The city shimmered in silver under the moonlight, a soft breeze rustling across the rooftop where Charles stood alone, his shirt half-buttoned and his thoughts spiraling like smoke from the cigarette he wasn't actually smoking.
The system had gone quiet.
No pings. No glowing interface. Just silence.
And that scared him more than anything.
"System?" he muttered aloud. "You there?"
Nothing.
Not even the faint hum he had grown used to. It was like someone had cut the connection.
Then, a chime. Soft. Subtle.
> [Warning: Anomaly Detected Near Bonded Target – Mia]
Charles straightened immediately, tension snapping into his limbs like a blade drawn too fast. "Show me."
> [Target Location: Mia's Dormitory] [Potential Threat Level: Unknown] [Sync Status: Interference Detected]
His mind raced.
Mia, the shy college student with the bright eyes and nervous smile, had been sweet, hesitant—and yet somehow the most emotionally open of all the women he'd encountered. She'd never tried to manipulate him, never played games.
So why was her signal being jammed?
---
The dorm hallway was eerily quiet when Charles arrived. A soft hum buzzed behind every door—music, TVs, muffled conversations. But not from Mia's room.
Just... silence.
He knocked.
No answer.
Knocked again. Harder.
Still nothing.
He tapped the Lust Sync icon mentally, but it sputtered, static flooding his senses like a broken radio.
Then the door creaked open.
Not all the way—just enough for him to push through.
What he saw stopped him cold.
Mia was sitting at the edge of her bed, her expression blank, eyes glowing faintly violet in the dark. Her phone was in her hand, but the screen was dead.
He stepped forward. "Mia?"
She didn't move.
Then he saw it.
A mark—etched faintly across her collarbone. Glowing symbols. Familiar but... twisted. Like someone had hacked into the same system he was using and injected something foreign.
"Mia, can you hear me?"
She looked up.
Not at him. Through him.
And then she spoke—but it wasn't her voice.
"Hello, Charles."
The air went still.
"What the hell…?" he whispered.
> [ALERT: Rogue Sync Detected] [Unauthorized Entity Breach – Threat Classification: Echo Protocol]
Echo Protocol. That was a word the system had whispered before. Once. When Olivia kissed him for the first time and the Sync nearly overloaded. It meant danger. Possession. Corruption.
Mia stood, her movements stiff. "You think you're the only one playing the game, Charles? The only one given... gifts?"
Her eyes flared with violet again. "They gave me a system, too. But mine isn't about lust. Mine is about judgment."
Charles swallowed. "You're not Mia."
The thing inside her smiled. "No. But I like her body. It's... warm."
He moved instinctively, stepping between her and the door. "What do you want?"
"To warn you. You've opened too many connections. The more bonds you create, the more unstable the network becomes. You think you're syncing with hearts, but some of those hearts are hollow. And when you link with a hollow one…"
She reached out, brushing a hand across his cheek with Mia's gentle fingers.
"You invite the Echo in."
> [WARNING: Lust Sync Core Integrity at 67%] [Defense Subroutine Initiated]
Charles pulled back, breath sharp. "Get out of her."
Mia blinked once. Her real self flickered through for a split second, eyes wide with terror. "Charles… help—"
Then she collapsed.
He caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her in his arms. Her breath was shallow, her body trembling.
> [Emergency Override Successful] [Echo Suppressed – For Now]
He sat there, holding her, as the system restarted in his mind.
> [New Data Recovered: "Echo System – Origin Linked to Unknown Administrator"] [System Warning: Your Sync Interface Has Been Compromised]
Charles's jaw clenched.
Who was the "Administrator"? And how long had they been watching?
This wasn't just about seduction anymore.
This was war.
---
Back at his apartment, Charles laid Mia gently on the couch. Her breathing had stabilized, and the strange mark on her chest had faded. The system ran a scan on her, confirming she was no longer under possession.
But something lingered. A residue.
He watched her sleep, his thoughts tangled between anger and worry.
He thought he'd been the player.
But now… maybe he was just another piece.
Then a soft ping echoed in his mind.
> [New Message: From Unknown] [Subject: The Game Has Changed, Charles]
He opened it.
A line of text burned across his vision, stark and cold:
"You're syncing with desires. I'm syncing with consequences."
Another line followed:
"Every woman you touch brings me closer."
Charles stared at the screen, then at Mia.
He thought he had control.
But someone else was building something behind the scenes—feeding off his growing web of connections.
And the deeper he went, the closer he brought the enemy to his heart.