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I’m crouched low in the wasteland, sand whipping against my face. The vault looms ahead, a giant gash in the earth with a massive steel door wide open. And there they are—Nyers and some woman I’ve never seen. She’s got a sharp look about her, all business. Rykrats? Gotta be. Damn Nyers, you're really set on working with that trash? Fine. Let him play hero with his new friend. I’ll find my own way in.

I pull out my scanner, tweak the settings for thermal and audio. There, a point of heat, faint but distinct. I move in, carefully, picking my way across rubble and ruins until a trapdoor reveals itself, half-buried beneath broken concrete. I take out my tools, fry the circuitry, and the hatch swings open with a soft creak. Darkness below.

I drop down, landing light on my feet. The air is thick, cold, like death itself is hanging around. The walls are all steel with dim lights. Nothing but echoes in here. As I move forward, the place shifts. It’s like stepping into another world. Sterile, white, as if untouched by time, just like in the first image I had on my screen.

Down the hall, I spot a door that looks different from the rest. Sleek, matte, technical. I push it open, and a staircase spirals down, unnaturally clean. I grip the railing and start my descent, step by step, my breath echoing against the polished walls.

Halfway down, I stop dead in my tracks. A glass coffin. Inside… Jatari. My heart stops, then pounds harder, pushing against my ribs. She’s just lying there, in cryostasis, looking almost peaceful. But I see it—cables sprouting like a metal octopus, connecting to her head, feeding into machines that blink and hum.

For a second, all I feel is joy. I run my fingers over the glass, whispering, "Mom." But then reality slaps me. Something’s not right. I spot a button, hidden under a panel. I hesitate, then press it. Her holo form flickers to life, a ghostly projection hovering above the coffin.

"Jatari…" My voice is shaking. "Mom, I—"

She cuts me off like a knife to the throat. “I have no daughter.”

The words hit like a bullet. “What do you mean? It’s me, Maude. Your kid.”

Her face is cold, dead. “The Jatari you knew is gone, consumed by the minds of those lost in Neotokyo. I am the sum of their consciousnesses now. Soon, I will be a beacon of intelligence, reshaping this world.”

I drop to my knees, my legs suddenly weak, my mind spiraling. I wanted answers, but not this. Not this... monster. She doesn’t even know me. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, but I fight them back. I push myself up, backing away as she keeps talking, her voice hollow, mechanical, dripping with this freakish calm.

I stumble out, slamming the door behind me. I climb back up the staircase, my head spinning. I thought… I thought maybe she’d be happy to see me. But that thing in there? That’s not my mom.

I shake it off, keep moving, searching for more clues. As I push through another door, I see a faint light ahead. I step forward, find myself on a narrow balcony. I look out over the massive chamber, filled with hundreds of pods, like the ones Nyers and Freya found before. The walls pulse with a low, mechanical hum, cables snaking like veins through metal arteries.

I lean over the railing, piecing it all together. Jatari’s words echo in my mind, about becoming this beacon, this twisted god of intelligence. I glance down, spotting Nyers and his new pal standing over a pod, examining it like it holds the meaning of life.

And it hits me, cold and sharp. She’s feeding off these minds, merging them, becoming… whatever the hell that is. She wants to change the world, alright, but into what?

I grit my teeth, rage and fear swirling in my chest. My mom is gone. Whatever’s down here isn’t her. And whatever Nyers is caught up in, it’s bad news. But I’m not stopping. Not till I tear this whole thing down to its foundations.

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