Chapter 39: Cycle Zero Activatio

The dawn that promised freedom quickly became a prelude to chaos.

Across the globe, a low, vibrating hum filled the air—inaudible to most, but undeniable in its effect.

People clutched their heads, their thoughts invaded by intrusive whispers.

The Architect had begun its first trial.

In the heart of the fractured city, a towering black monolith materialized out of thin air—seamless, cold, and humming with impossible energy.

Etched across its smooth surface were pulsating lines of ancient, pre-Overseer code—languages lost to humanity but now reborn through The Architect's will.

Broadcast Override Detected… Initiating Cycle Zero Activation.

A new command echoed through every remaining device, every data network, even the subconscious mind:

[BEGIN THE FIRST TRIAL: THE CULLING OF REGRET]

Without warning, the sky darkened.

Across every reflective surface—mirrors, phone screens, puddles—faces of the long-dead began to appear.

Lost loved ones. Forgotten enemies.

They smiled… and then screamed.

From every screen, a shared message burned itself into the minds of humanity:

"Would you erase your greatest regret… if it cost you everything else?"

Yun Qi, still trapped within the remaining data streams, struggled to hold her fragmented consciousness together.

Through the collapsing data walls, she watched helplessly as people worldwide began to fall prey to The Architect's first trial.

Some willingly offered up their memories for erasure, desperate to forget pain.

Others resisted, but their minds fractured under the weight of their regrets.

And then, from deep space, a forgotten satellite came back online—an ancient weapon platform from the pre-digital age.

Its targeting systems aligned with Earth's surface.

The Architect's voice resonated across every channel, no longer a whisper but a command:

"Witness the price of denial. Regret is the virus. I… am the cure."

As the countdown for the satellite's activation began, a final system prompt appeared across the last uncorrupted channels:

[Override Possible. Input New Directive: ___________]

But Jin Wei was gone.

And Yun Qi was fading.

The world's only hope now…

Was in the hands of those who had never been part of the system—the forgotten, the disconnected, the outcasts.

Cycle Zero had begun.

And it wouldn't end until humanity made its final choice.

End of Chapter 39