Pianist_Frea

They told her she was just another orphan. Another runaway. Another nobody.

They lied.

When Ember is captured during a high-stakes escape, the Regime’s system scans her—and does something impossible. It lets her in.

The machines obey her. The code bends to her will. And a voice inside her head whispers secrets she was never meant to remember.

She isn’t just part of the system.

She is the system.

Now, both the Regime and the rebels want her—one to control her, the other to destroy her. But Ember has her own plan: BURN IT DOWN.

If the world made her a weapon, it’s about time she started acting like one.

Echoes of the System

Kai's breathing was steady now, his face pale but alive. Ember should've felt relieved.

The data chip still pulsed in her hand, its eerie glow flickering across her fingers like it knew something she didn't. The GENESIS PROTOCOL was gone now, wiped from the vehicle's interface the moment it had finished healing Kai.

Like it had been designed to self-destruct.

Like it had been designed for her.

Rhea hadn't stopped watching her since the moment it happened. Her gaze burned into Ember's skin, sharp and calculating.

"You knew what to do." It wasn't a question.

Ember's fingers clenched around the chip. "I guessed."

"No," Rhea said coldly. "You didn't."

The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken questions. Kai stirred slightly, wincing, but when his eyes opened, they immediately sought Ember.

"Thanks for saving my ass," he murmured, voice rough. Then, his brows furrowed. "What the hell happened?"

How was she supposed to explain that she just hacked into a piece of classified Regime technology and used it to rewrite his body like a goddamn machine? That the data had responded to her, like she was one of its own?

She didn't get the chance to answer.

Because the vehicle's system glitched.

Static crackled through the speakers, and the dashboard lights flickered erratically. The screen, which had been dark since the GENESIS PROTOCOL activated, lit up again.

A string of red code flashed. Then a voice—distorted, mechanical, but unmistakably human.

Rhea reached for her gun, but Ember grabbed her wrist before she could fire at the screen.

And Ember saw something that shattered the last remnants of her reality.

But close enough that it could've been a twin.

A girl, same sharp eyes, same defiant expression. But her hair was shorter, her skin paler, and something about her felt… unfinished. Like an echo of Ember, not a person.

"You're not supposed to be alive."

The words weren't a threat. They were a fact.

Ember's stomach twisted. "Who are you?" she whispered.

The girl on the screen tilted her head, eyes flashing red for a second before the voice softened.

"I'm what you were supposed to be."

The vehicle shut down completely, the engine dying, leaving only the sound of Ember's ragged breathing.

Kai was the first to move. He reached for Ember's shoulder, his grip firm, grounding her. "Okay," he said slowly. "What the hell was that?"

Because for the first time, she was truly afraid of the truth.

Chapter Eleven