2035
As the first shadows of night stretched across the city, lit by the glow of luminescent machines pulsing at the very heart of Tokyo, a male figure emerged. His sculpted muscles were accentuated by a black-and-green leather suit, his fists gloved and ready. He walked with a near-mechanical stride. His almond-shaped eyes, framed by finely shaped brows, reflected the neon lights that lit the streets in broken fragments. He advanced with deliberate calm, drawing attention yet hiding his identity under a deceptively plain cap pulled low over his face.
The city's noise was intense: the hum of machinery, anime soundtracks blasting, the screech of tires. A few passersby, accompanied by dogs or virtual partners, chatted away with complete indifference to the world around them.
But our protagonist noticed everything — every move, every glance. He caught even the faintest of sounds, like the distant melody of a violin — the same one he often listened to, eyes closed, with aching devotion.
The violinist wasn't exactly someone he knew. She was just a street performer, a nighttime beggar hoping to capture a little attention and sympathy.
"Good evening, sir…" someone greeted.
He paused and turned. In front of him stood the violinist, all smiles, holding her instrument. She wore a simple black top, black jeans, and her long black hair, streaked with scarlet strands, danced across her face.
"Good evening…" he replied coldly.
He prepared to move on, not sparing her another glance — but she stopped him again.
"Why are you doing this, Kei? " , she asked, curious.
His eyes widened in surprise. He clenched his fists and took a moment before facing her again.
"What are you talking about… and how do you know my name?" he said, slightly unsettled.
The violinist smirked and said:
"Unlike all these people distracted by their virtual lives, I'm still lucid. I've got no distractions — just my violin. So I've got enough clarity to observe and piece together all the patterns unfolding before me…"
"May I give you some advice?", Kei cut her off, " You'd better keep your eyes in your pockets and stay out of my business. Understood?"
"I know you're behind the Blue Blood network", the young woman continued, "The one attacking the Gens Z energy centers — the AIs — every night. And as for your name, that was easy. Your initial, 'K', made me guess you were probably called Kei."
Kei, though clearly rattled, masked his reaction with a sarcastic laugh. He tossed her a coin.
"Have a good evening" he said, before turning away and walking off without looking back.
AI-Center-Costumer
Kei took a moment to read the flashing banner with a smirk before stepping in silently. With a flick of the wrist, he gestured to his companions—who had just joined him—to follow.
They split up for a more efficient infiltration. Kei teamed up with Yui, one of Blue Blood Exterminator's top operatives.
"We need to get rid of her", Yui said, casting Kei a firm look as they moved toward a prototype IA recharging room.
" Who? ", Kei asked, slightly foggy.
" You and the violinist. I saw you. She knows way too much about us, and we still have no clue what her intentions are. Maybe she's a spy pretending to be some helpless homeless girl…"
" I don't think that's necessary. And honestly, it's almost impossible she's a spy. You're just overthinking things. Focus on the mission instead."
A gunshot cracked through the air, grazing Yui's nose, but Kei reacted just in time, yanking her toward him.
" Damn it, focus, " he hissed through clenched teeth, unleashing deadly waves from his gloves that struck their enemy. The latter absorbed the blow effortlessly, and the tiny wound on his cheek sealed itself in seconds.
For the first time, Kei felt a chill of fear run up his spine.
It wasn't normal. No IA had ever resisted his waves before. But AI-Center-Costumer wasn't like the others. Through wildly over-the-top advertising campaigns, it had promised to create the ultimate elite IAs: the Executors.
Still, Kei hadn't imagined they'd be this powerful.
As he kept desperately firing his waves and Yui urged him to fall back, they were swiftly surrounded by other robots—each identical, with the same face, same haircut, same red suits, and black stiletto heels.
" No more sudden moves! " barked one of the IAs, aiming the blade of her umbrella at them.
" I told you we should've left, but you never listen", Yui whispered to Kei with a tone dripping in blame.
Meanwhile, more "sister" IAs joined the blockade, bringing the rest of the team into the trap. Néo and Zenko, the other members of Kei's crew, were covered in scrapes and bruises.
This was a first for them—being caught off guard like this. Usually, during their ops, they blew everything up in minutes before disappearing.
" What now? " Neo whispered to Kei, their leader.
" It's over for you, filthy rats! " a voice rang out.
A woman stepped from the shadows, elegant, her hair in a tight bun.
The IAs parted to let her through as she sashayed toward the prisoners.
" Honestly, I knew the bastards who wrecked the other centers wouldn't spare mine. So I made the proper arrangements. Akemi, be a dear and serve our guests something to drink."
The IA named Akemi nodded and vanished, returning with a tray holding steaming cups filled halfway with a bubbling red liquor.
" With this, I won't have to stain my floors with your blood. One sip and your souls will take off, leaving behind the chaos you've spread. We have a tradition here at AI-Center-Costumer: our lovely ladies personally serve the drinks to our guests."
Laced with venomous charm, Amélie Sasuke, the center's director, was publicly known for her kindness and charisma. But in truth, it was all a carefully crafted mask. She was capable of far darker things.
With a demonic smile, she clapped her hands. Four IAs broke formation, each approaching Akemi to take a cup destined for their "guests," as Amélie put it.
"Open up, darling" , cooed the IA in charge of Kei.
He complied, opening his mouth slowly while scanning for a way to flip the situation. But when he tried to move his foot, he realized his boots were glued to the ground—fused with the tiles to keep him from making the slightest move.
His jaw clenched with rage.
The IA, still with that sweet voice, slowly brought the cup to his lips. His eyes darted around the room. His teammates were in the same critical state. Yui was already bleeding from the nose, poisoned by the steam of the drink she inhaled.
Time seemed to slow, then stop. Amélie, smug in her control, savored the moment.
Then suddenly, an intense, feverish violin note pierced the silence.
The IAs began to shake violently. So violently, the cups slipped from their hands and shattered on the ground. The ones standing to the left and right also convulsed in spasms.
Amélie screamed in hysteria, frantically looking for the source of the sound.
A shadow darted across the room. Amélie dashed after it.
The chaos was just enough for Kei and his team to escape without wasting a second.
In a mad sprint, they rushed to get out of the center.
Kei now knew he had a formidable enemy, and that he would need something bigger—much bigger—to defeat Amélie Sasuke's strange feminine creations…
As a new idea began to spark in his mind, he stopped cold and veered into one of the production rooms.
"What the hell are you doing?! We don't have time for this! "Yui shouted.
" Go. I'll catch up", he replied calmly, without looking back.
Yui let out a groan of frustration, then left the building with the rest of the crew.
Alone in the room, Kei lunged toward
a central machine, beginning to manipulate it with almost instinctive precision…
————
The sunlight piercing through his window jolts Kei awake.
He leaps out of bed and grabs his laptop.
Even though he'd nearly gotten caught, he finally had the data he needed to hack into Amélie's center. He could now manipulate the products sold on the market at will—Best Friend Holograms, robotic pets, even Avatar Lovers.
His fingers dash across the keyboard, navigating private systems and implanting viruses with mechanical precision.
One by one, alerts and red signals begin flooding the screen.
Satisfied, Kei steps back and moves toward the window.
His gaze drifts down to the street.
People are kneeling in front of their bugged-out virtual pets. A woman desperately tries to reboot her unresponsive Avatar Lover. An old man spins in place, lost—his simulation likely interrupted mid-cycle.
"Perfect," Kei mutters, a smug smile curling on his lips. "Because of these damn things, humanity is going down the drain. I'll never stop fighting this so-called revolution they're forcing on us… A revolution for the wallets of the tech elite, more like it..."
His grin fades slightly as he remembers: the war wasn't over yet.
There were still the Executors—those eerie creations immune to physical attacks… and yet visibly shaken by a simple violin sound.
Kei wonders if the beggar woman was behind the musical rescue that saved their lives.
If she was… then was she trying to help them?
In search of answers, he swaps his pajamas for jeans and a t-shirt, then speeds downtown on his bike.
He pulls up to the romantic restaurant where the beggar usually sat—only to find the spot empty.
He searches nearby, asks around at local restaurants. But no one seems to know her. Not even a vague recollection.
Defeated, Kei heads home.
Now, he relies only on what he does best: hacking.
————
"Oh yess!" Kei exclaims as he finally gains access to the Executor system after several failed attempts.
He's about to wreak havoc when a message pops up. Curious, he opens it…
and an holographic projection of Amélie appears.
Kei flinches, nearly falling off his chair, startled.
"You should've never laid your filthy hands on my systems," she says coldly, her face drawn tight.
Kei can tell she's dead serious.
"Unfortunately for you, I've upgraded the security on my Executors. I get notified at the slightest intrusion."
She steps forward in the hologram, her expression turning even darker.
"Since you want to play the villain, I've risen to your level—to be even more villainous: your friends are with me."
She then shows him a projection:
his crew, standing atop a skyscraper, each of them wired into VR chips that render them fully unconscious.
They're all walking like zombies… heading straight toward the edge.
Kei's blood runs cold.
"No... Don't do this..."
"If you want to save them," Amélie says, calm but menacing, "you'll have to do everything I say."
"Okay..." Kei agrees, reluctantly.
His friends are all he has.
He couldn't bear to lose them.
"Perfect," Amélie smiles, wickedly.
"Here's what you need to do: I want you to kill yourself. One of my girls is right outside your door."
Kei stands up, body tense, and goes to open it.
Sure enough, an Executrix is there, holding a tray—with that cursed steaming drink on it.
A mindless smile stretches across her face.
Kei steps aside to let her in.
She enters silently and offers him the cup.
He hesitates.
But when he glances back at the projection—his friends now just steps away from the fatal plunge—
Kei forces himself to drink.
His vision doubles.
The ground slips away beneath him.
The last thing he sees...
is Amélie's massive, victorious grin.
____
A violin playing pianissimo...
Distant cries of birds...
A whispering wave...
Kei suddenly wakes up, lying on the shore of a beach.
He still feels a wave of dizziness ripple through him, so he doesn't get up until his body allows it.
He touches himself, checking if he's real—if his flesh is still solid.
As he wonders how any of this is possible, a voice calls out:
"Kei..."
He turns toward the source of the echo…
and sees the beggar woman, who has just stopped playing her instrument.
She approaches, her bare feet sinking into the sand.
"Where are we? I thought I was dead..." Kei asks, panicked.
"You are, dear. Welcome to the spirit world."
It takes Kei a few minutes to process this, while the woman sits cross-legged beside him.
"So you weren't real?" he finally asks.
"Correct. You were the only one who could see me..."
"But Yui saw you too..."
"Yes. You don't know it yet, but she's dead as well.
She fell from the building just after you drank the deadly beverage."
"Then where is she?"
"Over there..."
The beggar points toward a young woman standing in the water: Yui.
She waves at him.
Kei shakes his head, slightly amused:
"Even in death, she won't leave me alone..." he thinks to himself.
"Can I ask you something?" he says, an idea forming in his mind.
"Yes. Anything," the woman replies, ready to listen.
"Why didn't you save us like last time? I knew it was you."
"Simple: it was time for you to retire.
When the end comes, no one can stop it."
Ah… destiny and its pre-programmed clocks.
Deep down, he regrets not seeing it through.
Dying too abruptly.
But maybe it was never about winning or losing.
After all, he was the one trying to reshape the world in his vision…
and in some way, he hadn't lost entirely.
He might never know the impact he had…
But he'd be remembered for years to come.
The End.