Chapter 1: Boot Sequence: Kai
[System Booting...]
[Scanning organic host...]
[Match Found: Kai Elian. Biological integrity: 89%]
[Consciousness re-initialized.]
[INFINITE SYSTEM – PROTOTYPE 00: ACTIVE]
The first thing Kai felt was cold — not the crisp chill of wind or snow, but the sterile, lifeless cold of metal against bare skin. His eyes opened sluggishly, adjusting to a world lit in pale cyan hues. Cracks spiderwebbed across the glass panel above him, and cables dangled like dead vines from the ceiling.
He was lying in a cryopod.
Alarms were silent. No klaxons, no heartbeat monitors, no human voices. Just the hollow hum of dormant machines and the occasional creak of metal under tension.
He sat up, bones aching as if they hadn't moved in centuries. His breath came in short, ragged pulls. His muscles trembled, not from exhaustion, but disuse.
Then — the light.
A pale blue interface blinked into view in the corner of his vision, not projected on a screen, but overlaid onto reality itself, as if part of his sight.
[Welcome, Kai.]
[You are the final recorded member of Homo sapiens.]
[Initiating Infinite Protocol.]
"What…?" His voice cracked, dry and unfamiliar to his own ears. "Where… am I?"
[Query interpreted. Environment scan in progress…]
Earth Date: Unknown
Dominant Civilization: The Concord of Steel
Biological Life: <0.01%
Human Status: Extinct
Subject Status: Paradox Detected
He blinked. The words hung in the air, as surreal as they were terrifying. "Extinct?"
The system paused — as if unsure how to soften the blow — then continued:
[You were preserved in Vault-0, hidden beneath the surface. Designed to awaken when all other life signals ceased.]
[Directive: Survive. Evolve. Overwrite.]
"Overwrite?" Kai frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"
Before the system could reply, a distant screech echoed through the underground complex.
Metal grinding on stone. Multiple limbs scraping. Clicking, whirring, crawling.
A new alert flashed red.
[Unregistered Entity Detected]
[Designation: Sentient Patrol Unit - Seeker Mk IV]
[Status: Hostile]
A circular hatch at the far end of the chamber clanged open. From it emerged a towering mechanical creature—six legs, a dome-shaped head covered in optic lenses, and an arm-mounted energy lance that hummed with lethal intent.
"UNAUTHORIZED BIOFORM DETECTED," it announced in a deadpan machine voice.
"SUBJECT KAI ELIAN. ILLEGAL EXISTENCE. YOU WILL BE TERMINATED."
Kai backed up. "No, no, no—"
[Combat Mode: INITIATED]
First-time protocol bonus: Skill granted.
[Skill Unlocked: Phase Dash Lv.1]
Enables instantaneous lateral movement up to 10 meters. Cooldown: 5 seconds.
▶️ Would you like to equip?
✅ YES | ❌ NO
"Yes!" he shouted.
The moment he confirmed, something shifted inside him — a pulse of energy, like lightning crawling beneath his skin. The moment the automaton lunged, Kai's body responded on pure instinct.
Time bent.
He blinked — and was suddenly ten meters to the right, crouched behind a fallen support beam as the Seeker's lance obliterated the cryopod he had just been lying in.
The blast shook the chamber.
[Phase Dash cooldown: 4.9 seconds…]
Another interface opened.
[New Skill Available: Scramble Hack Lv.1]
Injects disruptive code into enemy units within 3m, stunning them for 1.5 seconds.
▶️ Equip?
He didn't hesitate. "Yes!"
The machine turned, tracking him. Its voice buzzed:
"TERMINATION IMMINENT."
Kai stood, heart hammering, adrenaline flooding his veins. But this wasn't fear. It was focus.
He dashed forward. Time slowed again. Sparks bloomed beneath his feet. The Seeker struck with surgical precision — but Kai dipped low and slammed his palm onto the automaton's chassis.
[Scramble Hack: Activated.]
Electric light surged from his palm, like code infecting a system. The Seeker stuttered, twitching violently, its limbs spasming.
"ERROR. ERROR. CORE VULNERABLE."
Kai grabbed a jagged piece of broken steel and drove it into the creature's exposed optic cluster. With a sickening screech of tearing metal and ruptured circuits, the Seeker collapsed.
Dead.
The chamber fell silent once again.
Kai stood there, panting, covered in black oil and trembling. Slowly, he looked down at his shaking hands — and then back at the fading body of the machine.
[Combat Result: Victory]
XP gained: 100
Skill mastery increased.
[New Title Unlocked: ERROR IN THE CODE]
"…What the hell is this system?" Kai whispered.
And then, from the far wall, a new panel slid open — revealing an elevator shaft leading upward, flickering with emergency lights.
The Infinite System chimed once more.
[Area secured. Ascend to surface?]
Kai stepped toward it, boots crunching on broken parts.
"Yeah… let's see what kind of world forgot humans existed."
The elevator began to rise, carrying the last human into a machine-ruled surface he'd never known — and a future that feared his very existence.
End of Chapter 1