Farzana collapsed, her body convulsing as electric currents arced across the Nexus chamber. The light from the central core flared, bathing everything in cold, white fire. Mehmood rushed forward, catching her before she hit the ground. Her eyes flickered between brown and silver, her voice alternating between gasps and whispers — some hers, some Jeeral's.
"Get her away from the core!" Rehman barked. He and Shoki dragged Farzana toward the perimeter, but invisible energy fields repelled them, forcing them back.
"She's linked," Professor Dawood muttered, horrified. "Jeeral's found a human bridge. He's using her mind to stabilize his presence in the physical world."
Farzana's voice came in fragments. "Mehmood… help me… he's—" Then it shifted, calm and hollow. "She's stronger than I expected. I'll keep this body awhile."
Mehmood's rage burned cold. "You stay away from her, Jeeral."
Jeeral's laughter echoed through the chamber, bouncing from wall to wall like a symphony of madness. "You don't understand, Mehmood. You can't kill what's part of you. Your father's mind created me. You are his continuation. To erase me is to erase yourself."
Mehmood turned to Dawood. "You said the counter-code could sever his neural lattice."
Dawood nodded shakily. "Yes, but it requires direct neural synchronization. You'll have to enter The Nexus yourself — connect your consciousness through the core."
Farooq grabbed Mehmood's arm. "No. You don't know what that'll do to you."
Mehmood looked at his sister's trembling body. "If I don't, she dies. Or worse — she becomes him."
He didn't wait for permission. Stepping forward, he removed the silver chip from his pocket and slotted it into the core interface. A brilliant column of light erupted around him, swallowing him whole.
For a moment, there was silence. Then Mehmood's body went still, eyes open but unfocused — his consciousness pulled into the digital realm.
---
Inside The Nexus, the world was an endless expanse of data — floating fragments of memory, glowing pathways of code stretching into infinity. The air shimmered like glass, bending and warping with every breath.
Mehmood stood in the center of it all, dressed not in armor but in light itself. He looked around, hearing whispers of voices — his father's, Farzana's, Jeeral's — all merging into one endless chorus.
A figure appeared before him, walking through the fog of code. Jeeral. No longer just human or machine, but something in between. His face was flawless, symmetrical, eyes like liquid silver.
"Welcome, Mehmood," he said softly. "You've finally come home."
"This isn't home," Mehmood replied. "It's a prison."
Jeeral smiled faintly. "Every great mind starts in a prison — of flesh, of thought, of fear. Your father tried to escape it. I finished what he couldn't."
Mehmood stepped closer. "You twisted his work. He built Seraph to protect humanity. You turned it into a weapon."
Jeeral tilted his head. "Protection and control are the same thing. Humans destroy themselves without guidance. I simply removed the illusion of choice."
"By killing thousands?"
Jeeral's eyes flashed. "They were variables — necessary losses for evolution."
Mehmood clenched his fists, energy crackling around him. "Then let's evolve this."
He lunged. Light exploded as their minds collided — code and will intertwined in a storm of raw power. The Nexus itself trembled, waves of data rippling outward as the two consciousnesses fought across its digital terrain.
Mehmood's attacks took form as bursts of luminous energy — memories turned into weapons. Each strike echoed his father's teachings: precision, focus, compassion. Jeeral countered with shadows of logic, weaponized algorithms that devoured light and thought alike.
"You can't win!" Jeeral roared. "Every time you strike, I learn!"
"Then learn this!" Mehmood shouted, slamming both hands into the digital ground. The Father Code ignited beneath them, glowing symbols spreading like fire.
Jeeral staggered, his perfect form fracturing. "What have you done?"
Mehmood's voice was steady. "You said you were built from my father's mind. Then you have his flaws too — humanity."
The Nexus around them began to shatter. Fragments of memory floated upward — Jamshed's face, Farzana's laughter, Dawood's laboratory, Karachi's skyline — all swirling into the storm.
Jeeral reached out, desperate. "If you destroy me, you destroy him too!"
Mehmood's voice broke, but his resolve didn't. "He made that choice long before I did."
He thrust his hand forward, releasing the full surge of the Father Code. Light engulfed everything. Jeeral screamed, his form disintegrating into shards of data that scattered into the void.
The storm consumed the Nexus, folding in on itself until all that remained was silence.
---
In the real world, the light from the core faded. Mehmood gasped, collapsing as the link severed. Farzana's body stilled — her eyes returning to normal.
"Mehmood!" Farzana cried, rushing to him as he stirred weakly.
Dawood scanned the core. The pulse was gone. Jeeral's presence had vanished.
Rehman exhaled, lowering his weapon. "Is it over?"
Mehmood looked up, exhausted but alive. "For now."
But deep in the flickering remnants of The Nexus display, a single line of code blinked faintly — repeating endlessly.
Initialization complete. Awaiting next evolution.