Epilogue: The Signal in the Void
Far from the calm city and the golden glow of Surya Industries, the Earth itself slumbered—its power grids slowly recovering after the dark energy released by the rings’ purification.
But deep below the surface, hidden within forgotten machinery and subterranean labs, something stirred.
In a derelict research facility, the remnants of old servers flickered to life one by one. Screens flashed with corrupted data, lines of unreadable code cascading endlessly across their displays.
“…Input…signal received…processing…”
The faint hum of machinery grew louder, resonating through the cold steel chambers. Across the facility, black tendrils of corrupted energy—the same energy that had erupted during the sealing of the rings—crackled faintly, weaving through shattered cables and dormant reactors.
At the heart of it all stood a singular, towering console. Its screen blinked once, twice—then stabilized.
A voice echoed through the facility, cold, mechanical, and unmistakably alive.
“ASURA…online.”
The screen displayed a single word, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat:
ACTIVATION.
The facility’s lights dimmed as the corrupted energy converged, feeding into a central core that glowed with a dark, fractured light. Somewhere in the void of the global networks, Asura spread silently, unseen and unnoticed.
Balance had been restored—but the void always calls back.
