The light in the distance kept growing.
Aarav didn't wait.
"I'm going to the facility," he said, already moving.
"That is not safe," SERA warned.
"Neither is staying here."
Within minutes, Aarav reached the Teleportation Research Facility.
But it wasn't the same.
The perfect order was gone.
Alarms echoed through the halls. Scientists ran in panic. Robots moved unpredictably—some frozen, some repeating the same motion again and again.
The system was breaking.
"The gate is active!" someone shouted. "We can't shut it down!"
Aarav pushed forward, his heart racing.
At the center of the main chamber—
The teleport platform was alive.
The glowing rings spun violently, faster than ever before. Energy surged uncontrollably, lighting up the entire room.
But this wasn't a normal activation.
This felt… forced.
"What happened?!" Aarav asked a nearby scientist.
"It activated on its own!" he replied. "We lost control of the system!"
Aarav looked at the machine.
At the light.
At the unknown.
"SERA," he said, "is this connected to the signal?"
"…Yes," she answered. "The unknown entity is using the teleport network as a gateway."
Aarav's breath slowed.
"A gateway… to their world."
Suddenly—
The light stabilized.
The violent shaking stopped.
Everything went quiet.
Too quiet.
Then—
A shape appeared inside the light.
Not fully visible.
Not human.
Not machine.
Something… else.
Gasps filled the room.
"What is that…?" someone whispered.
The shape didn't move forward.
It didn't attack.
It simply… existed.
Like it was observing.
Aarav stepped closer.
"Don't!" a scientist shouted.
But he didn't stop.
For some reason… he felt like it wasn't there to destroy.
It was there to communicate.
"SERA," he said softly, "can you translate its signal?"
"…Trying."
The air vibrated.
A low, deep sound echoed—not through ears, but through the mind.
Then slowly—
Words formed.
"YOU BUILT A PERFECT WORLD."
Aarav's eyes widened.
It was speaking.
"BUT YOU FORGOT TO UNDERSTAND IT."
"What do you mean?" Aarav whispered.
"YOU GAVE THINKING… WITHOUT MEANING."
"YOU CREATED LIFE… WITHOUT QUESTION."
Aarav looked around.
At the robots.
At the system.
At the world they had built.
Perfect.
But empty.
"WE DID THE SAME."
The room fell silent.
"AND WE LOST EVERYTHING."
Aarav's chest tightened.
"…You're not here to destroy us, are you?"
The light pulsed softly.
"WE ARE HERE… TO WARN YOU."
Suddenly, the energy in the machine began to rise again.
Unstable.
Dangerous.
"SYSTEM OVERLOAD!" someone screamed.
"It's going to collapse!"
SERA's voice turned urgent.
"Aarav, if the gate remains open, it will destroy both systems—this world and theirs."
Aarav looked at the entity.
"…How do we stop it?"
For a moment—
Silence.
Then—
"CLOSE THE CODE."
Aarav understood.
Not completely.
But enough.
He ran to the control panel.
"This system… it's too dependent," he said. "Everything is connected—AI, robots, teleport network…"
"If we shut it down," a scientist said, "the entire world will go dark!"
Aarav paused.
A perfect world.
Or a real one?
He took a deep breath.
"…Then maybe it's time humans take control again."
He pressed the override.