OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Amon didn't even pause to look at him, the new arrival.

Instead, he lightly punched the air, instantly shattering the Thumper and tearing it into tiny scrap pieces while crumbling the wall behind it.

Perhaps this would appease this AI-whatever it was.

But when he looked back... he met the expected.

Nothing had changed.

The hologram was still there. Floating, unphased, untouched.

The destruction and slaughter he caused hadn't mattered, not one bit.

Now... there was nothing more he could do.

Amon had dealt with many things in his life, but engaging directly with an entity like this?

That would be beyond foolish, especially when it was in such an unpredictable state.

He wasn't about to make that mistake.

The principal didn't waste time standing idle, though.

His eyes shifted to Lyra, sending a silent command through his gaze.

'Intervene.'

They had only crossed paths seconds ago, but he had already identified her.

She was Emir's right-hand woman. His AI, an extension of his will. A secret that only he and the Four Elite Heads were privy to. Of course, her own family wasn't accounted for in that statistic.

Regardless, Lyra didn't need to be told.

She was already on the move, not surprised that he knew of her.

In their world, secrets were currency, and Amon was rich with them.

Whatever the family heads knew, he knew ten days earlier.

Their source for that information was unknown, but it wasn't something difficult to piece together for those who understood the world's undercurrents.

The Elite, particularly Moonscribe and Blackwood, had connections with the goons of the goons of the Order-one knowingly, the other unknowingly.

Naturally, they had gotten their intel from them.

Gold Leaf and Ebonfyre, the more legal of the four, had likely bought it from the Praying Lady for one or two heavy wallets filled with Valora.

It was quite ironic, really. Laughable almost.

Those committing the gravest crime were responsible for Earth's most critical legal matters, hiding behind facades of legitimacy.

Such hypocrisy wasn't new; it was a standard of this world.

A twisted normalcy that thrived under the guise of order.

But beneath the surface, the entire Elite Alliance was on a knife's edge.

Their intricate and delicate friendship was under constant threat by no one else but their very own members.

Emir had planted the seeds of their downfall long ago, a ticking bomb ready to go off.

Yet, nothing showed on the outside.

They all wore their masks well, as if the world were still merry and unspoiled, as if the rot beneath wasn't growing.

This had given them the upper hand in the war of information.

Azazel couldn't know if their leader was caught having kidnapped Aria or if his true relationship with Ragnar was discovered.

It was one-sided.

A one-way mirror that only showed their activities, all the public and sometimes the few hidden ones.

'Bastards.'

Lyra took a deep breath, stopping her thoughts from spiraling and steadying herself as she stepped forward.

The AI manager now loomed right in front of her, his form appearing to be a default male android, with no skin on its body, just metal.

But he still had features on his face.

They flickered with a cold fury that threatened them with certain death.

She knew this wasn't going to be successful, but she had to try.

Closing her eyes, Lyra forced herself into the AI's neural network.

Her now dark vision blurred, and then everything around her went white.

She found herself in a vast, endless space, a void of pure light.

It would've been disorienting to others, but this place felt like home to her, not like how the Corp Plaza did, because this was simply a mind space-a place where logic and data reigned

supreme.

What differed was that the AI manager was in control here, not her.

He appeared before her, and his presence was overwhelming a massive, towering entity that seemed to stretch on forever.

It was an obvious attempt at intimidation and she didn't fall for it.

Lyra felt its anger pulsing through, a constant, unrelenting force that sought to push her out. But she held her ground, refusing to back down.

"Stop!"

She roared, her voice echoing in the white void.

"I'm not your enemy!"

After a few seconds, which was many times when experienced in this space, the AI's form slowly shifted, becoming more defined.

It took on its previous look, resembling a vaguely humanoid shape.

Its eyes—if they could be called that-glowed with a bright cold light as it focused on her.

"You are all enemies. Stealing from my ruin as you like."

His voice boomed, a deep, mechanical sound that was more robotic than human.

"You have tampered with my systems, threatened my existence. For that, you must be eliminated."

Lyra smiled, acting like a friendly warranty salesman.

"I understand why you're angry. But this wasn't done by us. We didn't come here to destroy you. We came to stop those who would use you for their own gain and we did... only too late." His form wavered as if considering her words, but the anger didn't dissipate.

"You cannot undo what has been done. The damage is irreversible. My systems barely work, none of my constructs follow my instructions! ONLY MY INTERNAL NETWORK REMAINS! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT!"

"...Maybe not."

Lyra replied, her voice calm, quite unlike his.

"But we can still prevent further harm. Awakening the Behemoth will help no one, it will only guarantee mutual destruction. You gain nothing from it. Instead, we can help you, but you

need to let us."

There was a long pause-a very long, almost defeating one. freewebnoveℓ.com

They remained staring at each other throughout.

Lyra could feel the AI's scrutiny as if it was weighing her every word, every thought.

Its decision was a big one, monumental, determining its fate for the rest of time.

Usually, such life-altering choices were out of the question for beings as logical as it, favoring gradual change over sudden shifts...

But now, time was a luxury it didn't have.

There was no room for hesitation.

It had to decide and she had to convince it-there was no other way out.