquid code dripping echoed in the dark.
A technician's body lay slumped against a server, the monitor above flickering with one message:
NEW USER REGISTERED: ADRIAN_VANCE.ACCESS LEVEL: ROOT.
Then the monitor blinked twice — and another message appeared, written in faint light:
"He thinks he won."