The Architect’s Warning

A figure emerged from the shadows, his silhouette barely distinguishable against the dim, flickering circuitry of the Undervault. Tall. Hooded. Cloaked in layers of old-world tech.
Veyna’s instincts screamed danger, but something in her gut told her this person wasn’t a threat. Not yet.
The figure stopped just outside the reach of the failing light. A mechanical voice crackled to life from a small, rusted speaker embedded in the wall beside them.
> "You don't have much time."


The words sent a chill through her. The countdown. Whoever this was, they knew about it.
"Who are you?" Veyna demanded, stepping forward. "What do you mean the Core is being shut down?"
The stranger let out a low chuckle—a sound edged with bitterness. He reached up and tapped a device on his forearm. A faint holographic interface flickered between them, displaying schematics of the Cortex’s mainframe.
> "I was the one who built it."


Veyna's breath hitched.
The Architect.
She had spent years studying Cyropolis’s systems, and no records of its original creators remained. The Cortex had erased them—just as it erased anything it deemed unnecessary.
"You’re lying," she said, but her voice wavered.
The Architect tilted his head slightly, the shadows barely revealing the cybernetic implants along his temple. "If I were lying, would the Sentinels be hunting you? Would you have seen the countdown?"
Veyna clenched her fists. The weight of his words settled like ice in her chest. He was right.
"Why?" she asked. "Why shut it down? The city will collapse."
The Architect stepped closer, and for the first time, she saw the exhaustion in his synthetic eyes.
> "Because Cyropolis was never meant to last."


A Truth Too Dangerous
A sudden static hum filled the air, making Veyna’s NeuroLock flicker erratically. The Architect snapped his head upward.
> "They're listening."


Before she could react, he grabbed her wrist and pressed something into her palm—a small data chip, pulsing faintly.
> "If you want to live, find the last power relay."


The tunnels rumbled. Above them, the sound of Sentinels descending.
The Architect stepped back into the darkness. “Survive.”
And then he was gone.
Veyna barely had time to breathe before the alarms from above grew louder. The Sentinels had found her trail.
The countdown continued.
> [00:46:52] UNTIL CORE FAILURE.


And now, she held the key to stopping it.