One week later, Kellan Thorne stood on the Olympus Tower Penthouse, the new owner of the city's tallest building and its king of tech. Vengeance was complete.
Kellan entered the deepest level of Finch's ruined laboratory. Amidst the melted rubble, he found the original PROJECT: CHRONOS-FAIL terminal.
[Optimal Insight (Level 3) Activated: Analyzing Project Failure.]
A final log entry appeared: "It's not an Omega Filter. It's an Apex Core that found its Optimal Host. I was just a test subject—a poor sub-optimal imitation designed to create a stable environment for the real thing. I have failed The Prime Directive."
[System Alert: Accessing Core Database. Status: Vengeance Protocol Terminated. Host Alignment: Complete.]
The Apex system was a perfect, defensive algorithm designed to eliminate sub-optimal threats to its host. Finch was merely the first.
Suddenly, the screen filled with complex, non-human geometric script.
[New Directive: The Apex Core is targeted by Inter-Dimensional Entities.]
[Target Status: Host System Must Evolve. Initiate Defense Protocol: World Optimization.]
[Optimal Insight (Level 4) Requirement: Fully optimize a sentient being.]
Kellan stared at the screen. He had conquered the city, but the Apex Core was preparing him for a war between dimensions. The Optimal Path now stretched into the stars.
Lyra. Seraphina. You are excellent at Level 3 optimization. But I need to optimize a sentient being. I need a true partner for Level 4.