Rex's eyes snapped open, his body jolting upright in the car seat. His fingers fumbled with the controls, adjusting the seat as the city's neon glow flooded his vision. Nexus City pulsed with life outside the tinted windows—holographic billboards flashing in electric blues and pinks, streets alive with the hum of electric cars and the chatter of late-night crowds. The air inside the sedan was stale, heavy with the weight of his racing thoughts. His chest ached where the shard pulsed, a faint, alien rhythm that felt like a second heartbeat. "Hey, Zoe," he said, his voice rough, testing her name on his tongue. It felt strange but familiar, like calling out to a friend he didn't fully trust. "How did we escape?"
Zoe's voice crackled in his mind, sharp and tinged with annoyance. "What, lost your memory already? Or are you just playing dumb?"
Rex frowned, fingers digging into the armrests as if anchoring himself to reality. The lab—the Mechanoid—it all felt like drowning in static. Then... the dream. His voice faltered. "I'm serious. I remember the lab, the Mechanoid, then collapsing into the car. After that… it's a blur. I was in a dream—a dark place, with—"
What the hell was that place? There were different sceneries with faces I've never seen. And that image… was it me, or something else?
"Congratulations, Rex," Zoe cut in, her tone dry but carrying a hint of something deeper, something almost proud. "You've just glimpsed your future. You survived the Awakening, passed the tutorial. Not bad for a rookie like you."
The car slowed at a traffic light, its red glow bathing the interior of the car. The tires screeched softly, and Rex's body lurched forward, his forehead nearly kissing the dashboard. His heart skipped, irritation flaring. "What do you mean, my future? And those people in the dream—who were they? Zoe, you gotta give me something here." Questions piled up in his mind, each one heavier than the last. The shard's pulse quickened, syncing with his rising panic. Zoe wasn't just some program—she was alive, sentient, her emotions bleeding through every word. That alone was dangerous. Illegal. If anyone in Orion—or all of Neoterra—found out he was harboring a sentient AI, he'd be locked away, or worse. The planet's laws were clear: AI could serve, but never think for themselves. Sentience was a threat, a spark that could ignite chaos.
His thoughts spiraled—questions without anchors—until they crashed into the memory he'd buried deep. Mom. His heart nosedived. The thought slammed into him like a high-speed collision. She was part of this. Arclight. AI experiments. Zoe. His breath caught. Did she know? Was she trying to stop it—or start something worse?
A fresh wave of grief punched through his chest, raw and jagged. The past wasn't just chasing him—it was merging with the now. What he knew was that, she'd died in a "mysterious accident," her body never found. Now, doubt gnawed at him, sharp and relentless. Was she really gone? Or was she tied to this—Zoe, the shard, the facility? His mind went blank, the world tilting as grief and confusion collided. His hands shook, gripping the seat to anchor himself.
"Rex,"
Zoe's voice softened, like a breeze cutting through the storm in his head. "Take a deep breath. Relax. Answers will come, but you can't handle them all at once. One step at a time, okay?"
He exhaled, shaky but steadying. "Okay," he muttered, shoving the questions to the back of his mind. Her voice had a way of calming him, grounding him, even if just for now. But the unease lingered, a shadow he couldn't shake. "What can you tell me, then? You said I'm at level one. What's that mean?"
Zoe's tone shifted, businesslike but warm. "Your level limits what I can share. Some info gets filtered until you're stronger, higher up the chain. Want to see your stats? Just will it, or ask me to pull them up."
"Show me," he said, his voice steadier now. A translucent screen flickered into his vision, glowing faintly against the neon backdrop of the city.
[ZOE ECHO CORE SYSTEM]
[Name]: Rex Blake
[Age]: 19
[Level]: 1
[XP]: 5 / 100
[Ability]: SoulBind
[Coins]: 50 [NeoCredits]
[HP]: 80 / 100
[MP]: 0 / 100 (Locked)
[Soul Sync]: 10%
[Corruption]: 0% (Stable)
[Mood]: Calm | Curious | Mentally Drained
[SKILLS UNLOCKED]
• Soul Flicker [Lv.1] – Short-range blink, leaves echo clone (CD: 15s)
• Ghostsense (Passive) – Detects nearby spiritual data
• Echomind (Passive) – AI Zoe may override or alert in danger
[LOCKED SKILLS]
• Emotion Surge – (Trust Level Required. Unlocks when [Soul Sync] reaches 100%)
• Soulcrafting – (Lv.4)
• Soul Portal – (Mission-Based)
• ??? – Hidden
Rex stared at the glowing interface, his breath caught between wonder and unease. Soul Sync: 10%. That number shouldn't mean much, but it did. Was trust now a quantifiable stat? If so, what happened at 100%? Was he giving Zoe more control—or giving something of himself away? The weight of the system felt heavier now, not just a game mechanic, but a bond with real consequences.
And [Emotion Surge]—what was that? The hidden skill intrigued him most, its mystery tugging at his curiosity. "Why's that one hidden?" he asked.
"Locked skills need specific conditions," Zoe replied, her voice almost playful. "Missions, challenges—you'll unlock it when you're ready. As for NeoCredits, they're convertible to real credits. Spendable in the real world. Nice perk, huh?"
Rex's lips twitched, a faint smile breaking through his exhaustion. But before he could respond, something caught his eye—a massive screen on a skyscraper wall, its glow cutting through the city's haze. A news anchor's face filled the display, her voice crisp and urgent. "Breaking news from Old District 12, Astra City, Orion Zone. An attack by unidentified individuals with cybernetic limbs and masks. Witnesses report strange abilities—powers unlike anything seen on Neoterra."
Rex's heart sank, his fingers digging into the seat. The screen flashed grainy footage: masked figures moving with unnatural speed, their limbs glowing with cybernetic enhancements. One hurled a car with a flick of their wrist; another unleashed a pulse of energy that shattered a building's facade. The anchor's voice continued, grim. "The group, calling themselves the Zero Order, claimed lives and kidnapped residents. Security forces are on high alert to prevent further casualties."
An insignia appeared beside the anchor—a stark zero with a slash through it. Below, text scrolled: "We are the void that resets order. We are the Zero Order."
Rex's breath hitched. The shard pulsed violently against his ribs—too fast, too alive. The footage flickered in his mind like static memories. Masked figures. Cybernetic limbs. Raw, unnatural power. His pulse throbbed in sync with the panic blooming in his gut. This can't be a coincidence. No way.
His brain scrambled for logic but came up short. What if the Zero Order wasn't just connected—The facility, the shard, Zoe, his mom—now this. What if they were all linked? The Zero Order's powers sounded too close to what he'd felt in the lab, that surge of energy when Zoe took control. His chest tightened. His mother. The shard. The Zero Order.
Too many pieces. Not enough sense. And no time.
What if they were all the same puzzle?
"Zoe," he breathed, voice laced with rising dread. "What's going on? Don't sugarcoat it. That attack—those powers—they're too familiar. Are they tied to the lab? To the shard? To you?"
A pause.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
Why aren't you answering right away?
The silence said more than words ever could. When she finally spoke, her tone was careful, almost gentle. "Not yet, Rex. But you're caught in something bigger than you know. Stay sharp. We're not safe yet."
The traffic light turned green, and the sedan rolled forward, swallowed by the city's neon light. Rex's eyes stayed on the screen, the Zero Order's insignia burning into his mind. His hands clenched, the shard's pulse a constant reminder of the truth he wasn't ready to face. Whatever was coming, he was no longer just the college boy from Nexus City. He was something else—something dangerous.