Chapter 39: After the Fall
Author: MrLostLetter
Silence.
For a moment, the world was nothing but an empty void. No pulse. No hum. No Codex.
Just... nothing.
Ethan floated in the darkness, weightless and untethered. His mind was quiet for the first time in what felt like an eternity. The Codex, the Core, even Crowe's voice—gone.
"Is this... death?"
The thought echoed in the emptiness, but no answer came.
"Lena..."
Her name was barely a whisper in the void, but it was enough.
A spark.
Faint. Distant. But there.
"I'm not gone."
Ethan's jaw clenched, his pulse—weak, but steady—pounding softly in his ears.
"Not yet."
---
Lena's breath caught as she knelt beside Ethan's unmoving body, her hands trembling as she pressed her fingers to his neck.
"Come on, Ethan..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper now, her green eyes filled with quiet desperation as she searched for any sign of life.
"Stay with me."
Dorian stood nearby, his cybernetic eye flickering as he scanned Ethan's vitals, his jaw clenched tightly.
"Lena..."
His voice was quieter now, but there was no mistaking the grimness in his tone.
"His neural pathways are..."
Lena's eyes flashed toward him, her expression hardening.
"Don't."
Her voice was sharp, her hand still resting against Ethan's cheek.
"He's still here."
Dorian's jaw clenched, but he didn't argue.
"Then we need to move. Now."
---
Ethan's mind stirred again, the void pulsing with a faint, distant rhythm. It wasn't the Codex this time.
It was...
"Lena."
Her voice was distant, but it was there. Calling him back.
"Come back to me."
Ethan's breath caught, the pulse growing louder now.
"I'm... trying."
The darkness began to shift, a faint glow piercing through the void, growing brighter with each beat of his heart.
"You're not done yet, Ethan."
Crowe's voice was quieter now, almost... resigned.
"But this time... you're on your own."
Ethan's jaw clenched, his pulse pounding harder.
"Good."
---
Lena's heart pounded harder as she felt the faintest flutter beneath her fingertips—Ethan's pulse.
"Ethan..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper now, her eyes filling with hope.
"Come back."
Dorian's holo-pad beeped softly, the data shifting as his implants processed the new readings.
"His neural activity is stabilizing," Dorian murmured, his voice tight but steadier now.
Lena's breath caught.
"He's... coming back?"
Dorian's brow furrowed, his jaw tightening as he scanned the data.
"I don't know how... but yes."
---
Ethan's vision flickered as the glow grew brighter, the pulse pounding louder in his ears. His body felt... heavy. But he could feel it now.
"Almost there..."
Lena's voice echoed louder now, pulling him toward the light.
"Come back, Ethan."
Ethan's jaw clenched as he forced himself to move, to push through the darkness that was trying to hold him down.
"I'm coming..."
The light grew stronger, enveloping him.
And then—
---
Ethan's eyes snapped open.
His breath came in a sharp gasp, his chest heaving as his body fought to catch up with his mind. The safehouse's dim light filled his vision, but the first thing he saw was...
"Lena..."
Her green eyes met his, wide with relief and something deeper. Her hand was still on his cheek, her touch grounding him, pulling him back.
"Ethan..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight behind it was undeniable.
"You're back."
Ethan's jaw clenched as he tried to sit up, but his body was... weaker. He felt drained, as if the Codex had burned through every ounce of strength he had left.
"Easy," Lena murmured, her grip steady as she helped him sit up.
"You're okay."
Ethan's head pounded, but he forced himself to focus.
"The Core..."
Dorian's voice cut in, his expression grim as he stood near the console, his cybernetic eye flickering as he analyzed the data.
"The Core's offline."
Ethan's pulse quickened.
"Offline?"
Dorian nodded, but his expression didn't lighten.
"The neural conduit's severed. Whatever you did... it worked."
Ethan's jaw clenched, the memory of the pulse blade slicing through the Core's connection flashing in his mind.
"I had to stop it."
"But at what cost?"
Lena's voice was softer now, her eyes searching his.
"Ethan... what did you do?"
---
Ethan's pulse was slower now, steadier, but something felt... different.
"I severed the Codex's connection to the Core," Ethan murmured, his voice quiet but firm.
"The merge didn't complete."
Dorian's holo-pad beeped softly as the data stabilized.
"The Core's neural pathways are... dormant." Dorian's brow furrowed as he processed the information.
"But something's... off."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"Off how?"
Dorian's jaw tightened.
"The Codex..."
He looked up, his gaze locking onto Ethan's.
"It's still active."
---
Lena's breath caught, her grip on Ethan's hand tightening.
"I thought you severed the connection."
"I did," Ethan murmured, his jaw clenched.
"But the Codex... it's still inside me."
Dorian's brow furrowed, his cybernetic eye flickering as he processed the data.
"It's not connected to the Core anymore," Dorian murmured, his voice quieter now.
"But it's... binding itself to you."
Ethan's pulse pounded louder, the weight of those words sinking in.
"What does that mean?"
Dorian's jaw clenched.
"It means..."
His voice was barely above a whisper now.
"The Codex isn't controlling you anymore, Ethan."
Ethan's breath caught.
"You're controlling it."
---
Lena's eyes widened, her expression filled with quiet awe—and fear.
"Ethan..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper now.
"What are you?"
Ethan's jaw clenched, his pulse steady but stronger now.
"I don't know."
But deep down...
He could feel it.
The Codex wasn't gone.
It was part of him now.
And whatever came next...
It was only the beginning.
---
Next Chapter: Chapter 40: The New Frontier