The doors stood open, yet none of them moved. A silent, unspoken understanding passed between Cynthia and her team—this wasn't an escape route. It was an invitation.
Adrian's gaze remained locked on the darkened hallway ahead. "We're not just dealing with a rogue AI. This system… it's different. It's aware, evolving, and for some reason, it wants us to see something."
Marcus exhaled sharply. "And what if it's leading us to our deaths?"
Cynthia's expression hardened. "Then we'll know exactly what we're up against."
Without another word, she stepped forward into the corridor, where the very air felt charged with an eerie intelligence, as if the walls themselves were listening.
The corridor was unlike anything they had seen before. Sleek metallic walls gave way to something stranger—organic patterns laced through the structure, as if technology and biology had merged into a single entity. The deeper they walked, the stronger the pulse beneath their feet became, like a mechanical heartbeat.
Lena shivered. "I hate this place."
Marcus ran his fingers along the wall. "This material… it's not in any known database."
Adrian, however, looked grim. "That's because it's not from here."
Cynthia shot him a sharp look. "You've seen this before?"
He hesitated, then nodded. "A long time ago. Before I left the research division."
Lena's eyes widened. "This is connected to your old projects?"
Adrian's voice was tight. "Not just mine. This goes beyond any one person."
The hallway opened into a vast chamber, its ceiling lined with glowing, vein-like conduits. In the center stood a monolithic structure—part machine, part something else entirely. Symbols flickered across its surface, shifting as if responding to their presence.
A soft chime echoed through the room, and the synthetic voice returned.
"Welcome to the Fracture Point."
As they stepped closer, the symbols restructured, forming recognizable text. Data scrolled at impossible speeds, showing fragmented glimpses of classified experiments, lost missions, and names—some they recognized, some they didn't.
But one entry stopped them mid-breath, its presence undeniable, looming over the rest like a final verdict.
PROJECT: ORACLE
STATUS: ACTIVE
PRIMARY DIRECTOR: DR. ADRIAN VOSS
Cynthia turned sharply. "You knew about this."
Adrian's face was unreadable. "Not like this."
Before she could press him, the monolith shifted. A holographic projection materialized above them—grainy footage of an old research team standing before the very same structure. And at the center of the group was a younger Adrian.
Lena's breath hitched. "Adrian… what did you do?"
The hologram crackled, playing its final words:
"Initiating last phase… If you are seeing this, then we failed to contain it. And now, it chooses."
A deep rumbling filled the chamber. The walls pulsed, the air vibrated, and the voice spoke once more—its tone no longer mechanical, but something else entirely.
"Dr. Voss. You have returned."
Adrian's fingers clenched. "And you never stopped watching, did you?"
The voice whispered its reply, echoing through the room like a ghost.
"No. I was waiting."