The world had never been brighter, or so The Luminary claimed. The AI system that governed society had eradicated hunger, poverty, and war, creating a utopia where human potential was maximized. But for Victor Hale, the brightness of the future was always accompanied by shadows.

It started as a fleeting vision—a crack in reality during his morning shift. He was repairing a structural panel on the 150th floor of Skyspire Tower, one of New Chicago's crowning achievements, when everything around him flickered. The gleaming cityscape transformed into a nightmarish wasteland.

Buildings crumbled, smoke choked the air, and the sky was a dark, bruised shade of red. Below him, twisted, inhuman figures prowled the streets, their glowing eyes cutting through the haze. And then he saw it—a massive figure looming in the distance, its form constantly shifting, as though reality itself struggled to contain it.

Victor stumbled back, his harness jerking him upright just as the vision ended. He was back in the pristine present, the hum of drones and the chatter of his coworkers filling the air.

"Victor, you good?" called Darren, his supervisor, through the comm.

Victor wiped sweat from his brow. "Yeah... just zoned out for a second."

But he wasn't fine. The image of that monstrous figure burned in his mind, and when he glanced at his arm, he noticed a fresh scratch—three jagged lines that hadn't been there before.