Neo-London, Omnitek Holdings
Rain fell in perfect rhythm against the glass tower of Omnitek Holdings, blurring the neon veins of Neo-London below. Holographic billboards shimmered through the downpour — selling immersion, perfection, and eternal connection.
Inside the boardroom, perfection had cracked.
Renna Voss stood at the head of the table, silent as a dozen executives argued over a digital projection — a flickering strand of crimson code looping endlessly above the surface.
[LEGACY PROTOCOL — UNAUTHORIZED REACTIVATION DETECTED]
The words pulsed like a heartbeat.
"Impossible," muttered one of the analysts. "The Legacy Framework was sealed ten years ago. All neural access keys were wiped after the incident."
Renna's gaze didn't waver. "Then explain that."
She tapped the table. The hologram expanded, revealing a cascade of familiar encryption signatures. Even distorted, she recognized the pattern — elegant, recursive, alive.
Elias Ward.
For a moment, the name echoed like a ghost in her mind.
Renna straightened, her voice crisp. "When did this trigger?"
"Twenty-three hours ago. Traced to a deep-sector instance inside Dominion Online. The signal originated from a private server in South Neo-London — off-grid neural gear."
A pause. Every executive avoided her eyes. They all knew what that meant.
Her pulse stayed steady, but something sharp twisted beneath her calm. She'd buried this once — buried him — and now the past was climbing out of its grave.
"Shut down the trace outside this room," she said finally. "No reports to the Five Thrones, no system broadcast. We'll handle it internally."
"Ma'am," one of them began carefully, "if the Legacy Code is active again, it could override Dominion's firewalls. If it links to an external AI—"
"I'm aware," Renna cut him off. "And if you value your contracts, you'll keep this off-record."
Silence. Only the rain.
She dismissed them with a gesture. The doors hissed shut behind the last analyst, leaving her alone with the flickering red code.
Renna exhaled softly. The boardroom lights dimmed as she brought up a private file — Subject: Elias Ward. The recorded footage appeared in front of her: his final day at Omnitek.
"You're making a mistake, Renna," Elias's recorded voice said — calm, resolute.
"You think you can bury it, but the system remembers its creator."
Her younger self on-screen had smiled back — cold, immaculate. "You were never the creator, Elias. Just a tool. Goodbye."
The playback froze on his face. There was no anger there, only quiet certainty.
Renna stared at the image for a long time, feeling that same old fracture spreading beneath the polished surface of her control.
"After all this time," she murmured.
The crimson code pulsed brighter, spreading across the glass like veins of fire. For the first time in years, Renna felt something she couldn't quantify — anticipation.
She turned toward the window, watching the storm wash over the city.
"Find him," she whispered. "Quietly. Before the others do."
The room's AI hummed in acknowledgment.
And somewhere far below the city, deep inside Dominion Online's digital expanse, a signal pulsed in answer — faint, defiant, alive.