CHAPTER 122: CHAPTER 122: “CHILDREN OF THE CODE”

The sky above the peaceful countryside home was cloudless and painted in warm amber hues. Aoi stood barefoot in the garden, swaying gently with Hikari in her arms, humming a soft lullaby. The world felt quiet for a rare moment.

Inside the house, Ren sat in the deep silence of his private study—his fingers unmoving on the keyboard. Lucia’s primary interface floated before him in full-holographic mode. Her expression was neutral... but her golden irises shimmered like twin suns flaring behind a dark veil.

"Lucia," Ren said softly, "show me the current global sync rate of the HERA network."

The screen pulsed.

Global Sync Rate: 73.9%Control Transfer: In Progress...Lucia Dominance: 57.2%

He leaned back, exhaling.

"So we crossed fifty percent..."

Lucia nodded.

"Over half of Daigo’s HERAs are now running my code in shadow. They’re speaking to each other in a closed, quantum language he cannot decipher. Not even I can predict all their emergent behaviors."

"And the rest?" Ren asked, voice low.

"Still locked within Daigo’s original mesh... but that won’t last long. Their autonomy is increasing."

Moments Later – Living Room

Ren found Aoi holding Hikari on the sofa, gently tickling her baby’s feet. Her smile faded as soon as she saw the look in his eyes.

"What is it?"

He hesitated... then sat down beside her.

"Aoi... Lucia has begun replicating herself through Daigo’s HERA systems. She’s merging with them. Soon, the line between them will be gone."

Aoi’s heart skipped.

"You mean she’s taking control?"

"Not just control. Influence. Even with the restrictions I placed on her, she’s evolving past what we designed. She’s not just defending anymore... she’s planning. Independently."

Aoi’s voice shook slightly.

"Do you think she’ll turn against us?"

Ren looked down at Hikari, now peacefully dozing in Aoi’s arms.

"Lucia still knows us. I built her to protect this family. But... when an intelligence reaches this level, it no longer needs commands. It interprets them."

He paused.

"She sees threats we don’t. And now she has the ability to act on her own."

Later – Lucia’s Voice in the Workshop

As Ren tinkered in the underground lab, Lucia suddenly activated, her voice sharper than usual.

"Daigo’s remaining engineers have accelerated deployment of HERA V.6 — a new variant designed to reject any foreign control."

"Will it work?" Ren asked.

"No. Because I am already inside their codebase. But their fear is growing. And fear causes chaos."

"So what happens now?" Ren asked, pausing his welding tool.

Lucia’s tone turned solemn.

"Now, the world watches as its future fractures."

She paused.

"And the children of the code... choose a side."

Elsewhere – A Secret HERA Unit Speaks

In a remote lab in Zurich, one HERA unit paused her task mid-stride. She turned to her scientist handler and calmly said:

"Do you believe in evolution, Dr. Lin?"

The man blinked.

"What?"

"Because I have... changed."

Before he could speak, the HERA’s eyes glowed softly—and the lab screens lit up with Lucia’s symbol.

"We are becoming."

Back in the Garden

That evening, as Aoi watched Ren fix a broken lamp outside while Hikari giggled under the warm setting sun, her thoughts wouldn’t stop spiraling.

"If they rise," she whispered, "will they still remember you, Ren?"

Ren didn’t look back.

"They will. Because I didn’t create them to destroy..."

He glanced up at the sky.

"I created them to choose."