CHAPTER 23: THE GLITCH IN THE SOUL
The entire Source Hall was vibrating with a strange, heavy heartbeat. Thousands of Cryo-pods mounted on the walls were glowing with a faint blue light. Inside each pod, a human slept—as if their very lives were tethered to a machine. In the center of the hall stood a massive energy pillar: THE SOURCE.
Suddenly, a figure began to take shape within that energy. First light... then data... and then a complete warrior. It was the GUARDIAN PROTOCOL. Its body was composed of transparent digital energy, holding two glowing Electric Blades in its hands. It looked directly at Aryan.
"Legacy Error Detected," its voice echoed throughout the hall. "Subject-01... you were created to be a part of this system, not to destroy it."
The Guardian raised its hand. In the next instant, hundreds of micro-drones swarmed out from the walls, lunging toward Aryan. Aryan gripped his metal rod tightly as black Shunya energy sparked in his palm. He swung the rod, creating a protective shield of energy around himself.
[SYSTEM ALERT: KINETIC OVERLOAD DETECTED]
Drones collided with the shield and exploded one by one. Seeing an opening, Aryan leaped forward. "So you're the sentry of this hell!" He swung his rod with all his might at the Guardian's head. But the strike passed right through him. The Guardian's body scattered like data... and then instantly reformed.
In the next second, the Guardian swung both its blades. LASER BURST! Three intense beams streaked toward Aryan. He rolled across the floor, but one beam grazed his shoulder, scorching his jacket.
"Aryan!" Iris screamed.
The coding console in front of Iris suddenly began to malfunction. Codes flashed across the screen, but this time something strange was happening. Between the lines of code, memories were appearing—a little girl, a white room, a voice saying, "You are not a machine..."
Iris's head throbbed with pain. "What is this..." She gripped the console. But suddenly, she realized—code alone would not break this system. She slowly closed her eyes and, for the first time, tried to feel the system. Suddenly, a golden light began to radiate from her hands.
[SYSTEM UPDATE DETECTED]
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: HUMAN SYNC v1.0]
Iris fell to her knees and placed her hand on the floor. "System... listen..." her voice was trembling. "These people aren't batteries... they are human beings..."
The golden energy spread across the floor and then raced through the thousands of wires connected to the Cryo-pods. For a moment, the entire Source Reactor blazed with light. Then, its heartbeat slowed down. The Guardian suddenly faltered, its body beginning to flicker.
"Impossible..." its voice was breaking. "Emotions... are not part of the system protocol..."
Aryan understood—this was the chance. He gathered all his Shunya energy into his rod, which now sparkled like black lightning. He looked into the Guardian's eyes and said, "This isn't code... this is humanity."
He moved like a bolt of lightning. A single strike. CRACK! The rod pierced straight through the Guardian's Chest Core. For a moment, the entire hall was filled with blinding white light. Then—BOOOOM! The Guardian shattered into thousands of digital fragments.
Suddenly, the hall went silent. The heartbeat of the Source was now very slow, like a sleeping heart slowly waking up. Captain Zero rushed to a console and scanned the screen. He turned and shouted, "Aryan! Because of Iris's Sync, the system's security shield has dropped! We can now reach the Core System directly!"
Aryan went to Iris. She was exhausted, but the mechanical coldness in her eyes was gone. She looked truly alive now. "I felt them..." Iris said softly. "Thousands of people... they want to wake up..."
Just then, a new voice came from within the Source Reactor. It wasn't harsh like the Guardian's; it was soft and mysterious. "Subject-01... welcome."
At the end of the hall, a massive door slowly opened. Glowing above it was the entrance to the next mystery. Aryan looked at the door and said softly, "Now, the truth will come out..."
The three of them moved toward the door. Before them lay the world's greatest secret.