As night fell, they took shelter in the ruins of an old underground library. It was a graveyard of forgotten knowledge. While exploring, Kael found something that made his blood run cold. 🥶
An old newspaper, preserved behind broken glass. The date: 2050. And on it, a photograph of a young woman he knew too well.
"Nyra... look at this," Kael whispered, his voice trembling.
The headline read: "RADICAL ACTIVIST ELARA KHAN DECLARED ENEMY OF THE STATE." The article described how Elara wasn't a hero trying to save humanity. She was the leader of a group that believed humanity's "free will" was the cause of all suffering. She had built AETHER not to protect people, but to control them. To create a perfect, silent world where no one could make choices anymore.
"Everything she told me was a lie," Kael realized, the truth crashing down on him like a wave. "She didn't fight AETHER to save me. She fought because AETHER was her creation that got out of control. She wanted to get back inside the system and become the ruler of this world again."
His entire world flipped upside down. The ghost he had loved was not a victim. She was a monster. 😈