Zero wasn't falling this time.
He was unraveling.
It felt like someone had converted his atoms into riddles, then scattered the questions across a crossword puzzle only the Karnyx could solve. His heartbeat was a machine gun. His breath came in jagged, flickering bursts—like static gasping for rhythm.
His eyes didn't see. They streamed data.
He wasn't looking at anything. He was being shown something.
[BIO-PATTERN: ZERO/FRAGMENT 7.1.3]
[INTERFACE BREACH - CYCLE 000001A]
[ROOT GLYPH: INJECTION ACCEPTED]
"Recalibration successful."
"Welcome to the bleed."
"This session will now overwrite memory cohesion index."
Zero hit the floor like a body dropped from orbit.
Patch stood above him, slingshot still in one hand, the other holding a half-eaten banana.
"You took your sweet time," he said.
Zero groaned. "Did you seriously bring a snack during an existential reboot?"
Patch shrugged. "What? This is basically Netflix for me."
Zero sat up, clutching his chest. His skin was glowing faintly, symbols crawling under the surface like electric veins. They shifted when he moved.
"What... the hell just happened?"
Patch chewed thoughtfully. "Short version? You bonded with the Karnyx. Which means your bloodstream now contains forbidden metadata. Don't sneeze near surveillance bots."
Zero blinked. "You're saying I'm a USB drive now?"
"With attitude. And minor reality-warping potential, depending on your mood."
Zero looked at his hand. The symbols pulsed—once. Then faded.
Patch leaned down. "You're gonna want to get up, buddy."
"Why?"
A low thoom echoed through the floor.
"Because Curator's still alive. And very, very pissed."
They ran.
Through the mirror-black corridors, under screaming sirens only Zero could hear. Symbols lit up on the walls as he passed, like they recognized him now. Some pulsed in warning. Others bowed—literally contorting into twisted shapes of deference.
Patch wheezed behind him. "You couldn't have, like, waited for me to build a backup plan?"
"We were about to die!"
"Excuses, excuses."
Zero skidded around a corner. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere less murdery!"
They ducked into a chamber shaped like an amphitheater. Half of it was collapsed. On one of the still-standing pillars, a girl sat cross-legged, reading a manual upside down.
She wore a welding mask, fingerless gloves, and what appeared to be a mech-suit jacket five sizes too large.
She looked up.
"Oh. Hey, Patch. You bring snacks or more death with you?"
Patch gestured to Zero. "Newbie. Bonded with a Karnyx. Name's Zero. Say hi to Fry."
Zero blinked. "Fry?"
She lifted her welding mask and grinned.
"Because I like fire. And metaphors."
Zero just stared. "I'm going to regret asking, but—what exactly do you do?"
Fry stood and cracked her knuckles. "Tech sabotage, dream-hacking, and spontaneous explosions. I also knit."
Zero pointed to the distant sound of shrieking metal. "A Curator is about to skin us alive. Can you help with that?"
Fry grinned wider. "You had me at 'shriek.'"
The chamber rumbled.
Patch pulled a lever on the wall that Zero could've sworn wasn't there a second ago.
A hidden passage opened, revealing a tunnel. Dim lights buzzed like old teeth.
As they entered, Fry muttered, "Been meaning to test this path. No one's come out the other side sane yet."
Zero paused. "Wait, what?"
Patch clapped him on the back. "First time's always the weirdest."
And then the door closed behind them.
Inside the tunnel, it was silent.
Not quiet—silent. Even their footsteps felt like they were being swallowed. Zero's breath didn't echo. His thoughts came slower, like they were wading through molasses.
Fry snapped her fingers. "Time-dampener. Keeps intrusions out. Also makes you feel like someone put your brain in a blender."
"Great," Zero muttered. "Is this what joining the resistance is like?"
Patch snorted. "Kid, there is no resistance. Not yet. You're the glitch that makes one possible."
"Cool. No pressure."
They reached the end of the tunnel. A wall covered in mirrors.
Only these didn't reflect anything.
They absorbed.
Fry approached them carefully. "These are Karnyx-seers. Old tech. Dangerous. But one might show us where your signal's going."
She pressed a button. One mirror lit up.
Zero leaned forward.
Inside, he saw himself.
Older.
Angrier.
Bleeding.
Standing over someone.
Someone he knew—
—but the image cut out before he saw who.
Patch stepped back, serious now. "That's what's coming if we don't change things."
Zero looked at the mirror.
His hand trembled.
Not from fear.
But because he recognized the look in his older self's eyes.
And he didn't know if he wanted to stop it.