Page 179 of GlitchBorn Heart

He laughs as he cuts in. “Yeah, right. You’re just like him. I feel sorry for Lyra.”

“Like who?” I squint.

“Vikktor.” He leans forward, the neural suppression bands flickering on his wrists. “He comes in here sometimes. Talks to me like I’m important, like he cares about me. But I know I’m just an experiment to him. You, though...” His grin widens. “You look like a man who is...conflicted.” He sets the book down and walks to the edge of the wall. “Let me guess, she finally saw through all your lies?”

I shouldn’t react; insults like that never penetrate me.

“You know why I’m here.” The words come out quiet, controlled, but laced with contempt.

Eli’s voided eyes scan me like I’m another piece of code to dismantle. He nods slowly, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Of course I do. Lyra. You’re fucking obsessed with my sister. It’s borderline psychotic.”

I laugh casually. That’s funny but also true. “You know what they say, Dear Brother.” I pace the length of the glass. “There’s a very fine line between genius and psychosis.”

He scoffs, matching my pacing. “Yes. But obsession often leads to ruin, Dr. Ryudon. You think you can save her, but you’re just building another cage for her. This time it’s just one where you get to keep her for yourself. The Corporation won’t be happy about that.”

“I didn’t build her a cage,” I shoot back, letting the void hum in the air between us. “I simply built the system. You caused the death of her body but not her soul. You tore the system apart with a void-flare and left her to fall into it. Rookie error.”

Eli looks like a small child being reprimanded. “Your opinion. Besides, I didn’t know. You know I can’t control this yet.” His face turns from innocence to agitation. “But I will, especially with LINK’s help.”

Silence.

The anger begins to build as I realize he’s just another hijacker of my life’s work. I didn’t create the cybernetics to be used as Vikktor’s personal death squad, and I absolutely did not create LINK to be a babysitter for a VoidChanneler.

The containment glass flickers faintly under the weight of both our magics, mine pulsing neon orange through my ink, his leaking in waves of violet static that lightens the dark room.

“She told me,” he continues, “about the extraction. That you’ve created a cybernetic body for her.” He looks at me with disdain. “Seems a little far-fetched, if you ask me.”

“Is that right?” I step closer to the glass again. “Of course, a college student knows so much about artificial intelligence and neural integration, perhaps I should have consulted with you first.” I can’t help but smirk at his arrogance. I was exactly the same at his age.

“Do you understand the risk? What I’m willing to do to get her back into the world she belongs in?”

“Of course.” He tilts his head with an eerie stillness. It’s like watching a being who’s not fully human anymore. “I actually think I like living inside her system. I can’t feel as much. Don’t have to worry about destroying everything I touch. LINK’s not just existing. She’s evolving, and so am I.”

I shake my head. I’m not letting that one go. “You mean my system,” I correct him.

“Is it?” His eyebrows raise, the violet void sparking in his pupils.

End of discussion. “I’m here because you still have something I need, something she needs. I can’t pull her out if you void anytime during the extraction.”

Eli sits back down on the chair. For a second, every light in the room drops a few frequencies, dimming to near-black. His void aura crawls across the glass like oil.

Clever...but intimidation never really works on someone like me, so I continue. “She’s trapped because of you, Eli. So do the right thing and promise me you will not screw this up for her. I will make myself crystal clear. No void flares, and do not let LINK interfere.”

Eli’s face contorts. He looks absolutely feral. “So, you came to make a deal. Figures. You corporate bastards always want something.”

“Again, I’m not Vikktor,” I bite out. “Look, I get it, you still hate me, but you also don’t deserve to be a lab rat in captivity. I promised Lyra I would rescue you, and I will also vow to you, I will do that, Eli, if you can just vow to me you will not interfere.”

The lights flicker twice. His void energy tests his limits like chaos trying to taste freedom. “I can’t help you with the void channeling. I can’t control it, it just happens.” His tone is almost too casual. “But here’s my offer.” He’s now calmer, which somehow makes it worse. “You pull her out. But you leave me inside permanently. Cut the DreamNet bridge so I can stay in and take her place. I’ll stabilize LINK. You get Lyra back, and we make sure this world doesn’t get destroyed by my own hands.”

The words hit me like a gunshot. “What?”

“I stay inside, take her place. You pull her out. I’ll hold LINK, keep her distracted, maybe even stabilize the grid. I also don’t have to be...how did you put it? A lab rat anymore.” He stands and crosses his arms. “Best part is you can tell her you rescued me from this.” He motions to the containment chamber.

“That’s not possible, Eli. I don’t have code built in to even close the DreamNet bridge. Technically, it could close on anyone who is illegally in there during the eclipse shutdown. It’s just not a viable option.” I clench my jaw and shake my head at the absurdity.

“Maybe, but Lyra said you’re a CoreCaster, and you always find a way.” He shrugs. “It’s balance. She doesn’t belong there anymore, Kael. I do. LINK’s built from your code, and now my void, she listens to me in ways she never will to you.”

I shake my head in refusal. “You think I’d let you—”