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

The weight of Kai's words settled over Ember like a suffocating fog.

She was designed to control the Program.

She could feel the truth of it in her bones, in the way the connection hummed in her mind, familiar yet foreign, like an extension of herself she had never learned to use. It had always been there, buried beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to awaken.

Her fists clenched. "How long have you known?"

Kai's expression was unreadable, but his silence spoke volumes. He wasn't going to lie to her. Not now.

"For a while," he admitted. "I had suspicions when we first met, but after what you did today? There's no doubt."

A sick feeling twisted in Ember's stomach. How much did he know that she didn't?

"How?" Her voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper. "How do you know all of this?"

Kai glanced at Rhea, then back at Ember, as if debating whether to say it. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight, controlled.

The air seemed to vanish from the tunnel.

Kai ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. "The Regime has been experimenting for decades, trying to create the perfect weapon. A human mind that can interface with their systems, command them from the inside out. You're the most advanced version yet. But you're not the first."

The words sent ice through her veins.

"What happened to them?" she asked, though part of her already knew.

Kai hesitated. Then: "They didn't survive."

Rhea shifted uncomfortably. "So you're saying she's… what? The only successful experiment?"

"The only one who lived long enough to escape," Kai corrected.

Ember's breath came shallow and uneven. A part of her had always known she was different, that the Regime had done something to her. But this? This was worse.

Designed to infiltrate, control, and destroy from the inside.

Her stomach churned. She pressed a hand against the cold wall, grounding herself.

"They were never going to let me go, were they?" she murmured.

Kai shook his head. "No. And they won't stop now."

A sharp, bitter laugh bubbled up in her throat. "Great. So what do we do? Run forever?"

"No." Kai's voice was steady. Unshaken. "We make them regret ever creating you."

Ember looked at him then, really looked at him. The determination in his face, the fire in his eyes.

They had both lost too much to the Regime.

And now, for the first time, she wasn't just running.

Her fear turned to something else.

She met Kai's gaze, a silent understanding passing between them.

"Tell me everything," she said. "No more secrets."

Kai nodded once. "Then let's start at the beginning."

And with that, the past she had lost was about to be unraveled.

Chapter Twenty