2025-02-09 20:40:59The observatory was eerily silent, save for the faint hum of the city below. Kian stood protectively in front of Elena, his golden System implant glowing faintly in the dim light. Darius stood a few feet away, his crimson implant casting an ominous red glow on his face. His smirk was cold, his eyes sharp with malice.
“Darius,” Kian said, his voice steady despite the tension crackling in the air. “What are you doing here?” Darius tilted his head, his smirk widening. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to finish what I started.” Elena gripped Kian’s arm, her voice trembling. “Kian, he’s working with Marcus. They’ve been planning something—something big. I didn’t know who else to turn to.” Kian’s heart ached at the fear in her voice, but he kept his focus on Darius. “Whatever you’re planning, it’s over. The Federation knows about the rebels.” Darius laughed, a harsh, mocking sound. “Oh, Kian. You always were so naive. The Federation? The System? They’re all part of the problem. And you—you’re just a pawn in their game.” Before Kian could respond, Darius lunged at him, his movements unnaturally fast. Kian barely had time to react, shoving Elena out of the way as he raised his arm to block the attack. Their implants collided, sending a shockwave of energy through the room. Kian stumbled back, his mind racing. Darius’s Power Level was higher than he remembered—much higher. “Surprised?” Darius taunted, circling Kian like a predator. “You’re not the only one who’s been upgraded.” Kian’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want, Darius?” “What do I want?” Darius repeated, his tone dripping with venom. “I want what’s owed to me. I want the power you’ve always taken for granted. And I want her.” His gaze flicked to Elena, who was crouched behind a broken console, her eyes wide with fear. Kian’s blood boiled. “Stay away from her.” Darius smirked. “Or what? You’ll stop me? You couldn’t even protect her from Marcus.” The words hit Kian like a punch to the gut, but he refused to back down. He charged at Darius, their implants clashing again in a burst of light and energy. The force of the impact sent them both crashing to the ground, but Kian was on his feet first, his golden aura flaring brighter than ever. Darius growled, his crimson glow intensifying as he launched another attack. Kian dodged, countering with a swift strike that sent Darius sprawling. “You’ve gotten stronger,” Darius admitted, wiping blood from his lip. “But you’re still no match for me.” He raised his hand, and the room was suddenly filled with a deafening hum. Kian’s implant flickered, the golden light dimming as if being drained. “What… are you doing?” Kian gasped, clutching his wrist. Darius grinned. “I told you, Kian. The System is a lie. And I’ve learned how to break it.” Kian dropped to his knees, the energy draining from his body. He looked up at Darius, his vision blurring. “Kian!” Elena screamed, rushing to his side. Darius stepped forward, his expression cold. “Don’t worry, Elena. I’ll take good care of you.” But before he could reach her, a voice rang out from the shadows. “That’s far enough.” Kian looked up to see Captain Selene Drake stepping into the room, her crimson implant glowing fiercely. She was flanked by a team of Elite Division agents, their weapons trained on Darius. Darius sneered. “You’re too late, Captain. The System is already falling.” Selene’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll see about that.” She raised her hand, and a surge of energy shot toward Darius, forcing him to retreat. He glared at her, then at Kian, before disappearing into the shadows. “He’s getting away!” Kian shouted, struggling to his feet. Selene shook her head. “Let him go. We have bigger problems to deal with.” Back at the Elite Division headquarters, Kian sat in a dimly lit room, his mind racing. Selene had taken Elena to a secure location, leaving Kian alone with his thoughts. The door opened, and Selene stepped inside, her expression grim. “How’s Elena?” Kian asked immediately. “She’s safe,” Selene replied. “But she’s shaken. She told me everything—about Marcus, about Darius, about their plans to overthrow the Federation.” Kian’s fists clenched. “We have to stop them.” Selene nodded. “We will. But first, you need to understand what’s at stake.” She handed him a tablet, its screen displaying a series of encrypted files. Kian’s eyes widened as he read through them. “This… this can’t be real,” he whispered. The files revealed a shocking truth: the Universal System, the very foundation of their society, had been manipulated for years. The Compatibility Scores, the Power Levels—it was all a carefully constructed lie, designed to control the population. “Darius was right,” Kian said, his voice hollow. “The System is a lie.” Selene’s expression softened. “Not entirely. The System was created with good intentions, but it’s been corrupted. And now, Marcus and Darius are using it to their advantage.” Kian looked up at her, his resolve hardening. “What do we do?” Selene placed a hand on his shoulder. “We fight back. But we can’t do it alone. We need allies—people who understand the truth and are willing to stand against Marcus and Darius.” Kian nodded, his mind made up. “Then let’s get to work.” Later that night, Kian found himself standing outside Elena’s door. He hesitated, then knocked softly. The door opened, and Elena looked up at him, her eyes red from crying. “Kian,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Elena,” he replied, his heart aching at the sight of her. “I’m sorry. For everything.” She shook her head. “No, Kian. I’m the one who should be sorry. I should have trusted you. I should have seen the truth.” Kian stepped closer, his hand reaching for hers. “We can’t change the past. But we can fight for the future.” Elena’s eyes filled with tears, but she nodded. “Together.”
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The sound of the gunshot echoed through the air, but the bullet never hit its mark. Kian reacted instinctively, his golden implant flaring to life as he raised a shimmering energy shield just in time. The bullet ricocheted off the barrier, embedding itself in the wall behind them. Elena gasped, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at Selene. “Selene, what are you doing?” Kian demanded, his voice filled with disbelief. Selene’s expression remained cold, her crimson implant glowing faintly. “I’m following orders, Kian. Something you’ve never been good at.” Kian’s heart sank as the realization hit him. “Marcus… he got to you, didn’t he?” Selene’s lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. “Marcus? No. This is bigger than him. Bigger than you.” Before Kian could respond, the ground beneath them shook violently, the building groaning under the strain. The explosion from earlier had destabilized the structure, and it was beginning to collapse. “We need to move!” Elena shouted,
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Reboot My Heart Chapter Eleven: The Descent
The hovercraft jolted violently as another blast struck its side, sending sparks flying through the cabin. Kian gripped the edge of his seat, his knuckles turning white. Outside, the night sky was filled with streaks of red and white as Darius’s forces pursued them, their weapons lighting up the darkness like fireflies of death. Selene fought with the controls, her crimson implant flickering erratically. The damage was severe—too severe. The hovercraft lurched, its engines sputtering, and Kian felt the sickening drop as they began losing altitude. “We’re going down!” Selene shouted over the alarms. Elena gasped, bracing herself against the seat. “Can’t you stabilize it?” Selene shook her head, sweat dripping down her temple. “Not in the air. We need to land—now.” Kian’s mind raced. “The Core. Can we make it there?” Selene didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes flicked between the rapidly approaching ground and the swarm of enemy craft on their tail. Finally, she gritted her teeth.
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Kian stood frozen, the sound of his breath loud in the sudden silence. The man’s words echoed in his head: “I’m your brother, Kian.”The storm outside battered the edges of the facility, but inside, everything had fallen still. Kian’s eyes narrowed as he studied the stranger—tall, lean, bearing subtle similarities to his own face, but older. Hardened.“My brother is dead,” Kian said coldly, gripping the edge of the table until his knuckles turned white.The man didn’t flinch. “That’s what they told you. But lies have built your entire life, haven’t they?”Kian’s jaw tightened. “Who are you?”The man took a step closer, placing something small and metallic on the table. It was an old dog tag—rusted, with one side scratched. Kian turned it over and read the name engraved on the back: Lior Arlen.The breath caught in his throat.Impossible.Lior Arlen. His older brother. The one who was reported missing in action during a classified operation over a decade ago. The one his mother wept ov
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Kian stared at the message Elena had sent him. The screen flickered faintly in his trembling hand. The image showed her—tired, weather-worn, eyes hollow from what seemed like years of carrying too much. But she wasn’t alone.Four children. Not just one. Four.They stood behind her like shadows—tall, small, one clutching the hem of her robe, another barely visible behind her shoulder. Their eyes carried echoes of something he couldn’t ignore: his own defiance, Elena’s fire, and something else—something deeper, more complex.The mysterious figure who’d whispered “You’re too late” had vanished into the shadows, as if the words alone were enough to fracture Kian's resolve. But he didn’t move. Not immediately. Not until the message finished playing again.The children didn’t speak, but the youngest girl raised her hand—hesitantly—toward the lens, as though she wanted to reach out.And Kian’s heart shattered.“I need coordinates,” he snapped suddenly. “Pull the data signature from that tran
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Chapter 56: The Last Gamble
The chamber trembled violently, stone and debris raining from above as the Core’s severed energy spiraled out of control. Kian barely managed to keep his footing as the force of the explosion sent waves of unstable power rippling through the ruins.Across from him, Marcus had collapsed onto his knees, clutching his chest where the wound still bled. His once-smug expression was gone, replaced by something Kian had never seen before—fear.Kian had done it.He had severed Marcus’s connection to the Core.But now, the entire place was coming down.Cracks spread across the ground, jagged and deep, as if the earth itself was splitting apart. The Core’s shattered remains flickered erratically, pulsing between bursts of golden and black energy, unstable and wild.If he didn’t get out now, there would be no escaping.But his gaze flickered toward Marcus.I have a choice.Marcus had betrayed him, stolen his recognition, turned the entire Federation against him. He had aligned himself with the F
Chapter 55: The Core’s Descent
The chamber pulsed with unstable energy. The once-radiant glow of the Core was flickering, dark tendrils snaking around its brilliance, leeching away its purity. The air thickened, suffocating, pressing down like an unseen force as Marcus’s twisted smirk deepened.Kian could feel the Core’s distress, its power slipping from his grasp. Every second that passed, the darkness grew stronger. He had to act—now.But Marcus had planned for this.With a slow, deliberate step forward, Marcus raised his hand, and the shadows obeyed. They slithered across the stone floor, forming jagged, clawed extensions of himself—limbs of pure void. The Forgotten Ones moved in unison, their grotesque forms shifting unnaturally, as if reality itself rejected them.Marcus tilted his head. “Can you feel it, Kian? The Core is choosing me now. It knows you’re weak. That you can’t protect it.”Kian clenched his fists, feeling the Core’s fading warmth between his fingers. No. He couldn’t let Marcus win.“Wrong,” Kia
Chapter 54: The Core’s Trial
The moment Kian stepped forward, the world around him collapsed.Or rather, it expanded—infinitely.One second, he was walking through the threshold of the Core. The next, he was standing in an endless void, suspended between existence and something beyond comprehension.Elena, Selene, and Marcus were by his side, yet he couldn’t feel their presence in the way he normally would. It was as if they were ghosts, drifting in and out of his perception.The voice that had greeted him still lingered in the air, surrounding them like a physical force.“Welcome, Kian Arlen. We’ve been waiting for you.”Kian’s breath hitched. The voice wasn’t human. It wasn’t singular. It was countless voices layered atop one another, speaking in perfect harmony.And it knew his name.Elena reached for him, but her hand barely brushed against his before dissolving into shimmering particles. She gasped, her body flickering like a broken projection.“Kian!” she called, her voice distant. “Something’s wrong—”Befo
Chapter 53: The Guardian of the Core
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Chapter 52: Shadows of the Forgotten
The silence that followed was suffocating. Kian’s pulse pounded in his ears as he took in the aftermath of what had just transpired. The air still crackled with residual energy, and the weight of unseen forces pressed against his consciousness.Elena stood beside him, her breathing shallow, her gaze flickering between him and the shifting shadows that danced along the ruined walls. The others remained on edge, their bodies tense as they processed the gravity of what had just occurred.But Kian knew this wasn’t over.Not yet.He clenched his fists, grounding himself as the conflicting voices in his mind warred for dominance. The echoes of the Forgotten Ones, the remnants of the Federation’s control, the unrelenting pull of the System—all of it converged, demanding a choice.A choice he wasn’t ready to make.Selene broke the silence first. “We can’t stay here. The Federation will have already detected the surge in energy. We need to move.”Kian turned to her, his mind clearing just enou
