Three Buttons. One Goddamn Finger.
Ethan stood before the glowing triad of choices. They pulsed in sync with his heartbeat, a soft rhythm that felt more like a countdown than an invitation. Each option was labeled not in words but in glyphs — old-school neural encoding, something only a cognitive engineer could decipher.
But the meanings were clear.
Delete. Merge. Set Free.
His father's voice — no longer just a recording, but a living presence in the Source — hung in the room like judgment.
"This is what it always came down to. Love, control, or chaos."
Lia glanced at the options and then at Ethan. "You're not really considering the merge, right?"
Kai added, "Yeah, I've seen that movie. It ends with you glowing blue and whispering about logic while floating naked over some digital wasteland. No thanks."
Maya muttered, "Honestly, I kind of want to see that."
