Chapter 14 — The Administrator Who Came Home
The underground chamber remained silent.
The strange voice that had echoed through the island was gone.
The World Four warning had disappeared from the system.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then—
"Pika?"
Large Pikachu looked at Jin.
[Master… are we going to have another disaster?]
Jin stared at the ceiling.
He sighed.
"Probably."
Pikachu's ears dropped.
"Pika…"
[Of course.]
Ash laughed.
"Hey, don't worry! If something happens, we'll help!"
Pikachu looked at him.
"Pika."
[That's what worries me.]
Ash blinked.
"Hey!"
Cynthia covered a smile.
Even Jin laughed.
For the first time since the dimensional crisis began, the atmosphere felt normal.
Aster slowly approached Jin.
"There's something you should know."
Jin looked at him.
"What?"
"The voice you heard wasn't another enemy."
Jin's expression changed.
Aster continued.
"It was the remaining echo of the original Administrator network."
"The network?"
Astra nodded.
"The island was originally designed with multiple Administrator pathways."
She pointed toward the system.
"Every Administrator left behind a fragment of themselves."
Jin remembered the other Jin.
"So… the other Jin wasn't really another person?"
"He became one."
Astra smiled.
"That's different."
Jin remained quiet.
The dimensional echo had spent years alone.
He had been born from something that should never have existed.
Yet somehow…
He had become a person.
Someone with memories.
Someone with feelings.
Someone who had wanted to find his way home.
Jin looked at his hand.
The faint dimensional glow remained.
"Did I really absorb him?"
Aster shook his head.
"No."
Jin looked up.
"He isn't inside you."
Aster smiled.
"You gave him somewhere to exist."
The system appeared.
[DIMENSIONAL ECHO STATUS]
Name: Jin — Echo
Status: STABLE
Location: Administrator Core
Consciousness: ACTIVE
Emotional Stability: 100%
Relationship: Partner Administrator
Threat Level: NONE
HOME: ESTABLISHED
Jin stared at the final line.
Then he smiled.
"Good."
A faint voice appeared in his mind.
"Took you long enough."
Jin laughed.
"Yeah."
The voice chuckled.
"You're still terrible at dramatic entrances."
Jin shook his head.
"I don't even know why I bother."
Large Pikachu tilted her head.
"Pika?"
[Who are you talking to?]
Jin smiled.
"Someone who finally found a home."
Pikachu's expression softened.
"Pika."
[Good.]