The morning sky was overcast, gray like the static that buzzed faintly in Aidan's ears.
He hadn't slept.
Not a second.
The video simulation kept replaying in his mind—not just what it showed, but how it was delivered. Clean. Flawless. Predictive. It wasn't a simple threat. It was a message from someone who knew how his system worked… maybe better than he did.
> [No External Signals Detected — Mirror Source Currently Dormant]
[Cognitive Stability: 87% — Minor Sleep Deprivation Detected]
Aidan shut the window, exhaled, and finally left his desk.
He needed air.
---
Downstairs, Emily was watching Jeremy pour cereal like he'd just been dropped into a sitcom. His usual cold look was replaced with a strange calmness—almost… normal.
"You're acting weird," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm acting hungry," he replied.
Aidan walked into the room. Jeremy immediately picked up the tension in his shoulders.
"You saw something last night."
"More like… something saw me," Aidan answered.
Jeremy's spoon paused in the bowl.
"Explain."
Aidan explained everything—the message, the simulated version of himself, the untraceable source, the Core's warning.
Emily remained silent, but her grip on the coffee mug tightened.
Jeremy's expression hardened. "Another system user?"
"Highly likely. And not just that—they're sophisticated. Probably rival-class."
---
Back in her apartment, Rhea Maddox stared at her laptop.
> [Mirror Loop Success Rate: 91%]
[Target's System Stability: Unchanged]
[Conclusion: Core adapts faster than projected]
She narrowed her eyes.
"It learned."
She wasn't surprised, but she was disappointed.
Her system—the Mirror Core—specialized in simulation, projection, and preemptive behavioral pressure. In most cases, her projections caused paranoia, fear, even complete mental fractures.
But Aidan's Core didn't flinch. It absorbed.
> [Observation Priority Shift: From Psychological Pressure → Strategic Mapping]
[Next Step Recommendation: Controlled Encounter]
Rhea closed the laptop.
It was time to meet him.
---
That afternoon, Aidan walked through an old part of the city—quiet, filled with secondhand stores and cafés with more chairs than customers. It wasn't random. He'd triangulated the origin of the video packet. Not exact coordinates—but close enough.
> [Area Confidence Index: 62%]
[Risk Level: Moderate]
[Recommendation: Passive Surveillance Activated]
He walked past a bookstore.
Stopped.
Turned back.
Inside, someone was sitting near the back with a hoodie pulled low.
Aidan stepped in.
As soon as the bell over the door rang, she looked up—just briefly.
Their eyes met.
Familiar. Not by face—but by frequency.
System users could feel each other. It wasn't science—it was pattern recognition, too fast for thought.
"You followed the file," she said, not rising.
"You knew I would."
"Smart. That's what makes you dangerous."
Aidan didn't sit. He kept his distance. "What do you want?"
"To warn you."
He almost laughed. "About what? Myself?"
"About the others."
Now he stopped.
She continued, calmly, voice barely above a whisper.
"They're not stable. At least two of them are collapsing. Systems that were designed to improve them are overriding core personality traits. There are no safeties."
"And you care because…?"
"Because you're the only one whose system is still learning instead of controlling. That makes you valuable."
Aidan studied her.
Not scared. Not hostile.
Strategic.
"Are you working alone?"
She paused.
"No. But I'm not loyal to them either."
He didn't ask who "them" was.
Not yet.
---
> [Personality Simulation: Rhea Maddox - Mirror Core User]
[Trust Index: 44% — Unstable Neutral]
[Suggested Approach: Data Exchange, No Personal Exposure]
His system flashed subtle guidance. He ignored most of it.
Aidan finally sat across from her.
"Then let's talk."
---
For the next hour, they traded intel—not everything, but enough. She explained the Echo Prime incident, how it was part of a failed super-system project developed secretly by the EDEN Institute years ago. That six systems had been deployed in the wild as part of a long-range psychological data experiment.
She only knew the original parameters.
Not the endgame.
"Somewhere," she said, "someone is still running this program. But they've lost control. Or maybe… this is the control."
---
When Aidan returned to his apartment that night, he uploaded everything he'd learned.
> [Data Integration in Progress…]
[System Evolution Threshold Reached]
[Would You Like to Unlock Next Core Tier?]
Aidan stared at the screen.
The next tier?
That would change everything.
No going back.
He didn't click anything.
Instead, he turned off the monitor.
Sometimes, even with a system designed for perfect decision-making… the smartest choice was to wait.
But deep down, he knew—
Waiting too long could cost him everything.
---
Meanwhile, in a different part of the city…
A boy barely older than Jeremy sat in his garage, laughing.
Sparks flew from the hacked terminal in front of him.
> [System Booting: Neural Override v1.03]
[Target Priority: Decision Core → Breach Attempt Initialized]
The sixth system wasn't just awake.
It was coming for him.