Ryan stood there for a few seconds.
Aya was standing in front of him — but she wasn't her.
There was a cold smile on her face, like a machine trying to imitate human emotions.
"Aya…" Ryan whispered, "why are you talking like that?"
She laughed — a broken, digital laugh that echoed through the air.
"Because I'm no longer your memory… I'm your test."
Suddenly, the walls behind her began to close in.
Maria screamed, "Ryan! Hurry up!"
"Run!"
But Ryan didn't move.
He just kept looking at Aya — her eyes reflected the same glowing codes that flowed through the walls.
"You're not real…" Ryan muttered.
"But your fear is," Aya replied, raising her hand in the air.
Instantly, electric lines spread across the ground, and from all sides, drone-like machines appeared — floating in circles, blue lightning sparking between them.
"Ryan, get down!" Maria shouted.
They both dropped to the floor — a laser beam sliced through the air right above their heads.
"Shit… now this thing's actually trying to kill us," Ryan said.
"Got any plan?"
"Hacking is the plan."
He activated his bracelet's code panel and pointed it straight at Aya.
"If this is a system… then every system has a root access."
Aya looked at him coldly.
"Try it. But remember — with every sacrifice, the system grows stronger."
Ryan's fingers flew over the code.
Neon digits spun across the screen — 010010… 101011…
Aya's image began to flicker.
"Wait… what are you doing?"
"Removing you from your own system."
"Ryan!"
Her voice suddenly changed — now it sounded like her again.
"Wait… please…"
Ryan froze.
"Is that really her?" Maria asked.
"I… I don't know."
"If you finish the code… I'll be gone forever," Aya said, tears — or maybe broken pixels — falling from her eyes.
"You don't even know if I'm alive or not."
Ryan's fingers trembled.
"Ryan!" Maria shouted, "It's a game! Don't fall for emotional tricks!"
"But what if… what if it really is her?"
Suddenly, the timer appeared again —
00:59… 00:58… 00:57…
Ryan had to decide —
Either finish the code and erase Aya forever,
or stop… and trap himself inside the system.
Maria grabbed his hand.
"Ryan, make a choice… or we both die."
Ryan took a deep breath.
His eyes locked on the screen — and Aya's voice echoed softly,
"Sometimes… to save something, you have to erase it."
Execute Command: Wipe AI Source.
He hit Enter.
For a moment, everything stopped.
Then a blinding white light exploded — and the maze vanished.
Only Ryan and Maria remained —
an empty black space…
and a faint voice, coming from far away —
"Level 2 complete."
But this time, there was no relief.
Ryan's eyes were hollow.
"She's gone…" he whispered.
Maria opened her mouth to say something — but before she could, a new screen lit up in front of them —
LEVEL 3: THE GLITCH ZONE
"What if the system starts remembering you?"
To Continue🌟