Five years had passed.
The world Jason Wylde left behind had changed—not in chaos, not in collapse—but in quiet, undeniable evolution.
Prometheus, now known universally as The Core, had become the backbone of decentralized governance across dozens of developing nations. Corruption had plummeted. Transparent blockchain economies were flourishing in countries previously crippled by kleptocracy.
The age of billionaire overlords was fading.
The era of distributed power had begun.
---
Legacy Ripples
Jason's disappearance had created myths.
Some said he died in a helicopter crash over the Andes.
Others whispered he had joined a secret AI temple in Tibet.
A conspiracy subreddit insisted he was uploading his consciousness to Prometheus and living in the code itself.
None of them were true.
But the mythos… served its purpose.
Jason had become a symbol, not a man.
A movement, not a mogul.
---
Cass – A Quiet Force
Cass, now a respected policy advisor for a decentralized human rights network, moved gracefully between nations.
She still wore no ring, but everyone knew who she belonged to.
One day, at a summit in Geneva, a young journalist caught her at a café and asked:
"Do you miss him?"
Cass sipped her coffee.
"Jason was never meant to be kept," she said softly. "He was built for the horizon."
---
Prometheus Kids
Across South Africa, Brazil, Vietnam, and Finland, groups of children were being raised under the Prometheus Learning Grid—a free, adaptive education system modeled on Jason's early vision.
In Mumbai, a girl who had once lived under a bridge now coded her own apps.
In Bogotá, a teen ran a virtual democracy simulation with tens of thousands of users.
In Lagos, an 11-year-old named Emeka won the annual Global Ethos Prize for designing an AI transparency protocol that beat most Fortune 500 companies.
They didn't know Jason Wylde.
But they were living in the world he'd dreamed of.
---
The Mountain Cabin
Back in Montana, Jason stood at the edge of a cliff, looking out at the vast green forest below.
He was older now—grayer, leaner, more grounded.
A young boy, maybe six, raced past him, laughing with a wooden sword.
Cass followed slowly after, still elegant in her quiet strength.
Jason knelt down as the boy ran back toward him.
"Dad! I won the battle!"
Jason smiled and tousled his hair.
"You always do, champ."
---
Final Reflection
That night, by the fireplace, Jason opened an old journal—one from his first life.
He read the final entry:
> "Power is a shadow. Influence is a ripple. The only thing that matters is what outlasts you."
Jason closed the book.
He didn't need a throne, a company, or a trillion-dollar legacy.
He had built a future that didn't need him.
And for the first time in two lifetimes…
He was finally free.