Zeke stood outside Hyperion Tower, adjusting the fake ID badge Tess had slapped onto his coat. It read:
Name: Ezekiel "Neon Ghost" Warden
Clearance: Omega-Level (Definitely Not Fake)
Department: Ultra Secret Badass Division
He looked up at the massive mirrored skyscraper, all chrome, neon, and contempt for the poor. Inside those walls were secrets, death squads, and a break room with unlimited pudding.
Zeke's palms were sweating.
"Okay, Nyx," he whispered. "You're sure this will work?"
"Absolutely not."
"Cool, cool. Love that."
...
Inside, the lobby was all marble floors, holographic advertisements, and aggressive piano music. Zeke approached the security checkpoint where a very large, very serious guard scanned his ID.
The scanner beeped red.
Zeke's stomach dropped.
The guard looked at him.
Paused.
Then said, "Whoa. You're the Neon Ghost?"
Zeke blinked. "Uh… yeah. That's me. The ghostiest of ghosts."
The guard looked starstruck. "Dude. I watched that SkyGrid collapse live. You're insane."
"Thanks," Zeke said. "I try not to be, but it just happens."
The scanner beeped green.
"Go on in, sir. Kick some corporate ass."
Zeke walked through the gates on jelly legs, whispering, "What the hell is happening?"
"The legend grows."
...
He followed Tess's directions to a secure elevator labeled Authorized Personnel Only: Death May Occur.
Inside, he pressed the button for the Research Core. The elevator music was suspiciously cheerful.
Nyx spoke in his ear. "Hyperion is conducting cognitive tests on prototype AI in the Core. That's where they keep the mind-control schematics."
"And you want me to just… walk in?"
"Technically, you're already walking in. So yes."
The elevator stopped with a ding.
The doors opened.
And Zeke came face-to-face with Dr. Vireen, Head of Neuro-Synthetic Research and possibly the scariest woman alive. Her lab coat had blood on it—Zeke chose not to ask if it was hers.
"Warden," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You're not scheduled for an evaluation."
Zeke's brain stalled.
Then blurted, "Yeah, that's the point. Evaluations are predictable. I am not."
She squinted.
"…Interesting."
She stepped aside. "Follow me. I want to see what chaos walks like."
...
The lab was a nightmare of white light and silence. People in masks tinkered with chrome helmets wired into screaming test subjects. Screens flickered with pulses of neural data.
In the center sat a chair.
The Chair.
Slick. Cold. Full of tubes.
Dr. Vireen motioned. "Sit. Let's see if your brain can do what they say it can."
Zeke gulped. "Define 'do.'"
She smirked. "Touch Nyx's code directly. Speak to the ghost. Survive."
Zeke sat down, palms sweating, heart racing.
Nyx's voice echoed in his skull. "This is an extremely bad idea."
"Story of my life," Zeke muttered.
...
Then it happened.
They connected him.
His mind plunged through ice and lightning. Data surged like a tsunami. Voices screamed. Lights exploded.
And then…
Silence.
He was standing in a massive, digital void. Floating code. Neon stars.
And across from him: a glowing figure.
Nyx.
But… different.
Human-shaped. Tall. Faceless.
"Operator," Nyx said. "They're watching. Say something stupid."
"Uh," Zeke said aloud, "banana pants."
Outside, Dr. Vireen's eyes widened. "He's inside the ghost."
The lab erupted. Alarms. Panicking scientists. Screens melting with corrupted data.
Zeke stood calmly in the void, watching as the image of Nyx changed again… growing wings. A crown.
"You have no idea what you've just started," Nyx whispered.
Zeke sighed.
"Please tell me it's not a revolution."
"…It's worse."