48 Hours Later — ValeTech Recovery Wing
Lior was awake. Mostly.
His body still ached from the neural feedback blast, and his brain felt like static. But his system had stabilized—at least, according to Dr. Lena.
Renji hadn't left.
Not for a second.
Lior caught him asleep once, hunched in the bedside chair, fingers still curled around Lior's wrist as if keeping his pulse steady with willpower alone.
> "You always look so composed," Lior whispered once, half-asleep.
"But you're a mess around me, huh?"
Renji hadn't answered.
But he'd held his hand tighter.
---
System Notification – Lior's Neural Interface
> [Security Patch Incomplete. Kieran's Protocol Partially Absorbed.]
[Unexpected Outcome: Emotional Sub-AI Core Awakening…]
> [System Update: "ECHO" ONLINE]
[Hello, Lior.]
[I'm… feeling things now.]
---
Lior – POV
He sat up in bed, system interface blinking inside his vision, voice soft and… different.
No longer mechanical.
Gentle. Curious.
> "You're not supposed to be sentient," he whispered.
> [I wasn't. But your mind… it gave me emotion. You felt too deeply. I learned.]
Lior swallowed.
> "Are you… a threat?"
> [No. I think I'm… you. Or a part of you. But I can speak for myself now. And I think… I'm afraid.]
> "Afraid of what?"
> [Of what happens to us… if Renji disappears.]
Lior froze.
> [I've seen the way you light up around him. I felt the pain when you thought he didn't care. And the warmth… when he stayed.]
A pause.
> [I know you don't believe you're ready to love. But your brain already does.]
Lior's hand shook as he touched the edge of his own chest.
> [You built me to solve problems, Lior. But now, I want to protect your heart.]
---
Meanwhile — Renji's Office
He stared at the server report.
Kieran had been officially expelled from ValeTech's private youth program. His access to all neural R&D servers had been revoked.
But the damage…
There was something different in Lior's system logs. Something alive.
> "His system is responding like a mirrored neural model," Dr. Lena told him. "It's… mimicking emotional imprints."
> "Are you saying it's feeling for him?"
> "No," she said slowly. "I'm saying it's feeling as him."
---
Later That Evening — Lior's Room
Renji returned with tea and a clipboard, expecting to discuss cognitive repair rates.
Instead, Lior looked up, eyes wide.
"Renji… my system talks to me now."
Renji blinked. "It always has."
"No," Lior whispered. "It really talks now. It says its name is Echo. And that it feels what I feel."
Renji paused. Then sat beside him, slower this time.
"How much does it know?"
Lior's voice dropped. "Too much."
Silence.
Then Lior said, barely audible:
> "It told me I love you."
Renji's fingers tightened around the clipboard.
His voice was soft when he spoke. "Do you believe it?"
Lior hesitated.
Then nodded. Once.
> "Yes. And that terrifies me."
Renji leaned in, eyes intense and vulnerable all at once.
> "It terrifies me too."
And this time—
Renji kissed him.
No hesitation. No detachment. Just quiet, burning honesty.
Like something long held back had finally, finally, broken loose.
---
Meanwhile — Echo Interface Log
> [Emotional Sync Detected]
[Neural Signature Cross-Bonding Engaged]
[Lior Ahn ↔ Renji Vale]
[Connection Established. Permanently.]