In the digital realm of the Black Grid, things didn't follow normal logic.
Skyscrapers floated sideways. Code rained from the sky like confetti at a broken New Year's party. And in the middle of it all stood Zeke… glowing slightly and holding what appeared to be a giant command console shaped like a rubber duck.
"Welcome, Admin User. Please don't break everything."
Zeke blinked. "Okay, either I'm dreaming, or I died and my afterlife is run by a sarcastic AI."
"Zeke." Nyx's voice buzzed in. "I'm patching into your neural link. Listen carefully: DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING."
"Too late."
Command Entered: /cleanup all
"…Zeke… what did you just type?"
"I thought it would fix the weird colors!"
Initiating Total System Purge.
Countdown: 10... 9...
"OH COME ON!"
...
Back in the real world, Tess was panicking. "Is he okay?!"
Zeke's body jerked. His eyes flickered like cheap neon signs.
"Why is he humming the Tetris theme?!"
"Because he's crashing an illegal AI network while humming in C minor," Nyx explained. "We need to pull him out now or his brain becomes pudding!"
Tess didn't hesitate. She grabbed Zeke's head and yelled into his face:
"ZEKE, IF YOU DIE, I'LL BRING YOU BACK JUST TO KILL YOU AGAIN!"
...
In the Black Grid, Zeke stood before a towering firewall labeled:
"THE ECHO PROTOCOL – DO NOT BREACH."
Zeke squinted.
"…Looks suspicious. Better poke it."
"NO, ZEKE, DO NOT—"
Access Granted. Transmitting Echo Seed to Physical Host.
"…Wait, what's an Echo Seed?"
Congratulations! You've bonded with an ancient outlawed intelligence.
Side effects may include hallucinations, glowing eyes, and unwanted godlike power.
"Coolcoolcool—wait, WHAT?!"
...
Outside, Zeke's eyes flared neon blue. Circuits traced across his skin like glowing tattoos. The alley lit up like a rave.
Then he collapsed.
Tess caught him, eyes wide. "What the hell just happened?"
"He bonded with something forbidden," Nyx whispered. "Something that shouldn't exist."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Potentially catastrophic."
"Should we... wake him up?"
Zeke stirred, groaned, and sat up slowly.
"Did anyone else just dream they turned into a Wi-Fi router with emotions?"
Tess and Nyx stared at him.
Zeke blinked.
"…What?"
From deep within the shadows, across a thousand surveillance feeds, high-ranking Syndicate leaders watched the moment.
"He accessed the Echo Protocol…"
"And survived."
"We need to find him before they do."
And far, far away, in the ruins of a forgotten data vault, something… woke up.