The transport vehicle shuddered as it passed beyond the Core Zone's boundary. Marcus sat silently in the back, his fingers brushing the windowpane as the skyline faded behind him. Danny was hunched over a console beside him, running diagnostics on their connection to the System.
"Signal's weakening," Danny muttered. "We're outside the stable grid now. If something happens in the Echo Zones, I won't be able to patch in directly."
Marcus didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the horizon. The land ahead had no mutation, no signs of life, no system-generated restructuring. Just dry roads, collapsed overpasses, and pale sunlight that never seemed to warm anything.
This was where time forgot the world.
[System Sync: 32%][Warning: Adaptive Protocol Will Experience Delays Beyond 10km Radius]
"I don't like this," Danny added, tone quieter. "We're heading toward a part of the map that doesn't make sense. No heat, no decay. Like a vacuum."
"That's not a vacuum," Marcus said. "It's preservation. Whatever the Legacy Protocol is, it's not trying to adapt like we did. It's trying to return."
Danny's hands paused. "Return to what?"
Marcus looked at him, voice low. "A version of humanity that doesn't include us."
They drove in silence after that, the hum of the tires the only sound.
Then, as they passed a cracked sign half-swallowed by dust, Marcus felt it. A ripple beneath his skin. The System flinched. Not shut down—just… hesitant. Like a predator sensing another in its territory.
The transport jerked. Lights flickered.
[Proximity Alert: Legacy Beacon Detected][Location: Ridge Sector - Entry Point ETA: 1 Hour]
Marcus exhaled. "We're close."
The Ridge had once been a thriving satellite city—clean, orderly, quiet. It looked the same now. Almost… too much the same. The buildings stood untouched. Lawns still perfectly green. A dog leash tied to a bench moved in the breeze—but no dog. No people. No decay.
Danny stood beside Marcus as they exited the vehicle.
"This place feels… fake," he whispered.
Marcus didn't disagree. It was like stepping into a memory someone else had designed, and forgotten to populate.
They moved carefully through the streets, following the pulsing signal that only Marcus could feel—an internal tug deeper into the silent suburb.
Then they saw it.
A house. Perfect white siding. Neatly trimmed bushes. A porch swing that creaked gently.
And a door made entirely of metal.
Marcus stepped forward, then stopped cold.
The air buzzed.
[Legacy Architect Interface Detected][Genetic Signature Scan in Progress...]
Danny's eyes went wide. "Marcus, are you seeing this?"
Marcus nodded slowly. "I think it's seeing me."
[Result: Incompatible Lineage – Access Restricted][Observation Mode: Active – Subject Marcus Chen is Deviation Alpha]
The house shimmered. The porch disappeared. The siding peeled away like an illusion, revealing steel, circuitry, and a humanoid figure embedded in the structure itself.
She looked like a woman.
But too symmetrical.
Too still.
Too perfect.
[Welcome to the Preservation Zone][Legacy Protocol Awakening in 46 Hours]
The figure opened her eyes.
[You do not belong here, Marcus Chen.]
Marcus stepped forward, eyes sharp.
"Then I guess we've got 46 hours to decide who does."