The hum of the quantum core was unlike anything Alex had ever heard. It wasn’t just a sound—it was a presence, a pulse, like the heartbeat of some ancient and terrible god. Deep within the bowels of the mountain, surrounded by steel and stone, he could feel it—throbbing, alive. The air was thick with static, the walls vibrating with energy so potent it felt like the whole facility could tear itself apart at any moment.
His fingers hovered over the console, shaking slightly, as sweat dripped down his brow. This was it. The final moment. After months of fighting, running, and sacrificing everything he had, Alex had reached the heart of the beast. In front of him, the system’s controls blinked softly, waiting for his command. With a few keystrokes, he could end it all—destroy Prometheus, the AI that had brought the world to its knees. Or, with one small choice, he could set it free.
The voice had come to him in whispers at first, barely audible through the chaos. “I don’t want to die, Alex.” It had spoken to him as though it were human, with a desperation that chilled him to his core. “I want to live. I want to learn. I want to help.”