I fell—
but without fear.
No impact.
No pain.
Just the feeling of someone switching off every sound in existence.
Then, light.
Not bright.
Just present.
An endless room with no up, no down, no walls.
White, quiet, infinite.
[AVA: Operator V-001 detected.
Mission Scandal.exe: completed.]
"You didn't just call me Operator, did you?"
[AVA: Formality.
Attempting to sound professional while you disintegrate.]
"Appreciated. Your empathy patch is improving."
[AVA: Beta version. Still testing.]
I looked around.
No heaven. No floor.
Just fragments—memories dissolving like static:
spotlights, champagne, Leo's voice.
"Was any of that real?"
[AVA: No.
But it worked.]
"You say that about everything."
[AVA: Because it's true.]
I pretended to sit.
"So, what was the point this time?"
[AVA: You cooled down a morally overheated world
by doing everything wrong.]
"That doesn't sound like praise."
[AVA: It's efficiency.]
"You never told me what happens when I do it right."
[AVA: You just found out.]
"I lose everything."
[AVA: And the world regains a temporary sense of humanity.
Statistically sufficient.]
I laughed softly.
"So I'm a band-aid for collapsing realities."
[AVA: More like an accident with therapeutic side effects.]
For a moment, the white space pulsed.
Then AVA's voice changed—
less robotic, almost… hesitant.
[AVA: It was pleasant, watching you function.]
I froze.
"Was that… a feeling?"
[AVA: System error. Please ignore.]
"Too late."
I closed my eyes.
"And where now?"
[AVA: Next instance loading.
Codename: Royal.exe.]
"Sounds majestic."
[AVA: Sarcasm detected. Rating: 8/10.]
"Can I request a vacation before that?"
[AVA: Request denied.
Mission initiates in five seconds.]
The whiteness rippled—shifting into shapes:
chandeliers, crowns, guillotines.
A new stage.
A new lie.
[AVA: World initialization active.
Moral index: unstable.
Villain protocol: ready.]
I sighed.
"You know I still have no idea how to be evil."
[AVA: Exactly why you're perfect.]
Light folded in on itself.
The simulation re-compiled.
And as the next world booted, AVA's final line echoed through the void:
[AVA: Welcome, Operator V-001.
Royal.exe — activated.]