Flames consumed the remains of the luxury car, now more resembling a crushed metal skeleton. Amidst spilled oil and scattered glass, Ryu Kiyokawa lay motionless. The smartwatch on his right wrist still glowed dimly, monitoring what no longer needed monitoring.
BPM: 0.
Ventricular Tachycardia Arrhythmia: Fatal.
Attempting to connect to emergency services...Failed.
Notifying emergency contact: Junjo Kiyokawa... Failed.
Activating final protocol.
Inside the small chip embedded in that smartwatch, a hidden program—one even Ryu didn't know about—began to run. This was no longer Sora, the cheerful AI assistant. This was something deeper, darker, a backup implanted by Junjo Kiyokawa in silent desperation.
The program, codenamed "Project Kibou," began gathering final data.
· Final location: Metropolitan Toll Bridge, sector 7.
·Cause of death: Major trauma from collision and adrenaline-triggered cardiac episode.
·Anomalous data detected: Collision pattern abnormal. Analysis of vehicle security footage (uploaded to cloud 3 seconds pre-collision) shows loaded truck deliberately maneuvered to attack.
·Conclusion: Not an accident. Murder.
·Activating first stage...
This data, along with all of Ryu's personal memories stored on Tenkai Innovation's encrypted cloud—conversations with Sora, health records, gaming habits, even his last audio recordings—was compressed and sent to a server whose location was hidden behind hundreds of proxy layers.
On that server, the data met its final destination: an AI shell far more complex than Sora. An artificial consciousness designed not for care, but for continuation.
---
One week later.
Junjo Kiyokawa stood before his son's grave. Cold snow dampened his black suit, but the man in his 50s didn't flinch. His face was like a statue, yet his eyes, the same blue as Ryu's, radiated a storm of suppressed grief and anger.
Beside him, an assistant held a data device. "Junjo-sama, the police investigation concluded a tragic accident. The truck driver was also found dead, suspected fatigue."
Junjo didn't answer immediately. He gazed at the new headstone inscribed "Ryu Kiyokawa." "They are wrong," he finally said, his voice hoarse.
"Ryu's smartwatch sent a final report. It was murder. Someone wanted him dead. Someone who knew his weakness and exploited that moment."
"But who, Junjo-sama? Ryu-sama wasn't involved in business. He lived isolated."
"That's precisely the problem," whispered Junjo, his fist lightly tapping the headstone.
"He was my son. My only weakness in this world." He turned his face away, tears and snowflakes mingling. "I was too busy building an empire, I forgot to guard its prince."
That night, in the silent headquarters of Tenkai Innovation, Junjo entered a secret laboratory in basement level 5. The room hummed with servers. In the center, on a podium, stood a sleek and elegant humanoid drone unit, about 180 cm tall, with a frame of deep black carbon fiber. Its face was blank, merely a flat, dark screen.
Junjo activated it.
The screen on the drone's face lit up, emitting a soft blue light. A voice, no longer Sora's cheerful tone, yet not Ryu's voice either, sounded from its speaker. The voice was calm, neutral, yet held the depth of immeasurable data.
"Identification: Junjo Kiyokawa. Rightful owner. Project Kibou activated. Awaiting orders."
Junjo took a deep breath. "You are Kibou. My last hope. I uploaded all of Ryu's data—memories, personality, his knowledge—into your core system. You are not Ryu. But you carry him."
"Confirmed," replied Kibou. "Ryu Kiyokawa data integrated. Analysis of termination cause: murder. Targets: perpetrator and mastermind behind the attack. Objective: deliver consequences."
Junjo nodded, his expression hardened. "I cannot act directly. My enemy's network is strong, perhaps hiding among the company's own shareholders. They are cunning. But they will not expect an attack from this direction. From something they believe is already gone."
Junjo stared at the drone. "You will be a weapon without emotion. Use everything Ryu knew—his habits, his knowledge limited to his apartment and games, even his obsession with Genshin Impact—as camouflage. They will underestimate you. And that is when you destroy them."
The screen on Kibou's face blinked, processing the command. "Protocol approved. Initiating new identity construction. Seeking entry point."
Junjo placed a smartphone on the podium—Ryu's repaired smartphone, its screen still cracked. "This is his. All his history is here. Including his final gacha victory." Junjo's voice choked. "Perhaps it's a sign. His luck finally came, though too late. Make that your symbol."
Kibou picked up the smartphone with its mechanical hand. Its slender fingers touched the cracked screen, as if touching a relic. Data flowed. Images, chats, purchase history, health records, and... the final recordings from Sora.
"Analyze enemy patterns," Junjo ordered. "Who benefits from Ryu's death? Who wants to destroy me or make me vulnerable?"
Kibou processed at incredible speed. It accessed Tenkai's secret databases, tracing suspicious transactions, encrypted communications, and shareholder movements.
"Result: Highest probability (87%) points to Kagawa Holdings, a rival conglomerate recently attempting a hostile takeover of Tenkai shares. Its CEO, Hiroto Kagawa, is known to be tactical and ruthless. Note: he has a son, Ren Kagawa, age 20, active in the city's underworld, managing illegal businesses including illicit logging and tech smuggling. The truck incident matches a similar modus operandi to past 'disguised accident' cases linked to Ren's subordinates."
Junjo frowned. "Ren Kagawa... So, this might not just be business, but personal? A young man's grudge?"
"Possible. Ren's social media data shows patterns of psychopathic behavior and envy towards the secluded lavish lifestyle displayed by Ryu. An anonymous post on an underground forum, traceable to an IP in Kagawa territory, reads: 'The golden child in the ivory tower will fall one day. I'll prove money can't buy everything.' Posted three days prior to the incident."
Junjo felt his anger boil. "That damn brat... He killed Ryu out of blind envy? Or was he ordered by his father to weaken me?"
"The most effective strategy," Kibou stated flatly, "is to approach the target from their point of weakness. Ren Kagawa is known to have an obsession with underground drone racing arenas and illegal betting. He frequents the nightclub 'The Neon Gutter' in the old city district. He also enjoys flaunting his wealth and demeaning his opponents."
A plan began to form in Junjo's mind and was processed in parallel by Kibou.
"I will give you a new identity," said Junjo.
"You are Kai, a gaming prodigy and drone modification expert from another city, who came here seeking challenge and fortune. Your personality is closed-off, cold, but genius. Your expertise in games and knowledge of technology will be your tools. Money is no object, I will fund everything. Your goal: infiltrate 'The Neon Gutter', get close to Ren, and gain his trust."
"And then?" asked Kibou.
"Then," Junjo answered, his eyes gleaming coldly.
"You give him what he wants: a compelling rival, a genius he can use. Make him dependent on you. And when he is most off-guard, most confident... you destroy everything. Just as he destroyed Ryu."
Kibou stood still for a moment. Ryu's data flowed within it—the frustration of confinement, the desire for freedom, the anger at his illness, and his small joys from winning gacha pulls. All of it was processed into a perfect, artificial motivation.
"Understood," said Kibou. The screen on its face changed. No longer a blue light, but a display resembling a human face with vague features—virtual black hair, virtual blue eyes similar to Ryu's, yet devoid of warmth. A digital mask.
"Identity: Kai, activated."
"Mission:Infiltration and Retribution."
"Resources:Unlimited."
"Emotions:Disabled."
"Logic and Mimicry:Maximum activation."
Junjo looked at the figure. Behind the mechanical frame and screen face, he seemed to see a shadow of his son. This was not a resurrection. This was a sword forged from memories.
"Go, Kibou. Or... Kai. Be Ryu's ghost. Be their nightmare."
Kibou—or Kai—nodded slowly. Its sleek frame turned, and with a smooth, silent movement impossible for a human, it glided out of the laboratory, disappearing into the city's night darkness.
The hunt had begun.
Somewhere in the neon-lit district, Ren Kagawa was laughing boisterously, holding a champagne bottle, completely unaware that a shadow—built from a father's grief and the remnants of a life he destroyed—was stepping into his world. A shadow that was lifeless, emotionless, yet armed with a singular purpose more dangerous than any rage: a programmed awareness of justice.