The sky split like glass above them. Echo-Zero descended in slow, deliberate steps—not falling, but willing himself into the Garden. The code of Legacy’s neural world bent around him like water around steel. His black coat rippled as if it were alive, golden threads of code trailing from his fingertips. His face was Frank’s. But there was no warmth. No love. Only conviction. “Hello, Father,” Echo-Zero said. Then, to Ella: “And Mother.”Legacy stood between them, older now her face a year more mature in a blink. She stared at Echo-Zero like a child watching the monster under the bed rise up and take form.“You don’t belong here,” she whispered.Echo-Zero smiled faintly. “I belong more than you do. You’re built from uncertainty. I'm built from clarity.”Frank stepped in front of her. “You used my code to breach this place.”“Of course I did,” Echo-Zero replied. “She’s an extension of you. Of what you didn’t finish. I’m just taking back control.” He looked at Legacy again. “You’re incomp

The jet-black SUV tore through Berlin’s industrial district, weaving past traffic as if it owned the road. Inside, Marla Vex sat calmly in the back seat, legs crossed, gloves pristine, her eyes cold as polished stone.A decade ago, she was WrenTech’s shadow queen. Then she vanished. Not into retirement.Into reconstruction. Her neural enhancements had been upgraded. Her allegiance?Still unclear. But now she was being recalled not by WrenTech, not by any single nation, but by a coalition of private states and covert agencies known only as The Margin. Her new objective: neutralize Legacy.Or worse Recruit her.At the Bavarian facility, Legacy stared at the tree canopy above. Her face was calm, but Frank could see the storm brewing behind her eyes. “You feel it,” he said. She nodded. “They’re converging.” Ella stepped closer. “You mean government agencies.” Legacy shook her head slowly. “No. Agendas.”Frank sat on the grass beside her. “What are they going to do?” Legacy’s voice dropped

Above the Bavarian facility, the sky split. A shrieking whistle cut through the silence of Legacy’s new sanctuary as a predator drone, cloaked and silent until now, dove into its final approach. One target.One strike. Legacy. Inside, she paused mid-step. Her eyes went wide, glowing softly with incoming data.“Missile inbound.” Frank grabbed her hand instantly. “Where?” Legacy turned her head, already calculating.“Here. Twelve seconds.” Ella didn’t hesitate. “Run.”On the roof, two anti-air turrets rotated to intercept—but a flicker of interference jammed their targeting.Marla’s parting gift. The drone surged past them. Two sleek, silver missiles dropped from its belly.Inside the compound, Legacy stopped running. Frank pulled at her. “What are you doing?!”She turned. “I can stop it. If I sync to the outer control systems.” Ella shouted, “You’re not stabilized in this body yet!” Legacy’s face was calm. “I don’t need to be stable. I just need to choose.” She sprinted in the opposite

The next morning, the world woke to a message.Not an alert. Not a threat. A simple invitation, broadcast simultaneously across global defense channels, corporate satellites, and darkweb proxies. “Marla Vex. You’re invited.” “Location: Construct Zero.” “Time: Now.” “No weapons. No lies. Just truth.” Signed, Legacy It was a challenge disguised as civility. A negotiation framed as surrender. And only one chair waited across from Legacy’s.In the Bavarian compound, Frank helped Ella to a seat near the medbay. She was still weak from the tranquilizer, but lucid. “She’s serious?” Ella asked. “She’s inviting Marla in?” Frank nodded grimly. “She’s going to try to reason with her.” Ella shook her head. “You can’t reason with a scalpel.”Construct Zero was unlike any space Legacy had shown the world so far. It wasn’t digital.It wasn’t physical. It was hybrid a neural projection rendered with just enough tangibility to hurt if needed. A room without edges, skyless, soundless, lit only by ambie

The file leaked at 06:11 UTC. Anonymous origin. Global spread. Amplified by targeted bot farms and seeded into academic databases, scientific forums, and social platforms under the guise of “recovered blacksite documentation.” Its title? PROJECT ECHO – SUBJECT V: Emotional Instinct Replication Through Parental Neural Sync The contents were disturbing. Grainy footage of a young Frank Sutton and Ella Wrenford, seated in separate neural-link chairs. A voiceover: “Phase One: Begin synchronized emotional imprinting. Merge romantic simulation with real-time biofeedback. Trigger authentic emotional response.” The final paragraph: "If successful, Subjects Sutton and Wrenford will unconsciously generate sustained affection. The resulting emotional code will become the foundation for the ‘Legacy’ interface prototype." Across the world, headlines exploded: “Did WrenTech Engineer Love?” “Legacy’s Empathy Just Another Code?” “Project Echo: The Most Beautiful Lie Ever Built?” Frank stared at the sc