Chapter 85

Chapter 85

“The torture machine ships you two.”

For one full second

Nobody spoke.

Then Seraphine made a choking sound that was dangerously close to laughter.

“You know what?” she said, rubbing both hands down her face. “I think we’ve officially gone insane.”

Cassian weakly pointed toward the neural core.

“In my defense…”

A painful breath.

“It literally responds better when they emotionally stabilize each other.”

The chamber pulsed softly behind him.

Almost validating the statement.

Damon stared at the neural core in visible horror.

“I hate that he might be right.”

Luca looked like he wanted the collapsing facility to crush him instantly.

“This conversation needs to die.”

Cassian’s faint smile widened slightly despite the blood at his lips.

“Too late.”

Mira tilted her head softly.

Confused.

“What does ‘ships you two’ mean?”

“Oh absolutely not,” Damon said immediately.

Cassian ignored him completely.

“It means,” he rasped weakly, “the giant evil trauma network thinks you’re emotionally codependent.”

The neural core glowed brighter.

Seraphine pointed at it immediately.

“Oh my God, it agreed.”

“I hate every single one of you,” Luca whispered.

But the words lacked real heat.

Because for the first time in hours

The room didn’t feel entirely consumed by terror.

And maybe that mattered more than any of them realized.

The archived projections surrounding the chamber flickered softer now.

The children no longer screaming.

No longer panicking.

Watching.

Listening.

Waiting.

Hale studied the console carefully, expression unreadable beneath the flashing white light.

“The emotional synchronization is reducing instability.”

Seraphine blinked.

“You’re saying emotional support is fixing the reactor?”

“In simplified terms.”

“That is the least scientific sentence I’ve ever heard.”

Cassian weakly lifted a trembling hand.

“Love wins.”

Another violent overload wave immediately tore through him.

Cassian screamed.

The synchronization chair sparked brutally enough to blacken the restraints around his wrists.

The entire chamber lurched violently as the neural core surged in response.

SECONDARY ANCHOR DESTABILIZING.

Luca’s panic returned instantly.

“Cassian!”

He grabbed Cassian harder, ignoring the electricity burning across his own skin now.

Cassian’s breathing had deteriorated badly.

Each inhale sounded ragged.

Forced.

Damon’s expression darkened.

“He’s getting worse.”

Hale checked the readings sharply.

“The overload is outpacing his neurological recovery.”

Seraphine stared at him.

“Why do you say horrifying things so calmly?”

Hale didn’t answer.

Mostly because he was focused on the monitor now flashing dangerous new warnings.

NETWORK SPLIT DETECTED.

The neural core pulsed harder.

White light fracturing violently across the room.

Mira suddenly flinched sharply beside Damon.

“They’re fighting.”

Everyone turned toward her instantly.

“Who?” Luca asked.

Mira looked frightened.

“The voices.”

The archived projections around the chamber began flickering erratically.

Some children looked calm.

Others terrified again.

Several started glitching violently across the walls.

Vale’s voice cut sharply through the speakers.

“Arthur, terminate the emotional synchronization immediately.”

Hale frowned at the console.

“The archive fragments are dividing.”

Cassian winced painfully.

“Please translate from evil scientist to human.”

Hale finally looked toward them.

“The network was built around control.”

A pause.

“Mira’s influence is introducing emotional autonomy.”

Seraphine crossed her arms tightly.

“And the system doesn’t know how to process freedom.”

“Yes.”

Silence.

Because that was horrifyingly human.

Luca looked toward the projections again.

Children trapped for years inside a machine designed to erase individuality.

And now

The system itself was struggling between obedience and choice.

Like it inherited trauma from its creators.

Mira’s voice trembled softly.

“They don’t know if it’s safe to stop being afraid.”

The sentence hollowed the room out.

Because every survivor there understood exactly what she meant.

Luca looked downward slowly.

Even now

Even after learning the truth

Part of him still waited for punishment every time he disobeyed.

Trauma didn’t disappear just because the cage opened.

Damon noticed the shift in his expression immediately.

Of course he did.

“You’re thinking too hard again.”

Luca looked toward him weakly.

“I don’t know how not to.”

Damon moved closer.

Careful.

Gentle.

“Then let me help.”

Simple words.

But they cracked through Luca’s defenses effortlessly.

Because nobody had ever offered to carry his pain with him before.

Not fix it.

Not erase it.

Just help.

The neural core pulsed softer again.

Cassian weakly gagged.

“Oh my God, it likes vulnerability too.”

Despite himself

Luca laughed quietly.

A small breath of sound.

But real.

And the archived projections reacted instantly.

The children across the chamber smiled.

Not all of them.

Not fully.

But enough.

Mira’s eyes widened slightly.

“They can feel him.”

Luca’s pulse dropped cold.

“What?”

Mira pointed toward the projections.

“They know you’re happy.”

The room fell silent.

Because Luca almost never looked happy.

Cassian stared at him weakly from the chair.

“…wow.”

Luca frowned.

“What?”

Cassian’s expression softened faintly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh without guilt before.”

The sentence struck harder than Luca expected.

Because Cassian was right.

Even moments of peace always felt temporary.

Dangerous.

Stolen.

But just now

For one tiny second

Luca forgot to be afraid.

And the system noticed.

Vale’s voice suddenly exploded through the chamber again.

Sharp with fury now.

“THIS IS WHY EMOTION IS A DEFECT.”

The neural core flickered violently at the volume.

Several projections glitched painfully.

Children recoiling.

Mira flinched hard.

“Don’t yell at them.”

Vale ignored her completely.

“Emotion creates instability. Weakness. Chaos.”

“No,” Damon said coldly.

Everyone looked toward him.

Damon stepped forward slowly.

Standing between Mira and the neural core now.

Protective by instinct.

“What creates chaos,” he said quietly, “is treating people like they aren’t human.”

Silence.

Even Vale paused.

Damon’s voice sharpened slightly.

“You built an entire system trying to erase fear and pain.”

A pause.

“And all you did was trap it forever.”

The chamber went still.

Because suddenly

That was exactly what the neural archive was.

Stored suffering.

Unprocessed trauma.

Pain with nowhere to go.

Mira looked toward Damon softly.

“They listen to you too.”

Damon blinked.

“…what?”

The projections flickered again.

Several archived children slowly turning toward him now.

Watching him carefully.

And Luca realized why.

Damon spoke to them like they were people.

Not experiments.

Not data.

People.

Cassian weakly looked between Damon and the neural core.

Then sighed dramatically.

“Fantastic.”

A rough breath.

“Now the haunted system has two favorites.”