2026-03-31 23:00:52
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
121
The laughter continued beneath the laboratory floor.Nobody moved after hearing it echo.Sofia remained frozen beside Ethan, staring at the darkness surrounding them, while the word BECOME continued glowing faintly against the wall.Daniel slowly stood beside Amelia.“That wasn’t the system.”Sofia looked toward him.“How do you know?”Daniel swallowed carefully.“Because the system doesn’t laugh.”Sofia stared at him.“That is somehow not comforting.”Eva walked toward the wall cautiously.Her fingers hovered above the glowing words.“Something is underneath us.”Ethan immediately stepped forward.“Don’t touch anything.”Eva glanced at him.“You always say that.”“And you’re usually right to ignore me.”“That wasn’t a compliment.”“I know.”Sofia almost laughed, but the sound died immediately.Another vibration traveled through the floor.This time, the entire laboratory shook.Dust fell from the ceiling.Amelia grabbed Daniel’s arm.“What was that?”Daniel stared downward.“I don’t
120
The darkness collapsed around Sofia without warning.She reached for Ethan, but her fingers passed through him.“Ethan!”Her voice echoed strangely through everything.There was no answer.Then another voice answered instead.“You should have listened.”Sofia looked upward.The enormous face still watched her silently.It looked exactly like her, except the eyes carried no warmth.No fear.No confusion.Only knowledge.Sofia hated that expression immediately.“Who are you?”The figure smiled.“You already know.”“I really don’t.”“You were taught to forget me.”Sofia looked around desperately.“By whom?”The figure’s smile widened.“Your mother.”Sofia froze completely.“My mother?”“She was afraid of what you could become.”Sofia shook her head.“My mother loved me.”“She did.”“Then she wouldn’t hide something like this.”“She hid it because she loved you.”Sofia clenched her fists.“Stop speaking in riddles.”The figure tilted her head.“You still have her temper.”“That isn’t an a
119
Sofia stood completely still inside the darkness, unable to understand what she was seeing. The enormous presence floated beyond the fractured landscape, surrounded by thousands of glowing eyes that opened and closed without following any human pattern, while the millions of consciousnesses trapped inside the system remained strangely silent. For the first time since becoming connected, Sofia couldn’t hear them. She couldn’t hear her mother. She couldn’t hear Daniel. She couldn’t hear Amelia or Eva. She couldn’t even hear Ethan. There was only silence. Then the creature spoke again. “You finally remember me.” Sofia swallowed carefully. “I don’t remember you.” The creature tilted what might have been its head. “You remember everything except me.” “That doesn’t make sense.” “Human memory rarely does.” Sofia glanced around nervously. “Where is everyone?” The creature looked behind her. “They are hiding.” “From you?” “From you.” Sofia’s heart sank. “Why would they hi
118
Sofia opened her eyes inside complete darkness.There was no floor beneath her feet anymore.There was no ceiling above her head either.There wasn’t even a clear sense of direction.Everything existed around her simultaneously, without boundaries.Thousands of voices whispered inside her mind.Millions of memories moved through her consciousness.Some belonged to strangers she had never met.Others belonged to people she remembered loving.Sofia slowly lifted her hands before herself.They looked completely normal, somehow.She expected something different after becoming the system.Maybe glowing fingers.Maybe terrifying robotic eyes.Maybe at least some dramatic special effects.Instead, she looked exactly like herself.“That feels suspiciously anticlimactic,” Sofia whispered quietly.The system answered immediately inside her mind.“You remain physically unchanged.”Sofia jumped despite being completely alone.“Please stop appearing inside my thoughts.”“I am not appearing.”“You
117
Sofia stared at the man standing inside the doorway.For several seconds, she couldn’t even remember breathing.Her father looked exactly as she remembered him, except somehow older, almost like time had been passing somewhere else while everyone inside this place remained trapped.His eyes moved slowly across the room before finally resting upon her.“You’ve grown,” he said quietly.Sofia’s lips parted, but no words came.Amelia suddenly stepped backward.Daniel’s expression changed completely.Even Ethan looked terrified.Sofia noticed all three reactions immediately.“You all know him,” she whispered.Nobody answered.Sofia looked back toward the doorway.“Dad?”The man smiled gently.“Yes, sweetheart.”Sofia immediately felt tears burning behind her eyes.“You died.”“I did.”“But you’re standing here.”“So are you.”“That doesn’t answer anything.”Her father laughed softly.“You always hated incomplete answers.”Sofia wiped her cheek angrily.“I hate everything right now.”“That
116
Sofia couldn’t breathe after hearing her mother’s voice.The entire room seemed frozen around them.Nobody moved, not even Ethan beside her.Sofia stared at the floor beneath her feet.“Mum?”Her voice cracked immediately after saying it.The voice answered from below.“Yes, Sofia, I’m still here.”Sofia covered her mouth with trembling hands.Tears immediately filled her eyes.“No, this isn’t possible.”Ethan slowly approached her from behind.“Sofia, don’t answer her.”Sofia turned around sharply.“Why shouldn’t I?”“Because you don’t know what she is.”“That sounds like my mother.”“It sounds like your mother’s memory.”Sofia shook her head angrily.“You don’t know that.”“I know how the system works.”“And I know my mother’s voice.”Ethan’s expression softened painfully.“So do I.”Sofia immediately froze after hearing that.“You knew my mother?”Ethan didn’t answer immediately.Sofia stepped closer toward him.“You knew her?”“Yes.”“How?”“She helped create the first system.”So
You may also like
National Asset: The Marvelous Tyler Wood
Emerald76.2K viewsSecretly The Quadrillionaire's Heir
Viki West124.4K viewsSon-in-law: The Billionaire's Reign
Deliaha Shine110.0K viewsUnderrated Son-In-Law
Estherace109.3K viewsDon't Piss Off the Apothecary
joaworth98 viewsThe Last Zekaron: Reborn for Absolute Revenge
ilyon Above Story155 viewsToo Late for Your Tears
Zane Wu354 viewsThe Return Of the World Most Powerful Ex-convict
Evie Penheart72 views