The glass bridge between the Twin Center towers felt like it was suspended in a void. Below, Casablanca was dissolving into white pixels. Jin stood facing Subject Zero, who looked like a perfect, golden reflection of himself. In Zero's hand, the golden Atlas Heart was humming, feeding data into the sky.
[UPLOAD PROGRESS: 98%]
"You're too late, Jin," Zero said, his voice smooth and devoid of any glitchy distortion. "The Architects have already accepted the transfer. This server is being archived. Our father's work will finally be safe in the Global Cloud."
"Safe?" Jin spat, the black ink of his mana dripping onto the glass, cracking it. "You're turning our home into a trophy. You're giving them the key to enslave every mind in this country."
"I am saving what remains," Zero replied, raising the golden blade. "You are just a bug that needs to be patched."
The clash was instantaneous. Gold met Black. The impact sent a shockwave that shattered every window in the Maârif district below. Jin didn't fight with skills; he fought with pure corruption. Every time their blades met, Jin forced his "Black Mana" into Zero's golden code, trying to cause a system crash.
"Mi-na, now!" Jin roared in his mind.
Mi-na appeared behind Zero, her form made of flickering red emergency light. "I've bypassed the tower's firewall, Jin! But I can't stop the upload... I can only redirect it!"
"Redirect it where?" Zero shouted, trying to push Jin back.
"To the Tokyo Gateway!" Mi-na screamed. "It's the only server big enough to hide an Atlas Signature!"
[UPLOAD PROGRESS: 99%]
Jin grabbed Zero's blade with his bare, blackened hand. The golden light burned his skin, but he didn't let go. He looked his 'brother' in the eyes. "If we're going to be archived, we're doing it on our terms."
Jin plunged his obsidian blade into the central terminal of the bridge. The black ink flooded the system. The crimson light in the sky turned a blinding emerald green.
[CRITICAL ERROR: DESTINATION CHANGED][SERVER JUMP INITIATED]
The world didn't end with a bang. It ended with a click. The Twin Center, the city, and the two brothers vanished into a beam of light that shot across the ocean at the speed of thought.
Jin opens his eyes to the smell of rain and neon. He is lying in the middle of a Shibuya Crossing that is crowded with people—but none of them have mana bars. Beside him, a broken holographic Mi-na whispers: "Jin... we're not in the game anymore. This is the Mainframe. This is Tokyo."