"Memory is the most dangerous weapon because when it is lost, a person loses their way."
— Dr. Kyra Vale, 2069
The neon sea water that reflected the blue light around him rippled slowly. Zero woke up, lying on the metal shore, the remains of the old sunken port. His breathing was heavy. The sound of the machine was still rustling in his ears.
"Zero, are you still alive?"
"Who are you really?"
"My name is Dr. Kyra Vale. I created you."
He slowly got up, looking around, the sea in front of him was not real water, but liquefied data, a mixture of digital waves and cyber chemicals. Each wave carried faint fragments of memories, like a shattered holographic screen.
"I created you to be a human shield. But they turned you into a weapon," Kyra's voice came through the neural chip in his head.
"And now, they want to erase you completely."
Zero wiped the blood from his lip, his gaze fixed on the night sky filled with black drones flying in formation. On his wrist, the "PROJECT: OBLIVION" tattoo flickered faintly.
"If I'm a weapon, why don't I remember anything?"
"Because they took all your memories. But there's a way to get them back…"
Kyra sent a holographic map — The Nexus, the ORION data storage center located in the heart of the city of Neo-Singapore.
"You need to go there. But be careful, Zero, the Nexus is guarded by Data Guardians, clones of you who have never failed a mission."
Suddenly, a foreign voice intercepted his communication line.
"You shouldn't be alive, Zero."
Zero looked towards the source of the voice at the end of the harbor, standing a man dressed entirely in black, his face half-hidden by a shield mask. Red eyes gleamed beneath it.
"Who are you?"
"Me? I am the unguarded you."
The man raised his hand and the entire digital sea began to churn. The waves of data surged, forming a giant holographic figure with fragments of Zero's memories inside. Each spark brought back images of the past: war, betrayal, and Kyra's crying face above his body.
Zero gritted his teeth.
"If I have to fight myself to get the truth, so be it."
He activated battle mode, his eyes turning neon blue, his cybernetic veins glowing. In the blink of an eye, Zero's two shadows collided in the sea of data, exploding with a silvery blue light that illuminated the entire horizon.