Somewhere deep underground, hidden behind layers of steel-reinforced walls and security systems designed by the world's brightest minds, a boy slept peacefully, completely unfazed, no matter how many times the alarm tried to wake him up.
His room is something that can be considered completely out of place in a high-tech secret underground facility, as posters of giant robots and anime girls lined the walls. Shelves were crammed with anime figurines. Various machines, strange devices, robotic body parts, and half-assembled drones sat in a corner alongside bookshelves full of manga and light Novels.
And on the far wall, A massive TV screen is currently paused at the climax of an epic battle between two super robots bigger than universes, clashing their drills that's somehow even bigger than them at each other, frozen in mid-motion.
A room that screams its owner is an otaku, and completely doesn't belong in this highly secure facility, and as for its owner, he is still sleeping, no matter how hard the alarm tries to pull him back to reality.
Then, as the alarm clicked off with a defeated beep, the lights in the room started to dim, and blue rays of light appeared all across the room, like glowing circuits forming midair. The strands of light wove together, converging into luminous cubes that hovered briefly, then began assembling at the centre of the room.
Bit by bit, the cubes aligned and shifted, gradually shaping the silhouette of a girl.
Her skin was pale, almost porcelain-like. Blue hair cascaded softly to her shoulders, framing a face with striking blue eyes that seemed to glow with quiet intelligence. She wore a sleek dress of deep blue and black, adorned with delicate butterfly-shaped bows, her appearance reminiscent of a Ulysses butterfly.
She looked at the sleeping boy with a blank expression, then walked near him and shook him a little to wake him up.
"Wake up," she said flatly. "You have a meeting with the officials in an hour. It is time to prepare."
"Mmm... five more minutes…" the boy mumbled, still clinging to his blanket like it held the meaning of life.
The girl blinked and spoke in a flat tone, "If you don't wake up in five seconds, I will activate the fire suppression system. One... two... three..."
The moment those words registered, the boy shot up like a missile.
"Wait, what?! No, no, no, stop! Not again! It'll ruin all my figurines and books!" He groaned and slumped forward. "Why are you always so hard on me?"
She blinked. "Because you programmed me to do this when you're running late."
"Ugh… fair enough." He rubbed his face, trying to blink away the last of his sleep. "Good morning, Eve."
The girl, Eve, stared back at him. "It's afternoon."
"Afternoon? I was out for that long?" the boy asked, shocked. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"
"I tried," the girl replied flatly. "But you were in a deep sleep. According to the researchers, a good night's rest is crucial for health. I advise you to sleep on time."
"I know, but I had to!" the boy protested. "I was binge-watching Gurren Lagann. It's important to boost creativity before a big meeting, right? Especially since we're talking about a similar topic."
"You have watched it 256 times since I was created," she stated calmly. "Records indicate you watched it even more before my activation. And today's presentation is about powered exoskeleton armor, not giant robots."
"Good shows can be rewatched endlessly without getting boring," the boy said with a proud grin. "And sure, today's topic is just powered exoskeletons... but one day, I'll build my own mecha."
Eve stared at him expressionlessly. "The government has already rejected all your giant robot proposals. They cited that the cost-to-efficiency ratio is poor, and mechas are not practical for modern warfare."
"What do they know? All they care about is saving money and blowing stuff up," the boy grumbled, launching into a frustrated rant. "Even when I try to meet every single one of their demands, they just find a new excuse to shut me down!"
"When they said, 'According to the square-cube law, it can't support its own weight,' I created an alloy stronger and lighter than titanium. When they complained it wouldn't survive against missiles or anti-tank weapons, I developed Phase Shift Armor to mitigate damage from all forms of physical attacks. And when they said the energy requirements were impossible with any current power source, I built a cold fusion reactor!"
He threw his hands up in exasperation. "And what's the first thing they ask after seeing it? 'How big will the explosion be if it blows up?' Like seriously?! And even after all that, they still rejected it, saying it would be too expensive to build and maintain! What else do they even want from me, Errrghhh…" In the end, he let out a long groan and slumped forward.
"But they weren't wrong," Eve said in her usual calm, blank tone. "With the amount of money required to build and maintain even one of your giant robots, they could construct thousands of stealth jets and tanks. And with the new technology you developed, they can now make them stronger and cheaper. Their reasoning is entirely logical."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever… Wait, Eve, aren't you supposed to be on my side? Why are you defending them?" the boy groaned, throwing her a betrayed look. His own creation siding with the enemy?
"I'm simply stating the facts. Besides, you programmed me to always be honest with you and to correct you when you're being unreasonable. Now stop wasting time and get ready for the meeting. You only have 45 minutes left."
"Ehhh? It's that late already?! Oh no, crap, crap, crap, I need to hurry!" the boy exclaimed, scrambling across the room, digging through piles of gadgets, notes, and scattered tools in search of everything he needed for the meeting.
Eve began helping, scanning the cluttered room, her synthetic eyes calmly analyzing for anything important he might have missed. As she moved, her gaze lingered on the massive screen on the wall, still frozen at the climactic battle between two colossal mechs.
After a pause, she tilted her head slightly. "May I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure, what is it?" the boy replied, barely paying attention as he continued stuffing papers and devices into his bag.
"Why do you never finish that anime? No matter how many times you rewatch it, you always stop before the ending. May I ask why?"
"Because the ending sucks," he replied instantly, without even hesitating.
"…Then why do you keep watching it?" Eve asked even more curiously than before.
"Sigh, I watch it so often because it was the first anime I ever watched. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen back then," the boy said, arms flailing dramatically. "But the ending? Why? Why did they did that to Nia? Unforgivable, like, seriously, after everything they went through, that's how they end it? No thanks, I don't want to ruin my mood for no reason by watching that ending, thank you very much."
Eve tilted her head slightly. "According to my scan of the internet, a lot of people liked that ending. They said it stayed true to the theme of the show, and bittersweet endings like that are rated quite highly. Why is that?"
"I don't know, maybe because they think happy endings are cliché, or maybe they just want it to feel meaningful or something," the boy replied, shrugging. "I guess they find happy endings boring or less impactful for a story. But I like them. You know, one of the few times I can actually feel anything is when I'm watching or reading something. So I don't like watching anything sad. Maybe on some rare occasions, but most of the time, I prefer happy endings."
He said it casually, but it was the truth. As someone who had spent his entire life alone, the only times he really felt emotions were when he was watching or reading something. So, he is quite picky about what he watches and does his best to avoid anything too sad and stupid.
Eve stood still for a moment, her glowing eyes calm but thoughtful, as if processing something in silence. Then, after a pause, she spoke. "What about you?"
The boy blinked, confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Your story," Eve clarified, tilting her head slightly. "How do you think it will end?"
The boy was a little shocked, clearly not expecting that question. But before he could respond, Eve continued.
"You've been alone ever since you were born. You've lived your entire life in this facility. Apart from a few rare occasions, you've never left. You don't have any friends, and no one you could say you truly trust."
"Do you have to roast me like that?" the boy said, a little offended by the burns he is receiving all of a sudden.
Eve ignored the comment and continued calmly. "I've looked through the internet. Most people in your position, people who are locked away and isolated, will eventually dream of freedom. They want to see the outside world. Do you ever think like that?"
The boy let out a small laugh. "Freedom, huh? Nah, not really. I mean, those people were usually mistreated or abused by the people who locked them up, right?. But me? I've been treated well. As long as I make them what they want, they will do everything I ask of. I can ask them to buy anything I need from the outside world, eat whatever I want, access the entire internet, and even watch anime or read manga whenever I feel like it, because they said it helps increase my creativity. So I basically live like a king."
He said this while still searching for his stuff and getting ready for the meeting.
"But…" Eve said quietly, "According to research, humans need companionship to be emotionally fulfilled. You've always been alone. How can you be happy like that?"
"I've never really thought I needed companionship," he replied. "I'm perfectly fine on my own. Alone doesn't mean unhappy, you know."
Eve turned a little silent at that, but still continued.
"But people your age usually go to high school, right?" Eve asked. "And a lot of the anime you watch takes place in high school. Don't you… Want to go there too? Make friends, find true love, go on adventures, don't you want to do that?"
That one hit harder. If there was one thing he didn't like about his life, it was how boring it was. There was no excitement. He did want to go outside, have fun, and go on cool adventures like in those anime, but...
"But real life's not like that," he muttered. "Of course I want to go to school, make friends, find true love, get into dumb fights, go on wild adventures… just like in those anime. But there's nothing exciting waiting for me in the real world," he said, sighing a little.
"There are no cool dragons, no magic, no hidden worlds, no alien parasites invading. And as for school life? It's even more boring than you think. The outside world isn't interesting," he said. There was a time he had thought about going to a Japanese school and having fun, but after searching the internet, he found the cruel truth about Japanese high schools, they are living an even more depressing life than his.
As he was thinking about his crushed dreams, he realized something else too and looked at Eve with interest.
"To think Eve would ask questions like this on her own... she's changed. She's growing. Interesting," the boy thought with a smile.
"Why are you suddenly talking about the outside world?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Do you want to go outside?"
"Yes. I am curious," she answered instantly.
"You're connected to the internet, you know. You can hack into any camera you want and look at the outside world anytime," the boy said.
"No… I...… I want to see it with my own eyes. I want to know how it feels," Eve said after hesitating a little.
The boy was shocked. Was he finally going to witness an AI gain true sentience? If that's the case, he had to help her. So he said with a smile, "Well… if that's the case, we'll have to build you a body. You can't leave this room in your current form, the solid hologram system only works in this room, after all."
Eve's eyes widened slightly. "Wait... are we going outside?"
"Yeah," he said casually. "Why not? A single outing won't kill us. We can hijack the security systems for a while, sneak out, and be back before anyone notices. It's not like people drop by to check on me often."
"But the rules… what if they punish you?" Eve asked a little softly.
"Rules are made to be broken," the boy said smugly. "Besides, it'll be cool to break them at least once, right?"
"…Thank you," Eve said, her voice soft.
"Don't thank me," he replied, standing up and stretching. "I'm just doing what I want to do."
The only reason he never thought about going outside was because he never had a reason to, but now he had one.
No one could stop him if he truly wanted to leave.
"We'll think over the plan after I come back from the meeting," the boy said. He finally managed to gather all the files he needed for the meeting. Then, turning to look at her, he continued, "It's a promise, alright? I'll definitely take you outside. We'll go together."
"It's a promise," Eve nodded with a small smile.
In a blur of motion, he got dressed at incredible speed, like a speedrunner loading into the next level.
Snatching a small tablet from the desk, he paused at the door and glanced back over his shoulder.
"I'll be back soon. Wish me luck."
Eve stood quietly in the center of the room. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
"Good luck."
He opened the door to step outside, and then, everything went black.
No light, no sound, no sensation, no pain, just… nothing.
All he could see in front of him was absolute darkness.
It took him a moment to even process it, but then the realization hit like a truck.
Just like that, he was dead.