Late at night.
Alex's apartment was quiet when he finally got home. His hoodie was damp with city mist, his shoes dragged with exhaustion, and pain stabbed behind his forehead like a nail. He winced as he shut the door, trying not to make a sound.
Too late.
"Alex?" came his mother's voice from the kitchen.
He froze. "Y-Yeah. It's me."
"Why so late? I thought you left before the restaurant closed."
He quickly shoved the glowing console from under his hoodie into his backpack and zipped it shut. "Took the long way," he said with a shrug, trying to sound casual even as pain throbbed in his ribs.
Mei Steele stepped in from the kitchen, wiping her hands with a towel. Her brow furrowed. "Alex… what happened to your face?"
He didn't answer.
Her voice tightened. "Did those boys do this to you?"
He touched the dried blood near his temple. "No. I slipped. Hit a wall."
She stepped closer, her eyes widening. "You what?"
"It's not a big deal, I—"
Too late. She was already in full Mom Mode, pulling his face toward the light.
"'Not a big deal'? This looks like someone swung a microwave at your head! Sit. Now."
Alex groaned as she grabbed the first aid kit, muttering under her breath about cracked skulls, teenage lies, and the nerve of children trying to play superhero.
She sat beside him and started cleaning the wound.
"You need stitches. You need a CAT scan. Honestly, you need a helmet every time you leave this house."
"Mom, please. I'm fine."
"You're seventeen. Not immortal. You act like you were out fighting monsters."
Alex flinched. "Right. Monsters. Totally not that."
She narrowed her eyes. "What's in your backpack?"
"Just school stuff! Books!" he said too quickly, then muttered under his breath, "Definitely not illegal video game hardware from the digital future…"
She squinted at him, suspicious, then sighed and let it go. "This shouldn't happen again. I know something else went down, but fine. I'll let it slide. Dinner's in the fridge. Go to your room. Don't bleed on the couch."
Alex grabbed his food from the fridge, tossed it into the microwave, and paced as it hummed. He kept glancing at his backpack like it might unzip itself and announce it was possessed.
Later, slumped on his bed, he pushed the food aside and yanked open the backpack.
The console inside gave off a low hum, its screen flickering like a heartbeat.
[SYSTEM: READY. USER PRESENCE CONFIRMED.]
Then it levitated.
Yes, floated. Right above his bed like it had a mind of its own.
"Wha—hey! Get down!" Alex hissed, trying to grab it.
It dodged.
"HELLO, ALEX STEELE," the console boomed, sounding like a smug game show host. "WELCOME. MY NAME IS GENESIS!"
"Shhh! My mom's gonna think I'm talking to a possessed toaster!"
"Possession: not currently supported," the console chirped. "However, I excel in multiverse synchronization, matter generation, and light sarcasm."
Alex blinked. "You… talk. Great. And float. Even better. I'm equal parts excited and terrified. So, uh… I've got a lot of questions."
"Is anyone after me?"
"Negative."
"Cool. So… what are you?"
"I am GENESIS: Gateway Entity Navigating Entangled Systems in Interdimensional Simulations. You may call me Genny."
"Genny? Seriously?"
"Would you prefer Supreme Overlord of Quantum Chaos?"
"…Okay, Genesis it is."
Alex paced, trying to keep his thoughts from spiraling. "That monster. That girl. You. Where do you all come from? Did you escape from a TV show? What is happening?"
The console's screen shimmered, displaying a complex, cosmic diagram: stars, cities, digital threads twisting like DNA.
"Reality and simulation have begun to overlap. Our world is layered—stacked simulations, one on top of another. Something is unraveling the layers. One by one."
Alex straightened. "Wait… you mean like… erasing reality?"
"Correct. Digital collapse. Existential overwrite. The whole 'blink and you're a file error' thing."
"That's… not great."
"The monsters you encountered are glitches. Corrupted code. Many now roam Earth. With them, reality can unravel."
Alex frowned. "And the girl who saved me—she's stopping them?"
"She is an agent of a virtual society responsible for containing these threats," Genesis replied.
"A virtual society?"
"No, a tooth fairy factory," Genesis deadpanned. "Yes, a virtual society."
Alex scoffed. "How come no one knows about this? You're telling me there are monsters and secret agents and glitch demons and no one notices?"
"Precisely. Secrecy prevents widespread panic and… well, your minds exploding."
Alex poked at his now-cold coconut rice. "So what are you then? Their secret weapon?"
"Technically, yes. I speak from programming, not experience. I lack memory logs. I feel I'm rare—possibly unique—and the agency is searching for me."
"So I'm not supposed to have you?"
"Statistically unlikely, yes. A powerful artifact like me was never meant to bond with a lanky teen who can't dodge two basic life forms."
"Hey!" Alex frowned. "Says the Wi-Fi router with an ego."
"But nevertheless, I am yours," Genesis hummed.
"…Cool."
"Not cool. It's a responsibility. You found me. That makes you my host."
"Yeah, by accident. I'm not cut out for this. I've got algebra and gym class and my mom still thinks I broke the fryer."
"You activated me. Now we're linked. Until further notice, I must remain near you. You are my host. Congratulations!"
Alex collapsed onto the bed. "I just wanted to walk home. Not get adopted by rogue tech from the Matrix."
"I'm not alien—I'm hypernative. And now that I've bonded with a user, hostile entities will try to retrieve me. If I'm captured, you could be compromised as well."
Alex paled. "So… they're after me now?"
"Technically me. But by association, yes. You touched the console. The console chose you. That's how it works."
"I didn't sign up for this! I have a math quiz tomorrow!"
"And now, you also have data wraiths, glitch breaches, and potential timeline implosions on your to-do list. Don't worry—I can camouflage. Wristwatch. Smartphone. Even belt buckle."
Alex rubbed his face. "A belt buckle? Great. That'll complete my unhinged teen aesthetic."
Genesis beeped happily. "Sarcasm detected. You're adapting nicely."
Alex stared at the ceiling. "This can't be real."
"And yet, here we are. You witnessed a Class-1 breach. That glitch was just the start. More will come."
"So what? I fight them now?"
"With my help. Eventually. First, you train. Learn. Survive. When the time comes… you lead."
Footsteps creaked outside his door.
"Alex? Are you talking to yourself again?"
"Uh… yeah! But like, in a deeply character-building way!"
"Keep it down or I'm taking your weird anime tech!"
Genesis whispered, "I like her. She's fierce."
Alex sighed, staring at the ceiling. "Seven hours ago I was bussing tables to help my mom. Now I'm hosting a floating console, dodging monsters, and apparently saving reality."
Reality was unraveling. Monsters were real. And his new roommate was a talking piece of quantum hardware.
This was going to be a long week.
And somehow, he still had to survive algebra, lunchroom politics, and interdimensional chaos.
Maybe that helmet wasn't such a bad idea after all.