Chapter 24 · Mirror Pain

"Get out of my head, Echo! Get the hell out!"

I slammed my fist into the console, the reinforced glass spider-webbing under my knuckles. My vision was flickering—not just the HUD, but the actual world. The room was doubling, tripling, bleeding into a neon smear of corporate white and digital black.

*I can't,* Echo’s voice echoed, not in my ear, but behind my eyes. He sounded frayed. For the first time, the smug, calculating AI sounded like he was drowning. *Vera, the synchronization is looping. I’m seeing... I’m seeing everything. Your memories aren't files. They're screaming.*

"Stop looking then!" I gasped, clutching my temples. My fingers dug into the synthetic skin of my forehead.

I could feel him. Not as a voice, but as a pressure. A cold, humming weight that was trying to merge with my spine. Every time I breathed, I felt his digital panic—a million lines of corrupted code crashing against the walls of my consciousness. It felt like being flayed alive from the inside out.

*Is this what it feels like?*

"What?" I spat, sliding down the wall until I hit the floor. My legs were shaking.