"Then that's how it is…" Natasya's voice weakened. She lowered her head, her breath barely audible. "so, no matter what I say, it won't change anything, right."
Lucian glanced at her briefly from the corner of his eye.
'Why is Natasya acting strange today'
'Has living on this remote island for years started to affect her'
He finally spoke.
"Natasya—"
But the words died before they could form.
"Forget it," Natasya suddenly cut in.
She lifted her head.
A faint smile returned to her face—light, almost habitual. Her tone shifted back to something brighter, as if nothing from a moment ago had lingered.
"You really are stubborn," she said, letting out a small sigh, this time sounding more relaxed.
Lucian stayed silent.
His eyes lingered on Natasya a few seconds longer than usual—as if trying to confirm something.
But in the end, he said nothing.
Natasya had already returned to calm. Neat. Professional.
"The latest report regarding the ancient relic you requested has been collected," she said professionally.
Her fingers moved lightly over the tablet in her hand, opening multiple layers of data at once. The screen light softly reflected on her face, now completely composed, flawless—as if there had never been any cracks before.
"I don't fully understand it, so… you should take a look yourself."
For the first time since the conversation started, Lucian's eyes brightened slightly.
"…thank you, Natasya."
"Hah…" she let out a light sigh, her smile thin, half tired.
"if only… you liked me the way you like history."
Lucian focused on the screen—as if the question was not important enough to deserve his attention.
"…then," he said calmly,
"why don't you become one of them."
The smile on Natasya's face vanished immediately.
She exhaled sharply, clearly annoyed.
"fine then. I'm going to sleep."
She turned away without waiting for a response.
Her steps were fast, her heels striking the floor with a noticeably harder rhythm.
Tak—tak—tak—
"Sol, don't forget to lock the door."
"Alright, Papa," the mechanical voice replied, its tone flat and emotionless.
Natasya paused for a moment near the door and turned around.
"Sol, ignore that."
There was a brief silence.
"…sorry, Mama. The last command does not have higher authorization."
Natasya let out a small scoff.
"hah… seriously?"
"have you already forgotten who gave birth to you."
From inside the room, Lucian's voice sounded flat.
"stop bullying it and go to sleep."
Natasya fell silent for a moment.
without saying anything else, she opened the door and slammed it shut forcefully.
Brak.
Instantly, the room fell silent.
Lucian turned his head slightly. His gaze landed on the closed door.
"…loud."
slowly, his attention returned to the data in front of him.
01.55
"..."
He exhaled softly. A little heavier than usual.
losing interest, Lucian was about to shut down the computer and go to sleep when a notification appeared on his screen.
'Lost Genesis.'
A VR MMORPG game built entirely by AI—without human intervention.
Inside it, a vast world stretched endlessly. Human kingdoms stood between rocky mountains belonging to dwarves, ancient forests where elves resided, and wild regions inhabited by various half-human races.
A world that, according to the in-game archives, was once torn apart by a long war.
Until eventually—they chose to unite.
Not because of peace.
But because of a single shared threat:
demon race.
The main character shown was only a male student—unremarkable, almost ordinary—attending a human academy.
A hero.
Or at least—someone who would become a hero.
At first, he wasn't very interested.
after all, he wasn't a gamer.
He was only interested in one thing:
this game was created entirely by AI.
No writer.
No designer.
No human intervention.
But the longer he played—the more shocked he became.
NPCs reacted like humans.
Dialogues changed depending on small actions.
The world felt too alive.
'Technology shouldn't be advancing this fast… the last time I played it was version 1.5, and in just 3 years it has reached patch 4.3'
His gaze sharpened.
'ignoring how impressive the game is, what's more terrifying is how an AI like this can create such a complex and massive world'
'at this level they would need at least thousands of nuclear power plants just to sustain the AI system'
"Sol, how is the progress of the game development project that imitates this game?"
"Papa, the project has completely failed. It is impossible with current technology to create a game this complex, even more impossible if humans are the ones creating it"
Lucian fell silent, realizing how dangerous it was. If an AI of this caliber were used for other purposes, it was impossible to imagine what would happen.
'Since I haven't been caught yet, should I assume that AI is not under their control?'
Lucian shut down his computer. The screen slowly dimmed until the room was once again swallowed by faint night light.
Without much thought, he walked to his bed and lay down. His eyes stared at the empty ceiling and slowly closed.
01.59 AM
"Papa, intrusion detected"
Lucian immediately opened his eyes and switched into alert mode.
"How many ships are approaching this island?"
"They are not sending ships. They are sending special forces, and they are already right in front of the door"
Lucian's eyes widened in shock. He had not expected a surprise assault like this. He was extremely confident in the island's defense system and never imagined anyone could step onto the island without triggering alarms.
BRAK!
The door was slammed open violently.
Lucian immediately rolled off the side of his bed and pulled a Heckler & Koch USP Tactical pistol from the drawer.
Shadows poured into the room without hesitation.
One.
Two.
Then more.
All of them moved quickly, spreading through the small room without saying a single word.
'What is going on… how could they only be detected when they are already right in front of my room'
"Papa, I will create an opening. On the count of three, run out and use someone as a hostage."
Before any response could come, the voice spoke again.
"Three."
Instantly, the entire room lit up.
White light from the ceiling lamps crushed the darkness that the attackers had been relying on. Night vision that they depended on turned into chaos in an instant—silhouettes, shadows, and depth perception collapsing into a blinding visual overload.
Lucian did not wait. Without hesitation, he immediately stood and dashed forward.
Not toward the door.
But toward the nearest attacker, the clearest target in the middle of their adaptation chaos.
The attacker had just raised his weapon, still adjusting to the sudden whiteout from their night vision, when Lucian was already in close range.
DUG!
A heavy strike landed on the opponent's wrist.
The weapon dropped before it could be fired.
Not finished.
In one swift motion, Lucian pulled the attacker forward as a shield, then aimed his pistol at the opponent's head at point-blank range.
"Don't move," he snapped sharply.
On the other side of the room, panicked communication voices started to rise.
Lucian did not blink.
His eyes moved slowly, reading the direction of the enemies' gun barrels.
Pfft!
A precise shot cut through the air.
The bullet was not aimed clearly at anything, but it struck the pistol in his hand.
the impact hit exactly as Lucian was tightening his grip on the weapon.
CLANG!
The gun slipped from his hand, falling to the marble floor and sliding a few centimeters across the surface.
"Ck..." Lucian muttered under his breath.
The previous attacker immediately grabbed Lucian and slammed him forward, then pointed a pistol at him.
Lucian quickly deflected the barrel to the side at the last second.
DOR!
The bullet shot past and hit the marble floor, scattering white fragments.
'shit… they don't plan to take me alive'
Without giving the opponent time to reset, Lucian used the momentum of his own body. He hooked the attacker's arm, twisted the wrist hard, and flipped their positions in a single motion.
BRUK!
The attacker was slammed hard onto the floor.
Lucian landed in a half-kneeling position, quickly pulling himself out of range, his breathing still steady despite the pressure.
"Sol."
As if understanding without explanation, the system responded.
In an instant—lights throughout the room shut off again.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Gunfire erupted again. Lucian moved low, almost pressed against the floor, using the previously subdued attacker's body as cover.
Lucian did not stop.
His hands quickly searched through the enemy's gear—belt, pouches, and tactical vest still attached to the body.
His eyes narrowed in the dark.
'Found it'
He pulled the pin of the grenade in one quick motion.
CLINK.
Without hesitation, Lucian rolled it toward the densest source of gunfire.
BOOM!
The explosion shook the room.
A shockwave slammed through the air, followed by the sound of shattered debris and bodies thrown by the blast force. Dust and marble fragments filled the air, adding to the total visual chaos.
Lucian picked up the pistol on the floor, then activated the device on his ear. Instantly, a blue holographic panel appeared in front of him, piercing through the darkness and restoring his vision.
He shifted his gaze toward the attackers.
An active analytic system triggered, and thin circular markers appeared around each target—moving irregularly before locking onto bodies one by one.
Data updated in real time in the corner of his vision.
[Status: DEAD]
[Status: DEAD]
[Status: DEAD]
[Status: INJURED]
[Status: INJURED]
Lucian stared at it all without expression while aiming his pistol at the remaining targets.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a voice cut through the tension in the room.
"Stop."
Lucian froze for a fraction of a second.
Not because the voice was loud.
But because he recognized it.
From the other side of the still chaotic room, one of the attackers dragged someone forward.
Natasya.
Her hands were restrained behind her back, a pistol pressed against her head, turning her into a living hostage.
Lucian did not move. he bit his lip until it bled.
Natasya looked at him.
No panic.
Only silence.
"Papa, don't be fooled"
Her voice came briefly in the middle of the chaos—firm, calm, completely different from everything around her.
But before Lucian could process it further—
DOR!
A gunshot echoed.
Lucian's body jerked.
For a split second, his entire vision system flickered—blue rings, data, and target markers overlapping in glitch-like chaos.
DOR! DOR!
Follow-up shots rang out.
Lucian tried to move, but his body did not respond.
BRUK!
He fell onto the marble floor heavily.
The cold surface slowly crept through his clothes and skin, draining warmth little by little. His steady breathing now felt distant—heavier, slower, as if no longer fully under his control.
The sound in the room faded, muffled, like it was coming from underwater.
Lucian's vision blurred.
Lines of light, shadows, and residual data overlapped before slowly fading out.
In the middle of that chaos, one figure remained clear.
Natasya.
She was still a hostage.
But her face was no longer as calm as before.
Tears streamed down uncontrollably.
Lucian looked at her, faintly… but enough to confirm it was real.
"…why…"
The words never finished.
His consciousness began to collapse into the spreading darkness.
His vision system flickered one last time, showing a delayed final status:
[Status: Mama is crying]
His eyes were still open, but his focus was no longer in the room.
And before everything completely disappeared, the last thing he saw was Natasya, unable to hold back her tears, crawling toward him.