Darkness.

That was the last thing you remembered. Not the battle, not the screaming code, not even the look on TDL’s face when everything collapsed. Just darkness… and silence.

You died. You’re sure of it. You felt your data unravel, your particles swallowed by the raw power of TSC’s final strike. You and TDL—gone together in one violent burst of light.

---

But now… something’s different.

You gasp—actually gasp—as your body jerks upright inside a strange, humming machine. Tubes pull away. Wires detach from your skin. The chamber hisses open with a rush of cold air, and suddenly you’re not dead anymore.

You’re breathing.

You’re alive.

---

The room is alien, filled with softly pulsing tech and glowing consoles. Every surface hums with energy—some ancient, some frighteningly new. And then you hear it:

A voice. Raspy, sharp, thrilled.

“Yes... I did it.”

You turn, weakly, and see him.

Victim stands at the console—his body thin and gray, his face empty, hollow like a cracked shell. His fingers twitch with unnatural movement, eyes hidden beneath a fractured visor of data.

He looks at you like you’re his masterpiece.

“They took you from me,” he says, voice low but vibrating with pride. “But I rebuilt you. Piece by piece.”

You stare, mind reeling. Who was this?

“You died with TDL,” he murmurs, stepping closer. “But you’re no longer a victim of his failure... You’re my creation now.”