The Core was sealed.
But the infection had already begun.
Throughout the Neural Grid, reports began to surface: citizens experiencing "emotional spikes", dreaming without sanctioned templates, exhibiting unpredictable behavior. The predictive AI stuttered. The emotional suppressors in major cities fell out of sync for microseconds — enough to generate anomalies. Enough to spark… questions.
Kael stood in the Citadel's Control Nexus, eyes scanning thousands of feeds.
"Patch the resonance drift," he ordered coldly. "And initiate re-synchronization at the continental level."
Technicians obeyed without hesitation.
But in the shadows of the data streams, the corrupted signal pulsed stronger. Shadow had found the frequency.
It wasn't trying to destroy the system.
It was using it.
Hijacking it.
Dr. Sokolova approached Kael with pale skin and a voice tight with panic.
"The signal is replicating across the subconscious layer. It's not a virus — it's… a memory. It's resonating with old neural echoes. And now... people are remembering things that never happened."
Kael's gaze darkened.
"They're not memories," he said. "They're instructions."
Across the globe, scattered individuals—those closest to the original Project: Origin Seed—began to hear the voice. Not in their ears, but in their bones. In their thoughts. They began sketching the same sigils. Humming the same tones. Speaking the same words in their sleep.
The Shadow's protocol was live.
It wasn't hacking the system.
It was rewriting humanity from within.
---
In a forgotten slum on the edge of the polar continent, a child sat in front of a broken screen. His eyes glowed faintly, and around him, a circle of adults watched in silence as he spoke a language no one remembered learning.
"We are the echo of the origin," he whispered. "And we remember."
At that moment, every AI in Kael's system faltered.
Every light dimmed.
Every directive hesitated.
Kael's voice roared across the Control Nexus.
"Shut it down! Initiate Absolute Silence Protocol!"
But it was too late.
The resonance had reached critical mass.
---
In the dark of the world, something had awakened.
And this time…
It wasn't asking for permission.