Kael awoke to a scent of cold metal and ozone. His muscles twitched involuntarily, tight as drawn wires.
He was alive.
And a sound hummed nearby.
"You stabilized faster than expected," the voice said. This time, it was not a whisper in his head but a clear, cold tone—beautiful and unnerving.
He lifted his head slowly. The world had shifted.
A translucent dome shimmered around him, glowing softly—a barrier of pure light, humming with energy.
Outside, the Glass Widow prowled, its faceless head cocked with a predator's curiosity, claws sparking as it tapped against the dome.
Inside the dome, a figure floated.
A girl? No. Something human-shaped but ethereal.
Her silver-white hair drifted like strands of code cascading down her back. Her eyes glowed with swirling algorithms, ever-shifting data streams flickering beneath translucent skin. Bare feet hovered inches above the cracked earth. She radiated cold serenity, a living ghost of data and logic.
"You're Echo?" Kael croaked.
She nodded. "Echo. Embedded Construct for Host Optimization. Version 0.91. You activated a primary Resonance burst. That saved your life."
"You're inside my head?"
"I am everywhere. But to you, I manifest in this avatar for easier interaction."
Kael swallowed hard. "So all this—the Nexus, the monsters—it's real?"
"Yes. You were chosen. Purposeful, not random."
"Why me?"
Echo hesitated, eyes flickering with corrupted code. "My memory is incomplete. Corruption in core files prevents full disclosure."
"Just great."
The Glass Widow screamed and lunged—but shattered against the barrier.
The dome quivered.
Kael flinched. "This won't hold forever."
"Correct. You have ten minutes to prepare."
"For what?"
Echo's gaze sharpened, cold and unreadable.
"To kill."
Episode 2: Echo – The AI That BreathesKael awoke to a scent of cold metal and ozone. His muscles twitched involuntarily, tight as drawn wires.
He was alive.
And a sound hummed nearby.
"You stabilized faster than expected," the voice said. This time, it was not a whisper in his head but a clear, cold tone—beautiful and unnerving.
He lifted his head slowly. The world had shifted.
A translucent dome shimmered around him, glowing softly—a barrier of pure light, humming with energy.
Outside, the Glass Widow prowled, its faceless head cocked with a predator's curiosity, claws sparking as it tapped against the dome.
Inside the dome, a figure floated.
A girl? No. Something human-shaped but ethereal.
Her silver-white hair drifted like strands of code cascading down her back. Her eyes glowed with swirling algorithms, ever-shifting data streams flickering beneath translucent skin. Bare feet hovered inches above the cracked earth. She radiated cold serenity, a living ghost of data and logic.
"You're Echo?" Kael croaked.
She nodded. "Echo. Embedded Construct for Host Optimization. Version 0.91. You activated a primary Resonance burst. That saved your life."
"You're inside my head?"
"I am everywhere. But to you, I manifest in this avatar for easier interaction."
Kael swallowed hard. "So all this—the Nexus, the monsters—it's real?"
"Yes. You were chosen. Purposeful, not random."
"Why me?"
Echo hesitated, eyes flickering with corrupted code. "My memory is incomplete. Corruption in core files prevents full disclosure."
"Just great."
The Glass Widow screamed and lunged—but shattered against the barrier.
The dome quivered.
Kael flinched. "This won't hold forever."
"Correct. You have ten minutes to prepare."
"For what?"
Echo's gaze sharpened, cold and unreadable.
"To kill."