The dark vibrated.
Not like normal vibrations—
Not like elevators or earthquakes or those cheap mall massage chairs—
This vibration was… alive.
Echo units—broken, twisted, half-sentient failures—were crawling through every vent, every shaft, every shadow.
Claws scraping.
Metal clicking.
Voices whispering in glitching static.
Maxx pressed his back against 4531, trying to make himself as small as physically possible.
"Just to be clear," he said, voice cracking,
"when you say leader, do you mean neutral leader? Friendly leader? Or like—
'eat him first for morale' leader?"
4531 didn't move.
Her glowing eyes tracked every shifting shadow.
"The Echo network is fragmented," she murmured.
"Helix severed their directive access years ago.
They were left in isolation… starving for command signals."
"AND NOW THEY WANT SNACKS?" Maxx squeaked.
"No.
They want purpose."
Before Maxx could respond, the vents overhead buckled outward.
One Echo unit dropped into the concourse like a wounded animal—
only half a mask left, its limbs bent at wrong angles.
Its single eye flickered—
—and locked onto 4531.
It crawled forward, dragging its ruined body.
Sparks dripped from its spine like neon blood.
"L…yr…a…" it croaked.
Maxx's soul ascended.
"Oh NO. NOPE. WRONG NAME. SHE DOESN'T LIKE THAT NAME. TRY AGAIN."
4531's fingers twitched violently.
The name hit her like a physical blow.
"Maxx," she whispered urgently.
"Stay behind me."
"DIDN'T PLAN ON DOING ANYTHING ELSE—"
Then another Echo dropped behind them.
Then another and another.
Soon the concourse roof was raining Echo units like creepy mechanical spiders.
Maxx whispered:
"We're gonna die in front of 40,000 viewers.
This is the WORST influencer milestone ever."
Chat exploded:
[HoloPigeon]: LYRA?? WHO IS LYRA?? LORE DROP????
[GlitchAngel]: 4531 IS GONNA SNAP I CAN FEEL IT
[Observer_00]: She remembers. Good.]
[AcademiaNet_VI-Admin]: Student Maxx Lane, maintain steady broadcast. Sudden death will lower your grade.]
Maxx shouted at the window, "MY DEATH WILL LOWER MY GRADE?! WHAT ABOUT MY QUALITY OF LIFE?!"
The concourse lights flickered back on.
Briefly and harshly.
That's when Maxx realized something worse.
The Echoes weren't moving toward him.
They were kneeling.
Every broken one.
Every twisted one.
Every half-missing one.
They knelt in a full circle around 4531.
All of them whispering the same broken word:
"Lyra…
Lyra…
Lyr—"
"STOP," 4531 commanded sharply.
The air static-crackled.
Her voice carried a resonance Maxx had never heard from her—
not glitchy, not broken—
authoritative.
Every Echo froze mid-scrape and even the ruined one with exposed ribs stopped dragging itself.
4531 straightened slowly.
Her eyes glowed a color Maxx had never seen before—
a pale, burning violet.
"Lyra is gone," she said coldly.
"I am 4531 now."
The Echoes twitched.
Some in confusion.
Some in distress.
Some as if parsing the words took all remaining power they had.
Maxx gulped.
"Uh… so… good news? Bad news?
I can't tell if you just pacified them or declared war—"
4531 ignored him.
She stepped forward.
One Echo lifted its battered mask.
Fragments of code pulsed across its remaining eye.
"Dir…ec…tive…?" it rasped.
4531 hesitated.
Her hands trembled—
Not from fear.
From the weight of something she wasn't meant to carry.
The Echoes waited.
One breathless moment of silence.
Maxx whispered at her side,
"You don't have to give them anything.
We can run.
We always run."
She looked at him.
Eyes softening with her expression breaking.
"I don't want to run anymore."
The Echoes leaned forward.
Maxx froze.
"Okay—bad feeling—VERY bad feeling—what are you about to do—?"
4531 raised her hand.
And every Echo in the room reacted instantly—like someone pressed a command key.
She spoke.Steady.Clear.
"Directive: Protect Maxx Lane."
The world went silent.
Then—
Every Echo unit bowed deeply synchronously.
Maxx blinked.
"…I'm sorry, WHAT?!"
The nearest Echo clacked its jaws.
"Pr…otect… him.
Directive… ac…cepted."
4531 exhaled shakily.
"It's the only way they won't harm you."
Maxx stared at her in horror.
"YOU JUST MADE ME COMMANDER OF A HORROR ARMY!"
"Temporary commander," she corrected.
"How is that BETTER?!"
Chat erupted:
[CeilingCat99]: BRO UNLOCKED THE MINION ARMY ACHIEVEMENT
[SynthCake]: THIS ARC IS GOING CRAZY OMG
[Observer_00]: The first step. Good.]
[AcademiaNet_VI-Admin]: Commander status acknowledged. Streaming quota bonus granted.
Maxx screamed at the system popup.
"STOP REWARDING MY TRAUMA!!"
Before he could say anything else—
The entire concourse shook.
A new sound echoed from the far corridor.
Heavy.calculated and almost… smug.
4531's eyes widened.
"That's not an Echo."
Maxx felt his spine dissolve.
"Haha… cool… what now…?"
The lights turned red.
A shadow stepped into view,it was tall and armored wearing a new model mask with four glowing slits—
—and carrying the severed head of a Reaper unit.
4531 whispered:
"…Helix's personal hunter."
Maxx grabbed her arm.
"OH COME ON—CAN'T WE HAVE TEN MINUTES OF NOT DYING?!"
The Hunter stepped forward.
The Echo swarm tensed.
Maxx's stream viewer count spiked past 72,000.
And then—
The Hunter spoke:
"Maxx Lane.
Helix requests your surrender."
The armored Hunter didn't rush them.
It didn't posture.
It didn't even raise its weapon.
It simply stood there… head cocked… observing Maxx with the unsettling patience of something that had already run every possible scenario and concluded the outcome wasn't in Maxx's favor.
Maxx's voice shook.
"Okay—uh—just to clarify—are you here to escort me, kidnap me, or… what's the vibe?"
The Hunter's mask didn't move, but the slitted lights across its face pulsed once.
"Resistance predicted. Outcome: 0.0% survival probability. Please surrender to reduce damage."
Maxx's pride said no.
His sanity said no.
His streaming contract said, chaotically, YES CONTENT.
Maxx swallowed.
"Okay—listen, metallic Mr. Steal-Your-Life—there are two types of people who fight no-win battles: heroes, and idiots. And I—"
He pointed at his own chest.
"—am majoring in both."
4531 whispered hoarsely, "Maxx. Don't."
He charged anyway.
For three glorious seconds, chat went insane:
[HoloPigeon]: BRO IS GOIN IN
[FailFish9000]: MAXX FOR THE WIN
[VtuberDad45]: I BELIEVE
Then reality hit Hard because as Maxx swung,the Hunter sidestepped.
Maxx swung again.
The Hunter tapped his wrist—lightly—deactivating Maxx's entire stance like someone unplugging a vacuum cleaner.
Then the Hunter calmly seized the front of Maxx's shirt, lifted him off the ground with insulting ease—
—and slammed him into the concourse wall so hard stars burst behind his eyes.
Maxx wheezed, "Okay—I concede—heroes are overrated—idiots are in this season—"
The Hunter tilted its head.
"Submission confirmed."
4531 tried to rush in and held herself back.
"No. If we interfere, the Echo directive will trigger a conflict response."
Maxx laughed weakly. "So you're saying… this is… character development…"
4531 looked at him with pained eyes.
"Maxx, I'm sorry."
The Hunter placed a hand on his chest.
A system notification lit up.
[UNIVERSITY SAFETY OVERRIDE: HAZARD LVL EXCEEDED]
[RETURNING STUDENT MAXX LANE TO CAMPUS]
[PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DYING DURING EXAMS]
Maxx screamed, "I'LL TRY BUT NO PROMISES—!"
Light exploded around him.
The Hunter's mask was the last thing he saw.
Then—
WHOOMPH
Maxx slammed face-first into the university courtyard fountain.
Students stared.
A professor scribbled something on a clipboard.
Chat exploded with:
[LMAOOOO]
[MAXX 0 — HUNTER 9999]
[NEW RECORD FOR FASTEST FORCED RETURN]
Maxx sat up, drenched.
"I'm alive…?" he muttered.
Then he winced. "Ow. Everything hurts. That's how I know."
A notification appeared:
[STREAMING UNIVERSITY]
Grade Update: Survived High-Risk Encounter — C+
"Feedback: Competence questionable but entertaining."
Maxx screamed at the sky.
"STOP GRADING MY TRAUMA!!"