The sky over Synkrón seemed to burn without fire. The rotating beacons of the watchtowers sliced through the artificial fog like blades of light, ripping metallic flashes from every structure. Between those bursts, fleeting shadows ran and dissolved like smoke, as if the night itself were alive, chasing them.
Jhon's breathing was ragged. Every second ticking down on the counter stabbed into his chest like a foreign heartbeat—a sharp reminder of the threat looming over them.
"A barely made it here…" he murmured, more to himself than to Golden, feeling the weight of desperation.
"The crossed signals in the underground layer were enough to raise suspicion. They're triangulating us," his partner replied, eyes fixed on his wristband, which glowed faintly in the dark.
On the holographic screen floating above his forearm, lines of code flickered violently—security routes shifting as if an invisible hand were rewriting the map in real time. The sensation of being watched was suffocating.
"We don't need Alice to know we're screwed."
Jhon swallowed hard. It wasn't just the light that blinded him—it was the certainty that every movement had been recorded, archived… and that someone, somewhere, had already passed his sentence. The pressure in his chest grew; adrenaline surged, unstoppable.
In his ocular implant, Golden projected the route: a narrow corridor between two towers, straight toward the loading zone. The timer's beeping sped up, each second an echo of his imminent capture.
"00:00:03… 00:00:02…"
The side gates of the campus opened like metallic jaws. Assault drones burst through, their rotors howling like swarms of steel. Golden moved ahead, vaulting over a crumbled wall and twisting through corridors that seemed to lead to dead ends… until one gave way, as if fate itself had opened it at the last second.
"The barriers are collapsing in sequence… they're herding us in," Jhon panted, feeling despair closing in.
There was no answer. Alice remained silent, and her absence weighed more than the piercing beeps drilling into his ears—a cruel reminder of what they stood to lose.
A side gate slammed shut behind them. The fog swirled for a few seconds before dissipating. They had crossed into Synkrón's inner perimeter.
The hallways were wide, with polished marble floors reflecting red emergency notices: RESTRICTED ACCESS. REMAIN CALM. But no one was calm.
Students in white uniforms stepped aside as they passed. Some carried tablets; others were leaving late-night practice sessions. A pair froze to stare at them—one stepped back in fear, the other whispered something, and his friend bolted, as if panic were contagious.
A tremor under their feet rattled the columns. Above them, drones drifted like armored dragonflies, their flashing lights scanning every corner. Golden turned toward a reinforced door.
"Here… Don't follow me if something goes wrong. We have to split."
"Wait, what are you going to do?" Jhon asked, a knot forming in his stomach.
"Buy time… there's still something I need to do."
They locked eyes for just a moment. There was nothing more to say; trust spoke for them. Golden took another path, and the door sealed shut with a magnetic hum. Jhon was alone, the weight of isolation pressing in.
The alarms intensified. The drones' hum grew nearer, fine-tuning their target to neutralize him. Each echo felt like a reminder of his own mortality.
The main gates of the Synkrón Academy opened without a sound. Tall, automatic, perfect. Beyond them, the murmur of more students; most didn't understand what was happening. Some recorded with their phones, others pointed. No one approached.
Jhon drew in a deep breath. His heart pounded as if it wanted to turn back. Fear wrapped around him, but he couldn't stop. Crossing through, a wave of cold air struck him. The contrast was brutal: the hallway no longer smelled of dust or ruin, but of freshly polished metal.
The metallic echo of the floor seemed to foretell what was about to happen. Golden was ahead, activating hidden panels with swift, precise movements. Small mechanical clicks answered, opening gates to deeper levels—places time had forgotten.
Alice's signal barely cut through the interference:"… circuit… open… go to the elevator…" and the voice faded, leaving only a map as a trail.
Jhon didn't hesitate. He ran until he found the rusted doors of an industrial lift, the peeling paint marked with the Academy's symbol crossed out in red. Golden waited inside. The clattering of the machinery revealed they were descending far below the known levels.
The underground hangar emerged like an open wound: blackened walls, debris, stacked containers, and old yellow hazard signs. Golden knelt by a rusted terminal, forcing it to power on. The monitor flickered, and Alice's digital pulse appeared—working silently, weaving the network.
Jhon kept watch at the entrance. No signs… yet.
"Done…" Golden said. "Plug it in before they find us."
Jhon inserted the module. Files began to transfer:
Echoes of the Soul
Project Terminal Threshold
Internal Schematics of Synkrón
Encoded Names
And an unmarked folder: For You
Inside was a black-and-white recording. Jhon looked straight into the lens, calm:"If you're seeing this… something went wrong. But it doesn't matter. Everything you need to continue is here. Make it count."
The transfer was nearly complete when Alice's distorted voice returned:"J… Jhon… you're interfering with the root… the data… is heavy… I don't know if I can…"
He smiled faintly."I missed your voice… It's going to be fine. Just keep them safe."
A sharp beep marked the end of the transfer. The roar of a drone echoed down the tunnel. Jhon shoved the module into Golden's hand and pushed him toward the side gate.
"Go… Don't look back."
"We can both make it out!"
"If we fall together, it's over…"
Golden hesitated, but Jhon's gaze convinced him. The gate shut, leaving him alone.
The drone arrived, firing. A burst struck his leg, but he kept running, dodging with the last of his strength. Blood weighed him down like lead.
The hallway stretched on—cold, dark—lights flickering as if unsure whether to stay lit. Each vibration in the walls reminded him Synkrón never forgot.
He leaned against a beam, breathing hard. Alice's voice came back, weak:"Jhon… your signal… your pulse… you're… alone…"
He didn't smile, but his gaze hardened."Maybe… but I'm not done yet."
A forgotten terminal blinked in front of him. He inserted the module. Quantum transfer initiated.
3%… 19%… 41%… 65%…A red flash: the AI had found him.87%… 92%…The air smelled of burning metal.99%… 100% — Transfer complete.
The drones were upon him. Jhon looked into the nearest surveillance camera:"Alice… I swear I'll find you again."
He didn't run. He didn't hide. A single shot ended everything.
Black screen.
An electric snap. Somewhere, a hidden server powered on for the first time in years. Tag received: JHON-L988.
"Hello… I'm Alice. Who… are… you?"
Her memory began to overload. Images flashed through her system: an exhausted scientist, Sofía Alvarado speaking of the "digital soul," maps of Synkrón, and one final clip of Jhon repeating his promise.
Meanwhile, somewhere else, a lev-train glided across the glowing city. A young Jhon scrolled through the application requirements for Synkrón Academy on his tablet.
"Are you sure you want to apply to the Synkrón Program? The competition is intense," the train's AI asked.
He didn't answer. He stared at his reflection in the glass, unaware that his fate had already been shaped by a legacy… that might be his own.
The train continued toward the horizon, a journey just beginning—marked by the choices of those who had fought before him.