Chapter 29: Descent Into Silence
The hatch to Sublevel Alpha groaned as Zayn twisted the rusted wheel.
A hiss of stale air escaped, carrying with it a strange metallic scent. The fog didn't reach this far underground, but something else lingered in the air. Not just dust and rot—but tension. Like the whole place was holding its breath.
"Lights," Reina said.
Kira flicked her flashlight on. The beam cut through the dark corridor, revealing broken signs, flickering wall panels, and trails of old blood smeared across the floor in chaotic patterns.
\[Objective: Enter Sublevel Alpha]
\[Warning: Containment Breach Confirmed]
\[Threat Level: Extreme]
\[Memory Archive Fragment 3/4 Nearby]
Zayn stepped in first. His Core Server orb pulsed faintly in his hand, growing warmer as they moved forward. The light guided them, flickering more intensely the closer they came to the source of the override transmission.
"I hate how quiet it is," Max muttered.
"Too quiet," Iris agreed. "Like this place hasn't been touched in years, but something still… watches."
They passed sealed labs. Observation chambers. One room had a shattered one-way mirror and claw marks etched into reinforced glass.
A terminal blinked weakly in the corner.
Zayn tapped the screen.
\[Accessing Log File…]
\[Subject Designation: N-07]
\[Status: Escaped]
\[Containment: Failed – Neural Sync Unstable]
\[Recommendation: Terminate Subject]
His fingers hovered over the screen. N-07.
Him.
Or a version of him.
Reina stepped beside him. "You don't remember any of this?"
"Nothing," Zayn said quietly. "Just… flashes. Dreams. Maybe they were memories."
"Maybe they were simulations," Iris said. "Built to feel real."
The hallway curved downward in a spiral, leading deeper into the dark. A chill swept over them.
Then a door at the bottom opened on its own.
Inside was a circular chamber. Ruined computers. Smashed glass pods. In the center—an old broadcast chair, cables hanging like vines. And slumped in it, a figure.
A woman.
Gaunt. Eyes half-lidded. Skin pale but alive.
She stirred.
"You came," she whispered.
Everyone raised their weapons, cautious. But Zayn stepped closer.
"You sent the signal?"
She nodded faintly. "Been trying for… years. You're real. Not just fragments."
\[Override Transmission Source Located]
\[Identity Match: Subject N-03 – "Layla Vex"]
\[Condition: Critical | Sync Ratio: Incomplete]
"Who did this to you?" Zayn asked.
"Project N. We were the prototypes. Neural-synced to a simulation that would never end. A game… that rewrote who we were."
She tried to sit up, then collapsed.
"You're one of us. I saw your file. N-07. You were the last hope."
Zayn clenched his jaw. "Hope for what?"
"To escape."
Then her eyes widened.
"They're here."
From above, something slammed.
A shriek tore through the walls.
The Devourers had followed.
\[Proximity Alert – Multiple Hostiles Detected]
\[Defensive Protocol: Optional – Fight or Escape]
\[Memory Archive Fragment Nearby – Caution: Hostiles Present]
Reina barked, "We hold here!"
Max and Kira took positions by the stairwell. Iris activated the emergency door, but the mechanism sparked—jammed.
"Too slow!" she yelled. "We'll have to hold until it seals!"
Then the first Devourer fell from the shaft—twitching, twisted, its body flickering between pixels and flesh.
Zayn raised his rifle and fired.
The chamber exploded into chaos. Gunfire echoed, blood and code splattering across walls. One Devourer leapt toward Kira—she sliced through it midair, but another followed.
Zayn moved without thinking—shielding Layla as the Core Server pulsed violently.
Then—
A shockwave.
The orb triggered on its own.
The memory unlocked.
Light flooded the room.
\[Memory Archive Fragment 3/4 Unlocked – Playback Begins…]
They were back in the lab. Younger Zayn, connected to wires, lay unconscious.
A voice spoke.
"We've gone too far. Neural loops are destabilizing. He's becoming self-aware inside the simulation."
Another voice, cold.
"Then isolate him. Reprogram. He's still an asset."
The playback ended as quickly as it began.
Zayn staggered.
He looked down at Layla—her eyes wide, a faint smile on her lips.
"You remembered," she said softly.
Then her head slumped.
\[Subject N-03: Life Signs Fading]
\[Override Transmission: Terminated]
The stairwell door sealed with a slam.
But the Devourers kept clawing at the other side.
Max shouted, "We can't stay here! They'll breach through another path!"
Zayn stood, fist clenched around the Core Server orb.
Three fragments.
One left.
And the truth—almost whole.
"Then we head to the final location," he said. "Wherever they were keeping me."
\[Final Memory Fragment Location: Nexus Vault – Restricted Zone Unlocked]
\[Fast Travel Disabled – Manual Entry Required]
\[Threat Level: Unknown]
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Author's Note:
Thanks for reading Chapter 29! Zayn now knows more of the truth, but with Layla gone and the Devourers pressing in, their path forward grows darker. The final memory awaits… and it won't give up its secrets easily. Stay sharp, and I'll see you in Chapter 30!