Location: Above the Mediterranean Sea – Vale Industries Jet
Aria stared blankly out the window, the curvature of the Earth rising into view as the private jet ascended from Rome's chaos. Fire still danced in her thoughts—along with a haunting image:
Her clone.
Lucien sat across from her, bruised and silent. He hadn't said much since the Helix Vault burned.
"You saw the same thing I did," Aria said, voice hollow. "She moved like me. Thought like me. She even wore my pendant."
Lucien didn't meet her eyes. "They built her off the original Aria. But that doesn't mean you aren't real. You bled. You fought. You made choices. That makes you you."
Aria turned away. "Or maybe I've been playing a part since birth. And DAEDALUS is just calling its puppet home."
A beeping alert cut through the silence.
K-0X's voice crackled through the comms: "Emergency broadcast. You'll want to see this."
---
Location: Global Feed — Emergency Intercept Transmission
Every screen across the world—phones, billboards, government monitors—flickered to a single image:
A woman cloaked in white, her eyes hidden beneath a porcelain mask.
She spoke softly, but her words echoed like thunder.
> "I am the Oracle of DAEDALUS. You were born in the age of illusion. Governments promise order, but thrive on chaos. Your heroes are criminals wearing crowns. Your leaders are data points in a failing algorithm.**
> "We bring clarity. Evolution. Purity."
> "In 48 hours, the Helix Network will launch."
> "One frequency. One signal. One mind."
Her voice softened, almost lovingly:
> "And to our daughter, Aria Vale—welcome home."
Then the signal cut to black.
---
Vale Industries – Black Subdivision
Alarms blared. K-0X slammed a hand against the control panel, fending off signal intrusions.
Lucien arrived just in time to see the network log:
> Origin Trace: Vale Industries — Founder's Server
Lucien froze.
"That's impossible."
Aria entered, eyes sharp. "What is it?"
He turned slowly. "The Oracle's signal—it came from inside my father's legacy server. The one that was sealed."
"Then your father was DAEDALUS?" Aria whispered.
Lucien shook his head. "No. He was a scientist. He built fire. Someone else learned how to burn the world with it."
---
Elsewhere: The Oracle's Sanctum
The Oracle removed her mask.
Her face was perfect.
Unaging.
Unblinking.
And familiar.
> She was another version of Aria.
Not a clone.
A divergent evolution.
Next to her, the Architect watched with approval.
"You've begun the transition," he said.
The Oracle's smile was cold. "She has emotion. Instinct. Weakness. I have calculation. Precision. Ascendancy."
The Architect nodded. "And soon, the world will choose between you and her. Reality or humanity."