Page 119 of GlitchBorn Heart

I can’t do this again. My fingers curl into fists. They don’t even feel like mine. The warmth is gone. My magic is a dull hum barely sparking at my core. I’m becoming numb.

I feel my body flicker. Ash was sort of right. I’m fighting the void, but still half in my holo-form. I can’t seem to let go of the holo-thread, and I’m not sure I want to. If I can remain in the thread, then at least I don’t have to sit with myself in this darkness.

Across the black, I notice a flicker, then a shape takes form.

“Eli?” My voice comes out mechanical, nothing like my own.

I can feel him. He manifests like a digital specter, one frame at a time, pieces out of order. Eyes first, hands, then a mouth trying to form words, but only spilling distorted static. He looks terrified, like the younger version of himself.

“I didn’t know, Lyra. I had no idea.” His voice warps as it escapes into the ether.

I stumble forward, reaching for him, but my hand stops against an invisible wall. “Eli, I’m begging you. Stop voiding. You’re tearing everything apart. You’re tearing me apart. You’re destroying me.”

His eyes flare, black liquid swirling like star-filled galaxies. “No, Lyra, Kael’s system did this to you. He works for Vikktor. He’s just like him. He builds prisons.”

“No!” My voice echoes, cracking against the walls of the void. “Kael isn’t Vikktor. He’s...” The words hitch in my throat. I’m not sure how to answer. No. He’s not a ruthless, cold-blooded killer like Vikktor.

But he may have killed anomalies. He might still.

The silence between us pulses. Eli stares angrily. “You hesitated.” It’s a sinister laugh. “That’s all I need to know. He’s already inside your head, Lyra. That’s what he does. He’s a corporate manipulator.”

I clench my fists, nails digging into my palms. A dozen images flood my mind at once. Kael’s hand hovers near my cheek gently, his voice low and commanding, the way his network bends around me like it wants me here.

A prison? No. A tether, pulling me closer, reining me in.

“I don’t know what he is yet.” I breathe in forcefully. “But he’s not Vikktor. I know this.”

Eli’s void lashes out, like a storm preparing to break. “You’re defending him? He’s the reason we’re here!”

“He may be part of the reason I’m here”—I lift my chin, eyes filling with tears—“but so are you.” The words are like an inferno, burning down to my very core.

“I’m not doing this intentionally, Lyra! This is the hand I’ve been dealt, thanks to StarFell. Kael chooses his own fate, and when he turns on you, remember this moment. I warned you.” The darkness quivers like a force field around him. Another flicker as he speaks. “Together forever, remember?”

I challenge him, but as I start to push, I feel it. A cold wave sliding deeper into me. My heartbeat is a faint mechanical blip now. I’m losing warmth. Losing self.

I feel sick about what’s happening: LINK is protecting him. Drawing Eli in, becoming more human with every pulse of his power. And me? I’m sliding the other way, losing my humanity, fusing with the machine. Destined to be a rogue piece of AI.

FIREWALL RECOVERY SUCCESSFUL

I hear LINK in the distance.

A digital barrier appears in front of him. I slam my fists against it, but they leave no dent. My hands aren’t even hands anymore, just flickers of code. “Call off your dog, Eli. I’m not here to hurt you.”

Kael’s voice crackles from somewhere. I hear it faintly in my head, distant and panicked. “Lyra! Hold on. Come back to me. Reach for the holo-thread. Hurry.”

But all I can do is stand there, numb, watching my brother disappear into LINK’s sterile digital world. And I’m left sliding one step closer to becoming the very thing I hate.

“Lyra. My sister, the one person I thought I could count on.” Eli’s voice breaks and glitches one last time. “You’re a liar.”

The void collapses around me, black walls rushing in like water down a drain. My body trembles with static, every nerve screaming to escape. His words strike like a bullet on target.

No, I’m not.

I slam my palms together and push—hard. My magic detonates, full of anger. No, it’s not just anger anymore. Now it’s an uncontrollable, volatile state of wrath. Sharp, neon bright and splintering the dark grid into shards as it leaves my fingertips. The sound booms like fireworks being let loose in the night sky.

“Holo-form. Now!” I shout to myself. I will not be bullied by a glorified chatbot with a psychosis. The code whirs by, and I grab it with both hands. Light tears open, blinding me with its brutality. I hurl myself through it.

When the world snaps back, I’m no longer in the void. I’m standing on the lab’s holo-platform, breath dragging in and out of my chest. Kael’s lab stretches out before me in white pulsing panels of light.