The Last AlgorithmThe moment Kane told me about the fail-safe, I felt like the ground beneath me had shifted.A hidden algorithm—one capable of undoing the Overseers’ erasures.It was the kind of revelation that clawed at the edges of my mind, demanding to be questioned, doubted, and analyzed. And yet, I couldn’t ignore the spark of something dangerously close to hope flickering inside me.“There’s no way they wouldn’t have it buried deep,” I said, my voice coming out rough, uncertain. “If they built a backdoor into their system, they’d make sure no one could ever get to it.”Kane crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. “That’s exactly what they did.”She turned the tablet she was holding toward me, her fingers swiping across lines of encrypted data. “It’s housed in their Citadel. Not just any sector—this is their nerve center. The place where every major decision, every directive, every execution order originates.”A cold weight settled in my stomach. “You’re saying we have to

A Betrayal WithinThe night air smelled like burning metal and static electricity. We were so close to the Citadel that I could see the glow of its security lights and hear the faint hum of its power grid thrumming beneath the city ruins. The plan was set. We were going to infiltrate, extract what we needed, and bring the Overseers’ entire system crumbling down from the inside.But something felt wrong.It wasn’t just the usual tension that came before a mission like this. It was deeper—like a wire pulled too tight, ready to snap.I shifted my grip on my rifle and glanced at Kane. She stood at the edge of the ruined street, scanning the area with sharp, restless eyes. Her fingers twitched near her belt, an old habit she had whenever something was off.“You feel it too?” I asked, keeping my voice low.She didn’t look at me. “Yeah.”Jax exhaled sharply behind me, adjusting the strap of his gear. “You two always get weird before missions. What’s different this time?”I didn’t have an ans

The Mind CageI woke up to a perfect world.Warm sunlight streamed through the window, painting the wooden floor in gold. A light breeze stirred the curtains, carrying the scent of fresh coffee and something sweet—cinnamon, maybe.I knew this place.The small apartment. The books are stacked in the corner. The sketchpad was left open on the kitchen table, with unfinished lines waiting for the artist’s return.And then—“Tony?”My chest clenched. I turned, already knowing what I’d see.Lena stood there, a soft smile playing on her lips, her dark eyes filled with something warm, something real. She looked exactly the way I remembered—hair falling in loose waves, her favorite sweater draped over her frame, sleeves just a little too long.For a second, I forgot to breathe.“You okay?” she asked, stepping closer.I couldn’t move.Because this wasn’t real.I knew it wasn’t real.The Citadel. The Overseers. The choice they’d given me. The escape.None of that had happened here.Here, Lena ha

The Battle for TimeThe air rippled like a dying frequency.I hit the ground hard, the impact rattling through my bones. My vision swam as I struggled to my feet. The world around me twisted—walls folding in on themselves, staircases spiraling into infinity.The Citadel was unraveling.And at the center of it all, the Last Algorithm pulsed in my hand, radiating an energy that felt like raw, living time.Kane landed beside me in a crouch, already aiming her weapon at the shifting figures emerging from the chaos. The High Overseers.They stood above us like specters draped in shadows, their hollow eyes locked onto me.“You do not belong,” one of them intoned, their voice fracturing through the air. “You should have been erased.”I tightened my grip around the Algorithm. “Yeah, well, you should’ve done a better job.”A wave of force slammed into me before I could react. It felt like my entire existence was being pulled apart like every second of my life was being shredded and rewound at

The Ultimate ConsequenceThe world wasn’t done breaking.I could feel it—beneath my skin, in the marrow of my bones, in the very fabric of existence. The Algorithm had obeyed my will, but it had taken something from me in return. I was an anomaly, a piece of a puzzle that no longer fit in the reality I had shaped.My hands flickered.Not with light. Not with energy.With absence.I sucked in a breath. The air felt thinner like I wasn’t entirely here anymore.“Tony?” Kane’s voice was sharp, urgent. She had seen it.I turned to her. My chest ached—not just from exhaustion but from knowing. I had rewritten reality and forged a new timeline from the shattered remains of the old. But in doing so, I had severed my own connection to it.I was slipping away.Kane reached for me, but her fingers passed right through my wrist.“No.” Her voice was quiet at first, but then it broke open. “No, no, you are not doing this. We just won, Tony. We won.”I tried to smile, but even that felt distant. “Ye