Chapter 3 - The Hidden Gods - I

The sun barely cracked the horizon above Neo-ilka, casting a synthetic kind of eerie glow across the skyline as Zypher made his way through the underbelly of the city. The streets were empty, as if the city itself was holding its breath, waiting for the inevitable. His every step seemed to echo with a different quality to it; the beat sounded louder than it should, and some unseen force in the atmosphere magnified his presence there, daring him to turn back.

But he couldn't. Not now.

The plan shook him to his core. But even that terrified him more than what it could mean if the gods were indeed real, hidden among the technology-saturated world around him, weakened by the relentless advance of human ambition and machinery.

They were somewhere here, lost between data streams and the flickering neon glow of holographic billboards in the city's lightscape. They had been left behind, forgotten, stories buried beneath layers of steel and circuitry. And now the blueprint rekindled this something, sending a signal to powers lying dormant.

But Zypher knew he couldn't do this alone.

His destination was the old library that nobody knew of, forgotten, located in the oldest part of Neo-ilka, out of sight of skyscrapers abandoned and crumbling technology hubs. It was a place of shadows and silence, and one of the last sanctuaries of ancient knowledge in the city. He knew a few people there, keepers of old lore, friends who lived on the fringes, just as he did.

Wrapping over him like an old paper and dust shroud, the heavy, iron doors closed. Up skeletal fingers of shelves reached, white blotches of dust and neglect covering the books. Here, a thinning of the hum of the city took place and was replaced with eerily still silence.

"Zypher." A soft voice sounded from shadows with a caution to it.

He looked back to see an old lady with a wrinkled face but very sharp eyes emerging from behind the towering stack of books. Andra was one of those few people he trusted in this city. One of the lorekeepers, she had often seen him step inside with questions in mind, but today her urgency must have been clearly unmistakable.

"Andra," he said, nodding over his shoulder in respect. "I… I found something. Something big. Something ancient."

Her eyes narrowed, and she beckoned him to follow her deeper into the library. As they passed row upon row of ancient tomes, Zypher clutched the blueprint inside his jacket, feeling its strange pulse resonate with his heartbeat. It was as if the paper itself had a life, a presence.

It was finally a small alcove, tucked away behind heavy-looking velvet curtains. Andra motioned for him to sit, her eyes boring into him with an unwavering steadiness.

"Tell me, Zypher," she said. "What have you found?"

He spread the blueprint across the table in front of her, smoothing out its creased edges. Symbols glowed faintly in the dim light and cut across both their faces in a ghostly sheen.

Her eyes widened. She leaned forward, her hands hovering inches above the blueprint, her face set in a mixture of reverence and fear.

"This… this shouldn't exist anymore," she whispered, her voice barely audible above a breath. "These symbols… they belong to a time before memory. To a world when the gods walked among us.".

"Then they're real?" Zypher asked, his voice shaken with disbelief. "The gods… they're real? And this," he pointed toward the blueprint, "this weapon can bring them back?"

She nodded, yet her expression darkened with a grave expression. "Yes but bringing them back would not be as easy as wielding their power. They are. different from us, Zypher. Gods were beings of pure energy and ancient wisdom, but when humanity embraced technology we cut ourselves off from them. They had to retreat, forced to do so by the endless influx of data and machines and the artificial.

But if they're hiding, how do we find them?" Zypher pressed. "And why me? Why did this blueprint come to me?"

Andra looked at him, her eyes filled with a sadness he didn't understand. "The gods are not gone, Zypher. They've been here all along, watching, waiting for someone who could unlock their ancient power and bridge the gap between old magic and new technology. They are also secreted— hidden deep within the heart of this city, where the effects of technology merge with their own ancient essence. There are only a few people left among those who could feel them: the Demi-Techs. You… you are one of them, Zypher.

Zypher's head reeled. A Demi-Tech? It was legends and myths that people got touched by such powers beyond any explanation that he'd heard; he'd never thought it meant him.

"I don't know if I believe in gods," he said, the disbelief still lacing his words. "I don't know if I believe in any of this. But I know that someone is after this blueprint, and they won't stop until they get it."

Andra nodded, a flicker of fear in her eyes. "Then you must go quickly. The blueprint holds the key to the weapon, yes—but it also holds the path to the hidden gods. You can't let it fall into the wrong hands, Zypher. There are forces—corporations, cults—who would use it to enslave the gods, to drain their power for their own ends.".

Zyper clenched his fists. He felt the burden of responsibility settling on his shoulders, like steel weights. "Then I need allies, too," he said, a scattershot quality entering his voice. "People who can help protect this place, people who have an understanding of the danger we're in."

Andra nodded slowly, her face relaxing. "The gods left remnants of their followers, scattered across Neo-ilka. Some of them walk among us, hidden, unaware of the divine blood that flows in their veins. Find them, Zypher. Awaken the Demi-Techs, and they will guide you to the gods.".

Zypher breathed deep, and with it, his purpose welled up inside him. He glanced down at the blueprint, the intricate symbols shining faintly in the dim light.

"Where do I start?" he asked, voice level, though his mind churned through what had been laid before him.

Andra placed a hand upon his shoulder, fierce intent blazing within her eyes. "Go seek out the forgotten corners of the city, where the ties of technology and myth grow stronger. There the marks left by the gods can be found in signs only the sighted may see. They wait for you, Zypher. They wait for you to find them."

Zypher's fingers clenched tighter over the blueprint. Andra's words swirled in his head somewhere in this great gnarled, raveled city where the gods had hidden, awaiting some one person to bring them back. And out there, his allies—the Demi-Techs—were just as lost and in the dark as he was hours ago.

But he would find them. He would find them all.

The gods were waiting to be released, but more importantly, they were waiting to be found.