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THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 142
Traces of HimThe city is very quiet.Not just abandoned. Not just forgotten.Erased.Kane’s device flickers in her hand as she tries to stabilize the signal. The air around us feels off, humming with something unnatural. This place—it doesn’t belong to the world anymore. It’s a scar in the system, a place that shouldn’t exist but still lingers.Elias lets out a low breath. "This place is a dead zone." He kicks a loose chunk of pavement, watching as dust puffs up and then settles. "No signals. No cameras. Nothing.""Which makes it the perfect place to hide something,"* I say.Or someone.Kane taps rapidly on her screen, her brows furrowed in concentration. "I can’t pinpoint the source, but there’s definitely something here. An anomaly."I can’t wait. I move."Tony—" Kane calls after me, but I don’t slow down.Because I feel it now.A pulse in the air. A presence tugging at the edge of my senses. Something familiar.The deeper we go, the stranger it gets.Buildings loom overhead, their
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 143
The Forgotten Code"Did you hear that?" I demand, my heart hammering against my ribs.Kane nods, her eyes wide with disbelief. "It wasn’t just an echo. That was him."Elias stands rigid beside me, his jaw tight. "How is that possible?""Because he’s still here," I say, barely able to breathe the words. "Somewhere."Kane’s fingers fly over her device, her face flickering between hope and fear. "If Darren’s voice is coming through, then there’s residual data of him left in the system. He’s not completely gone.""Then we pull him out," I say. "Now."Elias shakes his head, exhaling sharply. "It’s not that simple. You don’t just rip pieces of code out of the system without consequences."I meet his stare with unwavering determination. "We’ve done worse. What’s one more impossible thing?"Kane barely blinks as she continues tapping, scanning through streams of encrypted text. Her brows knit together. "There’s a way."We all turn to her at once."It’s buried deep—an old fail-safe in the syst
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 144
The Cost of Remembering "You’re saying I have to be his anchor," I say, the weight of the words pressing into my chest. Kane nods. "You knew him best. If anyone can hold onto him long enough to pull him back, it’s you." Elias crosses his arms, his jaw locked. "And what happens if Tony can’t handle it?" Kane hesitates. That hesitation alone is enough to make my stomach drop. "Then we lose them both." Silence clamps down on the room. No one moves. No one breathes. The answer is right there, staring us in the face. I already know mine. "We do it." Elias shakes his head, stepping forward like he can physically stop me. "Tony—" "Don’t waste time trying to stop me," I cut in, my voice sharp enough to slice through his arguments before they even form. "We’re doing this." His hands curl into fists at his sides. "Damn it, Tony—" "Enough," I snap. "Darren saved my life more times than I can count. If there’s even a chance I can do the same for him, I take it. No second-gu
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 145
Rebuilding DarrenHe’s standing in an endless void, his form flickering between solid and digital static. Pieces of him dissolve and reappear like he’s barely holding himself together.I take a step forward. "Darren!"He flinches back, his expression unreadable."Who are you?"My chest tightens like a fist has closed around my ribs. The words hit harder than they should, but I force myself to stay steady."It’s me," I say, my voice firm. "Tony."His brow furrows. A flicker of something crosses his face—recognition, hesitation—but it’s gone too fast."Tony…?"The world around us shifts, breaking apart like glass. Sharp edges of memory and reality collide, the pieces distorting, rearranging, refusing to settle.I don’t have much time."You have to come back with me," I say urgently. "We found a way."Darren looks down at his flickering hands, his jaw clenched. "I don’t know how.""Then let me help you."I reach for him, but the moment my fingers graze his wrist, something else makes its
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 146
Fractured PiecesThe world outside should feel normal. It doesn’t.I sit at Darren’s bedside, watching the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. His skin is pale, almost waxy under the harsh medical lights. Alive. Breathing. But he hasn’t spoken since the moment he woke up and whispered—Who am I?The question still rattles in my skull like a broken gear in a machine that refuses to run properly. I should feel relief. I should feel like I won. But something about this victory feels incomplete.Elias leans against the doorway, arms crossed, his dark eyes unreadable. “He’s not waking up right.”“No shit,” I mutter, my voice is raspier than I expected.She stands next to me, her gaze fixed on the monitors, lips pressed into a thin line. “His neural pathways are intact,” she says carefully. “But the damage…” She exhales, shaking her head. “It’s like someone shattered a mirror and put the pieces back in the wrong order.”I squeeze the bridge of my nose, exhaustion pressing down on me l
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 147
Whispers from the VoidThe lights flicker again. Just for a second. Just long enough to send a shiver down my spine.Darren’s grip tightens around my wrist, his skin clammy, his breath uneven. His wide, glassy eyes aren’t just looking at me—they’re looking through me. Past me.“You hear it too,” he murmurs.I do.It’s not a voice, not at first. Just a whisper at the edge of my perception, like wind slipping through cracks in a door. A sensation more than a sound, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.Kane stiffens, scanning the room with sharp eyes. “Electromagnetic interference?”Her fingers fly over the device in her hands, recalibrating. The screen glitches, lines of static crawling across it like fractured veins.“This isn’t interference,” she mutters. “Something’s bleeding through.”Darren flinches. His nails dig into the bedsheet. “It’s not supposed to be here.”Elias, silent until now, steps forward. His usual cool confidence is fraying at the edges. “Define ‘it.’”Darren e
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 148
The System Still WhispersThe voice shouldn’t exist. But it does.It lingers in the air, fractured, stretched thin, but unmistakably real.Darren grips the side of the bed, his knuckles white. His breath comes in shallow bursts.Elias shifts beside me, his stance tense, like a man waiting for the next hit in a fight he doesn’t understand. “Someone explain what the hell is happening.”Darren’s eyes flick to mine, and the look in them—fear, disbelief, something deeper—makes my stomach turn.“It’s him,” he breathes.I frown. “Who?”Darren swallows hard. His voice barely carries.“The other me.”Silence.I feel the words before I process them. They sink into my skin, cold and wrong.“The part that never made it back.”Kane hesitates, fingers hovering over her device. “That’s impossible.”Darren lets out a breath that’s almost a laugh but lacks any humor. “Yeah. Well. So I survived.”The air crackles.And then—The whisper again.“Tony… help…”My spine locks.The voice isn’t just a whisper
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 149
The Shadow at the Edge of RealityWe don’t waste time.Kane’s fingers blur over the screen, calibrating the system with a precision that borders on desperation. The hum of the stabilizer builds as Elias mutters to himself, pacing near the controls. His eyes flick between us, sharp with unspoken frustration.“This is a terrible idea,” he says, for the third time in as many minutes.Darren sits on the edge of the cot, rolling his shoulders as if testing the limits of a body that still isn’t fully his. He’s pale. Tense. But there’s no hesitation in his movements.“If I go back in,” I say, keeping my voice even, “I might not make it out.”Darren shakes his head before I even finish the sentence. “Then I guess we’re both not making it out.”His fingers twitch at his sides, but his eyes are locked onto mine with an intensity that makes my throat go tight. I know that look. It’s the same one I’ve seen when he throws himself into danger without a second thought—when he’s already made up his m
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CHAPTER 220
Old Meets NewA cold feeling went down my back. It wasn't just cold; it was because everything around us felt wrong. Outside Kane's strong room, the city looked twisted, like a snake moving in a weird way. Buildings leaned at crazy angles, the sky was a purple bruise, and the air buzzed with a power that felt old and very wrong. My head hurt, a slow beat against the loud strangeness of this new world.The world went crazy, and we had to try and fix it.Kane looked hard at the glowing pictures above the table. Lines of code, a language I used to know well but now felt like a lost one, moved on the clear screen. She bit her lip, something she did when thinking hard. Her usual strong energy was still there, like a small fire that wouldn't go out in the dark. But I could see worry lines around her eyes.“Anything, Darren?” Her voice was rough and tired.I ran my hand over my thin hair. I could almost feel the old wires that used to connect to my brain. “Bits and pieces, Kane. L
CHAPTER 219
Seeing Things DifferentlyShaky light on worried faces around the bright map. Red lights flashed, showing trouble spreading. Kane looked hard, telling people what to do, a bit worried.My clear memories showed a scary pattern Kane didn't get. She saw now; I remembered long ago.Kane stopped talking. "Another dark spot, Tony. No why, no answer... gone." Her upset voice made me feel bad. I knew that lost feeling."Kane," I said, my quiet voice was clear. Everyone looked. I usually just helped, but the memories needed saying.She turned, tired but a bit sharp. "What, Tony? No time.""Not just happening, Kane," I said carefully. "It's happened before."People didn't believe me. Petrov laughed. "Before? Nothing like this in the books.""Books not complete," I said back, looking at Kane. She looked unsure. "Some truths hidden. Some things are forgotten.""Forgotten things?" Sarah looked surprised. "What are you talking about?"I went to the map, pointing at a dark spot. "Look ho
CHAPTER 218
Echoes in the GlitchThe cold voice in the small well-house felt like icy fingers touching my skin. Next to me, Kane held my arm so tight her knuckles were white. The strange key in her other hand glowed, making her scared face look even more so."Elias... Darren... they need to see this," she whispered, her voice shaky.My mind was racing. Elias, so quiet but always noticing things, and Darren, who first saw that things weren't right – they had to know about this. We weren't the only ones in this messed-up world, even if it felt like it."We go together," I said, trying to sound brave even though my heart was pounding. Whatever was behind that disappearing wall, we'd face it together.Kane nodded, her eyes looking strong. She was still scared, but she was also determined. We walked towards the shimmering opening. The buzzing sound got louder, and the air felt strange, making the hairs on my arms stand up.When we stepped through the wall, it was like being swallowed by darkne
CHAPTER 217
Pieces of a Lost WorldThe blue mark on Gareth’s arm disappeared, but we were all still scared, Kane. It felt like a cold weight in our stomachs. The strange things happening weren't just whispers anymore; they were shouting at us.I watched Darren. He’d been quiet since the motel, always looking worried, like he was fighting something inside his head. His broken memories seemed to bother him a lot. Now, when Gareth told us what happened, Darren looked far away, like he could see something we couldn’t.“Did it… feel like anything you’ve felt before, Darren?” I asked. Maybe his weird remembering could help us understand this.He blinked and looked back at us slowly. He shook his head, looking confused. “No… not really. But… there’s something… a feeling…” He stopped, rubbing his head.“Like what?” you asked softly, but your eyes were looking right at him.Darren waited, looking around. “Like… a lost rule. Something… broken.”A lost rule? Something broken? That sounded strange an
CHAPTER 216
Echoes of the Past, Seeds of OblivionMy head hurt bad, like something was trying to get inside. Pictures flashed in my mind – faces I didn't know well, cold white rooms, and a scary feeling of losing something important. This remembering… it felt wrong, like they were forcing it. I sat on the bed, my hands shaking. Each memory that came back was like a punch, not a friendly hello. A cold voice giving orders… a big empty feeling inside… the taste of fear. Who was I supposed to be? The me that wanted to keep you safe, Kane, felt weak, like a dream that could disappear.My stomach turned as a strong memory hit me: a bright room, straps holding me down, and a light shining in my eyes. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out in the memory. Had they done this to me before? I felt sure – this wasn't helping me remember; it was taking me back."Darren," Sarah said, her voice not kind like before. She looked worried. "This is hard. Try to stay calm."Calm? How could I be calm when
CHAPTER 215
Putting the Pieces TogetherSeeing Ben’s empty, blue eyes were stuck in my head. Martha, Elias’s kind Martha, moved like a puppet with those strange figures… it was a real nightmare. The ground still shook, and the twisted trees looked like monster hands reaching for the sky. We had to get away, but seeing our lost friends made us freeze, a scary warning of what could happen to us.“We can’t fight them here!” I shouted over the weird noises of the changing world. “We need to go back, get ourselves together!”Tony, looking pale but determined, nodded. “He’s right. They’re too strong for us here.” He pulled Elias, who was just standing there, looking at Martha. “Elias, come on!”We ran back to the part of the woods that still looked normal. The blue light went away behind us, like a bad eye closing. The air here was still, the trees looked like they always did, but we all felt really scared.Back in the mess hall, it was very quiet and sad. Elias sat with his head down, crying.
CHAPTER 214
Seeing What's Not RealThe memory of the starry ceiling stayed with me, making me feel cold and scared. Our world, the ground, the sky – was it all a lie? It made my head spin.Elias looked at me looking at the metal thing. “You didn’t sleep, Kane.” He knew.I shook my head. How could I explain seeing something that wasn’t possible?Darren looked serious. “Did anything… happen with that thing last night?” He looked at the metal thing carefully.I waited a moment, then nodded slowly. “The ceiling… it changed. For a second. I saw… stars. Not our stars.”The room got quiet. Everyone looked worried. The strange things before were bad, but this was unbelievable.Tony looked confused. “Stars? Kane, are you sure you’re okay? Maybe it was a dream.”“It felt real, Tony,” I said, my voice shaking a little. “Too real. The metal thing… it did something when I was near it.”It was scary to think about. If what we thought was real could change so easily, what else wasn’t true? Our memories
CHAPTER 213
The Enemy's MarkSleep was just seeing glowing eyes and hearing a voice in my head: You are the key. Morning showed tired faces.I walked around, giving tea and saying quiet things. My mind was trying to put the strange things together. The doll, tools, tree… there was a line connecting them. The Old Man looked at the cold fireplace. “The birds, girl,” he said quietly. “They don’t sing right. Like the song is wrong. And some songs… I never heard them before.”It was a small thing, but Hemlock knew the woods well, so it felt important. Another piece.The woman was giving out food and told me something else. “The water, Kane. When I went to get water, it looked shiny. Like oil, but with rainbow colors. Then it was gone.”Rainbow shine. Glowing tree. Light from the ground. Colors that weren’t normal.A pattern was starting: small changes to what was real, weird things mixed in with what we knew. Not just things disappearing; things were changing.Michael, still quiet, pointed at
CHAPTER 212
Strange WhispersThe old woman's face was wet with tears in the flickering light. Her hands shook as she held a mug. "The doll, Kane," she whispered, her voice weak. "Porcelain eyes... they looked right at you. Then... gone. Michael said it blinked."I leaned closer, the table hard under my arms. Outside, the wind howled. The woman, usually strong, was scared. Her fear made me feel cold."And then?" I asked.She swallowed hard. "It just disappeared. Like it was never there. Michael..." I looked at the big mechanic, his eyes empty. He saw a tree with blue leaves that turned to dust fast."Anyone else?" The Old Man nodded slowly, his face full of lines. "My wrench. Right here. I looked away to fix the fire... poof. Gone. Found it in the waters later, dry."A shiver went down my back. Quick pictures, seeing things together, stuff vanishing... it felt like what was real was breaking. We thought it was just stress, but it happened too much, and it was too weird.Yesterday, I saw
