The cold bite of metal against my skin was the first signal to punch through the mist, a welcome sensation after the void.
The next came as a low hum of machinery vibrating through my teeth. Somewhere in the gray, a rhythmic pulse kept time, like an artificial heartbeat.
Then came the voice.
“Come on, wake up already. I can’t keep this going forever.”
It tugged at the edge of memory, then dissolved before I could grasp it. I forced my lids up, fighting through layers of pixelated confusion. Dim light bled in, revealing a chamber of twisted metal and exposed circuitry. Synthetic guts spilled from ruptured panels, and a sickly green haze draped the deck, carrying an acrid bite.772Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrho3Vzl8db
“Master? About time you woke up.”
That voice again, resonating in my head, more felt than heard.
The view wavered, colors and shapes smearing together like corrupted feed.
“Who... who are you?” I tried to say, but my jaw felt welded shut.
“Call me Arvie. Your better half,” she laughed. “Focus on waking up, master, we’ve got a lot to sort through.”
Arvie. Felt familiar.
“Why… no memories?”
“Not sure.” Her tone shifted, thoughtful. “My own memory banks are fragmented too. Judging by the scenery, something catastrophic went down.”
I pushed myself up. Joints protested with every move. As senses cleared, the damage came into focus: wires dangling like severed veins, sparks leaping from the wounds, jagged gouges torn through the walls, made by something that hadn't bothered with tools.
“Divines… what’s this place?”
“War zone, maybe,” Arvie said. The humor drained out of her voice. “And that green stuff? Toxic miasma. Yet somehow, we’re still breathing.”
I reached up, fingers brushing the side of my head where a dull ache pulsed. “Arvie, where are you?”
“Right here. In your head. Sharing your neural pathways. A bit cramped, but reception’s five-by-five.”
“You’re... inside my mind?”
“Mind console, technically. Think of me as your inner voice, but with more flair. I can tap into your senses, help manage your enhancements, and provide witty banter when things go sideways.”
I stared at my hands, half-expecting to see her shadow flicker across them. “You see what I see? Hear it all?”
“Exactly. Shared feed,” she chirped. “Now get us moving. I’m dying to see what kind of trouble we’re in.”
Then she sighed theatrically. “If only we had Krellon nibs for the road…”
A short huff escaped me. Might’ve been a laugh. “Right, I like the company.”
“Always here, master,” her voice softened.
I took a breath, feeling the burn in my lungs. It should have melted my throat, but I was still alive, breathing this foul soup like it was nothing. Slowly, I forced myself to stand, each step an act of will. Beyond the cracked viewports, the green haze shifted and churned. A toxic ocean with a sinister pulse.
“Alright, Arvie. Let’s see what’s out there.”
“That’s the spirit!”
I took it slow, listening to the structure protest. The place was grinding itself apart, and my nervous system felt like a live wire dipped in ice water. The door ahead was a bruised slab of composite barely clinging to a screaming hinge. I stalled there, nausea fighting a hollow, hungry ache. Out there was a static-field filled with nameless dangers and answers to questions I hadn't learned to ask.
I pushed the door open and stepped out into the fog, a ghost looking for the truth of what I left behind before awakening in the mist.
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