ValeTech NeuroSim Dome — Friday Afternoon
The room pulsed with low lighting. A new simulation had just been uploaded—part of a high-pressure series modeled after real-life disasters. It was meant for elite trauma teams.
But today, it would be run by a boy with starlit eyes and a system born of mystery.
Lior.
He stepped into the Sim Pod. His system buzzed with anticipation.
> [New Scenario: Cerebral Trauma in Natural Disaster Setting – Earthquake Collapse]
[Patient Age: 12 | Condition: Hemorrhagic stroke with multiple skull fractures]
[External Stressors: Oxygen instability | Aftershock Interference]
He exhaled slowly.
The shield Renji had built for him hummed steadily on his wrist.
He was ready.
Or so he thought.
---
Inside the Simulation
It began with rubble.
Blood. Screams.
A little girl lay beneath twisted metal, unconscious, her breathing shallow.
The HUD blinked rapidly—warnings, vitals dropping. Lior moved fast, adjusting cerebral perfusion pressure, performing a digital burr hole surgery to relieve intracranial pressure.
But then—something changed.
The sim glitched.
> bzzt
Sudden lag.
His patient's vitals flatlined—despite no visible error.
> [Warning: External Neural Override Detected]
[System Under Attack – "Synthetic Sympathetic Collapse Protocol" Engaged]
Lior's vision blurred. A wave of nausea hit.
He clutched his head.
> "You're mine now, sweetheart."
Kieran's voice. Inside the sim.
> "Let's see how smart you are when your own system turns on you."
The HUD spiraled. Data corrupted. His tools malfunctioned. His own hands in the sim began to shake.
> [Cardiac rhythm destabilizing]
[Real-world biometrics failing – Heart rate: 158 bpm | Oxygen: 85%]
He was going to pass out.
---
Renji – Control Room
Renji had been monitoring casually.
Until Lior screamed.
His hands flew to the emergency override panel.
> "Something's wrong. This isn't the standard sim interface—SHUT IT DOWN."
> "Emergency lockout failed—he's being hacked," Lena cried.
> "He's going into neural shock!"
Renji didn't hesitate.
He tore open the physical access panel and yanked the primary neural sync drive. Sparks flew. The sim room went dark.
---
Moments Later — Medical Bay
Lior lay still.
Pale. Shaking. Wires strapped to his chest, oxygen mask on his face.
Renji sat at his bedside, jaw clenched so tight it ached.
"You said you didn't want to fall," Lena said gently behind him. "But I think you already did."
He didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because the sight of Lior lying there, vulnerable and silent, shattered him.
> "You promised me this system would protect him," he whispered to himself. "And I let someone turn it against him."
---
Lior – Slowly Regaining Consciousness
The first thing he heard was… breathing.
Not his own.
Renji.
Leaning forward, gripping his wrist lightly, forehead resting on the bed's edge.
"...You stayed," Lior rasped, throat dry.
Renji sat up instantly, eyes wide.
"I'm so sorry," he said softly. "I should've caught it sooner. Kieran—he's gone too far."
Lior shook his head, voice rough. "Not your fault."
"It is," Renji said. "Because I knew this would happen the moment I gave a damn about you."
Lior blinked.
"I was safer to you when I was just a project, huh?"
Renji stared at him.
Then, for the first time—
He leaned in.
Their faces inches apart.
And said, quietly, "You've never been just a project to me."
A beat of silence passed.
Then—
The door burst open again.
Kieran.
Security behind him.
Eyes wide as he saw Lior awake.
And saw Renji…
So close.
Too close.
"You chose him," Kieran spat.
Renji didn't look away from Lior as he said, with devastating calm:
"I always did."