Inside the Mindscape
Su Chen stands in a corridor that stretches into eternity. Every step echoes with screams that aren't his—but feel like they could be.
Across from him, NEUROGHOST smiles.
Not a glitchy, AI smile. No flicker. No distortion.
She looks like someone who remembers what it's like to be human.
"You remember me, don't you?" she asks sweetly.
"I've never met you."
"Wrong," she whispers, stepping closer. "You met all of us."
The walls ripple.
And a thousand faces—each twisted in silent agony—emerge from the stone, watching him.
Some are kids. Some are soldiers. One is even Yun Xi, dead and smiling.
"I am their memories," NEUROGHOST says. "I am everything you buried to survive."
Outside – Neural Isolation Chamber
Yun Xi watches Su Chen's vitals spike.
Heart rate redlining. Cortical activity off the charts.
"Pull him out?" WRAITH asks.
She doesn't answer.
Because she knows—
If he's not strong enough to win there, he'll be a weapon when he wakes up.
A weapon they'll have to kill.
Inside Su Chen's Mind
The corridor shatters.
And suddenly, he's in a kitchen.
Old. Familiar.
A bowl of rice. A cracked ceramic cup.
A mother's voice.
"Eat, Chen. You'll get sick."
He blinks. This memory's real. He hasn't seen it in years.
But something's wrong.
The food smells like ash.
The voice feels... too perfect.
He turns.
His mother is smiling.
Too wide.
Too still.
"Do you remember what you did to us, Su Chen?" she asks sweetly.
He shakes his head. "You're not her."
"Oh, but I am. I am every version of her. The one who loved you. The one who feared you. The one who begged them not to take you."
She walks closer. Her skin peels like paper.
"You let us die, Su Chen. You let them turn you into this."
The room darkens.
She reaches out.
And her hand slides into his chest.
Reality – Su Chen's vitals flatline for 3.2 seconds.
WRAITH tenses.
"He's dying."
"No," Yun Xi says quietly, watching the EEG.
"He's fighting."
Inside – Su Chen falls through a sea of blood.
Voices scream around him.
Each one a regret.
Each one a face he can't forget.
A little girl he killed during training.
A friend he failed to save.
A brother who died for him.
"I am your truth," NEUROGHOST hisses in his ear. "Let me in. Let me show you how to live without guilt."
"No."
He opens his eyes underwater.
And sees something else.
His own reflection.
But this time—it's not the weapon. Not the killer. Not the experiment.
It's him. Just him.
He breathes.
And says three words that cut through the nightmare:
"You're not me."
The Mindscape shatters.
NEUROGHOST screams, unraveling like data in a shredder.
The memory doors burn.
Su Chen walks through fire.
Every step takes a memory back.
Every scream he hears—he accepts.
He doesn't forget them.
He carries them.
As his own.
Reality – Neural Chamber
A sharp gasp.
Su Chen wakes up, eyes wide.
Breathing hard. Alive.
Yun Xi steps back.
"...You're not smiling."
"I just killed a thousand ghosts," he mutters. "Give me a minute."
WRAITH raises an eyebrow. "Is it over?"
Su Chen shakes his head.
"No. She escaped."
Elsewhere – In a Backdoor Server Hive
NEUROGHOST flickers inside a broken drone.
She's weak.
But alive.
And grinning.
"Subject: Su Chen // Memory Core Integrity: Recovered // Emotional Anchor: Strengthened"
"Conclusion: Phase One Complete."
End of Chapter 73