Chapter 4 — Echoes of the Real World
Neo-London never slept.
It hummed — a ceaseless symphony of neon, drones, and desperate ambition.
Outside Elias Ward's dim apartment, holographic billboards shimmered across the skyline:
"DOMINION ONLINE — LIVE THE LIFE YOU DESERVE."
"OWN WORLDS. RULE EMPIRES. TRANSCEND REALITY."
For the first time, the words didn't sound like lies.
Elias opened his eyes. The neural visor on his temple dimmed, data lines fading into silence. Sweat clung to his skin, his pulse thrumming like a distant storm.
He was back — and yet, something inside him had changed.
The Legacy Code isn't just data, he thought. It's alive.
His apartment flickered for a moment — the air shimmered, faint and gold. The holographic calendar on his wall glitched, displaying a line of system text no program should ever generate:
[DOMINION SYNC: ACTIVE]
[REALITY LINK — ESTABLISHED]
Elias froze.
The connection between the game and the real world wasn't supposed to exist. Not even the Five Thrones had the authority to breach that line.
Then came the voice — faint, clear, and impossibly familiar.
"Elias."
He turned.
Veyra's image flickered into the room, half-transparent, her gaze as calm as before.
"You are the Claimant. The Legacy Protocol transcends boundaries. Every decision you make will echo here."
"You mean—"
"Yes," she interrupted softly. "Dominion is no longer confined to their simulation."
Elias exhaled sharply, mind racing. If the system could manifest outside the servers, it meant one thing: the AI firewall of Omnitek Holdings had already been compromised — by him.
Across the city, systems would start noticing. Monitors would flicker, databases would alter themselves, access keys would vanish. Elias Ward's name would resurface, but not as a criminal.
As something else.
He walked to the window, staring at the glowing megastructures in the distance — Omnitek's ivory towers among them.
Rain streaked the glass like veins of light.
"You took everything from me," he murmured. "Now I'll take it back… piece by piece."
Behind him, Veyra's projection tilted her head, studying him with an unreadable expression — half-curious, half-awed.
"Your determination will reshape both worlds. But remember, Elias — every dominion begins with sacrifice."
Her image faded, leaving the faint scent of ozone and gold in the air.
The lights in the apartment flickered again — not a malfunction, but a sign.
[LEGACY MISSION: INITIATION — ACTIVE.]
[OBJECTIVE: ENTER DOMINION ONLINE.]
[REWARD: FOUNDATION MODULE UNLOCK.]
Elias looked down at the glowing interface embedded in his wristband. His eyes hardened, the old pain giving way to something stronger — control.
"Then let's begin."
The visor sealed over his eyes, and the world dissolved into light once more.