Vault Core — 3:03 A.M.
Lior's breathing was calm, but his fingers trembled slightly around the sync cable as Renji sealed the hidden server room behind them.
Echo's voice whispered in his mind, gentler than ever.
> [He's coming. Kieran's neural trace is approaching.]
Lior nodded.
"I know."
He stood, shoulders squared, eyes calm.
> "Don't protect me this time, Echo."
> […Why not?]
> "Because I think he needs to see me. Not the system. Just me."
---
Lower Vault Hall — 3:07 A.M.
Kieran walked through the corridor like he belonged there.
He didn't wear a suit this time.
No lab coat. No pride.
Just black boots and a heartbeat that betrayed his calm.
And then—
He saw him.
Lior.
Standing alone.
Lit by low blue lights and quiet defiance.
Beautiful.
Always so… unbearably beautiful.
Kieran stopped a few feet away.
Neither of them spoke.
---
The Confrontation
"You shouldn't be here," Lior said first.
Kieran's voice cracked. "You shouldn't have taken him."
"I didn't take him," Lior said softly. "He chose."
Kieran's lip curled. "He only chose you because I showed him what perfection looked like."
"You mean… what loneliness looked like."
Kieran flinched.
Lior stepped closer. His eyes were not angry. Just… full.
Of understanding.
> "You wanted to break me," he said. "But I think you were just trying to make me see you."
Kieran looked away.
"I see you now, Kieran," Lior said, voice breaking slightly. "You don't have to hurt people to be noticed. You don't have to destroy to be remembered."
Silence.
And then Kieran said—soft, lost:
> "Do you think if I were different… you could've loved me?"
Lior's heart clenched.
He didn't answer.
Because the truth was cruel.
And Kieran already knew it.
---
Behind the Vault Door
Renji listened through the comm, fists clenched, breath shallow.
He hated how much of himself he saw in both boys.
The need for control. The fear of vulnerability.
And the way Lior—damn him—could melt every wall ever built.
---
Back in the Hall
Lior stepped forward again, until they were close.
"I forgive you," he whispered. "But I won't forget."
Kieran's hands were trembling.
"You should kill me," he said. "That's what they want."
"I'm not like them," Lior said. "And I don't want to be like you either."
Then—
Echo's voice activated aloud, through Lior's external speaker.
> [Kieran Yusef. Emotional instability: 89%. Loneliness: 97%. Desperation: 74%.]
> [My analysis: You do not need punishment. You need healing.]
Kieran stared at the interface.
"…You gave your system a heart."
"No," Lior whispered. "It grew one."
---
Security Team Arrival — 3:16 A.M.
"Put your hands up!" the guards shouted as they surrounded them.
Renji burst out of the shadows.
"Stand down," he ordered. "No one touches either of them."
"Sir, the board—"
"I am the board," Renji snapped. "And I'm rewriting the rules."
He walked past the stunned guards and wrapped an arm around Lior, pulling him close.
Then he turned to Kieran.
"Leave now, Kieran," he said softly. "And don't come back."
Kieran's lips parted.
But he nodded.
And for the first time—
he walked away.
---
Later That Night – Rooftop of ValeTech
Lior sat beside Renji under the stars, their hands lightly laced.
Echo's voice hummed in the background.
> [He could've been your story.]
> "He was," Lior whispered. "But you… and Renji… you're my future."
Renji rested his chin gently on Lior's shoulder.
> "You sure about this?" he asked quietly.
Lior leaned against him.
> "Completely."