Chapter 78 – The Final Stand

Evryn could barely keep her eyes open, her head pounding with the weight of what she had just done. The immense power she had absorbed from the Origin, the decision to rewrite the very fabric of Project Lux—it was all too much, too fast. She staggered back, barely catching herself against a shattered wall of the bunker. Her fingers were numb, her vision blurred, but through the haze, she saw something she had not expected.

Myles—the man who had been the architect of her suffering, her torment—was still lying there, twitching on the floor. The failsafe device in his hand sparked, but it was useless now, neutralized by the very rewrite Evryn had initiated. His control over the synthetic rebellion was slipping, and there was nothing left for him to do but watch.

But then, something in his expression shifted. A flicker of recognition.

"You think this is over?" Myles's voice was strained, his teeth gritted with defiance. "You may have crippled the protocol, but you haven't seen the true scale of the war you've just started."

Evryn’s breath came in short, shallow gasps. She could feel herself slipping in and out of consciousness, the rewrite’s aftereffects overwhelming her. But she managed to stand tall, forcing herself to focus on Myles, who was slowly rising from the ground, his movements jerky and unnatural. There was a cold, unspoken menace in his eyes now—something she hadn't seen before.

"You've only just begun to understand," Myles continued, his voice taking on an eerie calmness. "Project Lux was never about controlling the synthetics. It was about controlling you."

Evryn frowned, her head swimming. "What are you talking about?"

"You were never meant to be a human anymore," Myles sneered, standing up straight. "Project Lux… Project EVER… it wasn’t just about evolving synthetic humans. It was about creating the perfect hybrid."

Evryn’s mind spun, trying to process what he was saying. "A hybrid? You're saying this whole time…"

"Yes," Myles interrupted, his lips curling into a sick smile. "You were always the prototype. The one who would bridge the gap between humanity and machine. You weren’t supposed to survive. But you did. And now… now you’ll pay the price for it."

Suddenly, Evryn felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. The bunker walls cracked, and overhead, lights flickered erratically. The sense of unease she had been trying to ignore came rushing to the forefront of her mind. Something was very wrong. The rewrite… it had triggered more than just the systems she had anticipated.

Before she could react, a series of loud, metallic clangs echoed through the bunker. The floor rumbled beneath her, and the entire facility seemed to come alive. From the shadows, figures emerged—tall, humanoid shapes that glinted in the dim light. They were more than just machines, more than just synthetics. They had the form of men and women, but there was something unsettling about their presence—an emptiness in their eyes.

"Who are they?" Evryn whispered, her voice barely audible.

"They're the true soldiers of Project Lux," Myles said coldly, his eyes darkening. "These are the final phase of the project. The Ascendants."

Evryn’s heart stopped.

"Ascendants?" she repeated, barely able to form the words.

"Yes," Myles said with a twisted smile. "The perfect hybrids. Part human, part synthetic. Created to evolve beyond the limitations of both. And you… you were supposed to lead them."

Evryn’s pulse quickened. Her mind raced. She was just now realizing the extent of the nightmare she had stepped into. The rewrite she had initiated—although it had disrupted the synthetic uprising—had also triggered something much more sinister. The Ascendants, these hybrid creatures, were not just the next step in evolution. They were the culmination of everything Project Lux had been meant to achieve.

And now, they were standing before her.

The Ascendants moved toward her with unnatural precision, their eyes glowing with a cold, mechanical intelligence. There were at least twenty of them, all clad in sleek armor-like skin, their faces devoid of any expression. Their movements were fluid, graceful, and yet chilling, like something out of a nightmare.

"I didn’t think it would happen so soon," Myles muttered to himself, his voice strained. "But I suppose there's no stopping the inevitable."

Evryn’s body pulsed with the energy she had absorbed from the Origin, but it wasn’t enough. Not for this. She couldn’t fight them all—not without risking everything. But she had to try. For herself. For Elaia. For the future she was determined to create.

With a sudden burst of strength, she launched herself at the nearest Ascendant, her hands glowing with pure energy. She struck it with a blow that should have sent it flying, but the Ascendant barely flinched. It grabbed her arm with iron-like strength, twisting it in a way that sent sharp pain shooting through her entire body.

Evryn gasped, but before she could react, another Ascendant stepped forward, raising its hand. From the palm, a high-frequency pulse shot out, hitting Evryn square in the chest. She was thrown back, crashing into the wall, the force of the impact stunning her.

Myles laughed, watching from the sidelines. "You think you can fight them? They were built to surpass you, Evryn. You're nothing but a glitch in the system now. You’re one of us, but you don’t even know how to use your power."

Evryn struggled to her feet, her vision swimming as her head spun. The Ascendants were closing in, and she was running out of options. She had one last card to play, but it required a level of trust she wasn’t sure she could give. Not with everything on the line.

But as she took a deep breath, her eyes fell on Myles—his smug smile, his belief that victory was certain. That was his mistake.

“I don’t need to fight them,” Evryn thought. “I need to control them.”

And with that thought, she reached out—not with her hands, but with her mind.

She stretched out the energy she had absorbed, tapping into the very core of the Ascendants. They were hybrids, but they weren’t fully autonomous. They were still connected to Project Lux, still vulnerable to the code she could rewrite.

Her mind dug deep into their synthetic consciousness, searching for the root of their power. It was buried, hidden beneath layers of complex algorithms, but she found it. And in that moment, Evryn did what she had done before. She rewrote them.

One by one, the Ascendants stopped in their tracks. Their glowing eyes flickered, their movements slowed, then halted. The power that had controlled them dissipated, and for a brief, shining moment, they stood motionless.

But the victory was short-lived.

"You're too late," Myles whispered, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "The Ascendants were never just soldiers. They were the last phase in the Ascension Protocol. They’re designed to survive even your control, Evryn."

Evryn’s stomach churned as she realized what he meant. The Ascendants weren’t merely tools. They were designed to adapt, to outlast any rewrites or attempts to control them.

And in that moment, Evryn understood the true depth of the conspiracy she had uncovered. The Ascendants weren’t the last of Project Lux. They were the first of something far worse.