Viktor Antonov ran through the dim alleyways, the pain in his back fading beneath pure survival instinct. The bugshot wound no longer mattered. His focus stayed locked on the blinking coordinates of an anonymous message guiding him through Megacity 1 of the West Asia Grid. At the location, among stacked metal crates and stale air, another message led him to a hidden opening descending into the sewers. Without hesitation, he followed. Darkness and stench meant nothing to a man whose network across the West Asia Grid had saved him before. Trust in unseen allies was second nature. At the tunnel’s end waited a one-man escape capsule, sleek, sealed, coffin-like. Viktor slid inside as the canopy locked shut. A message appeared on the console:
“You are safe. This route leads beyond Megacity 1. A vehicle will meet you outside the Grid. Rest. The capsule navigates automatically.”
Viktor exhaled. As the capsule launched into the underground currents, exhaustion pulled him into sleep. Viktor Antonov had always survived by adapting. Before the Grids, he owned a military tech firm. After the Overlords took control, they stripped him of everything. He refused submission and vanished into the shadows, working with TechCartel engineers beneath the cities. There, he rebuilt something forbidden the Barrier. Once a military prototype, it could cloak its user, block tracking, even isolate entire structures. Viktor’s version was portable, a personal shield, invisibility, survival itself. He carried the only blueprints on encrypted drives. No one knew their true value. The chaos following the bombing of the Resistance HQ allowed Viktor to escape Megacity 1 with the originals. Attempts to duplicate them failed, leaving behind only an unbreakable encryption system one that would later confuse the Resistance. The real prize remained with him. Now, sealed in the capsule racing beneath the city, Viktor slept unaware of what awaited him beyond the West Asia Grid. Who was waiting in the Wastelands and why did they want the man who carried the secret of the Barrier?
Innate Trigger : Viktor Antonov
Release date : 24 – 12 – 2025
Music by : Innate Trigger
