The Confederation had tightened its grip. Drones now flew in synchronized patrols, their red lenses scanning every corner of the city. Checkpoints were no longer at major intersections; they were everywhere, springing up like weeds.
Giovanni's duplicate hadn't been careful enough. He watched from the shadows as two officers closed in on his shimmering copy, their weapons raised, their sharp orders cutting through the air.
The duplicate faltered, its movements too fluid to pass as natural.
[WARNING: DUPLICATE ANOMALY DETECTED. RECOMMENDED ACTION: RECALL OR ABANDON.]
Giovanni grimaced, triggering the Recall Tab. The duplicate dissolved into shimmering particles, leaving the officers confused but alert. One of them barked into their comms, summoning reinforcements.
"Time to move," Giovanni muttered, slipping into a nearby alley.
As Giovanni wove through the maze-like alleys of Sector 9, a strange chill prickled his skin. The air seemed to thrum, not with sound but with an oppressive silence that pressed against his ears.
"Running, running, always running," came the Architect's voice, smooth and mocking.
Giovanni froze mid-step. He had no patience for the Architect's games—not now.
"What do you want?" he hissed under his breath, glancing around to ensure he wasn't being followed.
"Oh, Giovanni," the voice purred. "The better question is, what do you want? Power? Freedom? Or are you just trying to keep your head above water in this delightful little mess you've made?"
"I'm not in the mood for riddles."
The Architect chuckled, a sound like broken glass tumbling over silk. "No riddles today. But…"
The voice shifted, becoming sharper, more focused. "Do you feel them watching? The drones, the patrols, the System itself? You think they're hunting you. Poor little Giovanni. They're not. They're hunting me. And you, my dear, are the bait."
Giovanni's heart raced. He felt the words more than heard them, each syllable digging into his chest.
Then, the Architect did something Giovanni hadn't expected. It stopped addressing him.
It turned to the reader.
"Yes, yes, I see you too," it said, its tone dripping with amusement. "Sitting there, wondering what's real. Wondering why this boy keeps struggling, why he keeps clawing at the edges of something so much bigger than himself."
The Architect laughed again, sharp and jagged.
"Let me tell you a secret," it said, leaning into the void where no one should have been. "This isn't his story. It's mine. And you? You're just as trapped as he is."
The world snapped back into focus. Giovanni staggered against the wall, clutching his chest as his breath came in short, sharp gasps.
"What the hell just happened?" he muttered.
The System chimed softly:
[USER STABILITY: FLUCTUATING. RECOMMENDED ACTION: PROCEED WITH CAUTION.]
Far from Velmont, Ayane Sungwo stared at the protestors gathered in Naris-7's central plaza. Their signs glowed with holo-ink, bearing slogans like "TRANSPARENCY NOW" and "THE FLARE WASN'T NATURAL."
She sighed, pulling her hood lower over her face. The Stellar Flare Event had shaken the colonies even more than Earth, destabilizing trade routes, overloading Ring systems, and sparking debates that no one in power wanted to have.
Ayane adjusted her own Ring. It had been glitching lately, pulsing with strange energy bursts that made her arm ache.
"Excuse me," a voice said, pulling her from her thoughts.
She turned to see a young man holding a holo-recorder. He looked nervous, his fingers twitching against the device.
"You were a researcher, right?" he asked. "On the Ring energy adaptation project?"
Ayane's heart skipped a beat. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, stepping back.
The man frowned, lowering his recorder. "People need answers. If the Confederation won't give them, someone has to."
Ayane didn't respond. Instead, she melted into the crowd, her thoughts racing. She couldn't let her past work resurface—not now, not when the Flare had made everything so dangerous.
Back in Velmont, Giovanni returned to his apartment, his paranoia gnawing at him like a starving rat. The System had been quiet since the Architect's outburst, but the Corruption Meter in the corner of his vision glowed faintly, a reminder of the price he was paying.
[CORRUPTION LEVEL: 22%. NOTICEABLE SIDE EFFECTS.]
Giovanni slumped into his chair, opening the Cosmic Awareness Tab. The glyphs danced across the screen, their meaning elusive but tantalizing.
A new notification appeared:
[USER QUERY: COSMIC INSIGHTS AVAILABLE. EXPLORATION RECOMMENDED.]
"Fine," Giovanni muttered, selecting the option.
The glyphs shifted, forming a single phrase:
[THE RINGS ARE THREADS. THE THREADS ARE FRACTURING.]
"What does that mean?" Giovanni asked aloud.
The System didn't answer, but the glyphs began to pulse, their rhythm almost hypnotic.
A sharp knock at the door snapped Giovanni out of his trance. His blood ran cold. He never had visitors.
Peering through the peephole, he saw a courier standing outside, holding a sealed envelope bearing the Confederation's insignia.
Giovanni opened the door cautiously. The courier handed him the envelope without a word before disappearing down the hall.
Inside was a single sheet of paper:
"Giovanni Sungwo, your activities have not gone unnoticed. We know you were in Sector 12. Consider this your only warning. Cease all unauthorized Ring usage immediately."
The letter was unsigned, but Giovanni's mind immediately went to Darius. Had the Confederation spy betrayed him? Or was someone else watching?
The System chimed:
[USER NOTICE: THREAT LEVEL ESCALATED. RECOMMENDED ACTION: INCREASE STEALTH PROTOCOLS.]
"Great," Giovanni muttered. "Just great."
That night, as Giovanni lay in bed, another vision overtook him.
He found himself in the swirling void again, the Architect's presence looming like a stormcloud. The glyphs from the Cosmic Awareness Tab floated around him, their meaning clearer now:
[THE THREADS ARE FRACTURING. THE GAME HAS ONLY BEGUN.]
The Architect appeared, its shifting form sharper and more menacing than before.
"You think you're clever, don't you?" it said, its voice echoing like thunder. "But every move you make, every little rebellion, brings you closer to me. And I... am patient."
The vision shattered, leaving Giovanni gasping for breath. The System chimed faintly:
[WARNING: USER STABILITY COMPROMISED. FOCUS REQUIRED.]