Amon stood by the window long after Dr. Hayes had left, watching the city pulse with life beneath him. Time had become a strange, shifting thing for him—once, he could feel its relentless march in every sunrise, every change in the seasons. Now, it seemed to move differently, faster yet somehow hollow. The years he'd spent in slumber had passed by in a blink, and the weight of all that had changed pressed against his chest.
The city below was mesmerizing. It was a sea of moving lights, cars streaming through veins of asphalt, and people walking without the burdens of their past. They were free in a way his earliest kin had never been—free from the hunt, from survival's relentless grip. But Amon could feel something else beneath the surface: an emptiness, a sense of disconnection. The speed, the machines, the endless flow of information… they all seemed to have taken something from the human spirit.
He turned away from the window, his mind swirling. He had seen so many worlds before this one. Was this truly the pinnacle of humanity's achievement? The quiet hum of technology replacing the primal roar of life?
The door hissed open again, and this time, a woman stepped into the room. She was dressed sharply, with dark hair tied back in a severe bun, and a confident stride that suggested authority. A small earpiece blinked on the side of her head.
"Amon, I presume?" she said, her voice steady, calm. There was no awe in her eyes like there had been with Dr. Hayes—only calculation.
Amon inclined his head slightly. "And you are?"
"Agent Clara Ruiz, with the government," she said, stepping forward and extending her hand. Amon stared at the gesture for a moment before grasping it lightly. The handshake was firm but brief. "We've been made aware of your… existence."
"I assumed as much," Amon replied, his voice neutral.
Ruiz studied him for a moment, as if trying to gauge whether or not he was a threat. "Dr. Hayes has filled me in on your... circumstances. He seems convinced that you're something of an anomaly—perhaps even an impossibility. But you and I both know that there's more to it than science can explain, don't we?"
Amon's eyes narrowed. She was sharp, quicker to see the deeper layers than Dr. Hayes had been. "There are many things science cannot explain. Not yet."
Ruiz crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. "I've been tasked with understanding who—or what—you are. The government takes these matters very seriously. Someone like you, someone who has lived through the rise and fall of civilizations, is… well, unprecedented."
Amon gave her a slow nod, though he remained guarded. "You have questions. I may have answers."
Ruiz stepped closer, her posture unyielding. "Why now? Why wake up after all this time? What brought you back?"
Amon paused, considering the question carefully. He had asked himself the same thing in the moments after he woke. What had stirred him from his deep rest? There had been no immediate danger, no call that pulled him from the earth. Just… a shift, a stirring within his soul, as though the world itself had summoned him.
"I slept because I was weary," Amon said finally, his voice quiet but firm. "I watched as humanity rose and fell, again and again. I became... disillusioned with your kind. Always building, always destroying. I thought perhaps it was time to step away. To leave you to your fate."
Ruiz raised an eyebrow. "And yet here you are."
"Yes," Amon admitted. "Something has changed. I felt it deep within the earth, a tremor in the fabric of the world. Perhaps your technology, your machines, have altered the balance of things. Or perhaps the world simply called me back because my time is not yet over."
Ruiz uncrossed her arms and took a measured breath. "You say you've seen the rise and fall of civilizations. Which ones?"
Amon's gaze grew distant, as though he could see the layers of time stretching behind him. "I remember the first fires, the first humans who looked to the sky and wondered. I watched as they discovered the power of tools, of speech, of fire. I was there when the Sumerians carved their cities from the earth, when the Egyptians raised pyramids to honor their dead. I have walked through the streets of Athens, seen the might of Rome, and witnessed its fall. I have seen empires rise from nothing and crumble into dust."
Ruiz's eyes widened slightly. She couldn't hide her fascination entirely. "You claim to be immortal, but there's no record of you in history. No writings, no legends. How do you explain that?"
Amon smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it. "I have been many things to many people. Sometimes I was seen as a god, other times a demon. I learned long ago that to leave no trace is to survive. Human memory is short, and the world is always eager to forget what it cannot understand."
Ruiz nodded slowly, understanding dawning in her expression. "You've hidden in the shadows, moving through history without leaving a mark."
Amon shrugged. "I have lived long enough to know that power and fame only bring trouble. I have seen the downfall of kings and the ruin of empires because they sought to be remembered. I sought only to live, to observe."
Ruiz studied him for a moment longer before speaking again. "And what will you do now? The world is different, as I'm sure you've already realized. People don't worship gods anymore. They believe in progress, in technology, in the power of science."
Amon chuckled softly, though the sound was devoid of humor. "They may no longer worship gods, but they still seek something beyond themselves. It's always been that way. You've simply traded the divine for machines and numbers. But the hunger is the same."
Ruiz didn't respond immediately. Instead, she turned and walked toward the door. "The world will want to know about you, Amon. They'll see you as a miracle, a scientific anomaly, perhaps even a threat. You've already changed the course of history just by existing."
Amon watched her, unmoving. "History has always been shaped by those who see themselves as its architects. I am no different."
Ruiz paused at the door, turning to face him once more. "You may think you've seen everything, but this world will surprise you, Amon. You've been gone too long. Don't underestimate what humanity is capable of now."
With that, she left the room, the door sliding shut behind her with a quiet hiss.
Amon stood alone once again, the silence of the room enveloping him. He could feel the pull of time, the weight of the centuries he had lived through, pressing down on him like never before. The world outside was a blur of progress, of change. He was a relic, a remnant of a forgotten time.
And yet, as he gazed out at the city one more time, he felt something stir deep within him. He had returned to a world he no longer recognized, but perhaps, just perhaps, there was still a place for him here.
The eternal cycle of rise and fall had not yet ended. And this time, Amon would not merely watch from the shadows.