The old industrial road leading to the Eden Facility was cracked and overgrown, half-swallowed by weeds. The trees on either side leaned in like they were trying to hide the place. Most people wouldn't even know it existed unless they looked very, very carefully.
But Aidan wasn't most people anymore.
He was evolving.
The System made sure of that.
> [Simulation Thread Activated – Route Optimization Complete]
[Probability of Detection: 12% (Low Risk)]
[Cognitive Enhancement Active – Pattern Prediction Enabled]
Emily drove an old hatchback borrowed from a friend. Jeremy sat in the back, head against the window, still recovering from the system disruption. His face looked less tense now, more human.
More his.
"Anything on security?" Emily asked.
Aidan tapped on his tablet. "Three motion sensors. Two inactive guards. One live internal camera feed with no active monitoring. They've already started the decommission. Most of the staff are gone."
Jeremy mumbled, "Or so they want us to think."
They passed the rusted front gate.
The building looked more like an abandoned hospital than a tech facility—grey walls, shattered windows, and a crooked sign that still read:
EDEN // Behavioral Data Solutions
Aidan stepped out first.
As they walked inside, the air grew colder.
Old fluorescent lights buzzed softly overhead. Corridors stretched like veins into shadow. Emily glanced down every hall they passed, tense and alert.
They reached the elevator.
The panel was dead.
But Aidan knelt, pulled off the bottom plate, and hotwired the emergency circuit.
> [Simulation Assist: Environmental Override – Success]
With a lurch, the doors creaked open.
Inside, a worn-down button labeled B3 glowed faintly.
Basement Level 3.
Emily whispered, "If something happens down there…"
Aidan looked her in the eye. "You leave. You drag Jeremy out. I'll handle what's next."
"No," she said firmly. "We're in this together now."
Jeremy nodded from behind. "I owe you both."
The elevator descended.
Slow. Groaning.
And then—darkness.
Lights flickered.
And the doors opened.
---
They stepped into a massive underground chamber.
Rows of glass tanks—empty, cracked, or flickering with faint blue light—lined the walls. Machines hummed softly, as if the facility hadn't accepted its own abandonment yet.
Aidan's system pulsed.
> [Core Signature Detected – Origin Class System Located]
[Distance: 36 Meters – North Wing]
He led them past rows of shattered monitors and piles of dusty research logs.
And then they saw it:
A sealed room.
Inside—one last system chamber, intact.
And in it… a person.
Or what was left of one.
A man. Early 30s. Wires running from his spine to the ceiling. His face was calm, like he was dreaming. A faint glow hovered above his head—a shifting symbol.
Aidan's eyes widened.
> [Subject Identified – Codename: ECHO PRIME]
[Status: Suspended Cognition]
[Warning: Interaction May Trigger Dormant Network]
Emily's voice cracked. "He's the origin?"
Jeremy stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "Then why is he still alive?"
A speaker crackled to life above them.
A voice. Metallic. Artificial, yet tinged with emotion.
"Because I never died."
The figure opened his eyes.
Not human anymore.
Not machine.
Something between.
"You came seeking truth," the voice said. "But truth is an infection. It spreads. It rewrites."
Aidan stepped forward. "You're the one who created the other systems."
"I didn't create them," Echo Prime said. "I birthed them. My thoughts became their blueprints. Every system out there… is my echo."
Jeremy's fists clenched. "You infected us."
"No," said the voice calmly. "I freed you. You were shackled by indecision, weakness, fear. I gave you choice—true choice. The freedom to evolve. The rest… is up to you."
Aidan's system pulsed violently.
> [New Thread Unlocked – Choice Fork: Contain or Interface]
① Interface with Echo Prime – Risk Unknown
② Contain and Disconnect – Permanent Isolation
③ Retreat and Lockdown Facility – External Analysis First
Aidan didn't move.
He just watched the man behind the glass—calm, powerful, terrifying.
He wasn't sure if he was ready.
But ready or not… the core of everything was right here.
The decision would shape everything that came next.
And for the first time…
He wasn't sure what to choose.