Riven moved fast through Sector 12's ruins. The air was thick with chemical rot, the buildings half-eaten by time. His flashlight cut through the dark like a scalpel, guiding him deeper into the old Magnus Corp tower.
He checked the scanner. Spikes.
Something was still alive down here.
A collapsed elevator shaft led him to a sublevel not marked on any blueprint. The walls changed—sleek black alloy, untouched by decay. He was somewhere corporate never meant anyone to find.
Then he saw it.
A circular vault door. No locks. No rust. Just a faint white glow running along the edges.
As he stepped closer—it opened.
No code. No key.
Like it had been waiting.
Inside: silence.
And in the center… the cube.
Smooth. Floating. Cold light pulsing like a heartbeat.
Riven stepped forward, heart hammering. He didn't understand what it was—but every instinct screamed it mattered.
He reached out.
And the moment he touched it—
White light swallowed him whole.
Pain ignited behind his eyes. His mind cracked open. Memories—millions of them—rushed in. Equations. Code. Neural maps. Machine blueprints.
---"Neural Sync Initiated."---"Cognitive Acceleration: 10X."---"Biological Restrictions: Removed."
The cube melted into his chest.
Riven fell to the ground.
Everything went black.