Date:
December 11th, 10:33 PM, Year 2050 - Current
December 11th, Time Unknown, Year 2047 - Simulated
Location:
Fate City (Capital) - Current
Guarding Tribe District - Simulated
Code: J.H
Night had fallen over Hope City. I stood on the abandoned building with Darius, Lars, Jin, and my past self. Thousands of small lights dotted the darkness below—candles and mini generators powering what people needed most. Nobody wasted electricity, especially today.
I've missed this view. Missed those times when we had BBQs on this abandoned office roof, all of us together, laughing and eating.
"Simulated all the senses."
There it was. The cold breeze on my skin. The smell after rain. The warmth of my comrades standing next to me, all of us looking at the city without talking. This was one of those moments I kept coming back to, no matter how much it hurt.
I felt rain on my cheek. The dark sky was crying, drops hitting my body one after another.
Whoever made this simulation knew everything down to the smallest detail. How was that even possible?
I could stand like this forever. The city I loved spread out below, my comrades right beside me. Just us and the night.
The simulation changed. The world around me glitched, and then there it was—the day of the revolution.
I followed Darius as he walked through the empty alleys of the Guarding Tribe district. I didn't know this memory. Unlike the strategic meeting, this wasn't familiar—I'd been with my own team during these hours, getting ready for our part of the attack on Meridian's fortress.
I had no idea he went out personally to check if all citizens were safe in their homes. Most of our fighters were preparing for the attack, leaving regular people without much protection. Our scouts were setting up a massive cyber shield around the area—it used as much power as all our generators would normally make in a week. The shield was barely visible, just a faint shimmer if you looked at the right angle.
Darius stopped at a small garden growing in what used to be a building's foundation. An old woman was tending plants that somehow still gave food, her hands never stopping their work. She looked up when he got close.
"Darius," she said, smiling in a way that showed all her years of hardship. "You shouldn't be out in the open today of all days."
"People rarely do what they should, Joan." He crouched beside her, looking at a small tomato plant. "These keep growing even when everything's against them. Need any help before I go?"
She shook her head. "You have bigger problems than my garden. Though I wouldn't say no to some of that filtered water your people have been giving out."
He pulled a canteen from his jacket. "I thought you might need this."
She took it carefully, like it was precious. "They say you're going to make Hope City safe again."
"Safe is a matter of perspective," he replied calmly. "We're going to fix what's broken. Things can't stay as they are."
"And what happens after?" Her eyes were sharp despite her age.
Darius was quiet for a moment, looking at the horizon. "We rebuild. We make this place what it should have been—not what greed turned it into."
"With you in charge?" She wasn't accusing, just asking.
"One person with all the power is what caused our problems," he said. "A council. People from every district." He pointed to the small garden. "People who know how to make things grow in bad soil. The strong protect the weak—that's how it should be."
Joan nodded, seeming to accept his vision.
The simulation jumped ahead. Darius moved through the city to the edge of our territory, to a spot where he could see Meridian's Central Hub. From there, the building looked impossible to break into—a fortress of concrete and steel rising from the middle of Hope City like a tumor.
"Something doesn't feel right," said Darius quietly, his eyes fixed on the enemy stronghold.
"Why do I have this feeling that I'm missing something?" he said softly. "I've had it since the meeting. Like pieces that don't fit together right." His eyes scanned the area, looking for what didn't belong.
He stood thinking for a goof ten minutes, alert but calm.
"No, I can't tell the commanders about this. It would make them doubt. We only have ten more minutes until we launch—"
I felt someone pass through my body. I jumped back, my heart pounding, the feeling too real even though I knew this was just a simulation.
"Indeed." The word hung in the air like a blade.
Darius turned smoothly, shifting to fighting stance without wasting movement. His face showed surprise for just a second before becoming calm and focused again.
"You are from Fate City," Darius said calmly, watching the stranger carefully.
"Perhaps."
The voice of the stranger was altered.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Darius asked, staying relaxed but ready.
I tried to get closer to look at the man but could only make out how tall he actually was. He felt like a towering presence—wait, taller than Darius. Who himself was the biggest out of all of us.
It was as if I was looking at a glitch. Like someone had tampered with the simulation to hide their identity, or perhaps the person who wasn't visible was the one who created this in the first place.
"It doesn't matter who I am," said the voice.
After a brief moment of silence, the stranger spoke again.
"I must say, you've gotten far and grown up well," said the voice. "Peace Walker Prototype 1."
The words was like a blow to my gut
What?
My mind reeled. Peace Walker Prototype 1? What the hell did that even mean? The way he said it—casual, almost fond—like he was greeting an old friend. But Darius was human.
I stared at Darius, searching his face for any reaction, any flicker of recognition or confusion. But his expression remained unchanged, stone-cold and unreadable.
Prototype 1. The number echoed in my head.
"To think there's a machine that can look and grow like a human," the stranger continued, his voice carrying a note of pride.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Darius's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts, sharp and demanding.
"You don't need that information, at least right now. What matters is that something under that building belongs to me alone. Meridian is there to keep people from getting underground. He's there because I put him there." The glitched figure shifted slightly. "If you don't control things, chaos happens—and what you're doing right now adds an unknown to my equation. If you win, you become a problem for me. And I hate... complications."
"Give me one reason—" Darius started.
"Silence." The stranger's hand cut through the air sharply. "If you interrupt me again, I'll kill one of your commanders." His head tilted slightly. "Do we understand each other, or should I show you what I can do?"
Darius's jaw tightened just a bit. "I understand."
"Good," said the stranger. "Now, Meridian is a great manager. He follows orders, doesn't step out of line—but he's a terrible human being. Efficient but flawed. The way he ruined this city is... unacceptable. So, we have a good replacement, which is you." He took a step forward. "Here's my deal: if you kill Meridian, meet me here tomorrow, same time. If you refuse, I'll kill one of your people. If you bring your squads, I'll blow up this city. This isn't a negotiation—it's a briefing. Clear enough, or should I repeat myself?"
"It's clear," Darius replied, his voice hard as steel.
"What if you don't show up?" Darius asked, eyes narrowing slightly.
"You don't have to worry about that," the stranger said calmly. "As long as you keep your side of the deal, I will keep mine." He paused for a moment. "The mission is clear. Now, I'll leave you to it. Good luck. The coming revolution... will be quite a show."
Just like that, the stranger turned on his camouflage and vanished. The air rippled briefly where he stood before going still again.
The world around me started vanishing and shifting again, digital glitches crossing my vision. I started to dread what came next in this simulation. I knew what would happen—like watching a tragedy unfold, happening to people I loved, scripted and unavoidable. A tragedy I could do nothing about.
But now I had bigger questions burning in my mind.
Who was that guy? And what did he mean about Darius being a prototype?
Why was that person talking like he decided what happened to this city? No one man has that kind of power. I'd worked in many departments during my three years in Fate City. There were committees and parties, systems to balance power, at least the illusion of shared control.
I will blow the whole city up.
The thought took shape in my mind, pieces connecting like puzzle pieces I'd been too blind to see before.
The simulation was showing me truths I'd never seen before. But why now? What good were these revelations with the city already in ashes and everyone I cared about dead?
Unless...
"Oh Jack," said the voice, cutting through my thoughts." The same voice that had spoken from the glitched figure. "Don't be impatient. The show is just getting started."
"Who are you?"
"Now the best part is about to begin." said the voice