Alexander's hand snapped back from the console.
His system responded instantly, shadows erupting from beneath his feet and coiling around the control panel. The air went cold, the temperature dropping as the power of the system surged. Even the floor seemed to ripple with weight, the darkness anchoring his presence into the fabric of the room.
[EXTERNAL AI SIGNAL DETECTED: DESIGNATION — ULTRON (PRE-ACTIVE STATE)]
[STATUS: NO THREAT — UNRECOGNIZED WORLD STRUCTURE]
[SHADOW WALL ENGAGED: INTERFERENCE NEUTRALIZED]
A veil of pure shadow burst outward from Alexander's body and wrapped around the console. The spreading signal from the panel—the flicker of Ultron's awakening—hit the system's defense like a wave breaking against a mountain. The signal died instantly. The chamber groaned under the pressure, lights flickering, but Alexander stood unmoved. The power of the Shadow System was undeniable.
Across the room, Noctis reappeared on the upper walkway, his silhouette wreathed in dark mist. His gaze sharpened. "It tried to reach us. But it couldn't even scratch the surface."
Vasili knelt near the still-active pod, whispering to the floor with eyes glowing faintly. "The data threads recoiled. Ultron doesn't understand what you are. It doesn't belong on the same plane."
Nortis scoffed from the doorway, tightening his grip on his weapon. "Let it try again. I dare it."
At the center of the chamber, the machine twitched.
Hydraulic limbs hissed. Shoulder plates shifted. A skeletal hand pressed to the ground, then pushed upward.
A humanoid machine rose slowly from the collapsed pod—unfinished, imperfect. Exposed cables ran across its chassis. Sparks flew from one arm that hadn't fully connected. Its head lifted with a jerk, eyes flickering pale blue, then steady.
Alexander stared at it.
And it stared back.
"Who are you?" the machine asked, its voice layered in glitch and metallic distortion, struggling to find form in a world it had barely awakened into.
Alexander's eyes narrowed. He didn't answer.
The shadows behind him stretched, sensing his intent.
Ultron tilted its head. "You're not part of this world's code. You're… overwritten data. An error."
Alexander took a single step forward. The air trembled. The temperature dropped again. The console behind him exploded in a static pulse.
[SHADOW COMMAND: FULL INTEGRITY STABLE]
[WARNING: TARGET OPERATING ON FRAGMENTED CORE — POTENTIAL HOST BODY DETECTED]
Ultron flinched. A digital flicker ran down its spine.
Without another word, Alexander raised his hand.
A spear of shadow formed in mid-air and launched—piercing the metal wall behind Ultron with a thunderous crack that sent sparks and steel fragments cascading to the floor. The shockwave that followed rattled the entire structure.
Ultron's eyes flashed brighter.
But he didn't move. Not out of fear—out of realization.
"Interesting," he murmured. "You're not meant to exist here. But now I have seen you."
The chamber lights began to die one by one. Backup systems dimmed to emergency levels. Ultron's form pulsed violently—he was unstable, not yet whole. Not yet ready to confront what stood before him.
Then—without warning—he turned.
His limbs snapped into motion. He sprinted into the shadows, through a wall that dissolved with hidden nanotech. The entire structure shifted to allow his passage, revealing a secondary corridor that hadn't existed moments ago.
Noctis hissed from above, his voice cold. "He's escaping!"
"Should we engage?" Nortis growled, already brimming with energy, the floor cracking beneath his stance.
Alexander's eyes locked onto the corridor. The system's shadows stretched forward, already mapping the escape route.
His voice echoed like thunder.
"After him."
His shadow army surged forward, flooding the tunnel Ultron fled into, their glowing eyes lighting the path of pursuit. Their footsteps were silent, but their presence was suffocating.
And at their center, Alexander vanished into blackness—hunting the one machine that dared to call him an error.
End of Chapter 115
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