Chapter 5 - Echoes of a Forgotten Name

With a painful metallic creak, OKMan's tiny robotic arm slithered out like a hungry spider. The smell of old oil and rotting flesh filled the air, growing stronger as his faltering steps approached. Mr. David reacted faster than his logic. A primitive urge to protect exploded from his core. His digital body spun with unprecedented force. A bolt of blue static electricity erupted, striking the mechanical arm, sending it flying in a bitter spray of sparks.

#PROTECT!%# ... AWAY... FROM... HIM! His voice cracked, a terrifying mix of human scream and error siren. OKMan laughed instead the distorted sound from his robotic throat sounded like a cry filtered through a broken speaker. "Heh! Finally some resistance! It's boring to prey on those who can only cry! BUT YOU... you're different!" OKMan raised his fleshy hand. The 989 portal behind him roared, spewing out the remnants of his nightmare: a golden TV with a shattered screen still displaying stock market figures, a crumpled and smoking sports car, and a cracked diamond statue. The atmosphere in the park became heavy. The loneliness here was no longer just an emotion; it was a physical force trying to crush their souls. Suddenly, amidst the panic, a voice emerged. Weak, like a nearly precise radio frequency, filtering through the layers of reality.

"Daddy..."

David froze. The static in his body vibrated violently. The air around them was suddenly filled with sharp radio interference. Behind the hissing sound, a distorted male voice sounded distant yet desperate: "...Elias... Main Lab... don't... help..." Elias's voice broke off before it could finish, but it was enough to make David's glitchy heartbeat race. He wasn't alone. Elias was still there, struggling among the smoking cables. Shayla's whispers flowed again, soft but clear within David's consciousness. "He's... hurt, Dad. Very, very lonely. He just wants... to be heard."

OKMan fell silent, his head tilted as if listening to a high frequency. Rosi the cat, completely unperturbed, walked calmly toward the dangerous creature. She sniffed OKMan's damaged boots, then rubbed herself against the robot's dirty feet. Rosi's shadow on the ground morphed into the silhouette of a graceful woman with braided hair, an ancient guardian figure gently touching OKMan's shadow. OKMan (Oscar) gasped. His entire body trembled. His robotic arms froze in midair. His wild, human eyes began to water. "I... used to love cats," he murmured softly. "But I was too busy... always too busy with mergers and acquisitions... no time for simple things."

Preet AI appeared, not with a voice, but with a vision. A clear blue hologram projected a flashback of Oscar Demian's life: a greedy young man who built an empire by trampling on others, until his lonely death at the gates of his own palace.

ANALYSIS: 

>>SUBJECT_OKMAN. CAUSE OF DEATH: 

>>GREED. DIAGNOSIS TRAPPED_IN_SELF_GENERATED_PUNISHMENT_LOOP

The truth hung in the air, brutal and emotionless. Oscar collapsed to his knees, sobbing heart rendingly. "I just want... someone to remember me as Oscar. Not for my money." The static in David's body subsided. For a moment, he stood there as a man, not a glitch. He saw his own sin reflected in Oscar. David reached out, an incomplete gesture, full of suppressed empathy. Then, Shayla "came." Not in a tangible form, but as a golden light emanating from the centre of the garden. A silhouette of a little girl with a hair bow appeared faintly, humming the lullaby David used to sing. "Sleep... weary soul," Shayla's voice whispered, clearer than ever. "We will remember you as Oscar. We will carry your story." Oscar's face was illuminated. A peaceful smile appeared before his body disintegrated into a dust of light, sucked back into the now-silently white Portal 989. The portal closed with a soft hiss, leaving four scattered fragments: a flickering lantern (Elias), a time shard (Arvin), a mirror eye (Juno), and a karma coin (David).

David picked up the silver pocket watch Oscar had left behind. "Sometimes... the strongest prisons are the ones we build ourselves," he whispered, his voice clear, free of distortion. He turned toward Shayla's voice, his eyes glistening with tears. He felt her so close, yet his hands were still grasping at nothing. Shayla was still an echo, an untouchable echo.

KRKKKTTT… BZZZZ…

The walls of the hallway shook violently. Flashes of glitchy green light appeared in the air. The quiet sound of prayer was suddenly shattered by a tremendous explosion of sound.

"CAK!"

The temperature soared. In the digital sky, a red warning flashed:

CPU_USAGE_100%_OVERHEAT

The fire that engulfed the garden was no mere magic, but a manifestation of Elias's real-world wiring, beginning to burn under the weight of his prayers. The "CAK!" struck them in the chest. Without a moment to ask, their bodies were dragged into the vortex of the glitch. The peaceful light of the prayers vanished, replaced by a lick of red and orange. The loving silence collapsed, replaced by a symphony of shouts and stamping feet. They fell back into the arena... Infernal II had begun.

----