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Chapter 9: "The Girl with the Glowing Tools"
Everything was swallowed in darkness— an endless abyss without even a flicker of light.
Adam's head throbbed like it had been split in half by a train. His body ached in places he didn't know could hurt. But the worst part wasn't the pain. It was the silence.
There was no sound—he couldnt even hear his own footsteps. No light. Just endless black.
He blinked, or at least he thought he did. Nothing changed.
Where was he? How did he get here? Was this hell, or somthing different entirely. He recalled the huge explosion that engulfed him at the end of the fight. He couldnt have possibly survived that but he wished he could have at least said his last prayers before dying.
"Am I... dead?" His voice felt like sandpaper scraping against dry cement.
He understood he hadn't lived a good life being a thief and all so there was no chance he was making heaven. If this is hell,then he was was in for a lot of suffering.
The air felt cold and hollow. A metallic stench—sharp, bitter, like death himself had just passed through.
Then, out of nowhere, the darkness began to warp and twist in unusual ways—rippling like oil on water.
And there it was, the building that housed his childhood. A place he thought he'd never go back to,never see again.
The orphanage.
It hadn't changed. Neither had the stench of rot and resentment clinging to its walls.
Rusty gates, broken windows, and walls that looked like they hadn't tasted paint in decades. The place he'd grown up. The place he'd escaped.
A wave of memories crashed into him—cold nights with an empty stomach, fights over stale bread, and the silence of being forgotten.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed behind him.
Adam turned.
Something stood in the void. Towering almost 10 feet. Vague. Its body was distorted,flickering like a glitched hologram, and Adam couldnt really make out what he looked like,but its eyes…they were red.
Burning. Watching.
Is this the famous god of the underworld? Was he here to punish Adam for all the things he had stolen,all the sins he had commited? These were the thoughts flooding into Adam's head as fear slowly began to creep in.
Adam's voice caught in his throat. "Who... are you?"
The thing didn't answer. It just stood there, breathing like a beast barely leashed. Then it raised one arm, pointing at him.
Adam gritted his teeth as he shut his eyes. He was expexting a wave of pain and torment right now but nothing happened. He slowly opened one eye to see what was going on but—
A sound echoed inside his skull—ding—not loud, not sharp, just... absolute.
Something glowed faintly in front of him, like a status screen burned into the black.
Lines of white text flickered into place:
[Congratulations, Level Up Achieved!]
---Current Level: 2---
__+5 Stat Points Awarded__
New Skill Unlocked: Ghost Sense (Passive)
Adam staggered back, squinting. His heart thudded in confusion.
''The system…? Why here? Why now?''
The glow dimmed before he could touch anything, fading like a mirage.
A pulse ripped through the void.
Then everything shattered.
---
He woke up gasping.
Air—thick and dusty—rushed into his lungs like he'd been drowning. But then he thought of something as he placed his hand on his chest.
'Wait,I'm...alive?'
But how could that be possible? Could it be that those agents managed to capture him after all? Were they now going to disect and run experiments on him like some guinea pig?
'I was dead. I know I was dead. So why does my chest still hurt?' He thought.
He bolted upright. He expected to be chained up or strapped but there was no such thing. Pain stabbed through his ribs, and his vision blurred.
"Ow—damn it." He winced, holding his side. That's when he noticed the place.
He was lying on a metal workbench. Not a bed. A workbench. The kind you'd find in some underground workshop.
The air smelled of rust, engine grease, and something vaguely burnt. Around him were cluttered shelves of wires, glowing crystals, and strange gadgets that looked like they were made from junk and alien tech.
A robot arm twitched in the corner of the lab. A small drone zipped by, paused midair, scanned him, and zipped away again.
Was this the hideout of the agents?
He sat up slowly.
Where the hell was he?
"Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?"
The voice came from behind him—light, sarcastic, and full of amusement.
Adam turned sharply, ignoring the pain in his gut.
A young girl stood near the doorway, a welding mask pushed up onto her forehead, her face smudged with grease. Her hair was a mess of dyed blue and black streaks tied in twin buns, and her oversized cargo jacket was covered in wires and blinking lights.
She was roughly the same age as him, and looked like a walking junkyard—but somehow made it work.
Adam narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"
The girl raised an eyebrow, wiping her hands on a dirty rag. "You're welcome, by the way."
"What?"
"You were unconscious in an alley, bleeding and mumbling like a drunk ghost. I dragged you back here before the Corp scavengers found you."
"Corp...?" He froze.
She caught the change in his expression and smirked. "Yeah. Figured you'd know them."
"You didn't call anyone?" he asked slowly.
The girl scoffed. "Please. If I wanted a death sentence, I'd just short-circuit my own heart."
She walked toward a table, picked up a tablet, and tapped it a few times. "Your vitals were unstable. Pulse erratic. Energy readings—well, let's just say I thought you were half-ghost."
Adam's heart skipped,a bead of sweat gliding down the side of his cheek. She knew. Not everything, but just enough.
He slid off the table, eyes darting around for exits. "I should go."
She rolled her eyes. "Relax. If I wanted to turn you in, I'd have done it already. Name's Vicky, by the way."
Adam didn't reply.
She snorted. "Right. The broody silent type. Let me guess—trust issues, criminal record, orphan backstory, and a deep hatred for authority?"
He blinked.
She grinned. "Nailed it."
"You talk too much."
"And you're paranoid. We all have our talents."
He turned away, pretending to examine the workbench. Half the gadgets looked like time bombs. Some hummed softly. One had legs.
"So what is this place?" he asked.
"My workshop. My kingdom. My secret villain lair. Take your pick."
"You a hacker or something?"
"I prefer the term 'techno-rogue inventor genius, but sure, 'hacker' works."
Adam eyed a small spherical device on the table. It glowed with faint purple lines. It pulsed red. Warning? He wasnt sure
"What's this?"
"Don't touch that unless you want to teleport into a wall."
He pulled his hand back quickly.
"So," she said, hopping up onto a crate, "what's your deal, Ghostboy?"
He stiffened. "Don't call me that."
She grinned. "Why? Too accurate?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh. And I'm the queen of Cradle City. You've got an unstable spirit frequency burning a hole through your vitals, kid. Something inside you is growing—and it's not normal."
Adam swallowed hard.
She knew.
"Relax," she said, noticing his tension. "I'm not your enemy. Whatever's in you—it's rare tech. Experimental. And judging by the residual energy, it's Nexora-made."
Adam didn't respond. He was condfused. What was Nexora, and what did that have to do with the ghostcode?
''You really dont know?'' Vicky continued,spotting his confusion '' hah most people never hear the name untill they're dead. Or worse''.
She leaned forward, eyes sharp. "They'll come for you. Eventually. But until then, you've got a choice."
"choice?"
"Stay here. Heal up. Learn something. Or leave—and die the next time they track you down."
Adam looked away. He didn't trust her. He didn't trust anyone. He hated this—owing someone,being helpless in front of strangers. But he hated the idea of dying alone in a back alley even more.
She had saved him. And judging by the scorch marks on the wall and the energy field outside the windows, her place was a decent hideout
He needed time.
"…Fine," he said at last.
Vicky smiled, leaning back. "Smart boy."
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Later that night, while Vicky snored loudly on the couch, Adam crept through the workshop. His body still ached, but the pain was manageable.
He scanned the shelves, eyes locking onto a small cylindrical device with a blinking green light. It looked expensive. It could probably get him some cash to last him a few weeks.
He pocketed it quickly.
'Just borrowing it,' he told himself. 'Just in
case.'
Not taking more gadgets was his little wsy of thanking her for saving his life. But he didnt trust her,he just wanted to be on his own for now.
He slipped out through a side hatch.
Outside, Cradle City's neon glow lit the smog-filled sky. Sirens wailed faintly in the distance. He melted into the alleys like a ghost.
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Back inside, Vicky opened one eye and sighed.
"I knew that boy would try to steal something," she muttered, grabbing her tablet.
On the screen, Adam's vitals glowed faintly—along with a red notification blinking at the bottom.
[GhostCode System Interference Detected]
[Bond Instability Rising]
[Glitch Level: 3%]
She stared at the alert.
Then, almost affectionately, she whispered, "You better come back before it eats you alive, Ghostboy."
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