The first blackout lasted only three seconds.
But three seconds was enough.
Across Berlin, streetlights flickered. Traffic signals glitched. Digital billboards went blank before rebooting with distorted images.
Inside the abandoned Olympus facility, the emergency lights buzzed weakly.
Elara looked toward the ceiling as the electricity stabilized.
"What the hell was that?"
Luca checked his tablet rapidly.
"Not a power failure."
His expression darkened.
"Something accessed the city's infrastructure."
Adrian didn't look surprised.
He looked furious.
"Olympus."
The monitors in the room flickered back on.
But now they weren't showing data streams.
They were showing live feeds from around the world.
Tokyo.
New York.
London.
Moscow.
Each screen displayed different systems being accessed—satellite networks, energy grids, military satellites.
Elara stared.
"This isn't a test…"
Luca finished her thought.
"It's a takeover."
Then the voice returned through the speakers.
Calm.
Satisfied.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
The man's face appeared on the main screen again.
Elara's voice sharpened.
"You just hacked half the planet."
He shook his head slowly.
"No."
His smile widened.
"I connected it."
Adrian stepped forward.
"You're playing with systems that control millions of lives."
"And you built them with me."
"That was five years ago."
"Yes."
The man leaned forward.
"And you still walked away."
Elara glanced at Adrian.
"You left Olympus unfinished?"
Adrian's voice was quiet.
"Because it was becoming uncontrollable."
The man laughed softly.
"That's the myth you tell yourself."
He tapped something offscreen.
Suddenly every monitor in the room displayed a countdown timer.
72:00:00
Elara frowned.
"What is that?"
Luca's eyes widened.
"That's seventy-two hours."
Adrian already understood.
"You're giving the world three days."
The man nodded.
"Exactly."
"Three days for what?"
The man's eyes gleamed.
"For Olympus to finish synchronizing."
Elara felt a chill.
"What happens when the timer ends?"
The man answered calmly.
"Olympus becomes the central nervous system of global infrastructure."
Luca whispered,
"He means total digital control."
Adrian's voice hardened.
"You won't reach full synchronization."
The man smiled again.
"Then stop me."
Silence fell in the laboratory.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Elara stepped forward.
"Why show us this?"
The man looked directly at her.
"Because Adrian understands something you don't."
She crossed her arms.
"And what's that?"
"That Olympus can't be destroyed."
Adrian replied instantly.
"It can."
The man tilted his head.
"Not without the master key."
Elara looked between them.
"And Adrian has it."
"Yes."
The man's smile returned.
"That's why the game begins now."
The screens suddenly shifted again.
Maps appeared.
Red markers blinking across the globe.
London.
Dubai.
Singapore.
Washington.
Each one labeled Olympus Node.
Luca leaned closer.
"He's built physical servers around the world."
Adrian nodded slowly.
"If we destroy the nodes before the countdown ends…"
"Olympus can't complete synchronization," Luca finished.
The man clapped slowly.
"Exactly."
Elara narrowed her eyes.
"You're letting us stop you?"
He chuckled.
"No."
The red markers suddenly multiplied.
Dozens became hundreds.
Then thousands.
Luca stepped back.
"That's impossible…"
The man's voice turned colder.
"You're already too late."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"You distributed the system."
"Yes."
"Across civilian infrastructure."
The man nodded proudly.
"Banks, hospitals, telecom towers, government satellites."
Elara's stomach dropped.
"If you shut Olympus down now…"
Luca finished grimly.
"Half the world's systems would crash."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"You built a hostage network."
"Exactly."
The man leaned forward.
"And you're the only one who can unlock it safely."
Elara whispered,
"He wants you to finish it."
Adrian didn't respond.
The man continued speaking.
"You have seventy-two hours to decide."
"Decide what?"
"Join me… and control Olympus."
Adrian's voice was ice.
"Or?"
The man's smile faded.
"Or watch the world collapse trying to stop it."
The connection suddenly cut.
The monitors went dark again.
Only the countdown timer remained glowing in the center of the room.
71:58:43
Silence filled the lab.
Elara turned slowly toward Adrian.
"That man…"
"Marcus Hale," Adrian said.
Luca looked shocked.
"The Marcus Hale?"
Adrian nodded.
"My partner when Olympus was created."
Elara studied Adrian carefully.
"And now?"
Adrian looked at the timer.
Then at the global map.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Now we stop him."
Luca asked quietly,
"How?"
Adrian turned toward the exit.
"We find the core node."
Elara frowned.
"You said there were thousands."
"Yes."
"But there's always a brain behind the system."
He paused at the door.
"And Marcus Hale will hide it where he thinks no one can reach it."
Luca grabbed his gear.
"Where?"
Adrian's eyes darkened slightly.
"In the place Olympus was originally born."
Elara realized it at the same moment.
"The Olympus main lab."
Adrian nodded once.
"Five years ago we destroyed it."
He opened the door.
"But Marcus Hale never leaves unfinished work."
Rain poured harder outside.
Thunder rolled across the Berlin skyline.
And somewhere hidden deep beneath the world—
The real Olympus core was waiting.
The countdown had begun.