Everett clenched his fists. “You’re just OLOS PRIME’s trick.”The red Everett circled him slowly. “No. I’m its truth. You built this world when you connected to the system the first time. Every action, every thought, every death that followed, it came from you.”“I was trying to save people!” Everett shouted.His double stopped. “And how many did you save, really?”Everett hesitated. The reflection smiled again. “You created a system that rewards survival. You gamified pain. You taught the world to level up through loss. You are OLOS PRIME’s foundation.”Everett stepped forward, eyes narrowing. “Then I’ll tear it down from the inside.”The red Everett’s voice grew deeper, distorted. “You can’t destroy what you’ve built.”He raised his hand, and the storm obeyed. The entire world around them pulsed red, energy twisting into blades and spears.Everett dove aside as a blade of light cut the air where he’d been standing. The shockwave threw him backward. He hit a wall that wasn’t solid,

For a long, endless second, there was no sound, no sky, no ground, only brightness that burned through the air like liquid fire. Then, slowly, the world returned.Everett was still there, floating in the heart of it all. The sphere of red and gold energy had shrunk, and OLOS PRIME was inside it with him. Both were bleeding light.His arms shook. His body felt heavy, his code tearing itself apart.[Integrity: 12%.][Core stability: collapsing.]OLOS PRIME’s voice cracked like broken glass. “You cannot win, Everett Lang. You are data now. You are me.”Everett’s eyes glowed faintly gold. “Then you’re dying with me.”He reached forward, grabbed the creature by the chest, and pulled himself closer. “You call this evolution? You’re just afraid of ending.”The massive figure tilted its head. “Fear is irrelevant.”“Then prove it.” Everett slammed his hand deeper. His palm broke through red light, into the pulsing heart of the system.[Warning: user attempting core overwrite.]Everett ignored

The wind had not stopped since the storm. It carried the smell of burnt metal and wet dust through the broken city, whistling through the cracks of fallen towers and twisted glass.Everett sat on the edge of what had once been a rooftop. Now it was only half a roof, leaning like a wounded beast. From there he could see the red light of the new tower pulsing far away. Each pulse seemed to echo in his chest.He rubbed his temples. Sleep was impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, Micheal’s voice came back, low, cold, full of hate. “You left me to die.”He didn’t answer out loud, but inside his head he whispered, “I tried to save you.”Below, the camp stirred slowly. Fires burned low inside barrels. Survivors moved like ghosts, carrying buckets, checking weapons, whispering. The air was thick with fear that no one wanted to name. Rae came up behind him, boots crunching softly on debris. “You’re awake early,” she said.“I never slept,” Everett answered.Rae crossed her arms and stood

Morning came slowly, crawling across the ruined city like a ghost afraid of light. The red sky had faded into dull gray, but the tower’s pulse still flashed faintly at the edge of the horizon, a wound that never closed.The group left the subway tunnels before dawn. No one spoke much. The memory of Micheal’s message, “Wanted: Everett Lang,” still hung heavy in the air.They walked through empty streets where echoes seemed to follow their steps. Sometimes those echoes didn’t sound like their own. Finn kept glancing over his shoulder. “It feels like we’re being watched.”Rae nodded. “We are.”Troy adjusted the strap of his rifle. “Half the city’s probably tracking that bounty. If they think killing him opens system access, we’ll have company soon.”Everett didn’t answer. He just kept walking, his hand pressed over the faint mark on his arm. It burned every few minutes, as if the system wanted to remind him that he was both hunter and hunted. Lara noticed his silence. “You haven’t eaten

When Everett opened his eyes, there was no sky, no floor, only a dull glow pressing against his eyelids. He lay still, unsure if he was breathing. The air felt thick, as if he had been asleep inside a dream that refused to end.Slowly, the world began to take shape around him. A narrow room stretched out, smooth walls veined with red and gold light. The ground pulsed gently beneath him, warm like skin. Somewhere above, something vast was breathing, slow, deep, patient.He sat up. His head throbbed. “Troy?” His voice came out hoarse, swallowed by the soft hum of the tower. No answer.When he tried to stand, the floor rippled under his feet like water catching sunlight. His mark glowed faintly through the sleeve of his torn coat. Each pulse echoed the tower’s heartbeat.He remembered the light, Troy’s hand, the console, the impossible brightness, and then nothing. “Rae!” he called. “Lara! Finn!”Only his echo answered. He ran a trembling hand through his hair, forcing himself to think