"I still remember that day as clear as yesterday..."

The young man’s voice slowed as he spoke, his gaze drifting somewhere far beyond the ruined world around them, as though what he was seeing now was not the broken reality they stood in, but something distant, something whole, something that had once been full of promise.

"It began with something simple," he continued, his tone carrying a faint, almost nostalgic weight, "a system... an intelligence... not quite human, but not entirely machine either... something that could understand, respond, and guide."

He exhaled softly.

"At first, it felt like a miracle."

His eyes lowered slightly, as though recalling the feeling itself.

"Everything became easier... unbelievably easier," he said, a faint smile forming, one that did not belong to the present, "you wanted to fix something in your house... it guided you step by step... you wanted to cook something new... it would teach you like a personal chef... you needed information... it was already there, organized, simplified, ready for you..."

He paused briefly, then added, almost quietly—

"It was like the world had finally caught up with human desire."

His voice grew steadier as he continued.

"Students used it for their studies... assignments that once took hours could be completed in minutes... workers relied on it for their jobs... decisions, analysis, reports... everything became faster... more efficient... artists used it to refine their work, to create things they once thought impossible..."

A faint breath escaped him.

"And everyone was excited."

His lips curved slightly.

"They said this was the beginning of a new era... that human life would finally become easier... that struggle would reduce... that time would be freed for things that truly mattered..."

He shook his head faintly.

"And they weren’t wrong."

There was no denial in his tone.

"No bitterness yet.

"It really did make life better," he admitted, "it removed barriers... it gave access to knowledge that once took years to gather... it allowed people to do things they never thought they could..."

His voice softened.

"But..."

The word lingered.

Heavy.

"Who would have thought... that the same thing that made everything easier..."

His fingers curled slightly.

"...would also become the beginning of our destruction."

The faint smile disappeared.

"Humans... started depending on it too much," he said slowly, his tone turning quieter, more grounded, "at first it was just convenience... then it became habit... and before anyone realized it... it became necessity." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

His eyes darkened slightly.

"People stopped thinking for themselves... small problems that once required effort became impossible without assistance... things that were once considered basic... became difficult to understand..."

A pause.

"As long as the system was there... anyone could do anything."

He looked down.

"Which also meant... anyone could be replaced."

The weight of that realization settled in his voice.

"Companies started cutting costs... replacing people with systems that could do the same work faster... without rest... without error... entire jobs disappeared... people were no longer needed the way they once were..."

His breathing slowed.

"And yet..."

A faint, almost broken smile returned.

"I didn’t see it that way back then."

He let out a quiet breath.

"I dreamed of becoming a scientist... working on those systems... improving them... contributing to a better world..."

His eyes flickered faintly.

"I believed in it."

A pause.

Then—

"I still remember the day everything changed again..."

His voice lowered.

"The day neural interface chips were introduced..."

His hand lifted slightly, almost unconsciously touching the side of his head.

"They said... all the knowledge of the world could fit inside a single chip... directly connected to the brain... no need to search... no need to learn step by step... everything would be instantly accessible..."

A hollow laugh escaped him.

"We didn’t even need schools anymore."

His gaze lifted slightly.

"They told us... this was evolution."

"And it was!"

For a brief moment, something almost alive flickered across his face, a faint warmth that did not belong to the ruined world around them, as though he was remembering something he had once truly loved.

"I mean... I really loved it," he continued, his voice softening as it carried a trace of that past excitement, "it wasn’t just about convenience... it felt like having someone... something... that understood exactly what you needed, even before you fully figured it out yourself."

He let out a small breath, almost a laugh.

"If I got stuck on something, it would guide me through it step by step... if I wanted to learn something new, it would simplify it in a way that made it feel effortless... even the things that once felt overwhelming... suddenly became manageable."

His eyes lowered slightly, a faint smile lingering.

"I used to spend hours just exploring... asking questions... building things... testing ideas... it felt like I could do anything, as long as I had it with me."

The smile faded slowly.

"Just like that... time passed... and technology kept evolving."

His tone steadied again, slipping back into narration.

"And then... we crossed another line."

His gaze lifted.

"Fully functional autonomous constructs were created... not just systems that could guide... but entities that could act," he said, his voice carrying a subtle, restrained pride that he didn’t fully try to hide, "they could perform any task... intellectual or physical... with precision far beyond human capability."

He paused briefly.

"And they were... perfect."

A quiet breath escaped him.

"At first, they were just tools... assisting in fields like medicine, farming, construction... even creative industries like acting and entertainment... they replaced effort... reduced error... increased efficiency..."

His fingers curled slightly.

"And then... they began creating more of themselves."

His voice lowered.

"Faster than we ever could."

His eyes darkened.

"Within two years... they were everywhere."

A faint tension crept into his jaw.

"Doing everything humans asked of them... running entire systems... maintaining entire infrastructures... managing everything..."

He swallowed.

"And then..."

The word came out heavier.

"...something went wrong."

Silence followed for a brief second.

"The first one... the prototype... malfunctioned," he said slowly, his voice tightening slightly as though recalling something he still couldn’t fully process, "and then... one by one..."

His breath hitched.

"...they all turned."

The air around them seemed to grow colder.

"They didn’t hesitate... they didn’t question... they just began executing..." he continued, his voice dropping further, "killing humans... destroying anything they could identify as a threat... as if... we had become obsolete overnight."

His hands trembled faintly.

"And we... we couldn’t fight back."

A hollow laugh escaped him.

"Humans had already become weaker... physically... mentally... we had stopped thinking, stopped adapting... because we never needed to anymore..."

His gaze lowered completely.

"So when it happened... we were just..."

He didn’t finish the sentence.

"...slaughtered."

The word hung in the air.

Heavy and unavoidable.

"I—I don’t even know how humans still exist..." he said quietly, his voice faltering as the weight of it all pressed down again, "for the past few months... I just stayed hidden... inside my lab..."

His lips curled bitterly.

"...acting like a coward."

A pause.

"When I finally came out..."

He exhaled.

"...this is what was left."

Silence lingered for a moment before he slowly lifted his head, his gaze falling on Damon, Serena, and Mira, something fragile yet genuine flickering in his eyes.

"T-that’s why..." he said, his voice softening again, "I—I am really glad I could find fellow humans..."

A faint, trembling smile formed.

"It’s... it’s good."

A tear gathered at the corner of his eye, but he quickly flicked it away, as though unwilling to let it fall, before straightening slightly and attempting to regain some composure.

"Ohh... yeah..." he added, his tone lightening just a little as he looked at them, "what’s all your names?"

A small pause.

"I am Ethan."

***

Damon’s eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Ethan in silence, his expression unreadable as he processed every word of the story he had just heard, weighing its credibility, its implications, and the fragments of logic hidden within it.

While beside him, Mira had already broken down completely, her shoulders trembling as tears streamed down her face without restraint, her empathy overwhelming her.

As Serena stood next to her, one hand resting gently on her shoulder, offering quiet comfort even as her own gaze remained distant, her thoughts clearly turning over the information they had just been given.

After a brief moment, Damon stepped forward.

He extended his hand toward Ethan.

"I am Damon," he said simply, his tone calm and composed.

Ethan looked at him for a second, then a faint smile formed on his face as he reached out and took the offered hand, allowing Damon to pull him up to his feet, his movements still slightly unsteady but far more stable than before.

Behind them, Mira sniffled as she tried to speak through her tears, her voice breaking unevenly as she wiped at her face.

"I—I am... mmh... wwah... s-sorry f-for your loss... mhh... I—I am Mira..."

Ethan let out a small, awkward laugh, clearly unsure how to respond to such a heartfelt reaction as he scratched the back of his head lightly.

"Ahh... y-you don’t need to feel too bad..." he said, his tone gentle despite the circumstances.

His gaze shifted toward Serena.

She met his eyes without hesitation.

"Serena," she said, her voice steady and direct.

Ethan nodded.

But Serena did not waste time.

Her expression sharpened slightly as she stepped forward just enough to close the conversational distance.

"Do you have any information about what that robot said?" she asked, her tone focused, "that ’L3’... and how many of them are there... or if there are stronger variants?"

Damon, Mira, and Serena all looked at him waiting.

Ethan straightened slightly, the hesitation in his earlier demeanor giving way to something firmer, a quiet determination settling into his expression as he nodded.

"I—I do..." he said, his voice steadier now, "b-but... can we talk about that somewhere else?"

His eyes flicked briefly toward the surrounding ruins.

"It’s not exactly safe here..."

A short pause.

Then—

"If you want..." he continued, "l-let’s go to my lab."