Glitch looked at Evan with a mix of awe and horror. He walked in a circle around him, his foil coat crinkling. Crinkle. Snap."I saw the data-spike," Glitch muttered to himself. "A million-year payout. A system-wide error. I thought it was a virus. But it’s a boy. A boy with a white head and a heart like a black hole."Glitch stopped in front of Evan. He leaned in close. Evan could smell old coffee and ozone on him."You’re dying, aren't you?" Glitch asked. "The Void is eating the connections between your cells. You’re turning into a ghost."Evan looked at the little man. "I'm trying to stop it. We need to get into the Vault of Souls."Glitch jumped back as if Evan had slapped him. "The Vault? No. No, no, no. I don't do mountains. Mountains are solid. Code should be fluid. The Vault is where things go to be frozen. It’s where the Oracle lives.""We need a Ghost-Dancer, Glitch," Marco said. "The Oracle is a sentient firewall. We can't punch our way in. We need someone to rewrite the do

The rain in the South District did not just fall. It rotted. It was a thick, brown mist that tasted like copper and old iron. Evan Kennedy walked through the mud, his boots making a heavy squelch with every step. Behind him, the ghost-like shadows of the slums huddled in doorways. They were looking at their wrists. They were watching the red numbers of their lives count down.Evan did not look at his wrist. He did not need to. He could feel the time inside him. It was a cold, dark weight. The Heart-Plug in his chest was a black gear that never stopped turning.[VOID CORRUPTION: 31%][NOTICE: REALITY SYNC IS WEAKENING]"Stop touching your chest, Sunshine," Marco whispered.Marco was walking next to him. He was wearing a long coat to hide his robotic arm. He looked like a normal man, but his eyes were too sharp. He was always looking for cameras. Always looking for Vipers."I can't help it," Evan said. His voice was low. "It feels like a hole is opening up inside me. It wants to eat th

The white plain was gone. The giant hourglass made of souls vanished like a bad dream in the morning light. Evan Kennedy gasped, his lungs burning as if he had just swallowed a gallon of cold sea water. He was no longer a "Zero-Void" with skin made of black glass. He was back in the dark, wet sewer tunnel beneath The Brass Leviathan.The sound of the city returned. It was the sound of iron grinding on iron. It was the sound of millions of people losing their lives one second at a time.Evan hit the wet floor of the tunnel. His knees buckled, and he splashed into the oily water. Silas and Marco were there, staring at him. They were not frozen. The "Pause" had ended. To them, Evan had only closed his eyes for a heartbeat. But Evan felt older. He felt like his soul had been stretched across a mile of sharp wire.[VOID CORRUPTION: 33%][WARNING: TEMPORAL DISSONANCE DETECTED]"Evan? Kid, speak to me," Marco said. He reached out with his real hand and grabbed Evan’s shoulder. His robotic

Evan looked at his hands. They were trembling.[VOID CORRUPTION: 34%][WARNING: OVER-CLOCKING WILL TRIGGER BIOLOGICAL COLLAPSE]"I can't!" Evan said. "If I use a full burst, I might hit zero!""Then use the 'Tilt'!" Marco yelled. "Find the hole in the line!"Evan took a deep breath. He focused his vision. The gold numbers appeared. He looked at the drones. He saw their logic. He saw their countdowns.[DRONE #1: LUNGE IN 2 SECONDS][DRONE #2: FIRING NEEDLE IN 4 SECONDS][DRONE #3: WEAKNESS DETECTED - INFRARED SENSOR]Evan moved. He didn't use a Leap. He used his human muscles. He grabbed a handful of heavy metal bolts from a nearby workbench.[3... 2... 1... 0]Evan threw a bolt. He didn't aim for the drone’s body. He aimed for the sensor.CLINK. The bolt hit the lens of the first drone. The silver spider spun in circles, its white needle firing blindly into the air.Evan moved again. He was fast, but he felt the weight of the debt pulling at his soul. He kicked a second drone into a s

Evan looked at the man in the rags. The Architect was still holding the bicycle bell. "He told me to stay away," Evan said."Because if you stay away, you stay in the loop!" Glitch yelled. "The Bank wants you to be afraid! They want you to stay in the South District and be their little savior! As long as you’re fighting the Vipers, you aren't fighting them!"Evan understood. The mercy of the Bank was just another way to keep the Spark in its cage. "He’s a firewall," Evan whispered."Bingo!" Glitch cheered. "And how do you pass a firewall, Sunshine?""You find the error," Evan said.Evan walked toward the Architect.The man in the rags backed away. "Don't, Evan. You'll hit zero. You'll lose the bicycle. You'll lose everything."Evan didn't look at his father’s face. He used his Perception. He looked at the Logic. He saw the gold numbers around the Architect. They were a perfect circle. A loop of "No."[IF EVAN ENTERS, THEN DELETION][IF EVAN REJECTS, THEN STATUS QUO]"The sum is wrong,