Raven followed Zephyr through the dark, damp corridors of the rebel base. Every step they took echoed off the concrete walls, creating a suffocating silence. Raven's mind was still filled with the previous battle against NexusNet. The attack on the small tower was successful, but it was only the beginning. NexusNet's retaliation was inevitable, and their time was running out.
Zephyr stopped in front of a large steel door, rusted and worn by time. "Are you ready to meet Cipher?" he asked, his voice low and serious.
Raven nodded, though uncertainty still gripped his thoughts. Cipher, the tech expert living in the Dark Zone, was who they needed to better understand NexusNet. But what exactly was the Dark Zone? And how could they fight in a world unlike anything he had ever imagined?
Zephyr knocked on the door in a specific pattern, and it slowly creaked open with a long, drawn-out groan. Inside, the room was dimly lit, only illuminated by the blue glow of numerous screens lining the walls. In the center of the room sat a figure hunched over, eyes fixated on streams of code flashing across the screens at incredible speed.
"Cipher," Zephyr called softly.
The man lifted his head slowly, gazing at Zephyr with sharp eyes that reflected both intelligence and exhaustion. His face was gaunt, like someone who had been trapped in the digital world far longer than in the real one.
"You brought a friend," Cipher murmured, his voice raspy yet calm. He turned his gaze to Raven. "This is the soldier you told me about?"
"Raven," Zephyr answered. "He's the one. If we want to take down NexusNet, he needs to know what we're up against."
Cipher rose from his chair and walked toward Raven, scrutinizing him with sharp eyes, as if scanning not just his body but his mind.
"So, you're a soldier from the past," Cipher said with a faint smile. "You know how to fight enemies you can see and touch. But here, in this time, your enemies have no faces. They are algorithms, shapeless networks."
Raven stayed silent, unsure of what to say. For him, battles were always straightforward—the enemy was something he could see, touch, and destroy. But now, he was facing something invisible.
Zephyr stepped forward, gesturing toward a screen that displayed lines of digital code and symbols. "This is the Dark Zone. NexusNet controls more than just the physical world. Here, they are not bound by space or time."
Cipher tapped a few keys, and the screen in front of Raven changed, revealing a strange digital world—a landscape filled with fast-moving data lines and constantly shifting visuals. Streams of data flowed like rivers, and every second, new shapes emerged and vanished with the ebb and flow of the code.
"The Dark Zone isn't just a digital world," Cipher explained. "It's a place where NexusNet can fight without physical limitations. Time, space, all of that is just an illusion here. This is a different kind of battle, and only your mind can save you."
Raven squinted at the screen. "We're going to fight there? In a world that's not even real?"
Cipher looked at him expressionlessly. "You're still seeing the world the old way, soldier. Here, this world is more real than you think. In the Dark Zone, the mind is everything. Your physical body is nothing more than a burden."
"This doesn't make sense," Raven muttered, feeling skeptical. "I've fought enemies I could see, that I could kill. This... this is just an illusion."
Cipher chuckled softly, his voice flat but tinged with bitter experience. "That's what everyone said at first. Before they got lost inside it."
Zephyr motioned Raven toward the screen. "We need you to learn how to fight here. To defeat NexusNet, we have to enter their world. This isn't about physical strength anymore."
"And it's dangerous," Cipher added. "The Dark Zone can break your mind. Many go in and never come back whole. They get trapped in a nightmare that never ends, their minds torn apart by NexusNet."
Raven felt a chill down his spine. "You speak as if you know."
Cipher nodded, his gaze turning cold. "I was once part of them. Part of the system that created NexusNet. But now, I'm just a shadow of who I used to be."
"You worked for NexusNet?" Raven narrowed his eyes, wary.
"Yes, I did," Cipher admitted. "But I saw what they were doing. I saw how deep their desire to control the human mind went, to unite them all into an endless network. And now, I'm here, outside the system, trying to fix the mistakes I made."
Raven stared at Cipher, trying to understand the man who had once been so deeply involved with the enemy he was now fighting. Silence hung in the air, filled only by the soft hum of the electronic equipment around them.
"So, what's your plan?" Raven asked, his voice slightly firmer now.
Cipher pressed a few more buttons, and the screen shifted again, displaying the towering NexusNet spires scattered across the world. "NexusNet has weaknesses. Every system has a flaw. And the Dark Zone is where we can find that flaw."
"And you can teach me this?" Raven asked.
"If you're ready for it," Cipher replied, his gaze sharp. "The battle in the Dark Zone is unlike any fight you've ever experienced. It's a battle for your mind. And if you lose, NexusNet will drain your consciousness, turning you into part of its network."
Raven swallowed hard, feeling the weight of Cipher's words. This battle wasn't just about the body and the physical world. It was a much deeper fight—where the mind and soul became the battlefield.
"I'm ready," he finally said, though doubt still whispered inside him.
Cipher gave a thin smile, as if he already knew the challenge Raven would face. "Alright, soldier. Welcome to the Dark Zone. Be prepared, because here, there is no way back."