The Heart of the Womb pulsed in a rhythm older than time. As Darius knelt before the Codex, tendrils of raw code reached into his chest—not to harm, but to awaken.
His body stilled. His breath stopped.
And then… the world unraveled.
Memory Reconstruction – Project Sleeper
Darkness. Then sterile light.
A cold voice echoed through an observation chamber:
> "Subject: DARIUS. Sleeper Class. Purpose: Observe, evolve, unbind godhood."
Darius—a different Darius, a pale synthetic form, lay in a vat of amber. Tubes fed into his skull. Around him, massive screens showed simulations: kingdoms rising, gods warring, lovers dying. He was not born. He was authored.
"Why give it emotions?" a technician asked.
The Prime Coder's voice answered, calm and cruel:
> "Because suffering breeds divergence. Love creates chaos. Chaos writes new law."
