"What a coincidence! We have the same name," Alex said with a casual grin, trying to defuse the growing tension in the room.
"Is it?" Shadow Alex replied, his tone calm but with an edge sharp enough to cut through Alex's attempt at humor.
Shadow Alex's expression darkened slightly as he stepped forward, folding his hands behind his back. "You still haven't answered my question," he continued, his voice measured but firm. "Why are you so interested in the NeuroSync Disk? And while we're at it, couldn't you have picked a more... original name? Why are you impersonating me?"
Alex blinked, caught off guard by the accusation. "Impersonating? Look, buddy, I didn't know you even existed until about thirty seconds ago." He spread his arms wide, his voice taking on a defensive but slightly mocking tone. "You think I flew across universes just to steal your thunder? Don't flatter yourself."
Shadow Alex's eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a faint smirk that didn't bode well. "Careful," he said softly, the warning in his tone unmistakable. "The last thing you want to do is test my patience."
Alex straightened up, his grin fading as the room seemed to grow colder. "Alright, alright," he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Let's get one thing straight. I'm not here for you. I'm here for answers. And as far as I can tell, the NeuroSync Disk is at the center of it all. So how about you stop playing twenty questions and start explaining what's really going on?"
The room fell into an uneasy silence, the weight of Shadow Alex's gaze pressing down on Alex as he waited for a response.
"Okay, have a seat," Shadow Alex said, gesturing toward one of the sleek chairs near the center of the room. His tone had shifted slightly, carrying a deceptive warmth that only added to Alex's unease.
Alex hesitated for a moment before sitting down, the weight of Shadow Alex's eyes following him like a hawk tracking its prey.
"Do you drink?" Shadow Alex asked casually, pouring a dark amber liquid into one of the glasses on the table. Without waiting for an answer, he slid a filled glass toward Alex, its contents glinting under the overhead lights.
"No, thanks," Alex replied, shaking his head, his tone polite but firm. He kept his hands on his knees, his body stiff, trying to keep his movements controlled.
Shadow Alex shrugged, lifting his own glass and taking a slow sip. He placed it back on the table with a deliberate clink and leaned back slightly, his eyes never leaving Alex. "How did you get it?" he asked suddenly.
Alex blinked, his guard immediately shooting up. "Get what?" he asked, keeping his voice calm, though his mind raced.
"The NeuroSync Disk," Shadow Alex said, his tone sharper now, like a blade against stone. His eyes flicked to the back of Alex's neck, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. "The one implanted at the base of your neck."
Alex froze, his heart skipping a beat. He'd been careful-at least, he thought he had. But the way Shadow Alex's gaze lingered told him everything he needed to know: he'd been spotted. Maybe it was when he adjusted his jacket earlier, or perhaps while moving to sit down. Either way, the secret was out.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Alex said quickly, his voice steady but his hands clenching slightly on his knees.
Shadow Alex let out a low chuckle, shaking his head slowly. "Come on," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "Don't insult me. You think I wouldn't notice something like that?"
Alex's mind raced for a response, weighing his options. Denial felt pointless, but admitting the truth to someone he barely knew-and didn't trust-felt like stepping into a trap.
"So what if I have it?" Alex said cautiously, his voice firm despite the tension in the room. "What's it to you?"
Shadow Alex's smirk widened slightly, but his eyes remained cold. "It's everything to me," he said, his voice low and deliberate. "It's my creation. No one acquires it without my knowledge." Shadow Alex's gaze sharpened as he leaned forward slightly. "So, Alex-" his voice edged with quiet intensity, "-how did you get it?"
"Wait-you built it? What is it then? And what's it doing on the back of my neck?" Alex blurted out before he could stop himself. The words tumbled out too fast, and he instantly regretted it, realizing he had revealed far more than he intended, despite his attempts to stay cautious.
"I get it now," Shadow Alex said, his voice calm but laced with certainty. He leaned back slightly, observing Alex with a calculating expression. "Tell me-have you been experiencing amnesia lately?"
Alex froze, his guarded expression faltering for just a moment, but it was enough. His look gave away everything. Shadow Alex smirked knowingly, the weight of his insight pressing down like a heavy hand.
Now Alex realized-this man knew far more than he was letting on.
Shadow Alex stood up, circling behind Alex with deliberate steps. He reached over and tugged the collar of Alex's jacket slightly, exposing the edge of the glowing disk.
"Tier One Disk," Shadow Alex murmured, his tone carrying a mix of admiration and intrigue. "Not bad."
He stepped back into Alex's line of sight, his expression darkening with thought. "Your amnesia, the disk, the band, and you being here... It could only mean one thing." His lips curled into a wry smile. "She's alive. Now this is getting interesting."
Alex stiffened at the mention of "she," but before he could ask, Shadow Alex continued, his voice now more measured and calculating.
"Since you're experiencing amnesia, I'll have to resort to a more traditional method to get the information I need from your head." He clapped his hands once, and the man who had escorted Alex earlier stepped back into the room, standing at attention.
"Take him on a walk," Shadow Alex ordered with a subtle wave of his hand, his tone dismissive but commanding.
Alex hesitated, glancing at the man and then at the door. Evaluating his options and finding no immediate escape, he decided, for now, to play along. He stood slowly, keeping his movements calm and measured.
As Alex reached the door, Shadow Alex's voice rang out behind him, calm but sharp. "Alex... don't pretend to be me next time."
As they stood there, the man in the suit reached down to his left wrist, removing the sleek band that had been there. He replaced it with another-a thicker, more rigid device that looked like a restraint, though designed for just one hand. The cold, metallic surface gleamed under the dim light.
Shadow Alex observed silently, his expression unreadable, as Alex felt the weight of the band settle on his wrist, an unsettling reminder of how little control he had in this moment.
---
Alex followed the escort into the elevator. The silence between them was thick, broken only by the faint hum of the lift. Alex's mind raced, trying to process the situation. What's happening? He couldn't stop staring at the restraining band wrapped around his left wrist-the small metal piece that felt more like a shackle than a tool.
"Don't even think of misbehaving," the escort warned, his voice sharp and unwavering. "Or you'll understand what it feels like to be touched by four electric eels."
Alex gave the escort a brief, silent look, then turned his attention back to the elevator's unchanging walls. His nerves were frayed, but he couldn't afford to show it. Every part of his being screamed to escape, to fight back-but where could he run to in a place like this?
The elevator chimes, and the doors slid open to reveal the 20th floor. Ahead, an expansive bridge-like structure stretched toward other towering buildings, each linked by similar spans. The city sprawled beneath them, illuminated by a thousand neon lights.
"Follow me. And don't try anything smart," the escort commanded as he stepped out.
Alex fell into step, the electric tension in the air almost palpable. The plaza ahead was crowded, a mix of people here to take in the breathtaking view. The Neural Arbor gleamed in the distance, casting a soft glow against the night sky. Stalls lined the area, selling food, drinks, and various trinkets, their neon signs flashing in the night.
Suddenly, a loud metallic voice boomed across the plaza, a bot announcing in cold, calculated tones, "Lockdown procedures initiated. Vacate the area." The announcement repeated,
"Lockdown procedures initiated. Vacate the area."
each iteration growing more commanding and cold.
"LOCKDOWN PRODECURES INITIATED. VACATE THE AREA."
The crowd's uneasy murmurs rippled through the air, the tension climbing.
Then, without warning, the sharp staccato of gunshots pierced the tension. Chaos erupted.
At first, it was just a flicker-a blur of sleek metal and black fabric darting across the plaza. People gasped and turned, but by the time anyone looked, it was already somewhere else. The figure moved with a mechanical grace that seemed almost unreal-vaulting off walls, skimming across the ground in a blur. It didn't walk. It flowed, faster than anyone should be able to move, a blur of impossible speed.
Some people screamed, others froze, unsure of what they were seeing. But as the mysterious figure closed in, weaving effortlessly through the crowd without touching a soul, the tension raised.
Mysterious figure's katana glinted under the neon lights, razor-sharp, a promise of lethality-but it remained at figure's side, humming faintly. The figure danced through the plaza, moving faster than the mind could process, its every step fluid and controlled. Drinks spilled, conversations ceased, and the crowd held its collective breath, eyes locked onto the figure as it leapt onto a wall and ran horizontally, as if gravity itself were an afterthought. The air itself seemed to bend around it.
The figure didn't make a sound-just the faint whir of augmented joints and the soft tap of its boots on the ground.
Then, as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. The plaza fell into an uneasy silence, people exchanging looks, their breaths shallow. The questions hung heavy: What was that?
The tension didn't dissipate. It lingered like a specter in the air.
Alex, still reeling from the impossibility of what he'd just witnessed, had no time to process it. As the plaza descended into full-blown pandemonium, people screamed, pushing, shoving, desperate to escape.
Alex's instincts kicked in, and he darted toward the edge of the chaos, desperate to find some way out of the madness. But before he could take more than a few steps, his body jerked with an overwhelming force-a violent electrical shock coursed through him, paralyzing him.
His muscles locked up. Pain surged, radiating from his wrist, where the restraining band crackled with energy. His legs gave way, and in that instant, he slipped toward the edge of the plaza.
The escort shouted behind him, but Alex's ears were filled with the roaring chaos, his vision clouded as the world spun around him. "No!" the escort cried, but Alex couldn't respond, couldn't even think.
The ground below him seemed to open up, a yawning void, and in an instant, he was falling.
The sound of the escort's desperate voice grew fainter, swallowed by the widening distance. Alex's body tumbled, gravity pulling him downward with terrifying force. The world blurred-lights, sounds, and faces merged into a dizzying haze as he plummeted.
The metallic ground greeted him harshly-a sharp, reverberating thud that rattled his bones. Pain shot through him like lightning, exploding through his limbs and searing through his chest. His head slammed into the ground, sending a flash of stars across his vision. The sounds of the chaos above-screaming, shouting, panic-echoed in his ears like distant thunder.
As Alex struggled to stay conscious, he felt the familiar blur of motion near him. A shadow-a figure-appeared in the periphery of his vision, moving faster than he could comprehend. The figure seemed to zip past him like a streak of light, stopping only when it was standing over him.
His vision was fading, each breath harder to take, but in that brief moment, he knew it: this was the same figure. The same ghost-like presence. But now, it was standing right there-above him, staring down as the world continued to crumble.
The interface flashed wildly in front of his fading eyes, the words distorted and broken:
Interface:
Alert: Catastrophic failure detected.
Critical instability detected. Immediate intervention required.
Activating emergency overrides. Restoring neural stability...
Attempting internal stabilization...
Attempting to maintain core functions...
Warning: Fatal damage imminent. Error: Neural function degrading rapidly.
Engaging last-resort protocols...
Re-routing all available resources to neural stabilization. Immediate reboot of core functions required...
Reboot of core functions failed...
Warning: Self-preservation measures activated. Self-preservation measures failed.
Initiating life-support overrides. Life-support overrides failed.
System Failure imminent in 8 seconds
Manual override required.....
System Failure imminent in 7 seconds
Manual override required.....
System Failure imminent in 6 seconds
Manual override required.....
System Failure imminent in 5 seconds
Manual override required.....
System Failure imminent in 4 seconds
Manual override required.....
System Failure imminent in 3 seconds
Manual override required.....
System Failure imminent in 2 seconds
Manual override required.....
System Failure imminent in 1 seconds
Manual override required.....
.....
...
....
......
UNEXPECTED SYSTEM SHUTDOWN INITIATED
SYSTEM SHUTTING DOWN......