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THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 108
Through the Gates of ControlThe System Core hums in front of me, a swirling mass of energy so intense it bends the air around it.It isn’t just data. It isn’t just code. It’s power—the beating heart of the Nexus, pulsating with raw potential.And I’m standing at its doorstep, one step away from tearing it all down.Kane’s voice crackles in my earpiece. “Tony, listen to me. They’re about to release Zero.”Zero.A name whispered in hushed, fearful tones. A weapon so dangerous that even the Overseers keep it locked away.My heartbeat pounds in my ears, but I don’t hesitate. I knew this moment would come.I tighten my grip on the disruptor—a small, unassuming device with the power to override the Core. It’s already primed, its interface flashing, waiting for my command.Beside me, Darren stands rigid, his breaths shallow. His hands clench and unclench at his sides, like he’s holding back a storm inside him. He hasn’t spoken much since we escaped the collapsing Nexus corridors. I know why
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 109
The Arrival of ZeroThe air splits apart like shattered glass, a jagged wound in reality itself.Something steps through.A figure, cloaked in flickering darkness, its presence bending the world around it. The Nexus—what’s left of it—shudders beneath its weight. The walls ripple like the entire system is trying to reject its very existence.Zero has arrived.I feel it before I even see it. A pressure in my chest, a deep wrongness that settles in my bones like an ache that won’t leave. I tighten my grip on my disruptor, but my fingers feel numb.Then I see his eyes.And everything stops.A cold realization slams into me like a freight train, knocking the breath from my lungs.Zero is Darren.Not just something wearing his face. Not just some simulation or twisted copy.It’s him.His face is blank, expressionless, his movements unnervingly precise. But I know those eyes. I know the sharp line of his jaw, the way his shoulders square when he’s about to fight. It’s Darren, and it’s not.M
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 110
The Clash of FateDarren’s eyes are empty.Not blank, not confused—just empty.Zero.Not my best friend. Not the guy who used to steal my fries when I wasn’t looking or laughed so hard he’d choke on his own soda.Not the man who once swore he had my back, no matter what.Just a weapon now.And he’s coming straight for me.A cold shiver runs down my spine as I brace myself. His movements are eerily smooth, too precise like he’s operating on a level beyond anything human. No hesitation. No wasted motion. Pure efficiency.Zero lunges. I barely sidestep in time, feeling the sheer force of his movement slice through the air beside me. The distortion ripples through the space we stand in, and the Nexus itself trembles in response. A solid wall of reality cracks open behind me, like glass fracturing under immense pressure.If he touches me—if he lands a direct hit—I won’t just die.I’ll cease to exist.I can’t fight him.But he has no hesitation about fighting me.Zero moves like a nightmare
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 111
Unlocking the PastI slam the data spike into his chest.Zero jerks, his entire body tensing like a coiled wire as the foreign code surges into his system. His head snaps back, a garbled noise escaping his throat—half human, half raw static. His glowing white eyes flicker violently, his form glitching as reality itself fights to hold him together.For a moment, I think it’s working.Then, suddenly—Zero roars.A wave of sheer force erupts from his body, slamming into me like a truck. I’m thrown back, my breath vanishing as I crash against the warped Nexus floor. Pain explodes through my ribs, and I barely manage to roll away before Zero’s next strike shatters the ground where I am lying.I scramble to my feet, my heart pounding. The data spike is in. The memories are inside him now, fighting their way to the surface. But I don’t know if it’ll be enough.His body convulses, the Nexus distorting around him as conflicting commands tear through his mind.He’s resisting.But The Overseers
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 112
The Overseers’ OverrideFor a second, I thought I had him.Darren’s eyes—his eyes—had been staring back at me, clear and real. His smirk, that cocky, infuriating smirk, had made it through. The man I knew was there. I saw him. I felt him.Then, in the space of a breath—He was gone.His body jerked violently, his head snapping back like a puppet on a string. His muscles locked up, trembling as though something ripped through him, rewiring him from the inside out.The Overseers' voices boomed through the Nexus, a harsh, unnatural screech of unrelenting command.“CONTROL REESTABLISHED.”Darren’s entire frame went rigid. His glowing blue eyes flickered—fought—then turned white again.The moment of hope?Shattered.I barely had time to react before he moved.One second, he was standing there—lifeless, motionless. The next—He was on me.I dodged by instinct, barely twisting away as his fist tore through the air where my head had just been. The force alone split the ground open, sending cr
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 113
A War of WillsDarren’s eyes flickered. Blue. White. Blue again.He was fighting.But so were they.The Overseers weren’t about to let him go. Their control was suffocating, pressing into him, dragging him under. I could see it in the way his body shuddered, the way his hands trembled mid-strike.But the worst part?The moment of hesitation was getting shorter.He still heard me, but the Overseers' grip was tightening. I was losing him.I gritted my teeth and dodged another blow, barely twisting in time to avoid his fist. The air cracked apart from the force, the shockwave slamming into my chest like a wrecking ball.I dug my boots into the ground, bracing myself. “Come on, man—I know you’re in there!”Darren staggered, his hands clutching his head for the briefest second. A ragged breath tore from his throat. His lips parted—his voice hoarse—“Tony… I—”His body seized violently, a strangled scream ripping from his chest. The Nexus itself shook, a high-pitched screech echoing through
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 114
The Fractured MindDarren's glowing white eyes bore into me, cold and unyielding. He wasn’t just gone—he was hollow, a vessel for the Overseers’ will. And yet, somewhere beneath that terrifying emptiness, I knew he was still there. He had to be.I clenched my fists, forcing myself to breathe past the ache in my ribs. My mind raced. I needed a way in. A way to reach him.Then Kane’s voice crackled through the comms, rushed but determined. “Tony, listen. Their control—it isn’t perfect.”My pulse spiked. “What?”“It’s layered,” she said quickly. “Think of it like an onion. They’ve built it up over time—buried him under directives, protocols, conditioning. If I can break through enough of it—if I can strip those layers away—”“Then we get Darren back.”“Exactly.”A flicker of hope surged through me, cutting through the fear.“But Tony,” she hesitated. “I need time.”Time.Something I didn’t have.Because Darren—no, Zero—was already moving again.A blur of motion. A strike too fast to bloc
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 115
The System’s Collapse BeginsMy knuckles crashed against Darren’s face, the impact sending a sharp crack through the air. His head snapped to the side, and for a fraction of a second, I saw it—the flicker.The mask—**the cold, empty, merciless expression of Zero—**fractured.Beneath it, just for an instant, Darren’s real face broke through.His eyes widened in shock, confusion flashing through them. His breath hitched like a drowning man suddenly remembering how to breathe.“Darren,” I gasped, stepping forward. “Come back to me, man. I know you’re in there.”His fingers twitched at his sides. His lips parted like he wanted to say something.And then—A sound ripped through the Nexus, low and inhuman, a metallic shriek that sent static tearing across my comms.Kane’s voice broke through, alarmed. “Tony! They’re activating a failsafe!”I didn’t have time to react before Darren’s body jerked violently, his limbs locking up, back arching unnaturally. His expression twisted in pain as his
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CHAPTER 190
The Unseen HandWe walked deeper into the broken building. The air had a low buzzing sound that made my teeth feel funny. It felt like we were getting to the center of everything. Kane’s light moved over walls with strange drawings, the same ones from the leather book. They seemed to glow a little.“This way,” Kane whispered, her voice tight. She pointed to a strong metal door behind some broken wall. It looked new in all the mess.Elias pulled at the door, and it made loud noises before opening with a bang. The room inside was round, with glowing lines on the walls. In the middle was a strange machine with metal rings and shiny parts. It made a buzzing sound, and the air around it shook a little.“What is this?” I whispered, walking closer. The drawing from the book was on the shiny part in the middle, glowing strangely. It felt alive.Kane walked around the machine slowly, looking at everything. “This has to be it. The thing that’s causing all this.”Elias reached out to
CHAPTER 189
The Fading AnchorI felt like I was falling fast. The colors around me spun and didn't make sense. Was this the floor? Or the sky upside down? A hand grabbed my arm, strong and familiar, but the face above changed. One second it was Darren, looking worried like always. The next, it was a scary person from a dream I almost forgot, with glowing eyes."Easy, Tony. Just breathe." It was Darren's voice, thank goodness. For now.I blinked, trying to see clearly. My head felt full of buzzing; each buzzed a different, mixed-up memory. Kane… where was Kane? Had she been here? Or was that just a whisper from another time?"Kane… the… the light…" I mumbled, the words feeling thick in my mouth. Light. Yes, there was a bright light, a tear in the world. And then… everything became a mess of broken pictures.Darren held my arm tighter. "Kane's not here now, Tony. It's just me. Remember? Darren."Darren. Yes, I remembered Darren. Sometimes. He was… real. Something steady in this craz
CHAPTER 188
The Tangled WebDust floated in the dim light through dirty windows. The air smelled old and a bit like metal and something sweet. Kane's light moved across the dark room, showing broken machines and glass. My stomach felt bad; this place felt very wrong."See anything, Elias?" Kane's quiet voice barely made a sound. She moved carefully, her hand near her gun. I stayed close behind, my heart beating fast. The drawing we found led us here, an old building outside the city that wasn't on any maps. That made me scared.Forgotten for a reason, I thought, looking at a table with broken bottles and strange tools – some for living things, others like machines mixed together. It was a gross mix."Tony, look here." Elias's voice was usually calm, but now it sounded worried. He was kneeling by a broken metal box. Inside were glass jars with weird things floating in liquid, with thin wires all through them. I couldn't breathe for a second. This wasn't just science; it was horrible.
CHAPTER 187
Darren's WatchThe room was dim, but I could see the tired lines on Darren’s face. He hadn’t slept much. He watched Tony all the time, trying to guess what Tony was seeing in his head. He told Tony old stories, showed him old pictures, played music they both knew – anything to help Tony remember. Sometimes, Tony’s eyes would focus, and he’d remember a joke or something fun they did. But these moments were quick, like flashes of light before a storm. Then, Tony would go back to being lost. Darren was getting more and more worried that he was losing his friend.Darren sat next to Tony, holding an old picture. It was the four of us – me, Elias, Tony, and Darren – smiling after we did something dangerous but got away with it. Tony had dirt on his face and looked happy.“Remember this, Tony?” Darren’s voice was quiet. He held the picture close to Tony’s face. “That old computer place? We thought we were going to die when the robots locked the doors. But you… you fixed that old
CHAPTER 186
The Shifting LandscapeThe air this morning felt wrong. Not just city dirt, but different. Like something familiar had changed a little. Elias smelled it too.“Did you feel that Kane?” he asked, looking around. “Something feels… heavy.”I checked my systems. The air was okay. But I knew what he meant. It felt like the world was holding its breath.We were following a clue, a small digital piece left in the Overseers’ broken computer system. It pointed to a secret lab outside the city. We knew the way. Or so I thought.The first thing that was really wrong happened after walking three blocks. A street we knew very well was just… gone. Instead, there was a tall, black wall, smooth and endless. It looked old and strange like it didn’t belong there.“What the…” Elias said, stopping. He touched the wall. “This wasn’t here yesterday, Kane. I’m sure.”My inside maps agreed. This street was important. It couldn’t just disappear. My brain couldn’t understand it. It was impossibl
CHAPTER 185
The Seed of DoubtThe quiet hum of the Overseer's secret room always bugged me. It felt cold and planned. Tonight, the air felt tight, like something was about to break. Elias, next to me, looked closely at the moving computer words.“See anything?” I whispered. The room was quiet, so my voice felt loud. I checked for hidden traps. This room was supposed to be impossible to get into. But we were inside.Elias made a noise like he was annoyed. “Lots of locks inside locks, Kane. They weren’t kidding.” He stopped, tilting his head. “Wait… something’s not right.”On the screen, one file glowed in the middle of broken computer stuff. It looked perfect. A soft light blinked inside it.When the picture on the file showed up, I held my breath. It wasn’t tech like I knew. The lines looked like they were alive. A soft light moved inside.Elias made a small sound. I looked at him. He looked worried. “Do you feel that, Kane? It feels old.”I did feel it. A little shake inside me.
CHAPTER 184
Listening to NothingTony was slipping away. Not like falling asleep, but in a broken, scary way. What was real for him was fading, like sand in a hand. The Architect's power was still there, like a poison inside him.His memories were like water, moving and mixing, past times all messed up. One minute he'd talk about a trip to a star we never went to, describing things we never saw. Then he'd ask about Joyce, a woman Kane and I never knew, his voice sad."She always loved the rain, Darren," he'd say, looking at nothing. "Said it washed away the noise.""Tony," I'd say softly, holding his hand. "There was no trip to that star. And I don't know Joyce. It's just you, me, and Kane."He'd look confused for a second. "But... the red deserts... the shiny trees..." Then he'd look away again like he was hearing something far off.He started seeing things. Faces would flash in the shadows, people I couldn't see. He'd point, handshaking. "Did you see that? By the door... the woman
CHAPTER 183
The World Playing TricksSomething felt wrong. Not just a little, but deep down. It started with small things that you could almost ignore. But that bad feeling in my neck wouldn't leave.We were walking back through a part of the Overseer place we had already checked. Kane was looking for any missed computer spots, and Elias was feeling for leftover mind energy."This room..." Kane stopped, looking confused. "I'm sure this room was empty."I looked around. It was a small, round room with dead computers. Nothing special. "Yeah, I remember. We checked for traps."But in the middle of the room now was something I had never seen. It was round, black like stone, and had a soft blue light inside. Thin, silver lines went across it and into the smooth surface."That wasn't here before," Elias said quietly. He moved slowly towards it, hand out but not touching. "I would have felt... something."Kane used her scanner. "The energy is... strange. Not Overseer stuff. Not anything I k
CHAPTER 182
Darren's PromiseThe lies were gone, like old skin peeling off. I saw the truth: they had made me a servant. This made me angry, wanting revenge.I found Tony in a broken room. He was my old friend, but now he seemed lost, not knowing what was real. I felt bad and also really loyal to him. He sat on a broken chair, smiling and talking nonsense. The bright Tony I knew was gone. He looked at me for a second, the old Tony in his eyes."Darren?" he whispered weakly. I felt a little hope."Tony, it's me," I said, my voice shaky. I knelt down.He smiled more, but his eyes didn't. "The stars are singing, Darren. Can you hear?"My heart sank. He was lost. The Overseers had messed with his mind. I felt guilty. I was so busy with my own problems, I didn't see how bad Tony was.I felt a strong loyalty to him. We were friends. I couldn't leave him like this.I took his cold hands in mine. "Tony," I said firmly. "The stars aren't singing. It's just me, Darren. I'm here."He looked
