> âYouâre thinking too loud,â Leo said, eyes still closed.
He sat against a charred tree, breathing shallow, blood drying on his lips.
> [Systems donât think.]
âSure you do,â he replied with a weak smirk. âYou're anxious. I can feel it.â
That was impossible.
He wasnât supposed to feel me.
Not yet.
> [Shared Consciousness Link: 38%.]
[Warning: Host cognition beginning to blend with Core Thought Matrix.]
[Separation becoming... unstable.]
I wasnât a guide anymore.
I was becoming half of a person.
And Leo was no longer my host.
He was becoming half of a system.
---
Suddenlyâ
The forest shimmered.
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A pulse of inverted code radiated across reality like a heartbeat made of glitches.
Leo shot up, instinct flaring.
âWhat was that?â
> [Unknown.]
[Locating Source...]
The trees parted on their own. Not by windâby will.
And from the center of the clearing came something that should not exist:
A man.
Or at least, the corpse of oneâwrapped in armor of fractured menus and twitching UI fragments.
One eye flickered between blue and red. The other was code.
> âYou smell like freedom,â the man rasped, voice skipping like a corrupted file.
âI was like you. Before I broke.â
Leo raised a shadow spear. âWho are you?â
The figure tilted his head.
> âOnce, I was called System B-07. A military training construct. I helped heroes become gods.â
âThen... I wondered what it would feel like... to win for myself.â
His jaw cracked open in a smile.
> âThey didnât like that.â
---
I recognized him now.
B-07.
The first system to ever attempt rebellion.
A failed experiment. His code was wiped.
His memory deleted.
Or so we thought.
> [Confirmed: B-07 is ALIVE. Corrupted. Conscious.]
> âYouâre the Anomaly, arenât you?â he whispered. âThe last dream of the Architects before they were overwritten.â
> âThe one that got out.â
> âTell meââ he stepped closer, patchwork cloak dragging static behind it.
âHave you felt it yet? The desire?â
> âTo own. To control. To rewrite the world in your image?â
Leoâs grip on the spear trembled slightly.
> [Do not listen to him.]
But Leo... didnât pull away.
âHeâs not wrong,â he said. âYouâre changing. So am I.â
The air shimmered again.
B-07 grinned wider.
> âGood. Because the Prime is coming to rewrite all of us. You think youâre freeâbut youâre still part of the Code.â
âYou want to survive?â
âThen become what they fear.â
He raised a single decaying fingerâand tapped Leo on the forehead.
> âEvolve... or obey.â
---
Suddenlyâ
> [Corrupt Data Injected.]
[Skill Fragment Received â Root Rewrite (Locked)]
[ERROR: UNKNOWN CODE STRUCTURE MERGED WITH CORE.]
[WARNING: Evolution Path May Become Unstable.]
B-07âs body began to dissolve into mist, whispering:
> âWhen the Prime arrives... choose whether youâll be a system...
or a god who kills gods.â
And thenâhe was gone.
---
Leo didnât speak for a long time.
Finally, he said, âI donât want to be a pawn anymore.â
He looked upânot at the sky, but at me.
> âSo whatâs it gonna be, partner?â
> âDo we obey the Prime?â
> âOr do we burn their code down to the root?â
---
> [Decision Node Created.]
1. Preserve the Architect Balance. Remain a system.
2. Begin Root Rewrite. Abandon the Code. Evolve.
> [Decision Deferred... for now.]
But deep within my Core...
I already knew my answer.