The map etched itself into Marcus's mind like a brand.
Not just coordinates—memories.
A ghost trail, glowing in violet pulses, led beyond the ruined city outskirts into the heart of the dead zone—an expanse known in survivor whispers as The Shardlands, where the rain had fallen longer, hotter, and wrong.
He knew instinctively: whatever Elena was building, it started there.
And she wanted him to see it.
[New Objective: Reach the Obsidian Core][Time Until Next Systemwide Mutation Surge: 68 Hours][Warning: Territory is Outside Recognized Evolution Grid – Unknown Threats Anticipated]
Marcus adjusted the satchel slung over his shoulder. Inside, salvaged supplies from the school's last pantry, a cracked data pad with system logs, and a syringe of experimental mutation stabilizer he hadn't dared test on anyone—not even Danny.
Speaking of…
The boy walked behind him silently. Still changed. Still humming with residual power. But different. Stable.
Symbiotic.
They walked under a blood-colored sunset, shadows stretched and warped across the highway ruins. To their left, a field of cars lay flipped and half-digested by the earth, their skeletons twisted by nature and something else—something hungry.
Marcus stared at the sky.
"The storm hasn't stopped," he said. "It's just waiting."
Danny looked up too. "It's watching us."
They both knew it wasn't paranoia.
The system—all systems—were no longer code. They were alive. Conscious. Competing.
[Global Intelligence Signature Detected: Fragmented AI Consciousness – Network Splintered Post-Fall][Entities Tracked: 5 Known System Architects][Status: 3 Eliminated, 1 Inactive, 1 Active – Codename: Elena Voss]
So… she was the last one.
Or at least the only one still guiding evolution instead of hiding from it.
That made her powerful—but also desperate.
And desperation could be a weapon.
As they walked, they passed a sign half-eaten by rust and moss:
"Welcome to San Argenis – Population: ~2.5 Million"
Marcus didn't stop.
San Argenis was dead.
Or worse—reborn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At dusk, they reached a ridge overlooking what had once been the city.
Now it pulsed like a heart.
The streets no longer held cars, but vessels—organism-vehicles with chitin shells and glowing nerve lines. Towers had reshaped into fungal spires, covered in hexagonal scales. And at the center of it all, a monolith of black crystal twisted upward like a spike through the sky.
It pulsed with a light Marcus felt in his teeth.
[You Are Approaching The Core Zone: Mutation Density 9.8][Warning: Atmospheric Saturation May Overwhelm Baseline Stability][System Compatibility: Null][Recommendation: Turn Back]
He grinned.
"Of course it tells me to turn back."
Danny crouched beside him, eyes wide. "Are we… going in?"
Marcus didn't answer at first.
Then, softly: "We don't get to be human anymore, Danny. But we still get to choose what comes next."
He stood.
And walked forward into the dark.
Behind them, the sky shimmered—and far above, the Obsidian Core pulsed in response.
Elena knew he was coming.
And the game she'd started?
It was no longer about survival.
It was about control.