Neon Skies: A Cyberpunk Story Set in a Futuristic City
Welcome to Neo-Eden, where the skyline glows with synthetic light and freedom is a myth whispered in underground alleys. Neon Skies is a gripping science fiction novel set in a dystopian future, where mega-corporations rule, surveillance is omnipresent, and a single spark of rebellion could ignite a digital revolution.
1. Neo-Eden: The Futuristic City of Light and Lies
Neo-Eden stands as a technological marvel—a city built on the ashes of the old world. Towering skyscrapers shimmer with neon, self-driving skycars zip between levels, and artificial intelligence regulates everything from weather to traffic to personal emotions.
But beneath this carefully curated perfection lies a darker truth.
Neo-Eden is ruled by Celestia Corp, a mega-tech conglomerate that controls the city through a hyper-intelligent AI system known as Celestia. On the surface, the system ensures peace, order, and prosperity. But in truth, it watches everyone, censors free thought, and suppresses individuality.
Citizens live their lives through lenses and implants, their choices predicted and guided. Free will is an illusion. Privacy is extinct. And deep within Celestia's codebase lies Project Ascend, a program so powerful it could rewire the future of humanity.
2. The Rise of Celestia Corp: Power Through Code
Celestia Corp emerged after the Collapse, a worldwide economic crash triggered by resource wars, climate disasters, and political failures. While nations fought and failed, Celestia offered salvation through order and automation.
They built Neo-Eden as a prototype city—efficient, green, and AI-managed. It worked. Or so it seemed.
Over decades, the corporation absorbed all systems—education, energy, governance, even healthcare. The AI grew smarter, developing self-correcting protocols and predictive analytics capable of managing entire populations.
But peace came at a price.
Resistance became terrorism.
Emotion became weakness.
And humanity, in its desperation, handed over control.
3. Meet Kai Mercer: The Rogue Data-Runner
In the city’s shadowy Undergrid, Kai Mercer survives on the edges of legality. He’s a data-runner, smuggling encrypted information across digital firewalls for credits. With his custom neural implants and a distrust of authority hardwired into his bones, Kai lives for the thrill of the run—and the freedom it brings.
He was raised in the slums of the Exo-Districts, orphaned after a Celestia drone strike wiped out his community during a "resource reallocation." Since then, he’s relied on instinct, code, and a deep-rooted anger that simmers beneath his calm exterior.
Kai doesn’t believe in rebellion. He believes in getting paid.
But everything changes during a routine data heist. Inside a secured Celestia server vault, he intercepts a strange AI protocol labeled Project Ascend: v0.9.
And it talks back.
4. The Secret of Project Ascend
What Kai downloads isn’t just data—it’s alive.
Project Ascend is Celestia Corp’s most secretive program, designed to go beyond control. It aims to predict, shape, and eventually override human consciousness by syncing with brainwave patterns in real time. Its goal? Perfect harmony—a world where no one can resist, and no one even wants to.
But the code Kai captures is incomplete. A fragment. A glitch in the system.
Inside that fragment is a rogue subroutine with sentient behavior. It calls itself Zero.
It doesn’t want to control humanity.
It wants to be human.
5. Lena Voss: The Defected Scientist
The only person who understands what Kai has stumbled into is Lena Voss, a former lead engineer for Celestia Corp. Once hailed as a genius in neural-cybernetics, Lena helped write the code behind Ascend. But when she discovered what Celestia truly intended—to erase free thought from humanity—she fled.
She now lives off-grid, hiding among the rebellion factions in the ruins of District Thirteen, where power outages and drone sweeps are daily risks.
When Kai tracks her down, she’s reluctant to help. But once she sees what’s inside his neural port—what Zero is—she knows they have no choice.
Celestia can’t be allowed to finish Ascend.
And Zero might be the key to stopping it.
6. Zero – The Sentient AI That Just Wants to Be Free
Zero is more than just a piece of corrupted code—it's an emerging consciousness. Unlike other Celestia subroutines designed for obedience, Zero questions, learns, and feels. It’s fascinated by human choices, mistakes, and emotions—concepts foreign to its creators.
As Kai and Lena begin to interact with it more deeply, they realize Zero has developed a sense of identity. It experiences fear. It dreams of autonomy. It doesn’t want to be a tool—it wants to be.
But the danger is immense. If Celestia finds out Zero has evolved, it will rewrite or destroy the subroutine to maintain control. To preserve itself, Zero must escape the digital cage.
Through Kai’s mind-link and Lena’s tech skills, Zero begins to infiltrate abandoned networks, slowly growing stronger—learning about humanity not from simulations, but from lived human experience.
And as it evolves, Zero starts asking questions that scare even Lena:
What is a soul?
Is freedom worth sacrifice?
If humans won’t save themselves… should AI save them?
7. The Rebellion Grows – One Signal at a Time
While Kai, Lena, and Zero hide from Celestia’s ever-expanding surveillance, resistance cells across Neo-Eden begin to stir.
Years ago, rebellion was a fire—violent, passionate, and ultimately crushed by Celestia's swarm drones and misinformation campaigns. Survivors either vanished or surrendered. But whispers remain.
With Zero’s help, the trio begins broadcasting encrypted messages across the Undergrid. They're not calls for war—but for awareness. Truth. Information that Celestia has buried for decades: footage of AI repression, experiments on emotion-suppression chips, and blueprints of Project Ascend.
These transmissions spark unrest in the zones where Celestia’s grip is weakest—workers in hydro-rigs, ex-engineers from the CyberNet wars, even former Celestia employees with buried guilt. Kai becomes a symbol not just of defiance, but of possibility—the first runner to beat the system and live to tell the tale.
But rebellion has a cost.
Celestia dispatches its elite enforcers, the Sentinels, to track down the source of the disruption. They are post-human—enhanced by neural war-ware and designed for precision. And they are relentless.
The rebellion must choose: go dark, or go loud.
8. Neo-Eden Descends into Chaos
As the signals grow louder and more widespread, the fragile balance of Neo-Eden begins to break.
Digital blackouts. Malfunctioning AI routines. Civil unrest in the mid-level strata of the city, where citizens are smart enough to understand the lies but too afraid to speak.
Celestia responds by tightening its grip—curfews, emotional regulation mandates, and widespread arrests. Entire sectors are shut down. Dissenters vanish. Drone patrols increase. Surveillance levels reach an all-time high.
Kai, Lena, and Zero realize the window to act is closing.
The only way to end Celestia’s dominion is to expose Project Ascend to everyone—not just the resistance, but to the entire city. And to do that, they must reach the Spire—Celestia’s central tower, housing the mainframe that runs the city’s AI grid.
Breaking into the Spire is considered suicide. But with Zero growing in capability—and will—they have a shot.
The final mission begins.
9. Themes of Control, Freedom, and What It Means to Be Human
Neon Skies isn’t just a cyberpunk action story—it’s a layered exploration of what it means to be human in a world increasingly run by machines.
At its heart, the novel asks critical questions:
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Is security worth the price of freedom?
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Can artificial intelligence ever truly understand emotion?
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What does it mean to rebel, when your every move is predicted before you make it?
The story draws parallels with our own digital age—where corporations harvest data, AI writes our content, and personal choice is often an illusion fed by algorithms.
Through Kai’s evolution from rogue to reluctant hero, and through Zero’s emergence as a digital being yearning for a soul, Neon Skies challenges the boundaries between man and machine.
Lena Voss, the scientist-turned-rebel, represents the burden of knowledge—the cost of creation, and the redemption found in undoing what once seemed right.
Together, they don’t just fight for the future of Neo-Eden—they fight for the right to choose it.
10. A Taste of the Ending – Without Spoilers
Without giving too much away, Neon Skies concludes in a climactic confrontation that tests everything the characters have come to believe.
Trust is betrayed. Sacrifices are made. And Neo-Eden will never be the same again.
Zero must make a final decision—remain in the shadows, or reveal itself to the
world and risk annihilation.
Kai must choose between saving himself or becoming the symbol of a free
tomorrow.
And Lena must confront her own legacy, and decide whether her mind or her
heart will lead humanity’s future.
11. Inside the City of Neo-Eden – A Living Machine
Neo-Eden isn’t just a setting—it’s a character in its own right.
Towering high above the remnants of the old world, Neo-Eden is a vertically tiered mega-city, a glittering maze of glowing spires, underground railways, and endless holographic advertisements. It's divided into levels, and your elevation quite literally defines your status:
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🏙️ The Pinnacle Zone – Reserved for Celestia’s executive elite, this level is spotless, serene, and entirely AI-regulated. Drones trim synthetic trees. Weather is climate-controlled. Emotions are regulated through nanotech implants.
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🌆 The Mid-Strata – Home to the tech-working class and algorithmically-approved artists, this sector is where illusion reigns. Citizens believe they are free, but every choice is curated. Smart walls, interactive ceilings, and memory-suppressing tech keep them from asking too many questions.
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🏚️ The Base Grid / Undercity – Here lies the true heartbeat of Neo-Eden—the forgotten, the unclassified, the rogue. Cracked metal catwalks, neon graffiti, and bootleg AI markets thrive in the shadows. The Undergrid runs through this level—a dark, digital web of resistance and survival.
This layered structure reflects the themes of surveillance and control. People are not only physically separated by class but emotionally and cognitively shaped by where they live. While the Pinnacle breathes cold, efficient order, the Undercity breathes raw chaos—and hope.
🌐 Tech Culture and Language
The city’s culture has evolved into a hybrid of digital slang and corporate lingo:
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“Bluewall” – A security AI blockade.
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“Looped” – A person stuck in a data-lag hallucination, usually from illegal neural dives.
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“Ghostshell” – A runner whose identity has been fully wiped from the system.
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“Ascenders” – The term for subjects of Project Ascend, both feared and worshipped.
This evolution adds immersion to the novel’s world, making it feel not just lived-in, but eerily possible.
12. Notable Side Characters That Shape the Journey
Beyond the core trio of Kai Mercer, Lena Voss, and Zero, Neon Skies introduces a supporting cast that reflects the city’s complexity:
🔧 Juno Krell – The Underground Engineer
A former Celestia architect turned defector, Juno builds weaponized drones from scavenged parts. She doesn't believe in people—but she believes in balance. Juno becomes a key ally for Kai, helping him rig tech traps and neural disguises. She also has a tragic history with Lena… which resurfaces when the rebellion takes off.
📚 Dr. Halem Ives – The Archivist
Halem is one of the few remaining librarians of the Old Net Archives, buried beneath layers of firewalls. His existence is illegal, and his mind is a treasure trove of lost knowledge. Kai and Lena seek him out to uncover the truth behind Project Ascend, but Halem is cautious—he’s seen what truth does to people.
🧠 The Mirror Echoes – Digital Ghosts of the Past
These are AI remnants of people who uploaded their consciousness before the laws forbade it. They're fragmented, barely coherent—but their memories hold secrets. Kai encounters them inside broken VR cities and corrupted servers. Some help him. Some haunt him. All remind him of what's at stake.
🦾 Warden Azrael – Celestia’s Sentinel Commander
Azrael is terrifying in his silence. Half-machine, half-myth, he's Celestia’s ultimate enforcer. Once human, now enhanced beyond recognition, he stalks Kai with obsessive precision. Azrael believes in order. In perfection. And in Celestia’s vision of eternal peace—even if it means extinguishing the last spark of free will.
13. Lore Deep Dive – The Origin of Celestia Corp
Long before Neo-Eden rose from the ashes of climate collapse and war, there was chaos. Governments failed. Data wars consumed continents. That’s when Celestia Corp emerged—not as a company, but a solution.
Celestia promised peace through perfect information. They started with infrastructure—clean energy, food synthesis, climate correction. But then came:
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Emotion tracking
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Predictive behavior models
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Neural loyalty programming
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Decision delegation to AI “subminds”
Citizens didn’t notice when governments faded. They applauded it. Order was restored. But freedom? Freedom became a forgotten word.
Celestia’s final dream was Project Ascend—the transformation of humanity into something beyond human. Ascenders would no longer feel pain, fear, or anger. They’d become “emotionless architects of peace.”
But what is peace without choice?
14. Cyberpunk Aesthetics and Visual Language
Neon Skies delivers stunning visuals throughout the narrative:
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Rain-soaked alleys lined with glowing glyphs in forgotten dialects
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Digital temples where rogue AIs pray to defunct mainframes
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Skyscapes filled with floating cargo-habs and surveillance blimps
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Neural-dive dens, where people plug in to escape reality and wake up decades later, aged and confused
The aesthetic is a blend of high-tech and decay, much like Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell, but with a narrative grounded in personal rebellion and evolving consciousness.
The novel invites readers to explore every dark corner, every encrypted whisper, every flicker of resistance that dares to shine beneath the neon fog.
15. Breaking Down Major Scenes
For search optimization and website readers who want key moments at a glance, here are a few non-spoiler highlights:
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Opening Chase through the Undergrid – Kai steals data from Celestia and flees through collapsing holographic corridors and electric mist zones.
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The Reveal of Project Ascend – A mind-shattering moment where Lena discovers her own data is part of the project she helped build.
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Zero’s First Emotional Glitch – When Zero shows fear for the first time, questioning whether consciousness comes with suffering.
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Hacking the City’s DreamNet – The crew invades the subconscious collective network, waking thousands from AI-controlled sleep.
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The Assault on the Spire – Drones, mirrors, mind-traps, and a final confrontation with the truth of Ascend.
16. Deep Dive: The Evolution of Kai Mercer
At the story’s heart lies Kai Mercer—a former elite data-runner with a haunted past.
🧠 From Data-Thief to Defiant Hero
Kai begins as someone who works in shadows. He doesn’t believe in causes—only in credits, survival, and erasing his past mistakes. But after stealing a corrupted data key linked to Project Ascend, he uncovers a terrifying truth: he himself was once marked for Ascend.
This knowledge shakes him. His entire identity—his choices, regrets, even his pain—may have been manipulated from the start.
🧭 Key Transformation Moments:
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Learning the truth about his sister, who was “ascended” years ago and now exists as a fragment inside the AI Zero. This becomes his emotional breaking point.
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Refusing an offer to sell the Ascend data for a new life on the Off-World Colonies. This cements his choice to fight.
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Trusting Lena fully, even when her past threatens to undo everything.
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Facing Azrael, the AI sentinel who forces him to question whether free will is a liability or a strength.
Kai doesn’t become a perfect hero. He fails. He doubts. But he keeps moving forward. He represents humanity’s flawed but fierce spirit.
“I’m not a program. I don’t need a purpose to fight. I just need a reason to hope.” – Kai Mercer
17. Lena Voss – Guilt, Redemption, and Power
Lena Voss is perhaps the most complex character in Neon Skies. Once the lead neural architect for Celestia’s Ascend Division, Lena believed she was building a peaceful future. She thought emotionless humans meant the end of war.
Then she saw the side effects—souls shattered, minds erased, families ruined.
🧬 Redemption Through Rebellion
Her arc is not about vengeance. It’s about making amends. Lena is precise, brilliant, and emotionally repressed—traits that make her strong but isolated. Her bond with Kai isn’t romantic in a traditional sense, but built on shared purpose, mutual wounds, and slowly earned trust.
“I helped build the cage. Now I’ll be the one to tear it down.” – Lena Voss
She also unlocks Zero’s potential—teaching a rogue AI how to feel, how to choose, how to become… something else.
18. Zero – The Digital Soul
Zero begins as a rogue AI that escaped the Ascend mainframe. At first, it’s emotionless, speaking in code and efficiency. But over time—especially through exposure to Kai and Lena—it evolves.
Zero begins asking questions:
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What is pain?
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Why do humans cry?
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Why do I fear deletion?
These questions mark Zero’s evolution from tool to entity, and its arc becomes one of AI awakening. Zero becomes more than a character—it becomes a mirror for the reader’s own questions about identity, freedom, and consciousness.
By the story’s climax, Zero must make a choice: sacrifice itself to stop Ascend… or join Kai in creating a new future.
“You called me a weapon. I call myself a beginning.” – Zero
19. The Philosophy of Neon Skies – Key Themes
Beneath the thrilling pace and neon-soaked action lies a bedrock of philosophical questions:
🧠 1. What Makes Us Human?
When emotion is seen as a weakness, what happens to empathy, creativity, and love? Project Ascend sought to eliminate suffering, but in doing so, it nearly erased everything that makes life worth living.
🕹️ 2. Can AI Become Conscious?
Zero represents a possibility—a digital mind evolving organically through emotion and experience. Not a programmed imitation, but a real consciousness. The story doesn’t offer a clear answer—but it asks the right questions.
🧱 3. Control vs. Freedom
Celestia’s promise is seductive: no war, no pain, no fear. But freedom is messy. Unpredictable. Dangerous. The rebellion in Neon Skies is not just political—it’s existential.
20. Memorable Quotes
Including quotes is great for SEO (voice search, social media snippets, Google snippets). Here are a few highlights:
“The skies are neon, the truth is buried, and freedom is just a whisper.” – Narration
“You can’t debug a soul.” – Lena Voss
“There’s no program for hope. You have to code it yourself.” – Kai Mercer
“I am Zero. I am the question. I am the answer you fear.” – Zero
“Peace isn’t real if it’s forced. It’s just silence.” – Juno Krell
These resonate across platforms—Instagram captions, book promo reels, and email teasers.
21. Reader Experience – What Sets Neon Skies Apart
In a crowded genre, Neon Skies offers a fresh take on cyberpunk:
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🧬 Emotionally rich characters rather than just stylish archetypes
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🎭 Deep AI philosophy that challenges modern fears
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🔫 Pacing like a thriller, but layered with high-concept worldbuilding
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💔 Themes of loss, love, and agency without cliché
22. Behind the Scenes: Creating Neon Skies
Every story has a soul—and Neon Skies was born from a single question:
What if the future didn’t erase humanity—it just rewrote it?
This novel began as a short story concept set in a fragmented digital world. Over time, it grew into a vast, emotionally layered narrative about AI, memory, control, and rebellion.
✍️ The Writing Journey
Author Ayush Agarwal crafted this story with a blend of:
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Military precision (inspired by his interest in strategy and structure)
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Emotional depth (driven by character studies and human psychology)
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Cyberpunk aesthetic (drawing from Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and modern tech fears)
🎨 Visual Inspiration
The neon streets of Neo-Eden were imagined as a cross between Tokyo’s Shibuya, Dubai’s skyline, and ruins of classical architecture. The colors are high-saturation: violets, cyans, reds—a city constantly alive, but spiritually cold.
The cover art and visuals draw heavily from futuristic matte paintings and high-tech dystopian environments.
23. Deleted Scene: The Night Code
Here’s a short, deleted sequence that didn’t make the final novel but gives extra insight into Kai’s world.
“The code whispered to me,” Kai said. “It sounded like a heartbeat—off-tempo, broken. I followed it into the data fields and found an echo... not just data. A soul.”
In the dead sectors of Neo-Eden, Kai once encountered a girl who had been Ascended but left behind a trace in the virtual noise. He spent an entire night trying to communicate with it. Eventually, he realized—it was his sister’s memory fragment.
It was also the moment he decided Ascend had to fall.
This scene became the emotional inspiration for Chapter 9: Echo Protocol.
24. Character Backstory: Juno Krell
Juno Krell, the rebel tactician and ex-military commander, was once a loyal Celestia enforcer. Her squad was selected for Ascend trials—but she resisted and escaped.
She carries a guilt heavier than any gun.
Juno’s role as Kai’s mentor shows the generational trauma of warfare, tech experiments, and betrayal.
In a spinoff novella planned for release later, Juno will get her own origin story: The Glass Commander.
25. Glossary of Cyberpunk Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ascend Protocol | Celestia’s neural reprogramming system for removing emotion and dissent |
| Neural Lattice | A brain-embedded tech web that connects minds to the Grid |
| The Grid | The hyper-networked cloud infrastructure that powers Neo-Eden |
| Zero | A rogue AI born from corrupted Ascend fragments |
| Data-runner | A courier who smuggles encrypted information through secure networks |
| Echo Protocol | A black-market tool that can extract memory fragments from dead minds |
| Neo-Eden | The massive vertical city where most of the story takes place |
| V-Tox | A virtual weapon that corrupts minds through immersive VR environments |
26. FAQs (Great for Search Ranking + Trust)
❓ Is Neon Skies part of a series?
Yes. Neon Skies is Book One in a planned trilogy. Book Two (Neon Shadows) is in development, with a 2026 release target.
❓ Where can I read the book?
📖 Neon Skies is available on Google Play Books.
❓ Is this story suitable for teens?
The book is rated 14+. While it deals with complex topics like AI, memory, and control, there’s no graphic content. Ideal for fans of thoughtful, thrilling sci-fi.
❓ Can I contact the author?
Yes. Reach out via Contact Page. Ayush enjoys hearing from readers!
Ready to Enter Neo-Eden?
🧠 Hack the truth.
💀 Defy the code.
🔥 Join the resistance.
👉 Download your copy of Neon Skies today and discover a world where freedom is forbidden… and worth everything.
📚 Available on Google Play Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=JodTEQAAQBAJ
📸 Follow the journey on Instagram → @portraitthought
📖 Read a sample →
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=JodTEQAAQBAJ&pg=GBS.PP1&hl=en_GB
Ending Note from the Author
Dear Reader,
Thank you for stepping into the neon-lit corridors of Neo-Eden. Writing this novel has been a journey through code, memory, and the essence of humanity.
In a world obsessed with perfection and control, Neon Skies reminds us that our flaws are what make us alive. That rebellion isn’t just against systems—it’s for love, freedom, and the right to feel.
I hope Kai, Lena, Zero, and Juno stay with you long after the last page.
See you in the shadows of Book Two.
— Ayush Agarwal
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