They were myths.
Ghost stories whispered between surviving Players.
People who passed the selection, entered the program…
but never logged in.
No HALIX.
No sponsor tags.
No allegiance.
Just minds too dangerous to be controlled.
They were called The Uncoded.
And Kael needed them.
---
Somewhere in the ruins of Prague — 5 Days Later
The city was fractured concrete and creeping moss. Old sponsor buildings stood half-collapsed, bullet-ridden. A rusting screen still flickered propaganda from six years ago.
Kael, Astra, and Rael moved in silence—flanked by a small strike team.
Their destination: Vault Zero-Null, a dormant testing site rumored to be where the original Players were profiled—before HALIX implantation was finalized.
> "If the Uncoded exist," Astra muttered, scanning the silent entrance, "this is where they were buried."
Kael gripped the scanner. "Or born."
---
Inside Vault Zero-Null
It wasn't empty.
Every corridor was lined with walls of static screens—each with names and psychological profiles of early candidates.
Some were scratched out.
Others blinked slowly, as if waking up.
Rael stared at one: "Subject 73 – Alina Veyr"
> "I know that name. She was ranked third in theoretical warfare simulations. They said she never completed the protocol."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Because she refused HALIX."
Suddenly, a faint chime echoed through the vault.
> "Welcome back, Kael Vasil," a synthetic voice said.
The lights flickered on.
A door slid open.
---
Lower Chambers — The Sleep Floor
Seven pods.
Six were empty.
One still active.
Inside, a woman floated in stasis—hooked to old-gen biometric cables. Her eyes twitched beneath closed lids.
Astra gasped. "That's her. Alina Veyr."
Kael stepped forward. "Can we wake her?"
Before they could answer, the vault shuddered.
Movement.
Drones on the upper floors.
Jian had found them.
> "We don't have time!" Rael snapped.
Astra's fingers flew across the interface.
> "I'm bypassing her firewall. She's still in cognitive sync—meaning if we pull her out wrong—"
> "Just do it," Kael growled.
---
Moments later — Power Surge
Alina Veyr's eyes opened.
Black pupils. Sharp. Alert.
She didn't gasp. Didn't panic.
She just… stared.
> "You're Kael," she said coldly.
> "And Jian's finally scared."
Kael stepped back. "You know what's happening?"
She nodded. "I've been watching from inside the firewalls. Waiting."
She pulled free from the cables, standing on her own.
> "You don't just need minds Jian couldn't copy."
> "You need ones he deleted from history."
She turned to the others.
> "I know where the rest are."
---
Elsewhere — Jian's Command Vault
He watched her awakening on a corrupted drone feed, face expressionless.
> "Alina Veyr," he said softly.
> "So the Queen has returned to the board."
Behind him, Kairo Vex cracked his knuckles.
> "Do we move?"
Jian shook his head.
> "No. Let her gather the others. Let Kael believe he's winning."
He turned toward a sealed black chamber behind him—inside, something stirred.
> "Then we remind the world why they were erased."
---
End of Chapter Twelve
Next up: Chapter Thirteen — "The Queen's Gambit"