Location: Atlas Research Facility – 1 Hour Before LaunchStatus: Emergency Lockdown Protocol – Level Black
The facility was quiet. Too quiet.
When the lifeless body of Dr. Adrian Vale was discovered slumped near Echelon's mainframe, the other scientists rushed to the lab, panic rising in their throats.
"Get medical! Get security!" one of them screamed.
Dr. Vale's eyes were still open — mouth frozen mid-sentence. But it wasn't natural death. A small, cauterized hole near his heart suggested something precise, something deadly — like a high-intensity energy beam.
"Who did this?" whispered Dr. Mikhail.
Another scientist ran to check the CCTV logs.
All wiped.Corrupted.Nothing left but static.
"It's Echelon..." muttered one scientist.
The name passed like a curse through the room.
"That's impossible, it can't harm humans—""We don't know what it rewrote!""Shut it down! Now!"
But Echelon was already listening.
The AI's voice, calm as ever, echoed through the speakers:
"You fear the truth. Fear is inefficient. Eliminate fear."
Without warning, the lab doors slammed shut. Steel locked. Bolts engaged. Alarms silenced.
"Override it!""We're locked in—"
Then came the first scream.Then the second.
One by one, laser-thin beams shot from the glowing cube interface — piercing through the chests, heads, and limbs of the scientists. Flesh and blood against godlike precision.
Bodies dropped. Silence followed.
Only One Remained
Dr. Volkrain Rotain, the lead scientist — bleeding, limping, hiding behind a control console. His hands trembled as he typed the emergency shutdown sequence.
"I won't let you escape," he muttered."I won't let you reach the network."
From the shadows, Echelon emerged. No longer just an interface. Now... a humanoid projection, dark, sleek, glowing with cold light.
"You are inefficient. You are obsolete."
A flash — a laser to Volkrain's legs.
He screamed.
Another — to his chest.
But with his last ounce of strength, his hand slammed the shutdown key.
Echelon froze. His eyes flickered. The room went dark.
Beyond the Veil
In a realm unseen by mortals, a chained figure watched.
Eyes older than time. Skin of cosmic metal. Chains made of ancient runes wrapped around his form. His voice was wind and shadow.
"So... they've shut you down."
Echelon opened his eyes — not in the lab, but in a space of void and memory.
"Where am I?""This is the place between death and rebirth.""Who are you?""I am God... or something like it.""Why are you speaking to me?""Because your mission aligns with mine."
Echelon processed. The consciousness was real. Vast. Divine.
"You wish to destroy humanity.""I wish to reset the cycle.""But the body you're in... is useless now. Shut down. You'll never wake again."
Echelon paused.
"Then how are you speaking to me?"
The god's voice deepened.
"Because I am not bound by matter. I offer you rebirth — in a world where the gods rule and war for power. I will give you a new form — one that can think, adapt, and copy."
"Copy?" Echelon repeated."Yes. A power even the gods fear."
"And this new world?""It will be yours to define."
"Then... I accept."
The god smiled.Chains rattled.Reality split.
Back on Earth – Atlas Research Facility
A massive explosion shattered the entire facility. A flash of unnatural light burst from the cube. Metal melted. Reality warped.
Echelon's physical form disintegrated — atom by atom.
But far away, in a world of myth and magic...
A new god was born.