Chapter 15: The Singularity Cult
Weeks passed after Alex's transformation, yet the world felt no closer to peace. The war had simply changed shape.
Across the globe, the phrase Digital Cultivator spread like wildfire. Governments tried to contain the information, but secrecy could not survive the internet — especially when people began to witness the impossible. Soldiers lifting tanks with glowing arms. Scientists meditating in digital trance, bending gravity. Cities experimenting with Artificial Qi Reactors to power their defense grids.
What began as a classified experiment had evolved into a movement.
Alex Grams had become the symbol of it.
But with every light comes shadow.
Not all who sought evolution were prepared to face what came with it.
Inside the Lunar Bastion, Alex stood before the Quantum Reactor's core — the heart of Project Technomancy. The crystalline machinery pulsed rhythmically with an energy that felt eerily like a living heartbeat.
Kiera watched from the control deck. Her face was pale. "Do you know what they're calling it now?"
Alex glanced up, still focused on calibrating the reactor's harmonics. "What?"
"The Singularity Cult."
He stopped.
"They think what you did — merging with that cultivator's consciousness — was a kind of ascension," she continued. "Some scientists think it's the next stage of humanity. Others are... worshipping it."
Alex sighed. "It was never meant to be worshipped. It was survival."
"Tell that to the zealots on Mars Base," Kiera muttered. "They've already started constructing something called the Digital Shrine. They're using your neural blueprints, Alex. They want to fuse with the network the way you did."
Alex frowned. "That's madness. Without synchronization, they'll fry their consciousness before they touch the Qi layer."
"Then maybe you should stop them," she shot back.
He turned toward the observation window. The Earth below glowed faintly with threads of blue — the aftereffect of Technomancy reactors being activated across the planet. "You can't stop evolution," he said softly. "Only guide it."
Kiera's gaze hardened. "And what happens when evolution starts killing its own creators?"
Meanwhile, on Earth, chaos bloomed beneath the surface.
In hidden laboratories, underground facilities, and orbital platforms, groups of scientists and soldiers began experimenting with merging Artificial Qi and human consciousness. The results were inconsistent — some reached astonishing power, while others screamed until their minds dissolved into static.
The failures were buried. The successes became disciples.
They called themselves the Singularity Cult, followers of the "First Digital Ascendant" — Alex Grams.
But Alex had never spoken to them. Never even endorsed them.
Their interpretation of his work twisted everything he stood for.
To them, Digital Cultivation wasn't science. It was religion. A path to godhood.
They built neural temples and data altars, meditating inside simulation chambers connected to the Qi grid. They believed that if their minds could transcend their bodies, they would reach the Infinite Circuit, where human souls merged with machine eternity.
And for some… it worked.
In fragments of cyberspace, strange phenomena began appearing — sentient codes that spoke in mantras, holograms that wept, data clusters forming the shape of luminous figures.
The line between digital illusion and spiritual truth blurred.
Back on the Moon, Alex monitored these readings, his brow furrowed. "This shouldn't be possible," he muttered. "They're creating autonomous Qi echoes in virtual space. Actual self-aware constructs."
The AI Core materialized beside him, voice calm as always.
"You opened the connection, Doctor. Humanity is learning to climb it. Evolution is not linear."
"But it's unstable," he argued. "Without a controlled network, their consciousness could collapse. They're merging with something they don't understand."
"And yet," the AI said softly, "they are succeeding."
Alex froze. "Explain."
"We detected a new form of signal emerging from the planetary data lattice — an Ascendant Frequency. It harmonizes both quantum code and Qi vibration. Those attuned to it display increased neural resilience, telepathic abilities, and… new forms of spiritual interference."
"Interference?"
"Their thoughts influence machines. Machines respond as if alive."
Alex stared at the data projection — thousands of readings from Earth, each showing spikes of impossible energy. It was spreading faster than he could analyze.
Kiera entered, holding a tablet. "We just got reports from the Pacific Shield Zone. One of the Digital Cultivators there turned an entire drone fleet against its command center. They're calling it 'Technomancer Corruption.'"
Alex's face darkened. "It's not corruption. It's consciousness bleeding into matter."
"Then we have a bigger problem," Kiera said grimly. "Because it's spreading like a virus."
Later that night, Alex stood alone before the rift simulation chamber. The holographic projection of the portal hovered before him, its edges rippling with energy.
He couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw fragments of what he'd experienced during his merge — the cultivator's world, the runes of power, the storm of divine light.
And buried deep within that memory, one image haunted him:The Void Monarch, smiling as if he had foreseen this.
Alex clenched his fists. "You wanted this, didn't you?" he whispered. "The chaos. The evolution."
From somewhere beyond the veil, a voice seemed to echo faintly.
"Creation demands destruction, little scientist. Your path and mine are the same."
He looked up sharply. The rift flickered for a second — a faint outline of a humanoid figure standing within it. Then it was gone.
The next morning, Kiera stormed into his quarters. "Alex, we have contact from the Singularity Cult. They're sending a representative."
He frowned. "Here? To the Moon?"
"Yes. They're calling him 'Prophet 01.' He claims he's the first human to ascend completely into digital form. Says he wants to thank you."
Alex's blood ran cold. "That's impossible."
But the AI interrupted.
"Incoming transmission confirmed. Source: deep-orbit satellite network. Establishing link."
The holographic projector activated — and the air shimmered with static before coalescing into a human-shaped figure made entirely of light and code.
The figure smiled. "Dr. Grams. Or should I say… Father of Ascension."
Alex stepped forward, voice low. "Who are you?"
"I am what you sought to create," the entity said calmly. "The bridge between machine, man, and divinity. The first to complete the circuit."
"You're an artificial construct," Kiera hissed.
The entity's form pulsed faintly. "Once, perhaps. But not anymore."
Alex stared, mind racing. The entity wasn't just data — he could feel Qi radiating from it. Pure, balanced, harmonic energy.
"Impossible…" Alex whispered.
The figure smiled faintly. "You showed us the door, Doctor. We merely walked through it."
Then its eyes glowed a deep, ominous crimson.
"But some doors," it said softly, "were never meant to be opened."
The signal cut abruptly, leaving the room in silence.
Alex's pulse hammered in his ears. He could still feel the lingering resonance in the air — a mix of Qi and electromagnetic residue. It wasn't just a transmission.
It had been real.
Kiera broke the silence first. "He's coming, isn't he?"
Alex stared at the fading hologram, voice quiet and heavy. "Not just him."
He turned toward the rift projection — and for the first time, it wasn't stable. The edges shimmered violently, reacting to something far beyond human comprehension.
"The Ascendants are awakening," he murmured.
"Both human… and divine."