The city glittered with synthetic life—hovercars buzzing above mag-rails, sky advertisements shifting in real-time, and drones patrolling like silent vultures.
Aiden stepped out of the facility for the first time since the Reckoning ended. He felt...watched.
> SYSTEM PHRASE STATUS: DORMANT
ROLE: ROGUE ADMIN – UNDER OBSERVATION
They'd dressed him in a simple black jacket and gray pants, but the tag inside read "Property of Control Division."
He wasn't free. He was released on a leash.
A silent car trailed behind as he walked down the city's edge. He glanced back. No driver. Just surveillance tech.
The woman from earlier—Agent Velra—had warned him:
> "Any attempt to contact the other survivors will be flagged."
"Any access to restricted networks—flagged."
"You're not a citizen, Aiden. You're an asset."
But he had his own mission now: find the other two survivors.
If three escaped the Reckoning, it meant the game didn't end. It evolved.
And Aiden wasn't about to let it happen again.
---
He reached an old sector of the city, Zone 7—forgotten and unstable. As he passed a flickering neon sign that read OBSOLETE TECH, someone yanked him into a dark alley.
"Don't speak," a voice whispered. "They're listening."
It was a woman—hooded, scar on her lip. She held up a jamming device. "You're not the only one who remembers the code."
Aiden's heart skipped.
She whispered:
> "Echoes remain. And the Reckoning was never just a game."
Then she handed him a chip. A strange symbol glowed on it: two intersecting triangles forming an hourglass.
> "Find the Ghost Network. They're watching you, but we're watching them."
The woman vanished into the alley shadows.
Aiden held the chip in his hand, pulse racing.
> The game wasn't over.
It was just beginning—on a whole new level.
---