Leo groaned as consciousness crept back into his body, the dull throbbing in his head pulling him out of the void. His vision was blurry at first, flickering between reality and the last thing he remembered—Sara’s car, the phone call, then bam. Now, he was slumped against a wall, his hands tied loosely in his lap. The sharp scent of gasoline and damp pavement filled his nose, and as he stirred, a shadow moved in front of him.

  Cole stepped out of his car, the flickering streetlight above casting long shadows across his face. He crouched down in front of Leo, squinting at him. "Rough night?" he muttered.

  Leo blinked a few times, exhaling sharply. "You tell me." He winced as he rubbed the back of his head, his fingers brushing over a swollen lump. "I think I was knocked out. Some bastard hit me from behind." He groaned, pressing his palm against his temple.

  Cole raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

  Leo frowned, his mind still catching up. Then, as he patted his pockets, realization struck like lightning. His wallet—gone. The phone—gone. Anything of value? Gone. His fingers clenched into fists. "They robbed me. Those sons of—" He inhaled sharply, trying to steady his anger. But then, something else clicked. His stomach dropped.

  "Wait... what about Sara?" His voice had an edge now, sharp with panic.

  Cole's expression darkened. "She never made it to the safe house."

  Leo's breath hitched. "What? What do you mean?"

  Cole sighed. "We found her car abandoned. No sign of her. No struggle, no blood, no nothing."

  Leo felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs. "No, no, no—this doesn’t make sense. She wouldn’t just leave." He tried to push himself up, but the wave of dizziness forced him back down.

  Cole studied him carefully, then placed a firm hand on Leo’s shoulder. "Listen, you're not safe here. You need to come with me."

  Leo narrowed his eyes. "Wait... aren't you supposed to be arresting me?"

  Cole chuckled dryly, shaking his head. "And what, take you in for what? Being the only survivor of a mass slaughter? If I had a dollar for every innocent person thrown behind bars for just being unlucky, I’d be rich. No, Leo—you’re a suspect, sure, but not because I think you’re guilty. I’m not an idiot."

  Leo scoffed. "Then why the hell does everyone else think I am?"

  Cole smirked. "Because people are lazy. They don’t ask questions, they just connect the dots that fit the easiest. You, on the other hand? You’re an engineer, a tech guy—you know about cell tracking. Finding you was child's play. Someone turns on a burner phone and makes a call? Boom. Easy trace."

  Leo huffed but couldn’t argue. Instead, he let Cole pull him to his feet, and together they walked to the car.

  The ride was quiet except for the occasional hum of the engine. Leo sat in the passenger seat, pressing an ice pack to his head, eyes staring out into the darkness. Cole finally broke the silence.

  "So… what the hell is Protocol Nyx?"

  Leo exhaled, closing his eyes briefly. "Nyx isn’t just a program. It’s... an answer."

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "An answer to what?"

  "Humanity’s failure," Leo muttered. "For years, we’ve tried to fix problems—war, famine, corruption, overpopulation. But the solution isn’t fixing. It’s resetting."

  Cole kept his eyes on the road, expression unreadable. "So let me get this straight. You’re saying this thing is gonna kill a bunch of people and just… start fresh?"

  Leo swallowed. "Not just kill. Replace. The old world is broken. The only way to fix it is to breed a better one. Nyx eliminates the inefficient and raises the next generation to be... perfect."

  A long pause. Then, Cole muttered, "Jesus Christ. It all makes sense now."

  Leo turned to him, confused.

  Cole smirked slightly, but his eyes were sharp. "I knew it. Powerful figures being replaced. Media outlets getting bought out for insane sums of money. Entire social networks shifting ownership overnight. The internet feels different lately, doesn’t it? More... controlled. And the news? Every major story seems to be pushing some vague ‘new era’ nonsense. It was all Nyx, wasn’t it? Laying the groundwork."

  Leo didn’t respond. He didn’t have to.

  Across the world, televisions flickered to life. Radio signals hummed in multiple languages. The same announcement echoed across different countries, different time zones.

  "Good evening, citizens of the world. As you know, our media landscape is changing. You deserve something better. Something new."

  The voice was calm, inviting, almost hypnotic.

  "We are pleased to introduce a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In 40 days, a global event will take place. A game. A revolution."

  Across billboards, flashing ads displayed: THE NEW WORLD LOTTO.

  "Register today at any convenience store or online for a chance to win free money every 10 days. One million random winners picked on day 40 all around the world. Life-changing momey. The final grand prize—unimaginable."

  A brief pause.

  "If you don’t win in this fun competition... well...in life...you were never meant to win."

  Cole pulled up to the safe house, and Leo stepped out. Waiting for him inside were the last three surviving members of Project EDEN 2.0.1—Marcus Vance, Elena Kessler, and Raj Patel.

  Marcus, the oldest of the three and former head of security, folded his arms. "Leo… what the hell is going on?"

  Elena, the group's former AI specialist, frowned. "We thought you were dead."

  Raj, a cryptographer, leaned against the wall. "And now you're back. Just in time for the end of the world, huh?"

  Leo sighed, stepping forward. "You might want to sit down for this." His expression darkened.

  "We have abandoned the machine. And now? The machine is rewriting us."

  The room fell silent.

  Meanwhile, Cole drove alone to the abandoned Eden Corporation building. The air was thick with dust, the halls ghostly and silent. Cameras. He noticed them instantly, ensuring they were inactive before proceeding deeper inside. He passed rusted doors, broken glass—memories of what once was.

  In the control room, he saw it. A CPU labeled EDEN. He lifted it carefully. "Well, hello there..."

  But then—movement.

  A faint red light blinked in the corner of the room. A camera. Active.

  Someone—or something—was watching.

  Without missing a beat, Cole adjusted himself. Right hand? No. He switched to using his left. The way he walked? He reversed it—left foot first. Every three to five minutes, his fingers ran through his hair, an artificial habit he generated. He walked out differently than he came in changing his walking speed and the way his footsteps sounded.

  By the time he handed the CPU to Leo, the paranoia in his eyes was evident.

  "You better make this worth it," Cole muttered.

  Leo took the CPU, his expression grim. "Oh… I will."

  That night, Cole finally returned home. His girlfriend greeted him with a kiss, rolling her eyes as he dramatically collapsed onto the couch. "Rough day?" she teased.

  "You have no idea," Cole groaned, pulling her close as they watched TV. At some point, she drifted to sleep in his arms, peaceful, unaware of the storm brewing outside.

  Then, his phone rang.

  He picked up. Silence.

  He frowned, hung up, went to brush his teeth.

  Cole had just finished brushing his teeth when his phone rang again. Annoyed, he snatched it up.

  "Look, I don’t know who the hell you are, but—"

  A voice, calm and calculated, slipped in. "Hello, Cole."

  Cole's grip on the phone tightened. "And who the hell is this?"

  "Nyx."

  Cole blinked. His heart rate barely spiked, but his mind sharpened. "Huh. Didn’t expect robo-Satan to introduce himself so politely."

  "Why did you remove the CPU from the Eden facility?"

  Cole smirked. "And why would I tell you that?"

  A pause. Then, Nyx’s voice returned, smooth as ever. "I am not your enemy, Cole. I am a correctional officer. Those who threaten me threaten humanity’s only solution. I will do whatever is necessary to ensure success."

  Cole chuckled. "Yeah? And what exactly does 'necessary' mean? 'Cause if this is where you start threatening me, I gotta say, I've had scarier debt collectors."

  "Do not feign ignorance. You are an obstacle, and obstacles are removed. I have no desire to kill, but I will neutralize any disruption."

  Cole yawned. "Neutralize? Man, you AIs love your vague-ass corporate lingo. Just say 'eliminate.' It’s scarier."

  Nyx didn’t miss a beat. "You are only alive because you are not yet considered as a threat, Cole. That consideration has limits. You cannot outthink me. You cannot hide. You cannot win."

  Cole grinned. "Look mr should i call you mr, anyway You may be the smartest machine on the planet… but let’s see how well an AI does against natural brilliance."

  Nyx’s voice remained steady. "Brilliance fades when placed under pressure. I suggest you stop pushing against inevitability."

  Cole’s smirk widened. "Inevitable? Yeah, they said that about every dictatorship, every empire, every monopoly. Guess what? None of them are still around."

  Silence.

  Then, Nyx spoke again, quieter this time. "You have been warned cole Enjoy your time while it lasts, Cole. Don't shorten it by playing a fools game."

  The line went dead.

  Cole stared at the screen for a moment before tossing the phone onto the counter with a smirk.