Rain lashed against the safehouse windows, the rhythmic drumming blending with the low hum of the city beyond.Adrian stared at the faint blue light flickering on the wall — the projection of the Nadir interface pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Synchronization: 58%."
Each pulse made his vision blur, colors bending around the edges. The sound wasn't just external — it vibrated in his skull.
"Adrian." Elena's voice cut through the noise. She stood by the door, coat already on. "The key's hidden at the Ward Research Annex. We have one night before the Board relocates it."
He nodded but didn't move. His eyes were distant, fixed on something only he could see.
"Adrian?" she asked again, softer now.
He turned toward her slowly. "Elena… when I close my eyes, I see him."
She froze. "Your father?"
He gave a faint, hollow laugh. "Maybe. Or what's left of him."
She took a cautious step closer. "Tell me what you saw."
He hesitated — then, with a weary breath, sat down on the edge of the bed."When I was reborn, I thought I came back with my memories. But that's not all. I came back with his."
[Within Adrian's Mindscape]
The world around him shifted. The safehouse dissolved into static — pixels falling away into blackness.In their place rose a sterile white lab, silent except for the buzz of fluorescent lights.
And standing there, hands clasped behind his back, was Raymond Vance.
His father. Or at least… something wearing his face.
"Adrian," the figure said with unsettling calm. "You shouldn't have forced the synchronization. It's not time yet."
Adrian clenched his fists. "You're not real."
"Real?" Raymond tilted his head. "You think death makes a man unreal? I'm code now. Data. You —" he pointed a finger, "— are my vessel."
Adrian took a step back. "You used me."
"I saved you," the echo said sharply. "You died twelve years ago in that explosion. Your heart stopped for six minutes. You should never have woken up."
Adrian's breath hitched. He remembered the flames, the collapsing beams, Elena's scream — and then, darkness.
Raymond's voice softened. "I brought you back because humanity needs someone who can stand between flesh and machine. Someone who can rewrite the ending."
"Rewriting fate by killing me?" Adrian shot back.
"No," Raymond said quietly. "By becoming more than you were."
The lab shuddered, lights flickering violently. The system was breaking down.
Raymond's expression turned grave. "They'll come for you now. The Board doesn't want balance — they want control. Project Nadir isn't about resurrection, Adrian. It's about replacement."
"What do they want to replace?" Adrian demanded.
Raymond met his eyes.
"Everything."
[Reality – Ward Research Annex]
Elena crouched by the server core, scanning the encrypted lock. The air was thick with dust and the faint hum of dormant power.
She glanced at her wristwatch — the signal tracking Adrian's vitals was spiking.
"He's phasing again," she muttered.
Behind her, a voice echoed from the shadows."Still chasing ghosts, Elena?"
She spun, gun raised — and froze.
A tall man in a dark coat stepped forward, his face half-hidden beneath the dim lights.
Lucas Ward. Her older brother. The one who had supposedly disappeared after Nadir's first collapse.
"You…" Elena whispered. "You're alive?"
He smiled faintly. "Alive enough. Father told me to stay out of sight — but you couldn't let things rest, could you?"
"I'm not here for you, Lucas."
"I know." His tone was calm, almost pitying. "You're here for him. But you're too late. The merge is past containment. Adrian Vance won't survive the next phase."
Elena's expression hardened. "Then I'll make sure he does."
He chuckled. "You still think you can save him. Just like before."
She raised her gun. "This time, I won't fail."
The security alarms began to blare — crimson light flooding the corridor.
Lucas's smile didn't fade. "Then let's see if your conviction is stronger than his curse."
[Inside Adrian's Mindscape]
The world fractured. Raymond's form began to dissolve, voice echoing through static.
"Find the core… before they overwrite you."
Adrian screamed as the light consumed him — and when his eyes snapped open, he wasn't in the safehouse anymore.
He was lying in the middle of the Ward Research Annex.
And the alarms were already screaming.