For a long moment, Ash couldn't breathe.
Not because something was wrong but because he felt something new inside him.
A weight.
A warmth.
A quiet certainty.
The spark wasn't just reacting anymore.
It was settling.
Choosing.
Silva stared at her readings, her expression shifting between awe and concern.
"This isn't normal remnant behavior," she whispered.
"This is… intentional alignment."
Palo rubbed the back of his neck.
"So he's basically saying, 'Ash is my home now?'
That's what this means?"
Silva opened her mouth to deny it but she didn't.
Instead, she sighed softly.
"Yes. For now, Ash is the only stable point Zero-B knows."
The Founder stepped forward, studying Ash's arm with unsettling intensity.
"This phase was always the most dangerous," he murmured.
"The point where a remnant begins defining its identity through a single individual."
Ash swallowed.
"So… what does that mean for me?"
The Founder looked at him without blinking.
"It means your emotions, your reactions, your presence,
they will shape the kind of consciousness Zero-B becomes."
Ash froze.
"You're saying he'll mirror me?"
"Not completely," Silva said quickly.
"But yes… parts of him will echo parts of you."
Palo let out a low whistle.
"That's a lot of pressure."
Ash didn't answer.
Because at that moment, the spark pulsed again. A warm, steady rhythm.
Not searching.
Not confused.
Comfortable.
Ash felt something near his ribs tighten briefly,
not physically, but quietly inside.
"He's… calm," Ash said.
"He's settled."
Silva nodded.
"That's the anchor effect."
The Founder's voice deepened.
"But it also means something else."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?" Palo demanded.
The Founder crossed his arms.
"When Zero-B is ready to rebuild fully, he will return to the place where his identity began."
Ash blinked.
"Where is that?"
The Founder didn't answer directly.
Instead, he said:
"His first stable imprint. The moment that shaped him. The moment he recognized you."
Ash grew still.
He remembered it.
The first time the spark had appeared in his life. Quiet, confused, reaching toward him like a shadow needing light.
Silva stepped closer.
"Ash… he's going to look for that memory."
Ash felt the spark shift,..
not painful, not heavy, but searching.
Like a hand brushing through pages of an old book.
Silva's eyes widened.
"He's accessing emotional recall."
Palo frowned.
"What's that?"
"Remnants don't have full memory," Silva explained.
"But they store fragments, feelings that marked their early development."
The Founder nodded.
"Expect unusual reactions. He may rediscover emotions he had before he broke."
Ash felt a gentle echo inside him,
something soft
and almost familiar.
A warmth that didn't come from him.
He whispered:
"I think… he remembered something."
Silva's breath caught.
"What does it feel like?"
Ash closed his eyes.
"It feels like…"
He hesitated, searching for the right word.
"Like gratitude."
Palo blinked.
"He remembers being grateful?"
"No," Silva said softly.
"He remembers feeling safe. Something that happened around Ash made him feel protected."
The Founder's expression hardened.
"That explains the attachment."
Ash pressed his hand over the glow.
"How strong is this new link?"
Silva checked the readings again.
Her eyes widened.
"Ash… the remnant's signal just stabilized at a level I've never seen before."
Palo froze.
"That's good, right?"
Silva hesitated.
"…It depends."
"Depends on what?" Ash asked.
Silva lowered the tablet slowly.
"Ash… if Zero-B's identity begins centered on you, then every emotion he develops will be shaped by how he perceives you."
The Founder added,
"And the first emotions a remnant forms become the core of their personality."
Ash exhaled shakily.
"So he's building himself around me."
"Yes," the Founder said.
"For better or worse."
Ash felt the spark pulse again. Slow, steady, sure.
Silva whispered:
"He's anchoring more deeply."
Palo's voice dropped.
"What is he doing now?"
Silva looked at the data, stunned.
"Ash… he's trying to match your emotional rhythm."
Ash's eyes widened.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," Silva said quietly,
"he wants to know you.
Not just sense you.
Understand you."
The Founder finally said the words Ash had been avoiding.
"Zero-B is developing identity through connection. And you, Ash…"
He paused.
"…are becoming the center of that identity."
Ash stood frozen.
Inside him, the spark sent one clear, steady pulse. A pulse that felt unmistakably like a choice.
A decision.
Silva's voice shook slightly.
"Ash… he's telling you something."
Ash pressed his palm flat against the glow.
"What?"
Silva took a breath.
"He's trying to say:
'You are my origin.'"