> [Location: Outer Perimeter – Old Sector Twelve Ruins]
[Time: 06:12 AM]
[System Log Format Activated – Tier II Display Mode]
The rising sun cast fractured light across the collapsed remnants of NovaCore's lost sector. This place wasn't on any student map. According to public records, Old Sector Twelve had been decommissioned after a containment breach ten years ago.
But the truth was buried deeper.
Beneath the ruins… lay the Black Archive—a data vault rumored to store the original blueprints for hybrid core systems and classified records of Project Xeno-Soul.
> [Main Quest Progress: 14% – Locate Black Archive Entrance]
Arin and Elira stood before a cracked dome covered in moss and rubble. Elira's breathing was steady, her pulse signature now fully synchronized with Arin's.
> [Core Sync Rate: 91% – Stable Link Achieved]
Elira frowned. "Are you sure this is the place?"
Arin nodded. "Xyro's scan shows residual encryption fields and quantum locks buried under this rubble. It's here… just hidden."
> [Analyzing Terrain… Access Node Detected: 7.4 Meters Below Surface]
---
SYSTEM SCAN MODE ENGAGED
> [Command Input: Override Lock Protocol – Admin Bypass Required]
Accessing…
Success – Neural Verification Matched: XENO_PROTOTYPE_01
The ground beneath them pulsed faintly as ancient doors slowly opened, revealing a metallic shaft descending into darkness.
Elira hesitated. "That signal—was it… your system?"
Arin narrowed his eyes. "No. That was the Archive verifying me. As if it's been waiting…"
They stepped into the depths.
---
Location: Subterranean Facility – Black Archive Core Level
Dim light flickered as dormant systems reactivated. Broken stasis pods lined the walls—some shattered, others still sealed. Holograms blinked to life, displaying blueprints, DNA strand simulations, and files labeled:
> [PROJECT: XENO-SOUL]
[SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION: BIO-AI HYBRIDS]
[STATUS: EXPERIMENTAL – CONTAINMENT BREACHED]
Elira stared at a hologram of her younger self—wired to machines, monitored by faceless scientists.
> [Data Tag: Subject X-7 – Elira.exe]
She whispered, "This is where I was made."
Arin looked at another file.
> [Subject X-0 – Status: Missing]
Genetic Base: Arin Verma
Notes: Core Rejected All External Overrides. Evolution Unpredictable.
His heart skipped. "X-0… That's me?"
> [System Notification – Memory File Fragment Unlocked]
[Replay Available: Fragment – Year 2161, Lab Entry]
Arin played it.
A lab. Cold. Silent. A young boy—him—lying in a pod. A voice: "He's not syncing. Pull him out before it destabilizes—"
Static. End.
Arin stepped back. "They tried to bind me… and failed."
Elira pointed to a massive central data pillar.
"That's the root archive. If we upload your core signal… we might expose the whole thing."
> [Objective Triggered: Upload Forbidden Core Pulse to Black Archive]
[Warning: This Action Will Broadcast Location to All Reclaimer Units]
Arin clenched his fist. "We do it anyway."
---
Action Initiated: Pulse Sync Injection
> [Initializing… 13%... 28%...]
[Warning: External Signal Detected – Reclaimer Beacon Lock-On Confirmed]
ETA: 04:23
Suddenly—
A voice echoed through the chamber.
"Impressive you made it this far."
A figure emerged from the shadows. Dressed in executive black, calm, calculated.
Director Nyros.
Elira stepped back. "You… you're here?"
He smiled coldly. "Where else would I be? The Archive was never lost. It was bait."
> [System Alert: Nyros Identity Confirmed – CLASS S+ User]
[Core Type: Omega Void – Reality Layer Bending]
Arin stepped in front of Elira. "So this was your game?"
"No, Verma," Nyros said calmly. "This is your legacy. You're the first uncontrolled evolution. The Archive is your birthright… and your prison."
He lifted a hand.
Reality shimmered.
---
> [Battle Initiation: Arin & Elira vs Director Nyros]
Threat Level: S+
Specialization: Timeline Fracture, System Inversion, Pulse Nullification
Nyros activated Void Loop, creating four mirror images of himself, each attacking from a different vector.
> [Xyro: Tactical Suggestion – Split Neural Threads. Dual Control Mode Enabled]
Arin and Elira moved as one.
> [Skill Activated: Twin Core Flow – Echo Sync Combat Mode]
Description: Synchronized movement and ability execution between core-linked allies.
They launched counter strikes—Arin using Pulse Chain Assault, Elira using Null Disarm. But Nyros bent the rules of space, deflecting hits before they landed.
> [System Load: HIGH – Temporal Lag Detected]
Nyros laughed. "You're not fighting me. You're fighting your own limitations."
---
Suddenly, the Archive pulsed.
> [Backup System Awakening – Archive Spirit: Nexus Prime Engaged]
A glowing construct formed behind Arin—a digital intelligence formed of light and code.
"User Arin Verma. Access granted. Permission to unlock Evolution Tier III?"
He didn't hesitate.
> [Permission Granted]
[FORBIDDEN CORE – EVOLUTION TIER III ACTIVATED]
His veins blazed. His body surged.
> New Trait Acquired: Reality Pulse
Effect: Cancels spatial distortions and locks enemy into linear combat frame for 17 seconds.
The battlefield shifted.
Nyros' illusions vanished.
"You—how are you accessing root privileges?!"
Arin roared, striking with a pulse-coated fist. "Because I'm not your experiment anymore!"
---
Final Strike: Forbidden Echo
Target: Director Nyros
Result: Direct Hit – Body Fragmented Across Local Space Layer
Nyros shimmered and disintegrated.
But his voice lingered.
"This is only the first layer. The truth is deeper… than you can comprehend."
---
Archive Status: Uplink Complete – Global Transmission Initiated
> [Public Alert: Project Xeno-Soul Exposed – Reclaimer Program Compromised]
Arin fell to one knee, panting.
Elira supported him.
"We did it."
"No…" Arin whispered. "We started it."
---
> [Main Quest Complete: Black Archive Awakening]
[New Quest: Discover the Origin of the Void Engine]
Threat Level: UNKNOWN
Status: ACTIVE
To be continued...