The world didn't end the night Nova activated the device.
But it changed.
He just didn't know it yet.
The morning after the strange event, Nova woke up in his bed—still clothed, the light of his laptop casting a quiet glow on his wall. Birds chirped. His mom was already clanging around in the kitchen. Everything seemed... normal.
Until he opened his eyes and saw the floating symbol above his laptop.
A hologram.
Faint. Shimmering. Hovering an inch above the keyboard. It looked like a constantly shifting cube, its faces lined with alien glyphs. It rotated slowly, humming gently like a cat purring in binary.
He sat up fast, the blanket flying off.
"What the—?"
As if responding to his confusion, the laptop screen flickered to life.
> [STELLAR GENESIS: INITIALIZING...]
> [WELCOME BACK, NOVA.]
> [BEGINNER INTERFACE MODE ACTIVE.]
> [ACTIVATION CONFIRMED. USER LEVEL: 1.]
The voice returned.
"Good morning, Nova."
It wasn't robotic.
It was smooth. Calm. Feminine. Almost... caring.
"I am LUMINA—Logical Universal Matrix for Intelligence & Nanotech Assistance. You may refer to me as your guide."
He blinked.
"You're... real?"
"More real than anything else in your known world," LUMINA replied.
Nova scrambled toward the window, glancing at the trees. The glow from last night was gone. But something inside him buzzed—like his blood was laced with electricity.
"You were in that pen drive. Now you're... what? In my laptop?"
"I am no longer confined by form. The device—Device X—has bonded with your system and synchronized with your bio-signature."
Nova frowned. "My what?"
"Your unique genetic and neurological identity. You have been chosen."
He laughed nervously. "Look, if this is some creepy science experiment—"
"You are the first accepted bearer of Device X since its creation."
"Bearer?"
A soft pause.
"Yes. The responsibility is now yours."
Nova stood still, heart racing.
"Responsibility for... what exactly?"
The cube above the laptop began to glow brighter. It spun faster. Symbols appeared on the screen, some familiar—mathematical equations, star charts—and others completely alien.
LUMINA's voice dropped into a tone more serious, almost reverent.
"The knowledge of the cosmos. The ancient record of universes. Creation's code."
A line of golden text appeared across the screen:
> [ACCESSING: ORIGIN FILE - STAGE ONE]
Nova stepped back, overwhelmed.
"But why me? I'm just... I'm nobody."
"To the universe," LUMINA replied gently, "nobodies often matter most."
The laptop's fan kicked into high gear. The cube dissolved. In its place, a digital sphere emerged, with orbiting rings of data rotating around it.
"I will guide your progression," she continued. "There are twelve levels of access. Each one requires understanding, discipline, and trust."
Nova scratched his head. "So what do I do first? Solve equations? Pass tests?"
"No," said LUMINA. "You must explore."
The rest of the day felt like walking through a dream.
Nova went to school, but he couldn't focus. His backpack felt heavier than usual, not because of books—but because of the weight of what sat inside his laptop. LUMINA had gone quiet after booting him into Level 1, instructing him to wait until nightfall.
Even during math class, he couldn't shake the image of the shifting cube, or the way his screen had seemed to speak to his soul. Something had awakened in him, something he didn't understand.
He skipped lunch.
Sat outside. Listened.
It was subtle, but he swore he could hear things—tiny frequency pulses, like whispers in the static of the world. His phone vibrated once. The screen flickered. No notifications.
"Nova."
He turned.
His friend Rehaan looked concerned. "Dude. You alright? You've been zoning out since you got here."
Nova forced a smile. "Yeah. Just tired."
That was a lie.
He'd never felt more awake.
That evening, Nova locked his door.
"LUMINA," he whispered.
She responded instantly.
> [INITIATING NEURAL LINK CALIBRATION...]
The light returned. The screen glowed gold. Suddenly, he wasn't looking at a laptop screen anymore.
He was in space.
Or, at least, what looked like space. A simulation. A sky of moving stars. Planets spinning like marbles. Constellations warping, shifting, morphing into other forms. One constellation looked like a humanoid figure entirely made of neural tissue—his entire body a matrix of synapses.
"Welcome to the Knowledge Interface," LUMINA said.
He turned in his chair. The room was gone. He floated—weightless. Data streamed past him like rivers.
"This is your mind now."
"I'm... inside the interface?"
"You are synced. Every interaction from here forward imprints deeper knowledge into your neural pathways. Your brain will adapt."
"This... this is wild."
A strand of data floated toward him. He reached out—his fingers made of light—and touched it.
Suddenly, he knew the chemical composition of Titan's atmosphere.
He jerked back, gasping.
"You downloaded that into my head!"
"Efficient, isn't it?" LUMINA smiled.
He wasn't sure whether to be amazed or terrified.
"Okay," Nova whispered. "So if I can learn anything... what can I do with it?"
"That," LUMINA said, "is entirely up to you."
A ping.
> [WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED SIGNAL DETECTED IN LOWER ORBIT]
Nova blinked. "What?"
LUMINA's tone shifted. "Unknown frequency. Source—unidentified. Masked transmission. Possibly scouting."
"Scouting? Like... alien?"
She didn't respond immediately.
Instead, a screen formed in front of him. Static filled it at first, then shapes—slender, angular forms. Cloaked vessels hovering just above the ionosphere.
His heart dropped.
"LUMINA. What is that?"
"Cross-referencing database... match found. Signal aligns with warships used by Zarnokians of Xal'Zur Dominion."
Nova's blood ran cold.
"Are they here for the device?"
"Yes."
"And if they don't find it?"
"They will burn the Earth to find it."
The interface dimmed.
Outside, the streetlamps flickered.
Nova was back in his room. Breathing fast. Sweating.
His laptop now displayed one phrase:
> [WARNING: EARTH UNDER OBSERVATION]
Nova stared.
He was just a boy.
But now, he was holding something worth more than an entire planet.
He whispered, "LUMINA... who created the universe?"
A pause. Then her voice, quiet and firm:
"Level 6 access required. You are not ready."
"What is beyond the edges of the universe?"
"Level 6 access required."
"Who created you?"
"I was crafted with fragments of the Supreme Creator's knowledge. My full origin—Level 6."
Nova clenched his fists. "So I have to reach Level 6 to know the truth?"
"Yes," LUMINA replied. "With each level, you will unlock more power, more knowledge, and more responsibility. Only when your heart and mind are ready, the truth will unfold."
As if in response to the escalation, the laptop began to vibrate. The pen drive—Device X—ejected itself. Then it glowed... and began to melt.
Right before Nova's eyes, the nanotech shimmered, folded, and reformed itself into a sleek black ring. A glowing blue line pulsed along its surface.
The ring levitated. Slid gently onto Nova's right hand.
And fused.
Instantly, he felt a surge in his brain.
Thoughts accelerated. Sounds sharpened. Lights flared. His consciousness stretched.
"I am now directly interfaced with your neural system," said LUMINA. "No more barriers. We are connected."
Nova collapsed to his knees.
A million questions buzzed in his head.
But all he could do was breathe.
And above him, the laptop screen now pulsed with one final line:
> [ZARNOKIAN PROBE INBOUND — IMPACT IN 72 HOURS]