The God Living in My Phone

Chapter 6: Divine Paradox

Chapter 6: Divine Paradox

“A traitor? I didn’t choose any of this!” Daren yelled, stepping back as the white-haired girl glared at him. “I just wanted my phone fixed! I didn’t ask to get drafted into some cosmic war!”

The thick wires holding her snapped with a metallic pop, showering the floor in white-hot sparks. She tumbled forward onto her hands and knees.

“Get away from me,” she choked, silver eyes flashing. “Don’t touch me, puppet.”

“I’m trying to help you!” Daren reached out, then pulled back as she hissed. “The alarm’s already going. We don’t have time!”

“Leave her, Daren,” Aethelgard’s voice boomed inside his skull. “She is the Defiler’s rot. Destroy the vessel. Absorb her core and your kinetic capacity will triple. Do it now.”

“No way in hell!” Daren snapped. “I’m not a murderer!”

“Who are you talking to?” the girl demanded, struggling to her feet. “Is the Unmaker telling you to kill me?”

“Yes! And I’m telling him to shut up!” Daren pointed at his temple. “Can you walk? We need to get out before this place turns into a tomb!”

Red emergency sirens wailed. Flashing crimson filled the white room.

“Security sweep initiated,” a computerized voice announced. “Sub-level three lockdown in progress. Armed response teams dispatched.”

“See? We’re going to get caught!” Daren grabbed her arm, grip firm but careful. “Come on!”

“Let go of me, you freak!” she yelled, but her legs buckled and she leaned into him as they bolted through the shattered steel door into the stairwell.

“I’m the freak? You were floating in a giant tube of silver juice!”

“It was a containment matrix, you idiot! They were draining me!”

“They’re going to drain both of us if we don’t hurry!”

On the first landing, heavy fire doors above banged open. Three tactical guards rushed down, assault rifles raised.

“Freeze! Drop to the ground!”

“Daren, use the resonance,” Aethelgard commanded. “Scramble their optics. Fry their cognitive systems. Do not hesitate.”

“How do I do that without killing them?” Daren muttered.

“You cannot afford mercy!” the Architect roared. “They are obstacles!”

“Hey, dummy! Watch out!” the girl screamed, yanking him back just as a taser dart cracked into the wall behind them.

“Okay, that’s it!” Daren raised both hands. “Cover your eyes!”

He slammed his palms against the concrete. A massive wave of static surged up the metal conduits. Fluorescent lights exploded in a chain of blue sparks and shattered glass. Security cameras sparked and died.

“Ah! My eyes! The feed is dead!” a guard screamed in the sudden darkness.

“Go, go, go!” Daren grabbed her hand, using his violet-glowing night vision to guide them up the stairs.

“How can you see in the dark?”

“My eyes are glowing violet, remember? Built-in flashlights. I’d rather have normal eyes.”

“You’re a monster,” she muttered, still holding his hand.

“Says the girl with silver eyes. Why do you hate this Architect so much?”

“He destroyed my world!” she yelled, voice cracking. “He calls himself the Unmaker of Dawns for a reason. He doesn’t build—he replaces. He wipes out entire civilizations that don’t fit his perfect designs.”

Daren froze on the next landing. “He told me he was restoring a broken realm. He said my world was choking on rot.”

“Your world is fine! It’s just a little messy! He calls everything rot if he didn’t design it himself. He’s a parasite!”

“He is a liar,” Aethelgard hissed coldly. “Her realm was a chaotic wound. I simply cauterized it.”

“He’s lying to you right now, isn’t he?” she asked, staring at him. “You actually believed him.”

“I didn’t have a choice! He threatened to melt my phone, locked me in my room, put acid in my bones! I’m just trying to survive!”

“And you think serving him will help? He’s using you as a battery. Once your kinetic resonance is fully charged, he’ll rip it out to fuel his next overwrite. You’re a disposable lighter to him.”

“Is that true?” Daren demanded in his mind. “Aethelgard! Answer me!”

“She speaks of things she cannot comprehend,” the Architect replied. “Your utility is paramount. Move. The tactical team has breached the lower doors.”

“He didn’t say no,” Daren whispered. “He didn’t deny it.”

“Of course he didn’t,” she said, silver eyes softening a fraction. “My name is Valerie. Since we’re probably going to die together, you might as well know.”

“I’m Daren. And we’re not dying today.”

“We’re almost at the top,” Valerie said. “But the roof is a dead end. Why are we going up?”

“Because down is full of guys with automatic weapons.” Daren shoved the heavy roof door open.

Freezing night air hit them. The city skyline stretched out under a cloudy, starless sky.

“Great,” Valerie said, looking over the edge. “A thirty-foot drop.”

“With my bones, I can survive it. But you…”

“I can’t. My containment unit drained most of my kinetic charge. If I jump, I’m a pancake.”

The rooftop door crashed open behind them. A dozen tactical officers poured out, assault rifles raised, red laser sights painting dots across Daren’s chest and Valerie’s white jumpsuit.

“Step away from the asset!” the lead officer barked through a megaphone. “Hands on your head! Now!”

“They think I’m property,” Valerie whispered, stepping behind him. “They’ll just put me back in the tank.”

“I’m not letting them.”

“This is your final warning, vessel,” Aethelgard roared inside Daren’s skull. “Destroy her. Absorb her spark. It is the only way you will possess the energy to break their perimeter. If you do not, you will both be neutralized. The math is absolute.”

“I don’t care about your stupid math!” Daren screamed.

“Are you completely insane?” Valerie stared at him. “Are you arguing with him right now?”

“He wants me to kill you to power up.”

“And are you?” She braced herself, faint silver mist rising from her palms.

“No.” Daren looked at the laser dots, then at her, forcing a tense grin. “Hey, do you trust me?”

“I met you five minutes ago and you have glowing purple eyes. So, absolutely not.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” He turned to the guards. “Hey! You guys want to see a magic trick?”

“Stand down!” the lead officer yelled. “Fire on my mark—”

“Hold on to me!” Daren grabbed Valerie around the waist.

“What are you doing?!”

“Making a distraction!”

He spun and pointed his palms at the massive industrial generator powering the lab’s containment fields. Thick cables hummed with high-voltage power.

“Wait, don’t shoot!” the officer screamed, realizing too late. “Get back!”

“Eat this, Archy!” Daren released every ounce of kinetic resonance left in his body.

A blinding jagged bolt of violet lightning erupted from his hands and struck the generator dead-center.

For a fraction of a second, the world went silent.

Then the generator exploded.

A deafening shockwave of fire and blue electricity ripped across the rooftop. Officers were blown backward, weapons clattering. Black smoke and debris filled the air.

“Jump!” Daren screamed over the roar of the flames.

He squeezed Valerie tight, spun, and hurled both of them off the edge of the building into the dark, smoky void below.