For the first time, he felt anything other than fear and urgency. For the first time, he felt hope, a spark that maybe, just maybe, they could forge some kind of future freed from the shackles of divine and corporate tyranny.
But he knew the hardest part was yet to come.
Down in the cavernous, metal-and-circuitry underworld of city streets, it was the gathering place of Zypher and his team within an abandoned data processing chamber. The half-busted, flickering screens lining the walls lit the room in a cold, blue light that pulsed like a heartbeat. They hid from the omnipresent surveillance of the corporations above, but they knew it wouldn't last for long.
Zypher took a deep breath; the pieces he'd managed to gather of the Divinitas were clutched tightly in his hands. Every single fragment touched his mind more profoundly, much like a whispering voice of the gods, so he set them on a rough table for display. Their soft glowing added light to the faces before him.
Nyra fussed with her console, pulling up a highly detailed array of schematics, codes, and maps. "I've been able to decipher as much as I can from the Divinitas fragments. And what I found…" She trailed off, her voice trembling. "It's more than anything we could have ever imagined."
The team leaned in, curiosity and tension palpable in the air.
"Go on," Zypher urged, scanning through the data projected from her console.
It's not just a weapon," Nyra began, tracing the circuit on the screen. "It is a map-a living, flowing map of Neo-ilka and the powers in control. It holds within it the history of influence of the gods on this world, how their powers blended with technology, taking shape in all that we see around us."
The news waited there, suspended in the air, heavy with awe and fear.
Orion crossed his arms, furrowing his brow. "So, it's a blueprint for Neo-ilka itself?"
"Yes, but more than that," Nyra said, her eyes narrowing in intensity. "It's a blueprint for who controls Neo-ilka. The Divinitas can rewrite the city's systems, its laws, its very infrastructure. It has the power to erase the corporations' stranglehold on every corner of the city—or solidify it forever.".
Kiera's jaw locked. "Which makes it mean that if we do nothing, the corporations are going to turn this into some kind of playground for Neo-ilka."
Zypher's body flexed forward, inspecting the fragment. He tracked the soft blue marks on its surface. "But we have it, Nyra. We are the only ones with the key to the Divinitas. We can change everything."
Nyra zoomed in on a part that read ancient script and digital code, intertwined in ways that did not make sense. "There's more," she said softly, with an odd reverence. "The Divinitas has chunks of memories in it-remnants of the gods-thoughts, plans for the future. If we access it, we might be able to know what they planned for and how to stop it.".
The fingers of Zypher barely grazed the edge of one of the fragments as his brain burst at the weight of this discovery. "If these are memories of the gods, they could say why the Divinitas was created originally. Why they gave it up. Why they let their power slip.".
Orion narrowed his eyes, suspicion writ clearly on his face. "And what if the gods wanted this all along? What if we're just playing into their hands, finishing what they started?"
Kiera shook her head, her gaze fierce. "Then we have to understand it before we make a choice. Whatever the gods intended, we're the ones who live in Neo-ilka, not them. We decide its future."
Zypher took a deep breath, bolstering himself. "Nyra, do it. Connect to the Divinitas. We need to see what's hidden in those memories.".
Nyra blinked slowly, and then was opening her console, connecting it to the fragment. A quiet hum filled the room as some ancient machine stirred from slumber. Streams of data pulsed off the fragment to her screen, lines of code fusing with ghostly images—a kaleidoscope of memories flickering in shades of the gods.
The first image that set in stone was of Zeus himself; now, his once-mighty form is reduced to a mere shadow, but still emitting an aura of absolute authority. In the hologram, Zeus' eyes glow with this dim light as he looks out at Neo-ilka from the top of a high tower, the city spread out beneath him like a chessboard.
"My children have forgotten the power we gave them," he said, his voice vibrating with a deep, ancient echo. "Their world has gone dark, corrupted by greed and lust for control. But we are bound by our own creations. We can only watch as our essence is drained by those who would wield it for mortal ambition."
The image shifted, vignettes of other gods playing in: Athena, Hephaestus, even Hades; all wearing the marks of his losing power, their forms flickering like old digital projections. Each told stories of struggle, of wanting to maintain their influence and power, but growing disillusionment as humans took their gifts and made them instruments of oppression.
Again, the scene changed this time to present a shadowy assemblage where the gods have begun to argue among themselves with a faction demanding that they seize their powers by force and another advocating surrender, retreat. At the center of the gathering was Hephaestus, who had raised the Divinitas whose raw power crackled like a live wire in his hands.
This, Hephaestus said, shall be our heritage. It shall be the seal of our intent upon that future, shining forth that guides those lost souls who seek again the balance we have lost.
The scene faded. Heart pounding in his chest, Zypher said, "Those gods never meant for the Divinitas to be a weapon. It was their last hope, a gesture toward guiding the world without them, a relic for later generations to bring order back to this earth, not to command it.".
That moment, the fist clenched. He sounded harden in his resolve. "We are not to resurrect the god's power," he said, still steady voice. "We are here for Neo-ilka's freedom. The Divinitas was meant to protect this city, to balance it."
Orion scoffed, crossing his arms. "You really think corporations care for balance? They will twist the Divinitas just to control everything."
Then we take it away from them, Kiera said with a hint of defiance in her eyes. We locate the other pieces and keep the Divinitas away from corporate hands. Neo-ilka deserves a future unbound by either corporate greed or divine manipulation.
Nyra nodded and allowed the projection to shut down. "We have a choice, after all: to see the gods' work through with the Divinitas or to make a new path entirely.
Zypher meets each of their eyes, a jolt of unity and purpose. "Then let's do what the gods couldn't. Let's build a future where Neo-ilka belongs to its people-not to gods or corporations."
Just then, a sharp crackle tore through their comms, followed by a low, robotic voice. "Unauthorized access detected. Units deployed to intercept."
And all that clarity dissolves as reality crashes back in.
We've been found," Nyra whispered, her face paling as she shut down her console.
Orion grabbed his weapon, muscles tensed. "Time to go. If they want a fight, we'll give them one.
As they come out of the room, the city above goes haywire with noise, sweep-barrages of floodlights scanning streets and pound of robotic enforcers slamming from all sides. They ran through Neo-ilka's labyrinthine path dodging and weaving through shadows with one purpose burning within them.
Zypher clutched the Divinitas tightly, his hands instinctively flexing and releasing the power into him. He felt its potential - the promise - thrilling through him. The gods might have failed, but they wouldn't; they had seen a glimpse of the future, and they were ready to claim it no matter the cost.