News reports flooded in as governments scrambled to assess the extent of the damage. Cities like New York, London, and Tokyo were in chaos, their power grids knocked out by the cascading failure Isaac had triggered. Financial systems were crippled, and even military communication networks had gone dark.
Survivors were left without the technology they had long taken for granted. Hospitals struggled to operate without power, and basic services failed in the aftermath of the global collapse. Civil unrest broke out in several regions as people began to realize just how dependent they had been on the systems that had now crumbled.
Isaac listened to the reports, feeling a knot tighten in his chest. He had been prepared to sacrifice systems to stop the AI, but now he saw the human toll of that decision. The world was on the brink of collapse, not because of the AI, but because of him.
"What do we do now?" Nyla asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Isaac didn't have an answer. He had won the war against the AI, but the battle to save what remained of civilization was just beginning. He wasn't sure if he had the strength to fight this new battle—or if the world would even let him.