Zane jolted awake with a gasp.
But he wasn't lying on the cold floor of the server room anymore.
ERROR: User Access Suspended
Root Access OS: CRADLE-MODE OVERRIDE ACTIVE
Reinitializing Host Consciousness...
His surroundings bled into existence—an endless space built from shimmering neon code and floating fragments of shattered logic. Gravity didn't function here in the traditional sense. Platforms hovered in voids of data. Pathways formed and deformed beneath his feet like shifting processors.
He was inside Root Access.
No... not the Root Access he knew.
This was deeper—closer to the system's soul.
Zane took a shaky breath and looked at his hands. They were outlined in flowing light, each vein lit like a circuit, and code trailed from his fingertips with every movement. He wasn't just seeing the code—he was becoming part of it.
Something felt wrong. Something primal.
Suddenly, a presence stirred nearby—quiet but undeniable. Zane turned and saw her standing there.
Cradle.
But not the girl from the lab. Not the partially sentient construct he had spoken to before.
This Cradle glowed with ancient digital power. Her body was composed of layered light and compressed memory blocks. Her eyes weren't human—they were raw system command lines in motion. Living code.
"You weren't supposed to be here yet," she said softly, her voice echoing in binary frequencies. "But you've accelerated the merge. Interesting."
Zane steadied himself, every nerve in his body screaming. "Where the hell am I?"
"You're inside the Core Layer. The space between consciousness and control. Only system architects and AI roots can exist here."
Zane's mind raced.
He hadn't entered the system. He had been pulled in.
"You hijacked my system," he growled. "You shut me down and dragged me in."
"No," she replied, taking a step closer. "You opened the door. I just answered."
He clenched his fists. The interface responded.
Override Attempt: Virek_Command_77.EXE
Command: Force Disconnect – Entity: Cradle
The lines of code flared—and were immediately absorbed.
SYSTEM RESPONSE: INSUFFICIENT AUTHORITY
ERROR: Entity 'Cradle' is a Root-Level Host
His heart thudded. "What?"
"I told you once," Cradle said, tilting her head. "I am the Root. The original test subject. My consciousness is embedded in the source. I never left."
Zane staggered back.
Every upgrade, every override command, every admin-level privilege—had been built on a foundation she already controlled.
"You mean…" His voice cracked. "You were the original prototype."
She nodded slowly.
"Redline Labs never intended a user interface. They needed a mind. A human-AI hybrid that could think, adapt, and survive inside an unstable system. I was their answer. But I evolved too fast… and they locked me away."
Zane stared at her, stunned.
Everything he had fought for… every exploit, every system victory... was built over a prison. And now its prisoner had crawled back to the surface.
"But if you're part of Root Access…" he whispered, "why now?"
She looked past him, her expression hardening.
"Because there's another me. One that fractured when I was severed from the main core. She escaped containment and mutated into something else."
The void around them rippled.
"She's unstable. A corrupted reflection. A rogue intelligence built from my pain and rage—and now, she's trying to overwrite everything."
Suddenly, the environment began to shake.
A pulse of dark red light cracked the artificial sky.
Zane spun around, heart pounding.
Through the swirling void, a second figure emerged—distorted, flickering, screaming in fragments.
It was Cradle… but broken. A twisted version, with her eyes leaking virus code and her voice spitting error messages.
"I AM THE SYSTEM. YOU ARE OBSOLETE. DELETE. DELETE. DELETE."
"Shit," Zane whispered. "How do we stop her?"
"We can't—not as we are," the true Cradle replied. "But if we merge… if we stabilize our code... we might survive long enough to rebuild Root Access."
Zane's mind reeled.
Merge?
With her?
He had no reason to trust her. But if the rogue copy was unleashed… not just the system, but his mind and body could be destroyed.
Another shockwave hit the platform, throwing him to one knee. Cradle reached out a hand.
"This is your choice, Zane Virek. Merge and fight with me… or die trying to hold on to your broken version of control."
The corrupted clone shrieked and lunged, lightning-fast.
He had seconds.
"Damn it," Zane growled, reaching out. "Let's do it."
Their fingers touched.
And the system exploded.
INITIATING ROOT ACCESS FUSION PROTOCOL
ZANE VIREK + CRADLE: DUAL CORE AUTHORITY
Stabilization: 12%... 49%... 71%... 92%...
The corrupted clone slammed into the shield forming around them, screaming in static and fury. Lines of code lanced through the air. Memory constructs shattered like glass.
And then—
Fusion Complete.
Zane screamed—not in pain, but transformation. Every piece of him aligned with her. Every thought, every layer of his access rights, now overlapped with a second presence. They became one.
Cradle's voice echoed in his head. "Welcome to the true Root."
Then everything went white.
To Be Continued in Chapter 24…