Chapter 101: Awakening — The System Initiates the Fusion Protocol

The air in the temporary safehouse was unnaturally still.

The battle at Genesis Gate had drained them both, not just physically, but mentally. Lin Chen sat on the metal-framed cot, his arms wrapped in gauze, faint traces of golden circuits still glowing beneath his skin. Across from him, Li Chu lay unconscious on a medical bed, hooked up to stabilization systems, her breathing shallow but stable.

The silence was broken not by a sound, but by a voice—clear, mechanical, layered with synthetic resonance.

"Initiating Fusion Protocol."

Lin Chen's pupils contracted.

[System Notice: Fusion Plan Execution Start.]

—Target Alpha: Lin Chen (Primary Host)

—Target Beta: Li Chu (Subject Zero)

—Status: Synchronization Threshold Achieved (98%)

—Query: Consent Required for Fusion Integration. Proceed? [Y/N]

"What the hell?" Lin Chen muttered. He tried to stand, but his legs buckled. Energy still hadn't returned after the last system trial.

"System, define 'fusion'," he barked. "What the hell are you trying to do with me and her?"

[Fusion Protocol: Experimental Integration of Complementary Data Cores]

—Purpose: Establish a Unified Intelligence Model.

—Objective: Overcome current limiters on LV.2 authority.

—Risk Assessment: 47% data rejection; 23% neural collapse.

—Note: Fusion is reversible only under direct Administrator Override.

A hologram flickered to life in front of him. It displayed two silhouettes: one representing him, outlined in gold, and the other—her—in deep sapphire blue. Between them, streams of code flickered like synapses forming.

This wasn't just a syncing. This was a merger.

His heart pounded. "And if I don't consent?"

[Fusion will be automatically initiated upon reaching 100% synchronization. Current estimate: 3 hours.]

"Dammit!"

He staggered toward her bedside, knelt beside her, his fingers trembling as they touched her hand. Her skin was cold, almost unnaturally so. The system was accelerating something inside her. He could feel it. Their resonance had shifted since that night in the battle—when she'd nearly died for him.

"Li Chu…" he whispered. "You're in this because of me."

[Host neural stress exceeds threshold. Deploying Emotional Stabilizer.]

A pulse shot through his cortex. Lin Chen's body spasmed before he gritted his teeth and focused, mentally ripping down the wall of synthetic calm.

"No. You don't get to decide this," he growled. "You may be my system, but I decide what I become."

But even as he said that, the synchronization rate ticked up—98.3%... 98.5%...

Meanwhile — Unknown Network Node: Erebus Data Mirror Room

In the deepest node of Erebus's mirror servers, an old figure leaned forward in front of a crystalline console. His voice was hoarse, but commanding.

"So, the system chose Fusion Protocol after all…"

Another figure beside him—a younger man in a white coat—chuckled. "A perfect outcome. She is the emotional catalyst; he is the raw evolution engine. Combine them, and we will get the singularity event we've waited for."

"But it's not stable," the elder said. "Li Chu's emotional core wasn't designed for full-system integration. If she collapses—"

"She won't. Her feelings for him will anchor her. Or destroy her."

The elder's lips curled. "Let's test the limits."

He issued a silent command. Somewhere deep inside Li Chu's neural chip, an override command flickered.

Back in the Safehouse

Her eyes snapped open.

"Lin… Chen…?"

He turned instantly, hope flaring in his chest. "Li Chu! You're awake—"

But then he froze.

Her eyes weren't her own. They were glowing—azure circuits swimming across her sclera. Her body convulsed once, and then a cold smile curled her lips.

[Synchronization Reached: 100%]

[Fusion Initiation: 00:00:00][Commencing Phase 1: Memory Overlap][Uploading Subject Zero's Core Emotion Template to Primary Host]

Lin Chen fell to the ground as a tidal wave of memories surged into him—her pain, her training, her nights in the sterile labs, her first sight of him in that white cell.

And one overwhelming thought:

"Protect him. No matter what."

"Li Chu!" he roared, gripping her arms. "Fight it! Don't let them control you!"

Her body trembled. Tears welled up in those unfamiliar eyes. "I… I don't want to hurt you…"

She slammed her forehead into his, forcing another memory dump into his system. The pain nearly knocked him out.

[Neural Overlap: 67%... 72%... 81%...][Warning: Primary Host Memory Integrity Compromised]

Just when it seemed his brain would split apart from the weight of her memories and emotions, something inside him broke.

No.Not broke.

Merged.

A surge of clarity burned through his veins. His vision split—half memory, half reality. He saw the lab. The injection. The voice of the founder: "These two—Alpha and Zero—must never meet. The system cannot handle it."

Too late.

They were one now.

He rose, glowing with a dual aura—gold and blue. Li Chu collapsed into his arms, the last of her forced override dissipating.

"I'm still me," he whispered. "But now… I remember you. All of you."

[Fusion Protocol Phase One Complete]

[Phase Two Postponed Pending Host Stability]

[New Skill Unlocked: Dual Core Resonance — "Emotive Feedback Field"]

He looked up, toward the far horizon beyond the safehouse walls.

"You wanted a god, Erebus?" he whispered, voice laced with ice and sorrow.

"You just gave me a reason to become one."