There was no floor.
No ceiling.
No room.
Just white...a blinding, endless white that swallowed every sound before it could fully form.
Ash didn't fall.
He didn't stand.
He simply was, suspended in a space that felt like both light and static.
Then,..
A second presence flickered beside him.
Zero-B.
Not physically…
more like a silhouette drawn from static and faint pulses of silver.
"Ash," Zero-B said, voice strangely steady.
"We are inside the synchronization field."
Ash's heart hammered. Even here, he felt it.Fear, confusion, the pull of the system trying to force him into something he didn't want.
"I don't understand this place," he whispered.
Zero-B turned his head slightly.
"This is the in-between.
A link chamber.
Your mind on one side.
Mine on the other."
A low hum began rising, like gears grinding inside an invisible machine.
And then lines appeared.
Thin silver lines, snaking through the white space like roots. They reached for Ash, then for Zero-B, as if measuring them.
Ash flinched back.
"What are those?!"
Zero-B answered quickly.
"Memory threads. System wants to merge us."
The lines lunged.
Ash stumbled, except he wasn't really stumbling, because there was no ground but instinct still kicked in.
"No, NO..get them away from me!"
Zero-B reacted immediately.
A flash of energy rippled from him, pushing the lines back a few inches.
He turned to Ash.
"Ash. Listen. The system interprets emotion as command input. Your fear gives it strength."
Ash shook his head violently.
"I can't just stop being afraid!"
Zero-B paused.
"Then I will help."
He stepped closer, careful, slow, almost gentle in his movement, like approaching a frightened animal.
"Ash, I will hold the threads.
You pull back.
We fight from both sides."
Ash swallowed hard.
"You'll get hurt."
Zero-B blinked.
"If I am hurt, I recover.
If you are overridden…
you disappear."
The words hit Ash like a slap.
Before he could respond, the white space shivered, and a voice echoed through them:
SYNCHRONIZATION, PHASE TWO.
BEGIN MEMORY ASSIMILATION.
The silver lines shot forward again, faster, sharper, slicing through the space like needles.
Zero-B grabbed Ash's arm.
"Ash, focus on ANY memory that belongs to you.
Anything real."
Ash tried.
His mind scattered.
Faces.
Lights.
Fear.
His mother's whisper.
Silva's terrified eyes.
Palo's voice calling his name.
Zero-B's tone sharpened.
"Something strong. Something that defines you."
Ash squeezed his eyes shut.
A memory surfaced,
Palo's hand gripping his wrist in the hallway months ago, pulling him out of danger.
"Come on, Ash! I'm not letting you get crushed under that thing!"
Something warm surged in his chest.
And the silver lines faltered.
Zero-B nodded quickly.
"Yes. That. Hold it."
The lines shot again.
This time Zero-B moved fast, catching several with his own energy, gripping them like wires burning in his hands.
The static around him crackled painfully.
Ash's voice broke.
"Zero-B, stop! It's hurting you!"
"That is irrelevant," Zero-B said calmly, though his form flickered.
"Keep your memory stable. I will block the merge."
The system voice boomed again:
SUBJECT ZERO-B NON-COMPLIANT.
INCREASING FORCE.
More lines erupted, dozens.
Zero-B staggered, static ripping through his silhouette.
Ash felt panic explode through him.
"No,NO, you can't take all of that! I'm not letting you!"
He reached forward without thinking and grabbed Zero-B's arm.
Immediately, their energies collided.
White sparks burst around them.
Zero-B gasped, an actual sound of shock.
"Ash… your signal..."
Ash gritted his teeth.
"Take some of it. Don't fight alone!"
The silver lines wrapped around them both now, pulling, tugging, testing.
Zero-B steadied his posture.
"…shared resistance.
This increases survival probability."
The system roared:
UNAUTHORIZED BEHAVIOR DETECTED.
FORCING MERGE.
The white floor shattered.
Memory fragments burst around them, scenes from Ash's life flickering like broken glass.
School corridors.
His mother holding his hand.
The day he found blood on his wrist.
Silva in the rain.
Palo yelling his name.
Zero-B's form flickered harder.
"Ash, do not let them pass through you.
Focus!focus!"
Ash tried.
But the memories came too fast.
Too bright.
Too sharp.
He felt the system pulling at him,like fingers digging into his skull. Trying to drag him toward Zero-B, trying to stitch their minds together.
Ash screamed.
Zero-B grabbed both his shoulders.
"Ash. Look at me."
Ash forced his eyes open.
Zero-B's silver gaze was unwavering.
"You are Ash Kaldrin," he said.
"Template or not, experiment or not, your mind is yours."
The space trembled violently.
Ash's fear receded for a single breath.
Just one.
But it was enough.
The lines snapped like threads under tension.
The white exploded,..
And everything went silent.