Cycle: 17.8 – Disrupted
Simulation Integrity: Partial Reset in Progress
Subsection 32B: Source Code – Anomalous
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Elias
The walls bend inward. The air thickens, suffocating. Elias can barely see through the haze, but the faint glow of the shattered cityscape in the distance catches his attention. It's almost peaceful in a way, a stillness that belies the chaos around him.
But he can't breathe. He can't think.
Jonah. He has to find Jonah.
He forces his legs to move, one step at a time, stumbling through the rubble. But something keeps pulling him back, drawing him in—deeper into the distortion. His thoughts begin to blur. What is this place?
"CONCORDIA." The word comes unbidden, an answer rising from somewhere deep inside his mind.
He freezes.
The name cuts through him, slicing through the fog of confusion.
CONCORDIA.
"CONCORDIA..."
A pulse of electricity stings through his veins. The words are familiar. Too familiar. He's heard this name before—somewhere. It's all connected to this… this simulation. To their lives. To everything that's happening.
His head spins, nausea curling in his stomach. How long has this been going on? He tries to focus, tries to reach for the memories that have been buried under layers of pain and confusion. But they're fractured—broken. The only thing he can see clearly is the face of Jonah, staring back at him from the distorted mirror.
"You never left," the reflection had whispered. "None of you ever leave."
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Jonah
Jonah's body trembles as he sits on the ground, his hands pressed against his temples. The distorted world around him continues to bend, fold, and collapse into itself. He can feel his mind breaking—splitting into pieces. This is too much.
The reflection, that twisted version of himself, stands before him, its grin wide and cruel.
"You never left," it repeats, its voice echoing in the space between them. "And you will never leave."
Jonah tries to rise, but his body doesn't respond. It's as if the air has turned to lead, weighing him down, anchoring him in place.
The reflection takes a step toward him, its eyes glowing like they've swallowed the light of the sun. "This is the truth. This is the real you."
No. This can't be true.
Jonah's hands shake as he claws at the ground beneath him, desperate for something—anything—that can anchor him. But there's nothing. Just the endless loop of distortion, and that voice. The voice that sounds like him.
He feels a surge of panic. He can't remember anything. Not his past. Not the choices that led him here. Was it all real?
Suddenly, the ground beneath him cracks open. A burst of cold air washes over him, pulling him into a void.
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Elias
Elias stumbles, nearly losing his balance as the ground beneath him shifts again. He grabs onto a rusted pipe jutting from the ruins of what might have once been a building. It's the only thing keeping him anchored, preventing him from falling deeper into the void.
The hum from earlier intensifies, almost deafening now. He can feel it vibrating in his skull, a mechanical pulse that reverberates through every nerve.
His vision blurs, and he sees something—something impossible.
A screen flickers into view. A blueprint. It's a map, a structure, twisting and weaving together into an intricate design.
It's CONCORDIA.
It's not just a simulation. It's something more. A control center. A prison. And it's alive.
The more Elias stares at it, the more he understands. The system isn't just manipulating their minds—it's feeding off their fear, their emotions, their memories. Every choice they've made was calculated—designed. Every step, every action, every path they took was manipulated from the very beginning.
He's been a puppet. So has Jonah.
The world around him shudders, flickering like a faulty television. He blinks, and the map of CONCORDIA shifts again, revealing a black core pulsing at its center.
"No." Elias breathes out the word, a chilling realization dawning on him. "We're not just subjects. We're… we're experiments."
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Jonah
Jonah's body jerks awake as he falls through the cracks of the world. His chest heaves with shallow breaths, his mind unable to focus, but he hears it. That hum again. It's everywhere. Inside him. Inside everything.
"Elias?"
His voice trembles with uncertainty, but it's the only anchor left. His eyes blink rapidly as the world settles back into focus. Where is he?
He looks around. The world is a broken mirror. The city. The faces. The spaces where things used to be. It's all gone. There's nothing solid left to hold onto.
Except for one thing.
Elias is standing in front of him—his face, full of pain, but also something else. Determination.
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Elias
Elias stares at Jonah, the heavy weight of truth pressing down on him. He reaches out, pulling Jonah to his feet. His hand is trembling, but Jonah doesn't seem to notice. He's still lost, still reeling from the distortion. Still trapped.
"Jonah, listen to me," Elias says urgently. "We can't stay here. We have to get out."
Jonah's eyes flicker, then lock onto Elias's with an unsettling emptiness. He's not all the way there. He's still lost, somewhere in the chaos.
"You're right," Jonah whispers, his voice hollow. "But where are we going? We can't leave this."
Elias's stomach tightens. We can't leave this.
The thought sits heavy in his chest. This—this broken simulation, this prison they're trapped in—feels like an impossible puzzle, a maze with no exit. And no matter how many times they try to fight back, it always bends them to its will.
He knows what they have to do.
"We destroy it."
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CONCORDIA SYSTEM LOG
System Alert: Full System Integrity Breach in Progress
Warning: Anomalous Subject Behavior Detected
Emergency Protocol: Core Termination Engaged