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THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 99
The Last RewriteThe moment my hand connected with the Nexus, everything cracked.Not just the system. Not just the Overseers.Reality itself.The world around me fractured into endless fragments, each one reflecting a different version of me.A villain. A god. A forgotten shadow.I saw myself as a tyrant, standing over a broken world, ruling with absolute control. My voice echoed like thunder, commanding obedience with a flick of my wrist. Cities burned in my name. The Overseers kneeled before me, afraid.Then another.A version of me so detached from humanity that I had become one of them. Cold. Unfeeling. A silent watcher in the void, existing only to maintain balance. No emotion. No past. No Kane.And then—a ghost.A Tony who had never mattered at all. Forgotten. Wiped away by the system. Like I had never even existed.I sucked in a breath, my pulse hammering against my ribs. The visions weren’t just illusions. They were possibilities. Every choice I could have made. Every version
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 100
The New RealityThe first thing I notice is the quiet.No hum of power beneath my feet. No distant, whispering voices. Just silence—vast and endless—pressing against my skull. My breath feels too loud, my heartbeat like a drum in a hollow room.I blink against the brightness—too sharp, too clean. The world around me is… normal. A city street, glass buildings reflecting the afternoon sun, people moving, laughing, talking. They don’t see me standing here like a ghost among them.Something isn’t right.I take a slow breath, clenching and unclenching my fists. The motion should ground me, but it doesn’t. Because even as my body remembers how to move, how to breathe, my mind is—Blank.I don’t know where I am.No—scratch that. I don’t know when I am.Panic licks at the edge of my consciousness, but I push it down, forcing myself to think. I scan the streets, searching for something—anything—that sparks recognition. But all I see are strangers, their faces blurring together like a moving pu
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 101
Into the Lion’s DenThe moment I step into The Nexus, I feel it. Reality bends around me, shifting in ways that shouldn’t be possible. The walls aren’t walls. They’re alive—threads of light and darkness weaving together, pulsing with unseen energy. The air is thick with static, the weight of the System pressing down on my mind like an invisible hand, testing me, calculating.And then, the alarms hit. A shrieking, metallic wail that cuts through my skull like a blade. The Overseers know I’m here."Tony, you’ve got incoming," Kane’s voice crackles in my earpiece. There’s urgency, but no panic. She’s seen me pull off the impossible before. "They’re moving fast. You have maybe ten seconds before—"The floor shifts. A ripple, like a stone dropped into a lake, and suddenly the space ahead of me splits open. They emerge—twenty, maybe thirty of them, figures in sleek black combat suits with reflective visors. Overseer-controlled agents. They move like ghosts, silent and efficient, with weapon
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 102
The Code of WarThe Nexus isn’t just reacting. It’s fighting back.Every step I take warps the space around me, corridors stretching and folding into themselves like a Möbius strip of reality. I turn left, and the same hallway appears in front of me. I turn right, and somehow, I’m back where I started. The System is rewriting the architecture in real time, trapping me in an infinite loop.It wants me lost. Trapped. Drowned in a void of my own footsteps.But I know something it doesn’t.It still follows rules.The Overseers built The Nexus as a fortress, but every fortress has an entrance—and more importantly, an exit."Kane, talk to me," I mutter, my voice low as I scan the shifting walls.Her voice crackles in my ear, sharp and controlled. "It’s a recursion lock. A defense mechanism. You’re not actually moving—the System is resetting your coordinates every few seconds, making it seem like you are."I exhale slowly. "A digital mirage.""Exactly. With every step you take, the system re
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 103
Firewall of the MindThe Nexus pulses.Not with light. Not with sound.But with awareness.I can feel it now—more than just a machine, more than just a network. It isn’t just running algorithms anymore. It’s thinking. Watching.Reacting."Kane," I murmur under my breath, every step slow and deliberate. "Something’s changed."Static crackles in my earpiece before her voice cuts through, sharp and alert. "Yeah, I see it. The system’s processing power just spiked. This isn’t just a countermeasure anymore. It’s an intelligence."I swallow hard. That’s a problem.For the past few hours, I’ve been fighting waves of Sentinels, security drones, and automated turrets—predictable, code-based defenses that I could outmaneuver. But this?This is something new.The corridor ahead stretches into an infinite void of steel-gray walls, glowing lines of code pulsing like veins through its surface. I take another step, but the air feels heavier now. Charged.It’s a trap.It has to be.I press forward an
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 104
The Arena of No EscapeThe moment I step through the door, reality fractures.The Nexus vanishes.The cold steel, the pulsing veins of code, the overwhelming silence—it all shatters like a broken screen.Then, the world remakes itself.I find myself standing in an open field, golden sunlight streaming through tall, swaying grass. A warm breeze brushes against my skin. The air is thick with the scent of earth, of rain just before a storm. For a brief second, it feels… real.But it’s not.It never is.The breeze stops. The sun flickers, pulsing like a failing light bulb. The sky warps, color bleeding out like ink in water. The grass melts, replaced by cracked stone, jagged ruins, and the faint smell of blood in the air.And then I hear it—the crowd.A low hum at first. Then rising.I turn slowly.Rows upon rows of faceless figures stare down at me from massive, floating platforms. They don’t cheer. They don’t move. They just watch.Something inside me tightens.I know this place.The Co
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 105
The Ghost of DarrenThe moment I see his name, my breath catches in my throat.Darren Cordell – Status: Active Nexus Agent.I blink. My body goes rigid. My mind refuses to process the words.Darren can’t be here.Because Darren is dead.I force my fingers to move, swiping at the holographic interface to refresh the data, expecting the text to disappear—some kind of glitch, a system error, a ghost in the machine. But the file remains, glowing in cold blue light, each letter burning itself into my vision like an afterimage.A dull roar fills my ears, a rush of blood that drowns out the distant hum of The Nexus. My pulse slams against my ribcage, a frantic beat that matches the chaotic storm in my head.No.This has to be a trick.A fabrication. A trap.But then, my gut twists with something more dangerous than suspicion—something I don’t want to feel.Hope.Shaky hands hover over the interface. I hesitate. A war erupts in my mind, half of me screaming, Don’t do this. Walk away. It’s a l
THE ASCENSION SYSTEM CHAPTER 106
Breaking the ChainsDarren wasn’t just taken.He was rewritten.I stare at the decrypted files, my pulse hammering against my skull. The truth is raw, jagged, a blade shoved straight through my ribs. Every line of data confirms what I refuse to believe.They didn’t kill him.They made him into one of them.The Overseers didn’t just take my best friend. They erased him, rebuilt him from the ground up, and turned him into a weapon designed to hunt people like me.My fists tighten. My nails dig into my palms. I barely feel it.“Tony.” Kane’s voice is low and cautious like she’s afraid of what I’ll do next.I exhale sharply through my nose. I already know what I’m going to do.I’m going to burn these bastards to the ground.The Core is close. I can feel it, humming beneath the surface of The Nexus like a heartbeat. It’s the brain, the power source, the place where everything—everyone—is stored. If I can get inside, if I can crack it open, maybe…Maybe I can bring Darren back.Or maybe I’l
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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
