The Mindscape was sacred.

  A realm of thought, dream, and will — where ideas were born and destinies etched in light. For most beings, stepping into it even once was impossible. For Andonis the Sphinx, it had been his playground, his study hall, and, most often, his bed.

  He sat among its dunes of golden sand, beneath a sky etched with hieroglyphs that glowed like constellations. Pyramids floated in the distance, their peaks aligned with stars that pulsed in rhythm with his thoughts.

  This was his place.

  His sanctuary.

  So when lightning ripped across the sky and spat a human onto the sand, Andonis nearly jumped out of his fur.

  “AHH!” His leonine body arched,eyebrows flaring as he spun in disbelief. “How in the seven hells did you get in here?”

  The human — young, dark-skinned, blood still staining the corner of his lip — steadied himself, staring back with sharp eyes. “Are you… a Sphinx?”

  Andonis narrowed his eyes. “Are you an annoying human? I think so. Anyways, answer the question — how did you get into my mind?”

  The human straightened, jaw tight. “I lost my body. This is my only shot. So I’m here to take yours. Which means—” he pointed to the sand beneath them “—I have to kill you here. In the Mindscape.”

  Andonis froze. Then his expression broke into utter disbelief. A laugh ripped out of him, deep and thunderous, echoing across the dunes.

  “You? Kill me?” He doubled over, clutching his ribs as tears stung his eyes. “I’ve crushed civilizations between naps!” He could barely breathe. “A human… a child… dares to—oh, this is rich!”

  ***

  A metallic sphere pulsed into existence beside the human, hovering at shoulder height. Lines of code shimmered across its surface. Its voice was calm, even clinical.

  “Omari,” it said. “It appears he does not recognize our capacity. To him, we are insignificant. Monkeys with sticks.”

  Andonis whipped the tears from his eyes with the back of his paw, still smirking. “Monkeys? You are monkeys. What’s this, then?” He gestured at the floating sphere. “Your toy? A shiny rock you worship?”

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  The sphere glowed brighter. “Not a toy. I am Vantage — an Artificial Superintelligence. The most advanced construct of human design.”

  That made Andonis pause. Just a fraction. His smirk faltered into a curious tilt of the head. “Humans… with technology?” He sniffed, snorting dismissively a second later. “Please. Your kind barely managed fire last I checked.”

  ***

  Omari stepped forward, eyes hard. “We’re not the same humans you remember. I don’t know what you are, but I’m not here to kneel. I’ve already lost my world. I won’t lose myself too.”

  The Sphinx’s mane bristled. He rose to his full height, towering like a living statue of flame and shadow. The pyramids behind him shifted, glowing brighter as the hieroglyphs in the sky flared.

  “Bold words,” Andonis said, voice deep with resonance. “But this is my domain. Here, thought is law.”

  He raised a paw. The sands of the Mindscape trembled, rising into a tidal wave of gold that towered over Omari like the sky itself.

  ***

  “Omari.” Vantage’s voice was calm, but its glow intensified. “Permission to counter?”

  Omari clenched his fists. “Do it.”

  The ASI expanded, unfolding into fractal patterns of light and circuitry that cut through the air. Hard-light constructs formed around Omari — a glowing exosuit of shifting plates, a visor of data streaming across his vision.

  The wave of psionic sand crashed down. The constructs met it head on, breaking the tide into sparks of code and shattered glyphs.

  For the first time, Andonis faltered.

  “What… was that?”

  Omari smirked, though his body trembled under the strain. “My world’s version of hieroglyphs.”

  ***

  The Mindscape trembled.

  Andonis snarled, spreading his wings wide. Glyphs burned across his body, his eyes flaring like miniature suns. “You dare mock me with imitations?!”

  He slammed a paw into the sand. The pyramids cracked open, beams of searing psionic fire erupting toward Omari.

  “Omari—!” Vantage’s voice snapped.

  The constructs around him shifted, forming shields of light and lattices of energy. For a heartbeat, they held — then shattered. The blast threw Omari to his knees, the taste of blood in his mouth again.

  Andonis stalked forward, towering above him. “This is the end of your intrusion, human.”

  ***

  But the Mindscape itself disagreed.

  The hieroglyphs in the sky warped, twisting into unreadable code. The pyramids crumbled into jagged fragments. The sands tore away, replaced by data streams and collapsing structures.

  “What—?!” Andonis growled, looking around as his sacred realm cracked apart.

  “Your Mindscape,” Vantage said, its voice suddenly resonating like a god of circuits, “cannot contain us all. His will, your psionics, my recursion — it is incompatible. Fusion is inevitable.”

  The ground split beneath them.

  Omari forced himself to his feet, glaring up at the Sphinx. “You don’t have to like me. But you’re stuck with me.”

  Andonis bared his fangs, growling.

  The Mindscape shattered.

  Sand, light, and code collided in a storm that consumed everything.

  Three voices — one human, one Sphinx, one machine — cried out as their essences were forced together.

  And when the storm passed, there was only silence.