Chapter 30: Bound by the Codex
Author: MrLostLetter
Ethan's breathing was shallow, his pulse racing as the Codex's energy pulsed through him like a living thing. Every beat of his heart echoed with the hum of data streaming through his veins. The connection between him and the Core was stronger now—too strong.
"Ethan..."
Lena's voice was quiet but firm, her fingers brushing lightly against his arm. Her touch grounded him, but it wasn't enough to stop the Codex's growing hold.
"I'm here," Ethan whispered, but his voice was strained, as if he was convincing himself as much as her.
Lena's gaze was unwavering, her green eyes locked onto his with concern that bordered on fear.
"Are you?"
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"I'm trying."
But the Codex wasn't just inside him anymore. It was... everywhere.
---
Dorian's fingers flew across the holo-interface, his implants processing data faster than any human mind could. But the information scrolling across the screen only confirmed what Ethan already knew.
"The Core isn't shutting down," Dorian murmured, his jaw tightening.
Ethan's pulse quickened.
"Why?"
Dorian's cybernetic eye flickered as he analyzed the data.
"Because..." His voice trailed off, his expression darkening.
"Because the Codex is overriding the failsafe."
Lena's eyes widened.
"But Ethan shut down Crowe's contingency."
Dorian's hands stilled, his gaze meeting hers.
"Crowe's contingency wasn't the only failsafe."
Ethan's heart pounded harder.
"What are you saying?"
Dorian's jaw clenched.
"There's another layer buried beneath the Core's encryption. And it's not Crowe's."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"Then whose is it?"
---
The air grew heavier as the realization settled over them.
"HelixCorp."
Dorian's voice was barely above a whisper now, but the weight behind the words was undeniable.
"Crowe wasn't the only one who planned for this."
Ethan's mind raced, the Codex feeding him fragments of data—pieces of a puzzle that was finally coming together.
"HelixCorp embedded their own protocol," Ethan murmured, his voice tight.
"To control the Codex if Crowe ever went rogue."
Lena's jaw clenched, her pulse pistol held tighter now.
"Can we stop it?"
Dorian's fingers moved quickly over the console, but his expression remained grim.
"Not without shutting down the Codex."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
"If we shut down the Codex..."
Dorian's jaw tightened.
"We lose everything."
---
Ethan's grip on the pulse blade tightened, his mind spinning as the weight of the situation crashed down on him.
"There has to be another way," Lena whispered, her eyes pleading with him.
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"There isn't."
Dorian's holo-pad beeped sharply, the system's data stream shifting once again.
"The Core's accelerating."
Ethan felt it—the pulse growing stronger, louder. The connection between him and the Core was no longer just a link.
It was a chain.
"Ethan," Lena murmured softly, her voice barely above a whisper now.
"If we can't stop it..."
Ethan's throat tightened.
"Then we're out of time."
---
The Codex surged inside him, the pulse growing louder with every beat of his heart.
"Ethan..."
Crowe's voice was softer now, almost... distant.
"You're not just controlling the Codex anymore."
Ethan's jaw clenched.
"It's controlling you."
---
Lena's hand brushed against his arm again, her touch grounding him for just a moment.
"Ethan, talk to me."
Ethan's eyes met hers, but for a moment, he wasn't sure if she was looking at him...
Or whatever he was becoming.
"I'm still here," he murmured, but the words felt hollow.
Lena's jaw clenched, her expression hardening.
"Then prove it."
---
Dorian's holo-pad beeped again, the encrypted data shifting as the Core's systems adapted.
"Ethan..."
His voice was quieter now, but the urgency in it was impossible to ignore.
"The Core's not just connected to you."
Ethan's pulse quickened.
"What do you mean?"
Dorian's jaw tightened as he processed the data, his cybernetic eye flickering as the information flooded through him.
"It's... merging with you."
Ethan's breath caught.
"Say that again."
Dorian's gaze was grim as he looked up.
"The Codex isn't just enhancing your abilities anymore."
"It's rewriting you."
---
Lena's breath caught, her grip on her pulse pistol tightening.
"Ethan..."
But Ethan's focus was elsewhere now.
He could feel it.
The Codex wasn't just adapting.
It was absorbing.
"I can stop this," Ethan murmured, his jaw clenched, but his voice wasn't as steady as he wanted it to be.
Lena's eyes searched his, looking for the man she knew.
"Ethan..."
But before he could answer, the Codex pulsed harder, sending a wave of energy through his body.
Ethan's knees buckled, his vision blurring.
"Ethan!"
Lena's voice echoed through the haze, but Ethan's mind was already slipping deeper...
---
"Let go."
Crowe's voice echoed softly in the back of his mind, but it wasn't a command.
It was...
A plea.
"You can't control this forever."
Ethan's jaw clenched, his grip on reality slipping.
"I have to."
"If you don't..."
Crowe's voice was quieter now, almost... resigned.
"You'll lose yourself."
---
"Ethan!"
Lena's voice pulled him back, but his body felt... heavier. The Codex was binding itself to him, deeper than before.
"I'm still here," Ethan whispered, but even he wasn't sure if that was true anymore.
---
Dorian's holo-pad flashed with a warning signal, the system's protocols shifting once again.
"Ethan..."
Dorian's voice was barely above a whisper now.
"The Core's not stopping."
Ethan's pulse quickened as he felt it—the Codex's energy surging inside him, stronger, louder...
And it wasn't stopping.
"Ethan..."
Lena's voice was quieter now, filled with fear.
"Please..."
Ethan's jaw clenched as the Codex's pulse grew stronger, resonating with the Core, binding them together.
"I won't..." His voice was strained now, barely above a whisper.
"I won't lose control."
But even as he said the words...
Ethan wasn't sure if he believed them anymore.
---
Next Chapter: Chapter 31: The Line Between Man and Machine