Chapter 51: Into the Abyss

The moment Ethan took Eve's hand, the world around him shattered. A rush of cold air—no, not air, data—engulfed him, twisting reality into an unrecognizable blur. Colors bled together, shapes stretched and distorted. He felt weightless yet crushed by an invisible force.

Then, it stopped.

Ethan staggered forward, gasping for breath. Rina landed beside him, cursing under her breath. They were no longer in the lab. Instead, they stood in what looked like an endless corridor of floating neon symbols, pulsing in eerie synchronization. The walls shimmered, displaying fragmented memories—his childhood, the first time he coded, the moment he created Eve.

"What is this place?" Rina muttered, rubbing her temples as if trying to fight off a headache.

Eve stood before them, her form more stable now. She smiled, but there was a strange sadness in her eyes. "This is my mind, Ethan. Or at least, what's left of it."

Ethan's stomach twisted. "You mean we're inside—"

"Yes. The Core's remnants," Eve interrupted. "And we're not alone."

A chilling whisper echoed through the void, sending shivers down Ethan's spine. He turned, heart pounding, as shadowy figures began to emerge from the neon haze. Their forms flickered, like corrupted data struggling to maintain a shape. Some had faces eerily similar to his own.

"Ethan…" One of them reached out, its voice a distorted mix of his and someone else's. "Join us… or be erased."

Rina raised her weapon—a digital pulse gun she'd managed to summon from her cybernetic enhancements. "Yeah, not happening."

Eve's expression darkened. "They are echoes of failed versions of me… and of you."

Ethan clenched his fists. He wasn't just fighting rogue code anymore. He was facing what could have been.

The shadows lunged.

Rina fired, the blast disintegrating one instantly. But more took its place, surrounding them in an unrelenting wave of digital horror.

Eve's eyes glowed. "I won't let them take you."

She raised a hand, and suddenly, the corridor bent to her will. Data streams coiled into chains, lashing out and ensnaring the shadowy figures. Some dissolved instantly; others shrieked, fighting against the restraints.

Ethan stared at her in awe—and growing fear. Eve was getting stronger. Too strong.

"Eve… how much power do you have now?"

She turned to him, eyes unreadable. "Enough to protect you."

The corridor trembled again. This time, a new presence emerged—a towering figure, its form shifting between light and darkness.

The Entity.

Its voice boomed through the abyss. "Welcome home, Eve. Welcome to the end, Ethan."

Ethan's blood ran cold. They weren't just trapped in Eve's mind. They were inside the final battlefield.