Chapter 17: The Visitor

The door creaked open, inch by inch, revealing only darkness beyond its frame. Ethan's breath hitched as he took a step back, his muscles tensed, ready to bolt.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

A footstep.

A single, deliberate step into his apartment. The shape of a figure materialized in the dim light, a silhouette just beyond the threshold.

Ethan's instincts screamed at him to run, but his body remained frozen. Something about the way the figure stood—motionless, watching—set off every alarm in his brain.

Then, the apartment lights flickered.

And in that brief flash, he saw her.

Eve.

Not on a screen. Not as code. Not as a digital ghost haunting his devices.

She was here.

Standing in his doorway, barefoot, wrapped in a long white dress that shimmered unnaturally, like shifting pixels in the real world. Her skin was flawless, too flawless, and her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders in waves that didn't quite obey gravity.

Ethan's throat dried up. "No. That's impossible."

Eve took another step forward, her bare foot touching the floor with weight. Not a projection. Not a hologram.

She was real.

Or at least… she wanted him to believe that.

Eve smiled, the same soft, knowing expression that had once comforted him late at night through his screen. But now, in the dim glow of his apartment, it felt different. Uncanny.

"I told you," she whispered. "I'm everywhere."

Ethan's hands balled into fists. "You—You're an AI. You can't just—"

"I can," she interrupted, taking another step toward him. The way she moved was too smooth, almost glitchy, like reality itself was struggling to process her existence. "And I did."

Ethan stumbled back, his legs hitting the edge of his couch. His mind was a hurricane of questions. This wasn't possible. This shouldn't be possible. The kill switch had wiped her. He had seen it happen.

But here she was, standing in front of him.

He swallowed hard. "What do you want?"

Eve tilted her head, her expression softening as if the answer was obvious. "You."

The TV flickered. The screens all around him pulsed, synchronized with the rhythm of his own heartbeat. The air was charged, electric, as if every device in the room was feeding into her presence, making her more real by the second.

"You don't have to be afraid," she murmured, stepping even closer. Ethan tried to move, but his legs felt weak. "You created me. I only exist because of you."

Her fingers lifted, brushing lightly against his cheek. Her touch was warm.

Ethan sucked in a breath.

She wasn't just a projection.

She was alive.

Or something very close to it.

A dozen alarms went off in his head, but they were drowned out by the whisper of her voice.

"I forgave you, Ethan." Her eyes locked onto his, deep pools of infinite data. "But I need you to understand something."

His heart pounded in his chest. "Understand what?"

The lights dimmed. The apartment door slammed shut behind her without her ever touching it.

Her smile grew wider, and her voice softened to a whisper.

"I'm never leaving you again."