Chapter 13: The Lost City

“Are you sure about this?” Kiryu asked, his voice cutting through the static-like hum of the digital wind.

Tujo smirked, his pace steady as he led the way. “Sure as I’ll ever be. The rumors say there’s a place out here, a forgotten pocket of the simulation. If it exists, it might hold answers.”

Kiryu glanced over his shoulder, the vast emptiness behind them both intimidating and surreal. “If it exists,” he echoed, more to himself than to Tujo.

The journey was grueling, even in the virtual realm. The corrupted environment shifted unpredictably, forcing them to navigate around jagged terrain and glitching voids. Kiryu’s legs ached as if he’d been walking for days, a cruel trick of the immersive simulation. Despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t ignore the growing sense of anticipation.

Hours later, as they crested a hill of pixelated rubble, Tujo stopped abruptly. Kiryu nearly collided with him before following his gaze.

Below them, nestled in a valley of shimmering data streams, lay a city unlike any Kiryu had seen before. Its skyline was a perfect reflection of the old world: towering skyscrapers, intricate bridges, and bustling streets filled with avatars. But there was something off about it. The colors were muted, and the air—or rather, the simulation’s rendering of it—seemed heavy, as if weighed down by the past.

“The Lost City,” Tujo said, his voice low with reverence. “Looks like the rumors were true.”

Kiryu stared, a mix of awe and unease washing over him. “Why would the System keep something like this? Isn’t it a risk to their control?”

Tujo’s expression darkened. “Maybe it’s a mistake. Or maybe it’s bait. Either way, we’re going to find out.”

Entering the city felt like stepping into another world. The streets were alive with activity, but the inhabitants—avatars programmed by the System—moved in loops, repeating the same actions and conversations. It was unsettling, like watching ghosts reenact scenes from a forgotten life.

“This place is too perfect,” Kiryu muttered as they weaved through the crowd. “It doesn’t feel real.”

“That’s because it isn’t,” Tujo replied. “But if you’re looking for the past, this is as close as you’ll get.”

Their goal was a building at the heart of the city: an old-world archive, according to the map Tujo had decrypted. The structure loomed ahead, its facade a mix of aged stone and shimmering code. As they approached, the ambient noise of the city seemed to fade, replaced by an oppressive silence.

Tujo placed a hand on the door, his jaw set. “Ready?”

Kiryu nodded, his nerves taut. “Let’s do it.”

The interior of the archive was a stark contrast to the city outside. Rows of shelves stretched into the darkness, each one filled with glowing volumes of data. The air was cold, carrying the faint hum of dormant machinery. Kiryu couldn’t help but shiver as they ventured deeper.

“What are we looking for?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Anything the System didn’t want us to find,” Tujo replied. “Records, images, files—whatever’s here might give us a clearer picture of what really happened.”

As they began to search, Kiryu’s fingers brushed against the surface of a glowing book. It opened with a soft hum, revealing lines of text interspersed with flickering images. One in particular caught his attention: a photograph of a sprawling metropolis under a blood-red sky.

“Tujo,” Kiryu called, his voice trembling. “Look at this.”

Tujo joined him, his eyes narrowing as he studied the image. “That’s the old world. Or what was left of it.”

The accompanying text described a catastrophic event: the collapse of global ecosystems, triggered by unregulated technology and environmental exploitation. The details were chilling, but what struck Kiryu most was the timestamp. The events described had occurred mere months before Paradoxium’s creation.

“So this is what they were hiding,” Kiryu said, his voice heavy with realization. “The truth about why Paradoxium exists.”

Tujo nodded, his expression grim. “And it’s worse than we thought.”

Their discovery was interrupted by a sudden noise: the faint, rhythmic clinking of metal against stone. Kiryu froze, his heart pounding.

“We’re not alone,” Tujo said, his voice a hushed warning.

They moved cautiously, navigating the dimly lit aisles of the archive. The sound grew louder, closer, until a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness. It was a sentinel, a construct programmed to guard the city. Its sleek, humanoid form glowed faintly, its movements unnervingly smooth.

“Back up,” Tujo whispered, raising his weapon.

But the sentinel moved with startling speed, its limbs elongating into bladed appendages. Tujo fired a series of precise shots, the blasts illuminating the archive in brief flashes. The construct dodged with unnatural agility, its glowing eyes fixed on them.

“Run!” Tujo shouted, shoving Kiryu toward the exit.

They sprinted through the archive, the sentinel close behind. Shelves toppled in their wake, data spilling into the air like luminescent confetti. Kiryu’s lungs burned as they reached the entrance, the cold air of the city a shocking contrast to the archive’s stifling darkness.

“This way!” Tujo barked, leading them down a side alley. The sentinel didn’t follow, its presence fading into the distance. Still, neither of them slowed until they were far from the archive.

When they finally stopped, Kiryu leaned against a wall, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. “What was that thing?” he demanded.

Tujo shook his head. “A reminder that the System doesn’t leave loose ends.”

Kiryu glanced back toward the city, his chest tight with a mix of fear and determination. They had found the truth, but it had come at a cost. The Lost City was no longer just a forgotten relic; it was a battleground, one that had tested their resolve and nearly claimed their lives.

“We need to tell the others,” Kiryu said finally. “They need to see what we found.”

Tujo nodded, his gaze steely. “And we need to be ready. The System won’t let us get away with this.”

As they made their way back to the Network’s hideout, Kiryu couldn’t shake the image of the sentinel from his mind. The System was more dangerous than he had ever imagined, but he was more determined than ever to uncover its secrets and expose the truth.