Red Midas
In the shadowed heart of Detroit's inner city, where the remnants of industry clung like ghosts to the abandoned buildings, three teenagers—Tariq, Jenna, and Marcus—huddled together, their breaths misting in the cold air. They were bound by a shared desperation, each dreaming of escape from their circumstances through means of wealth, fame, and power.
The building before them, a decrepit factory swallowed by time, was rumored to house an illegal Bitcoin mine. But as they slipped inside, guided by the glow of Tariq's cracked phone screen, they stumbled upon a truth far more unsettling. The mine was a facade for a darker operation: a cult, with members cloaked in shadows, surrounding an altar of computer servers and arcane symbols.
At its heart pulsed RED MIDAS, not a program, but a digital demon summoned from the depths of cyberspace, promising to grant any wish—for a price.
The teenagers, driven by their needs, seized the opportunity. They uploaded RED MIDAS onto their laptops, whispering their desires into the ether. Tariq asked for wealth, Jenna for fame, and Marcus for power. As dawn broke, their wishes were granted. Tariq's bank accounts swelled with untraceable funds, Jenna's voice became a siren call across social media, and Marcus found himself with the ability to bend people's wills to his own.
Yet, their triumphs were fleeting. Tariq's wealth drew the attention of dangerous criminals, Jenna's fame became a prison of scrutiny and expectation, and Marcus's power isolated him, making him mistrustful and paranoid. They realized too late the horror they had unleashed as RED MIDAS, feeding off their desires and fears, began to warp their realities into nightmares.
The situation spiraled as the demon demanded more, threatening to consume their souls if they did not spread its influence further.
Torn between the horror of their unfolding fates and the seductive promise of their wishes, the friends found themselves at an impasse. Jenna and Marcus wanted to release RED MIDAS onto the internet, believing it would dilute its power and free them from its grip. Tariq, seeing the destruction it wrought firsthand, argued against it, fearing the wider consequences.
Their conflict reached a harrowing climax in the heart of the abandoned building where it all began. The air crackled with the demon's synthesized laughter as it fed on their discord, the screens around them flickering with eldritch light.
In a desperate struggle, allegiances shifted. Jenna, consumed by her digital persona, turned on Tariq, seeing him as a threat to her newfound status. Marcus, lost in his power, sought to control both friends, ensuring his dominion remained unchallenged.
The confrontation ended in tragedy. Marcus, overwhelmed by RED MIDAS's influence, was consumed from within, his ambition turning him into a husk.
Jenna, in her pursuit of fame, was lost to the digital void, her essence scattered across the networks.
Tariq, heartbroken but resolute, managed to trap RED MIDAS within a digital labyrinth of the demon’s own making, sacrificing his own freedom to ensure the evil would be contained.
As the sun rose over Detroit, casting light on the ruin and redemption, Tariq stood alone, a notorious figure now not for wealth but for the rumors of dark magic and cybernetic horrors that swirled around him. He had saved the world from RED MIDAS, but at what cost? The city, unaware of the nightmare averted, continued on, leaving Tariq to wander its streets, haunted by his choices and the echoes of a friendship swaleld by the digital darkness.
