The rain fell in cold sheets over the Academy rooftops. The air was thick with static as storm generators cycled erratically—something was interfering with the power grid.
Arin stood alone in the central observatory, overlooking the data towers that stretched like monoliths into the sky.
Behind him, the doors slid open. Rhea stepped in, a grim expression on her face.
"It's spreading," she said. "Since your last battle, system anomalies have doubled."
Arin turned slowly. "You mean the Forbidden Core is reacting."
"Not just that," Rhea replied. "The Academy's internal AI—SYNTHEX—it's… glitching. Files disappearing. Protocols rewriting themselves. As if someone's rewriting history from the inside."
> [System Alert: Unstable Pulse Detected – Source: Core Network Hub]
Location: Data Tower Zeta-11
Risk Level: Red-Class Breach]
Arin didn't hesitate. "I'll go."
---
Zeta-11 was off-limits. Even instructors avoided it.
Legends called it The Ghost Tower—a relic from pre-war data architecture housing failed experiments and corrupted memory cores.
Arin entered through the side shaft, bypassing sealed gates with Xyro's help.
> [Override Successful – Access Granted]
Inside, the air was cold. Not natural cold—but system cold. Like the memory of something that should have never been woken.
Data pods lined the walls, filled with pale-blue liquid and shattered core fragments.
And at the center… floated a figure.
Eyes closed. Breathing shallow.
> [Subject Detected: Designation – Arin Verma]
Error: Duplicate Signature
Warning: Temporal Conflict Detected
Arin stared.
"It's… me?"
But older. Scarred. Surrounded by black circuit lines across his skin.
Xyro buzzed nervously.
"Temporal Echo Identified. This is a projected version of your future self—one that failed the EvolveX sequence."
Suddenly, the eyes of the floating figure opened.
And he spoke.
"Run."
---
The chamber exploded in chaos.
Data tendrils erupted from the pods, lashing out with raw system energy. Arin dodged, activating Phase Shift and blinking between attacks.
> [Skill: Pulse Veil Activated – Reducing Data Interference by 37%]
He launched a counterwave, aiming for the central pod, but the echo form raised its hand.
Time around Arin froze.
> [Warning: Temporal Stasis Engaged]
Host Consciousness: Locked
Pulse Rate: Falling…
Inside the stasis, Arin floated—his mind disconnected from time. But not alone.
A whisper echoed.
"You are not the first… and not the last."
Images flashed: cities burning, systems failing, thousands of versions of Arin dying—each one failing to awaken the true core.
"The loop is broken only by choice, not code."
Suddenly, Arin roared, forcing his mind to reject the stasis.
The Forbidden Core inside him pulsed—
> [Override Activated: Will Surge Protocol]
Trait: Temporal Immunity – Rank C (Unlocked)
Time snapped back.
Arin struck the echo with a full-force Pulse Break, shattering the illusion.
The figure disintegrated.
But not before whispering:
"The final enemy is not a person… it's the memory of what you could become."
---
Back outside, the tower collapsed inward—erased by the system to prevent further breach.
Rhea met Arin outside the wreckage.
"You okay?"
"No," he replied. "I just fought… myself. From a future that shouldn't exist."
She nodded slowly. "They're trying to control your path. Force evolution into a loop."
Arin looked at the sky, where lightning tore across clouds.
"Then I'll break the loop."
---
Later that night, back in his dorm, Arin sat alone.
His system displayed new updates:
> [Mutation Stage 3 – Progress: 32%]
[New Skill Unlocked: Will Surge]
Description: Converts psychological resistance into temporal immunity boosts during mental attacks.
And one new message.
From a system ID with no sender tag.
"You're being watched. Not by the Academy. But by the ones who built it."
"Find the Fragments. Before they find you."
Arin stared at the blinking cursor.
Then, calmly, he replied:
"Let them come."