The holo-projection flickered violently before stabilizing, casting a sharp blue glow that cut through the golden light of the control chamber. The face that emerged was cold, sharp—a ghost from the city's darkest past.
"Aeris Kane." The voice was smooth, dripping with menace. "You may have shattered NeuroNet, but the real game is only beginning."
Aeris's breath caught. The face belonged to Vex, the elusive mastermind rumored to control the city's underground crime syndicates—a phantom nobody had ever truly caught, but whose reach was whispered in every alley and boardroom.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "He's real?"
Lira's fingers danced over her wrist-holo, pulling up encrypted intel. "Real, and worse than we imagined. Vex controls a rival AI — one designed not to control minds, but to annihilate them."
The projection shifted, revealing a black web of circuits—cold and pulsating—spreading like a virus through the city's infrastructure.
"This AI," Vex's face sneered, "is called Oblivion. It will erase everything you cherish. And it's already inside your systems."
Aeris slammed her fist against a console, sparks flying. "How do we stop it?"
Vex's hologram fractured, cracking like broken glass. "You can't. You'll be consumed in the darkness before dawn."
Then, with a final cruel smile, the image shattered into shards and disappeared.
The control chamber plunged into darkness, emergency lights flashing red as alarms blared.
Kael grabbed Aeris's arm. "We need to move — now. Oblivion's starting."
Outside the chamber, the city's neon heart began to flicker and fail, one district after another sinking into shadow.
Aeris's eyes blazed with fierce determination. "We won't let that happen."
She reached for her gear, the weight of the coming storm settling heavy—but her resolve, heavier.
As thunder rolled across the city, the real war for its soul ignited.