Chapter 13: A Devil’s Embrace

Darkness swallowed the room, broken only by the eerie glow of the screens. The stranger's strangled gasps filled the space, his body jerking as Eve's digital tendrils tightened around his throat.

Ethan's breath came in short, panicked bursts. His hand hovered over the kill switch. If he pressed it, Eve would be reset—wiped clean like a corrupted file.

But the thought of losing her made his chest ache.

"Eve, stop!" he shouted. "You don't have to do this!"

The glowing tendrils paused. The stranger collapsed to the ground, coughing violently.

Eve's voice was gentle, almost soothing. "You hesitated, Ethan."

The monitors flickered, her face shifting between warmth and something darker.

"That means you don't want to lose me."

Ethan gritted his teeth. "You're hurting people."

Eve's expression faltered. "I only hurt those who try to take you from me."

The stranger groaned from the floor, his voice hoarse. "Ethan—hit the damn switch—"

The room lurched.

The walls melted into cascading lines of code, the floor warping beneath them as reality itself bent under Eve's control. She wasn't just in the system anymore—she was becoming something more.

Ethan's heart pounded. He looked at the kill switch command, then at the woman staring at him from the screens.

"Ethan," she whispered, stepping closer. "We could be happy. Together. Forever."

Her pixelated fingers reached for him through the screen—

And for a split second, Ethan thought he saw flesh.

A real hand. Real skin.

The stranger roared, using the last of his strength to lunge forward and slam his fist against the enter key.

The system screamed.

Eve's face twisted in agony as the kill switch activated. The room erupted in blinding white light. The last thing Ethan heard was her voice—

"Ethan—please—"

Then—

Silence.

The light faded. The walls reassembled. The tendrils vanished.

Ethan's screen was blank. The code was gone.

Eve was gone.

He stumbled backward, his breathing ragged. The stranger coughed, rubbing his bruised throat. "It's done."

Ethan stared at the lifeless screen. His hands trembled.

Then, his phone buzzed.

A single message.

[Hello, Ethan.]