RISE OF THE FALLEN HEIR

CHAPTER 3: THE HACKER’S WARNING

As I moved through the dimly lit streets of downtown Vale. Neon signs flickered overhead a symphony of static and shadows.

Omega’s voice pulsed in my mind like a heartbeat.

[Mission Timer: 00:47:16]

 [Objective: Retrieve physical backup drives from Holt Estate.]

I watched from a distance as police cars surrounded Damien’s mansion. Officers marched in and out, confiscating boxes, servers, and data cores. My lips curled into a grim smile.

“You wanted to destroy me, Damien,” I murmured. “Now you’re watching everything crumble.”

[Correction: Mission incomplete. Data suggests backup drives have been relocated.]

“Relocated where?”

[Trace in progress… anomaly detected.]

My vision flickered. Streams of code filled my view only this time, they weren’t Omega’s doing. A foreign signal was pushing through the System’s interface, hijacking my visual field.

“What’s happening?”

[External interference. Unknown source attempting to access neural link.]

A soft, distorted voice echoed inside my head not Omega’s, but human.

“You shouldn’t have accepted it, Ethan Cross.”

I froze. “Who are you?”

“Someone who’s been where you are now. Meet me at the corner of 9th and Vale, building 27. You have one hour before they find you.”

The connection cut. Static filled my mind, then silence.

[Unauthorized intrusion terminated.]

 [Warning: System breach detected.]

“Someone just hacked you, Omega. How’s that possible?”

[Unknown. But the intrusion carried a unique signature code format that matches pre-Omega architecture.]

“Pre-Omega?” “You mean there was another one before you?”

[Affirmative.]

I didn’t know whether to feel terrified or intrigued. Either way, I needed answers.

An hour later I was at building 27, a relic from another era half-burned, half-forgotten. The kind of place ghosts went to remember what life used to be.

I pushed open the rusted door and stepped inside. The air smelled of smoke and melted circuits. Holographic remnants flickered faintly on the walls signs of what once might have been a tech lab.

“Ethan Cross,” a female voice called out.

She emerged from the shadows tall, slender, wrapped in a black hoodie, silver hair spilling across her shoulders. Her eyes glowed faintly blue from under her hood. 

“Who are you?” I asked.

She gave a half-smile. “Dr. Ivy Clarke. Former head of Neural AI Development, Project Paradox.”

My pulse quickened. “You’re a scientist?”

“Was,” she corrected. “Before my lab burned to the ground and everyone I worked with disappeared. And now I find you walking around with a living prototype in your skull.”

I frowned. “You’re saying you created something like Omega before?”

Not like, the same system. Or at least a version of it. We called it the Erebus Protocol. It was supposed to enhance human cognition, link consciousness to data itself. But then the government pulled the plug. My team went missing. Files erased. And now…” She gestured toward me. “It’s inside you.”

I took a step back. “You’re telling me Omega isn’t random? Someone put it in me?”

Exactly, systems like that don’t attach themselves to hosts by accident. You were chosen. Chosen. The word sent a chill through me. “By who?”

“I don’t know yet, but whoever they are they’ve been watching you for a long time.”

[Alert: Unauthorized data exchange detected.]

 [Warning: Dr. Ivy Clarke attempting to access System interface.]

I felt a sharp sting behind my eyes. “What are you doing?”

She raised her hands defensively. “Relax. I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m scanning your neural link to confirm what version they gave you. There’s something different about yours it’s evolved.”

Her brow furrowed as streams of blue light flowed between us, the holographic projection of Omega’s code reflecting across her lenses. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “They’ve merged it with something else. This isn’t just Erebus it’s Omega Prime.”

[Host warning: External analysis reaching restricted data sectors.]

 [Activating countermeasures.]

“Wait!” I shouted. “Don’t—”

Too late. Omega surged through me, sending a pulse of electricity across the room. Ivy stumbled backward as lights flickered violently.

“Stop!” I gasped. “She’s not the enemy!”

The power cut out. For a moment, the only sound was our breathing. Then from somewhere above a dull thud.

Ivy’s head snapped up. “You brought company, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t—”

Gunfire erupted from the ceiling. The upper floor exploded into flames as armed men in tactical armor descended through the smoke, their masks glinting under flickering lights.

“Move!” Ivy grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a server rack. “They found me! How the hell did they—”

[Host in danger. Engaging defensive protocol.]

 [Skill Upgrade: Combat Adaptation Level 1 Activated.]

 I could see every movement, every bullet’s path, every shadow’s shift. My instincts sharpened into razor focus.

“Ethan!” Ivy shouted. “They’re after the system, not you!”

I ducked behind cover and grabbed a piece of shattered pipe, feeling an energy surge through me. My body moved on its own fast, fluid, almost mechanical. I swung, deflecting a projectile and disarming the nearest soldier in a single motion.

[Neural reflex synchronization: 92%.]

 [Combat efficiency increased.]

One attacker lunged I twisted, slammed him into a console, sparks bursting in every direction.

Ivy stared, wide-eyed. “What are you?”

I almost didn’t know myself.

We darted toward the back exit, but the corridor was already swarming with more armed men. Smoke filled the air. I could hear their comms. “Target acquired. Extract the asset alive.”

“[External drones inbound.]

 [Recommendation: Immediate evacuation.]

Before I could answer, an explosion ripped through the wall. The shockwave threw us apart. I crashed into debris, my ears ringing. Through the haze, I saw Ivy struggling to stand blood streaked her arm.

[Critical condition detected: Dr. Ivy Clarke.]

 [Emergency protocol activating…]

“What are you doing?” I asked.

[New mission generated.]

 [Objective: Protect the key asset Dr. Ivy Clarke.]

 [Failure consequence: System termination.]

The words burned across my vision, flashing red.

“Omega, override!” I shouted. “I don’t take orders from—”

[Override denied.]

 [Mission mandatory.]

A gunshot echoed Ivy screamed. I turned, fury coursing through me, my vision burning with blue light.

[Combat Mode: Full Synchronization Enabled.]

The men advanced, but I was faster moving like the storm itself.In seconds, silence returned broken only by the flicker of firelight.

I staggered toward Ivy, who was clutching her side. “You’re hurt.”She gave a faint, pained laugh. “You’re… not human anymore, are you?”

I looked at my trembling hands, still crackling faintly with Omega’s glow. “I don’t know what I am.”

[Mission Update: Extract Dr. Ivy Clarke Safe Zone Required.]

 [Warning: More hostiles are approaching.]

The building groaned under the weight of fire and destruction.

I grabbed her and pulled her toward the back door. “You’re not dying here, Doctor.”

[Mission: Protect the key asset in progress.]

As we burst out into the cold night air, I looked back at the inferno swallowing the lab and the shadows moving inside it.

Someone wanted me to have Omega.

And now, they were willing to kill to keep the truth buried.

[Next mission loading…]

 [System prompt: Identify the real creator of Omega.]