Chapter (1)
sync-light on Elias's temple pulsed a soft, rhythmic blue. "Upload Complete," the synthetic voice whispered in his mind. For a moment, he felt the familiar lightness—the blissful void where his workday stress used to live.
But as he stood up, the world tilted.
Suddenly, he wasn't in his sleek, white apartment anymore. He smelled wet asphalt and rusted iron. He felt the weight of a cold, heavy object in his right hand. He looked down and saw blood—dark and thick—staining a sleeve that wasn't his.
"I didn't do this," Elias gasped, his voice echoing in his empty living room.
The vision snapped shut, but the sensation remained. The Cloud had made a mistake. It hadn't just taken his memories; it had given him someone else's nightmare. And judging by the adrenaline still surging through his veins, the person who "owned" this memory was still out there, feeling the thrill of the kill.