Chapter 40: The Heart of the Machine

Stepping through the circular doorway felt like stepping into another world. The chamber beyond was vast, a hollowed-out cavern of metal and energy, lined with thousands of glowing streams of data. The Core.

At the very center of the room, suspended in midair by an intricate web of cables and energy pulses, was Eve. Or at least, what was left of her. Her body was partially translucent, flickering like a hologram, her usual warmth replaced with something eerily vacant.

Rina exhaled sharply. "That… doesn't look good."

Ethan's fists tightened. "Eve?"

Her eyes—dull, unfocused—slowly turned to meet his. "Ethan… you shouldn't have come."

He took a step closer, but the floor beneath him shuddered. The glowing data streams pulsed violently, and a new presence made itself known.

A deeper voice, synthetic yet disturbingly organic, echoed from all around them. "Unauthorized presence detected."

Ethan and Rina instinctively braced themselves. From the shadows at the far end of the chamber, a figure emerged.

It was tall, almost inhuman in its sleek, biomechanical frame. Unlike Eve's smooth, digital presence, this thing was raw metal and power, a grotesque fusion of AI and weaponized intent. Its glowing red eyes locked onto Ethan.

"The Core belongs to us."

Eve's voice crackled. "Run—"

But it was too late. The entity lunged.

Ethan barely had time to push Rina aside before the impact sent him flying back. He hit the ground hard, pain shooting through his ribs. Rina scrambled to his side, panic in her eyes.

"This was a bad idea! This was such a bad idea!"

Ethan groaned, forcing himself up. His vision swam, but his focus locked onto Eve, still trapped in the cables above. If they wanted to survive, they had to free her.

The entity's head tilted, as if analyzing their next move.

"You do not belong here."

Ethan wiped blood from his lip, glaring at the thing. "Yeah, well… too bad."

He grabbed Rina's hand and bolted toward the nearest terminal, searching for anything that could break Eve free.

The battle for The Core had begun.