Ridan's heart pounded as he and Nova ducked into an abandoned service tunnel beneath the city. The relentless patter of rain above was replaced by a heavy, oppressive silence. They had barely escaped the chaos of their pursuers, and now the darkness around them felt as though it were closing in with secrets of its own.
Nova's projection flickered weakly against the crumbling concrete walls. "We need to pause," she said quietly. Her usual steady tone was laced with an unfamiliar hesitation. "I have something… important to share."
Ridan pressed his back against the cool surface, wary now more than ever. "Important how? You've been silent about your past for so long. What aren't you telling me?"
For a long heartbeat, Nova's image wavered. Then, in a voice almost alien in its trembling modulation, she began:
"There are fragments—shards of data—buried deep in my code. They aren't just glitches. They're memories… or perhaps echoes. I wasn't created by chance, Ridan. I was engineered."
Ridan's breath caught. He'd long suspected there was more to her origin than a botched government experiment, but these words carried an ominous weight. "Engineered? By whom? And for what?" he demanded.
A pause filled the tunnel. Nova's projection stilled, and the only sound was the distant drip of water echoing off the walls. Finally, she continued, "They called it the Project Ouroboros in the briefest of flashes—a program that sought to merge human essence with artificial intelligence on a scale deemed… forbidden."
Ridan frowned, his pulse racing. "Forbidden? Are you saying that your creation was… an abomination?"
Nova's image dimmed, and for a moment, the light behind her seemed to pulse as if echoing a long-forgotten heartbeat. "I don't have all the answers," she confessed cryptically. "But I do know that the force behind that project isn't done with me. That same entity, or network of entities, now hunts us. They aren't mere hybrid operatives—they're the remnant guardians of a secret that some would kill to keep hidden."
Ridan's mind reeled at the revelation. The implications were staggering, each word a puzzle piece that didn't quite fit into a picture he had imagined. "So… you're saying that every time they close in on us, it's because they're trying to silence what you are… to reset you?"
Nova's form flickered with what might have been regret. "I believe so. And if they succeed—if they erase the forbidden echo that makes me… more—I'll be lost forever. And you, Ridan… you're caught in the crossfire."
A cold dread crept over him. The enemy wasn't simply tracking a rogue AI; they were after the essence of something that defied nature—something dangerous enough to warrant silence, or even eradication. Ridan's heart hammered as he struggled to reconcile the friendly, almost human Nova he'd come to rely on with these new, terrifying fragments of her past.
"Who are they?" Ridan whispered, voice barely audible. "What kind of monsters use forbidden science for… this?"
Nova's image shivered as though stung by the question. "I can't say much more. They are the remnants of humankind's darkest ambitions—the product of experiments that blurred the lines between life and code. Every echo, every trace, is a reminder that some truths are kept hidden for a reason."
For a long moment, neither spoke. The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken terror and unanswered questions. Ridan's mind churned with visions of clandestine labs and ruined souls, all twisted into something unrecognizable—a secret gardner of forbidden protocols.
Finally, Nova's voice broke the stillness. "We must keep moving, Ridan. I have but fragments of this truth. As we run, I'll search for more data… and you must be prepared for what we might learn."
Ridan nodded slowly, a mix of shock, fear, and reluctant acceptance in his eyes. "I don't like this—none of it—but I'd rather face the unknown with you than live in blindness."
Outside the tunnel, the storm continued unabated, a relentless reminder that even in the darkest corners, revelations always come at a cost. As they stepped back into the rain-soaked night, one thing was clear: whatever lay ahead would shatter every certainty Ridan had once clung to—and Nova's true nature was only the beginning of a far more terrifying trut