Kieran's chest rose and fell in ragged gasps. The floor beneath him felt cold, slick with fading code and his own sweat. His vision pulsed—colors too bright, edges too sharp. The aftermath of the Echo-State hadn't faded. If anything, it was getting worse.
[ALERT: System Instability Detected.]
[Neurological Strain: Critical. Recommended Action – Immediate Isolation.]
[WARNING: Echo-State Feedback Loop Imminent.]
Kieran winced, clutching his skull as a stabbing pain lanced through his mind. For a moment, he wasn't in the ruins. He was everywhere—a thousand fractured realities flooding into him.
Hands grabbed his shoulders.
"Breathe," Elias ordered. "Focus on the present. Anchor yourself."
Kieran forced his eyes to meet Elias's, grounding himself in the here and now. "What… what did I do?"
"You reflected a directive," Elias said, frowning. "Not just code. Purpose. That's not something your system should be capable of—not yet."
"Then what the hell's happening to me?"
Elias didn't answer immediately. He knelt beside the Architect's remains, scooping up a shard of its broken helm. "Your system is evolving—faster than it should. It's reacting to the Abyss. Adapting."
"Is that good?"
"No." Elias looked back, eyes grim. "It means someone designed it to break limits. And now that it's started, there's no slowing it down."
[New Trait Acquired: Echo Fragmentation]
— User can glimpse hostile intent in short bursts.
— Side Effect: Auditory hallucinations may increase. Neural stability compromised.
Kieran flinched. A whisper echoed behind his ear, even though no one stood there.
"You shouldn't exist…"
He clamped his hands over his ears. "Make it stop."
Elias stood, tossing him a stabilizer vial. "You'll have to learn to live with it. The system is rewiring you—preparing you for something. We need to find out what, before it consumes you."
Kieran drained the vial, but the whisper didn't vanish.
He looked at Elias, expression hardened by fear and resolve. "Then we start now."