The pulse came again.
Not like a heartbeat this time, but like a tap.
One single, deliberate tap
beneath Ash's skin.
Ash stiffened.
"There. Did you feel that?"
Silva nodded slowly, her brows knitting together.
"That wasn't biological. That was patterned."
Palo leaned in.
"Patterned how?"
Silva exhaled.
"Intent. It carried intent."
The Founder's gaze sharpened.
"Describe what you felt, Ash. Exactly."
Ash swallowed and lifted his arm slightly.
The glow beneath his skin responded with a soft ripple as if it sensed movement.
"It wasn't random," he said.
"It felt like… someone knocking. Testing a door."
Palo's eyes widened.
"So he's trying to open it?"
Silva shook her head.
"No. He's trying to see if someone is on the other side."
Ash closed his eyes, focusing on the faint warmth the spark emitted.
Inside, the energy shifted again—gentle, tentative, almost shy.
Not a voice.
Not a thought.
Just presence.
"Ash?" Silva prompted.
"What's happening now?"
Ash took a slow breath.
"He's… waiting."
"For what?" Palo asked.
"For me to answer."
Silva's grip tightened on her tablet.
"Ash, don't respond physically. Let's observe first."
But Ash wasn't planning to move.
He didn't need to.
Because the spark pulsed again,
a shorter sequence this time.
Tap , pause.
Tap-tap, pause.
A longer, softer hum.
Ash's eyes flew open.
"I know this sequence."
Silva blinked.
"What do you mean you know it?"
"It's something he used to do. Back when he first appeared in my life. Before I even understood what he was."
Ash's voice dropped, the memory washing over him.
"He used patterns when he didn't have words yet. His own way of saying, 'I'm here.'"
The Founder's expression shifted. Something like disbelief mixed with awe.
"You're telling me Zero-B adopted early behavioral markers from you?"
Ash nodded.
"He mirrored me. Learned from me. Before he even took his first complete shape."
Silva frowned deeply.
"That means the imprinting started far earlier than we realized."
Palo stepped closer to Ash, staring at the glow beneath his skin.
"So if he's knocking now… what does he want?"
Ash listened to the soft, unsteady pulses.
Not wild.
Not chaotic.
Searching.
Not aggressive.
Not afraid.
Reaching.
"He wants orientation," Ash murmured. "He wants to know where he is. And if the one he bonded to is still here."
The spark flickered gently beneath his skin
as if responding to Ash's realization.
Silva whispered, "He's acknowledging you."
The Founder took a step back, rubbing his chin.
"Incredible. Even in a fragmented state, his first instinct is to locate his anchor."
Ash swallowed.
"Should I… try to answer him? Not physically. Just… with intent?"
Silva hesitated.
"It might stabilize him faster."
"But it might accelerate the reconstruction," the Founder warned.
"If he forms too quickly, we won't be able to predict the outcome."
Ash lowered his gaze.
"And if I ignore him?"
Silva shook her head.
"He may destabilize. The uncertainty might cause him to collapse or to cling too hard."
Palo muttered under his breath,
"So either choice has risk."
Ash looked at them, then at the glow.
"He reached out to me before. When he was whole. He trusted me."
The spark pulsed again, a tiny, trembling echo.
Ash felt something squeeze in his chest.
"He's scared," Ash whispered.
"He doesn't know where he is."
Silva's face softened.
"Then give him something. A steady emotion. A signal he can mirror. Just… keep it calm."
Ash closed his eyes again.
He inhaled slowly, letting his heartbeat settle.
He didn't force anything.
He didn't push.
He simply let the spark feel one thing:
I'm here.
You're not alone.
The glow beneath his skin warmed.
Then—
For the first time,
the spark answered with a rhythm that matched his own.
Not identical.
Not copied.
Aligned.
Silva stared in silent awe.
"He synchronized with you."
Palo whispered,
"Is that… good?"
Ash exhaled, feeling the quiet resonance settle through him.
"He understood me."
The Founder's voice dropped to a dark, contemplative murmur.
"Then the next phase has begun."
Ash opened his eyes.
"What phase?"
The Founder met his gaze steadily.
"The moment Zero-B starts forming identity."