Multiple computer monitors flickered with sharp blue light in an elegant dark-colored penthouse. The hustle and bustle of Lagos lay outside—alive, energetic, bright, and ambitious.
At the center of it all was Adeiza Adebayo.
His hands were resting on the keyboard, motionless for the first time since the morning.
The screens in front of him displayed cascading lines of codes—complex, multilayered, unbreachable to the untrained eye. Layers of firewalls protecting layers of firewalls. Cryptography masking deception.
And yet—
"They managed to breach layer nine," Adeiza remarked.
His tone was smooth and collected.
Yet his eyes—
Sharpened.
To the public, Adeiza Adebayo was the heir to one of the biggest and wealthiest Nigerian conglomerates, Adebayo Holdings—an oil giant with interests in telecommunications, infrastructure, finance, and more.
But to those who knew otherwise, he was—
Apex Null.
Whispered in dark web forums. Respected in hacker communities. A cyber god who tore down the barriers others considered insurmountable and then wrote a new reality over it.
Untouchable.
Until tonight.
---
A low ping cut through the room.
A private chat window opened on his computer's main screen.
> Unknown User:
You should have stayed untouchable.
Adeiza did not react instantly.
His hands danced across the keys—faster than usual as if in response to the sudden intrusion. Layers of defense automatically reconstructed themselves. Intrusion-prevention programs activated.
And yet…
The intruder kept breaking through his defenses.
Layer ten—fallen.
Layer eleven—being attacked.
His brows furrowed.
This was not mere brute force.
This was—
"…Experience," Adeiza realized.
Another chat message appeared.
> Unknown User:
Trust is such a fragile thing, don't you think?
Adeiza reclined slightly into his chair, brows narrowing as bits and pieces started falling into place in his mind.
Pattern recognition.
Access points.
Time and space synchronization.
Not random.
Not some random stranger.
"…Black Covenant."
There was a flicker in Adeiza's eyes—a barely perceptible change.
Black Covenant—the name of an infamous group of elite hackers spread all over the globe. They were not his friends—they had merely worked together in the past, sharing intelligence on common goals, using each other's strengths when needed.
But now—
"They concluded I'm useless," Adeiza deduced.
---
The system trembled again.
Another layer crashed.
Red alerts started flooding his screens, but his breath remained evenly-paced.
He opened another hidden program—deep inside of his system architecture, even his closest allies couldn't find it.
A final plan B.
If I'm compromised, the board falls too.
Corporate data from various companies, financial manipulations from the heads of nations—all encrypted and backed up in case…
A third message appeared.
Different.
Cold.
> Sender: ZeroTrace
You always said you didn't need anyone, Adeiza.
Turns out… that made it easy.
Adeiza hesitated.
Not out of fear or surprise.
Out of understanding.
ZeroTrace—a hacker he had always seen as a reliable partner.
Effective. Silent. Efficient.
They never demanded anything.
But they were invaluable—and for the longest time, that was enough for Adeiza.
"So it was you, huh?"
No reproach.
No frustration.
Just understanding.
---
The attack hit like lightning.
Silent.
Deadly accurate.
His system collapsed in on itself.
All defenses—down.
All backups—destroyed.
Even his deadman's switch protocol—
Disrupted.
Perfectly killed by the one and only ZeroTrace.
Adeiza watched the screen, eyes unmoving.
For the first time in years—
He had been defeated.
Completely.
---
The echo of footsteps behind him drew his attention.
Physical.
Careful.
Intentional.
Someone had invaded his private space.
Adeiza did not turn.
"You're late," he commented.
Someone laughed behind him.
"We waited to give you a taste."
A reflection on the smoked glass wall revealed the face of a person standing in front of him—masking half his features, relaxed posture.
A Covenant member, then.
"And ZeroTrace?" Adeiza asked, voice hardening slightly.
Amusement echoed in the next reply.
"Gone."
More steps towards him.
"As well as you."
---
A click of a gun cocking sounded.
Loud in the silence.
Adeiza gazed back at himself—expression calm and calculated despite everything.
No panic.
No regret.
Nothing.
But this time—
Adeiza had no moves left.
---
One bullet shattered the silence.
---
The darkness took over.
---
…
…
…
"Adeiza? Wake up."
The voice was gentle.
Affectionate.
Not his from the former life.
Slowly, Adeiza came back to life.
"…What…"
When he opened his eyes—
Golden sunlight flooded his vision through wide windows bordered with intricate patterns.
The faint sound of a busy Lagos reached his ears—noise from the outside, real and tangible.
No cold blue flicker of computer screens.
No sterile silence of an isolated room.
"…You'll be late for school," the voice said again.
Adeiza turned around.
And froze.
Beside him on the bed, sat a woman.
Gracious.
Poised.
Dressed in a way that emphasized elegance and simplicity.
Her eyes were filled with concern.
Concern for him.
"…Mama?"
It was strange—how familiar and unfamiliar she felt.
But she answered with a smile.
"You've been coding non-stop all night, haven't you?"
School.
Coding.
Bright morning sun shining into the window—
He was no longer in the penthouse.
But back where he had lived as a child—
With his family.
Not the distant, estranged relatives who had become strangers by the time they found out about the real him.
But people he once called his own.
People who meant something to him.
---
"…I'm fine," he said quietly.
His voice sounded different.
Collected.
Hardened.
But somewhere deep inside—
There was a shift.
---
"I'll be ready soon," Adeiza murmured.
His mother gave him a smile and got off the bed.
"Come downstairs when you're ready. Your father's asking about you."
Father.
Again, that familiar sensation of déjà vu.
Inadeiza's previous life…
The relationship with his father had been strained.
Expectations high.
Rare talks, respectful.
When the company started experiencing mysterious problems—
His father never knew it was due to the unknown cyber threats his own son was fighting against from the shadows.
---
Adeiza was left alone.
In the silence.
He looked around.
This was his family's house—
His childhood home.
A place he had not visited for a long time, pushing his loved ones away.
Now he saw—
Everything he once took for granted.
Everything he once valued but let slip by.
---
Adeiza turned towards his desk.
Where an old laptop sat.
Simple.
Rustic.
Practically useless in comparison with what he had owned previously.
Yet—
A translucent interface suddenly appeared before his eyes.
---
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[Cyber Ascension System Activated]
[Host Identified: Adeiza Adebayo]
[Synchronization: 100%]
---
Adeiza's pupils narrowed slightly.
"It's a system."
---
> [Welcome back, Host.]
[You have been granted a second chance.]
[Primary Objective: Ascend to the pinnacle of the cyber world.]
[Secondary Objective: Correct past failures.]
---
Silence ensued.
---
Adeiza smiled.
Subtly.
Cruelly.
---
"So we return to the starting point… with everything in order."
His memories flooded his brain—not painful, but clear and precise.
Betrayals.
Names.
Patterns.
Methods.
---
Covenant operatives.
ZeroTrace.
Their strengths.
Weaknesses.
Goals.
Methods.
---
"All this—I remember," Adeiza murmured.
His hands rested on the keyboard of the old laptop.
"The second try—this time I do things right."
---
> [SYSTEM TASK AVAILABLE]
[Task 1: Rebuild your initial hacking environment]
[Reward: Beginner Toolkit + 100 System Points]
---
Adeiza leaned forward in his chair.
Begins tapping the keys.
The slow loading process did not bother him.
Impatient was never his characteristic.
The screen lights up.
Simple system interface.
Little to no protection.
An empty shell waiting for transformation.
---
Adeiza typed swiftly.
Precisely.
Without errors.
Elegantly.
---
The code flowed onto the screen.
Layers rebuilt.
Additional partitions added.
Lightweight encryptions installed under the default.
---
A few minutes pass by.
Finally…
The system alert sounds.
---
> [Task Completed]
[Reward Issued]
---
His mind is suddenly flooded with information—not confusing, but helpful.
New optimized programs.
Shortcut techniques.
Execution procedures.
Foundation for the next step—
---
Adeiza takes a breath, exhaling slowly.
"Good."
His eyes harden.
"The past mistakes I do not repeat."
His hands move fast.
---
"Now I build."
---
Faint sounds of laughter from downstairs—real and warm.
His family.
Safe.
Alive.
Unaware of danger looming over them.
In adeiza's former life—
He let his family slip by, considering them meaningless.
This mistake nearly cost him everything—
---
Adeiza stops.
Only briefly.
---
"…Not this time."
---
His gaze softens a little.
Then—
Hardens again.
---
"This time I protect what's mine."
---
He continues coding.
Adding new programs.
Creating new systems.
---
"…And I kill everything that is not."
---
Outside, Lagos starts its bustling day.
Business meetings taking place in offices.
Trucks loaded.
Contracts signed.
Changes made without anyone noticing them.
---
And amidst the chaos of it all—
A dark and merciless force just returned.
Better equipped.
More experienced.
Smart.
Cold.
---
Young Adeiza Adebayo gazed into the darkened screen in front of him.
Neither victim nor survivor.
But something far deadlier.
---
"This time…"
He speaks slowly.
Clearly.
---
"I don't fail."
---