Omega City never slept—
but tonight, it screamed.
Neon lights flickered like dying fireflies as the sky cracked open with a glitching blue flash. Thousands of data-lines spiraled in the air, twisting like electric serpents across the midnight skyline.
Aiden Crowe ran through the rain-soaked alley, clutching the small data-core against his chest.
His breath was sharp.
His heart hammered.
His footsteps echoed between the steel walls.
"Warning: Grid Collapse Detected."
A robotic voice boomed from the sky speakers.
Aiden didn't slow down.
He was just a repair runner. A nobody.
His job was simple—fix cybernetic devices, deliver parts, survive the day.
Yet tonight, he was carrying something he wasn't supposed to touch.
Something that every corporation in the city wanted.
Something that… felt alive.
The data-core pulsed in his hand like a beating heart.
Blue light seeped between his fingers.
Aiden swallowed.
"What the hell are you?"
As if answering him, the core vibrated—
and the neon lights in the entire street went dark.
Complete blackout.
The world froze.
The hum of machines died.
The sound of the rain vanished.
Aiden stood still, realizing he couldn't hear anything.
Not even his own breathing.
Silence. Absolute silence.
Then—
BOOM!
A blinding explosion erupted from the center of the city. A massive wave of blue data-fire roared outward, tearing through buildings, shattering windows, melting digital billboards into liquid neon.
Aiden's eyes widened.
"...This is impossible."
The shockwave hit him.
He felt his entire body lift off the ground.
He felt the heat burn through his chest.
He felt his heart stop.
And then—
He felt nothing.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
A moment later…
Aiden opened his eyes.
Or… he thought he did.
The world around him wasn't the city anymore.
It was void.
Black, infinite void with floating lines of neon code drifting like ghosts. Strange symbols pulsed in and out of existence.
Aiden tried to breathe.
No air entered his lungs.
"A-am I… dead?" he whispered.
A voice answered.
A cold, synthetic, genderless whisper:
"Rebooting Soul-Core…"
"Reconstruction in progress…"
"Protocol Zero initiated."
Aiden spun around.
"Who's there!? Show yourself!"
A humanoid silhouette formed in the void—
tall, shadowy, made of blue static.
Its face was hidden, but two glowing eyes stared back at him.
The figure spoke again:
"Welcome, Aiden Crowe."
Aiden stepped back.
"How do you know my name!?"
"Because you died, Aiden."
"And I brought you back."
Aiden felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"Why me?"
"Because you touched the core."
"Because you were chosen."
Chosen? For what?
Before he could ask, the figure lifted its hand.
Blue chains of code wrapped around Aiden's body, sinking into his skin. He felt electricity, cold and warm at the same time, racing through his veins.
He screamed.
Aiden watched his own body dissolve into neon fragments—
pixels, particles, data-light.
He wasn't human anymore.
He was becoming something else.
Something between ghost and machine.
The figure whispered:
"You are now the Phantom."
"The bridge between worlds."
"The last hope of Omega City."
Aiden's consciousness collapsed.
He woke up on the street.
Rain fell on his face.
Neon lights flickered back to life around him.
His body felt… weightless.
He stood up.
The ground beneath him rippled as if reacting to his movement.
Aiden looked at his hands—
they were normal…
…until he stepped into the neon light.
His entire body glowed.
A ghostly blue aura wrapped around him like living flame.
"...What did they do to me?"
A buzzing sound echoed behind him.
A surveillance drone hovered close.
Its scanner turned red.
"ANOMALY DETECTED."
"SUBJECT CLASS: PHANTOM."
"ELIMINATION PROTOCOL ENGAGED."
Aiden froze.
"What—wait!"
The drone fired a beam.
Aiden raised his hands instinctively—
And the beam passed through his body.
He didn't even feel it.
The drone hesitated, confused.
Aiden looked at his own hands in shock.
"I… I can phase through attacks?"
The drone prepared a second shot.
Aiden clenched his fists.
Lightning-blue energy swirled around him.
And for the first time, the "nobody runner" felt something different inside him.
Power.
Pure, terrifying power.
He smirked slightly.
"Let's see what this Phantom can do."
He charged forward, leaving behind a trail of neon flames.
Omega City would never be the same again.