Merit Tocrasy leaned back in his chair, staring at the gleaming robot frame that loomed in the center of his warehouse.
After months of sleepless nights and countless iterations, the project was finally finished.
The Quantum Realm Interface Automaton, or QRIA, was an invention that would shatter every boundary of known science. Its sleek, bare framework stood almost eight feet tall, skeletal in design, yet filled with an aura of mystery.
It was built not for war or manual labor, but for exploration—an automaton capable of accessing and interpreting data from the quantum realm.
The interface was ready, and the only thing left to do was charge it to full capacity. Merit had calculated that it would take a full week to build up the power reserves necessary to interface with the quantum realm safely.
As he unplugged the final component and set the timer, a wave of exhaustion swept over him. His hands trembled slightly as he closed the protective casing.
"Done," he said aloud to himself, the sound echoing in the cavernous space. The weight of his achievement settled over him, and for the first time in years, he allowed himself to exhale fully.
There was no need to rush. Something as monumental as this deserved precision, patience, and care. He decided, for the first time in years, to take a break.
The holidays were in full swing, and Merit spent the week reconnecting with his family. His parents, who hadn't seen him outside of rushed calls and texts, were overjoyed to have him home.
His younger siblings, one a freshman in college, and the other still in high school, peppered him with questions about his work, though they barely understood half of what he said.
"Is it a time machine?" his brother asked over dinner.
"No," Merit replied with a smirk, "but it might help us understand time better than ever before."
"So if it's not a time machine, then what is its use?" His freshman sister asked with a bit more sense to her.
For the first time in a long while, Merit allowed himself to relax. He helped his mom bake cookies, played video games with his brother, sat wnd made TokTik videos with his younger sister, and even strung Christmas lights outside the house.
The days passed quickly, and by Christmas, Merit felt lighter; like a man ready to make his mark while standing on the edge of history.
But there was one person he couldn't stop thinking about: Christine Liu.
Christine had been his classmate back in college, a robotics prodigy with an IQ of 187 and a sharp wit that could cut through steel.
She'd been the talk of their school—every guy wanted to date her, but none could ever get close.
Christine had always seemed aloof, disinterested in the advances of others. Most had written her off as snobbish or, in some cases, entirely uninterested in relationships.
But Merit knew better. He had seen the way her sharp, dark eyes would light up whenever she looked at him. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but unmistakable.
While others received her disdain, he'd felt like her gaze carried a weight of expectation, as if she saw something in him that even he didn't understand.
It had unnerved him back then, the way she always seemed to linger in his peripheral vision, watching.
Over the years, he'd heard rumors. She had supposedly "fallen off," no longer the ambitious, untouchable prodigy she once was.
But to Merit, Christine had always been an enigma—one he hadn't dared to unravel.
Until now.
When he knocked on her door, Merit wasn't sure what to expect. He'd found her address through a mutual acquaintance and figured, why not? It was the holidays, after all.
The door opened, and there she was.
Christine Liu, as sharp as ever, though her presence carried a weight of weariness she hadn't had in college.
Her long black hair fell loosely around her shoulders, and her almond-shaped eyes studied him with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
"Merit?" she said, her voice soft but still unmistakably hers. "I thought you'd build your own business after graduation."
He shrugged, smiling faintly. "I guess I've been busy. You know how it is."
"Busy, huh? That's an understatement." Her eyes flicked over him, and for a moment, she seemed to appraise him like a puzzle she was trying to solve.
Then she stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in. "Well, don't just stand there."
The next few days passed in a strange rhythm. They fell into an easy camaraderie, as if no time had passed at all.
Christine asked him about his work, her curiosity as sharp as ever, and Merit found himself sharing more than he'd intended.
She seemed genuinely interested, her eyes lighting up as he described the intricacies of his quantum interface project.
When Christmas passed, and the holidays wound down, Merit mentioned casually that he'd need to head back to his warehouse to finish his project.
"You're leaving so soon?" Christine asked, her tone light but laced with something deeper.
"It's almost done," Merit replied. "I've been working on it for years, and the last piece is finally in place. I just need to check on it and run a few final diagnostics."
Christine tilted her head, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. "Can I come with you?"
The question caught him off guard. He hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Sure, why not?"
The warehouse was exactly as Merit had left it, filled with the hum of machinery and the faint scent of oil and metal.
Christine's footsteps echoed softly as she followed him inside, her eyes darting around the space, taking in the various components, half-finished prototypes, and tools scattered across the workstations.
At the center of the room stood the robot, its bare framework gleaming under the fluorescent lights. It was humanoid in shape but skeletal, with exposed joints and a metallic ribcage that glowed faintly with residual energy.
Its head was featureless, a smooth dome designed to house the quantum processors that were still locked away in the machine's core.
Christine stopped in her tracks, her gaze fixed on the automaton. "This… is your project?"
Merit nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "That's QRIA—the Quantum Realm Interface Automaton. It's the first robot capable of accessing and interpreting data from the quantum realm."
She stepped closer, her hand brushing against the cool surface of the framework.
"You built this?"
"It's been my life's work," he replied. "QRIA isn't just a robot. It's a bridge. The quantum realm holds answers to questions we haven't even thought to ask yet. This machine can access that realm, compile the data, and translate it into something we can understand."
Christine turned to him, her expression unreadable. "Merit, this is… I don't even have the words. Do you realize what you've done? You've created something that will change everything."
He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "It's not quite there yet. I still need to power it up and run the final tests."
He walked over to the automaton, unplugging the charging unit from its core. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on the activation panel and pressed a sequence of buttons.
The robot whirred softly, its internal systems booting up. Lights flickered along its ribcage, growing brighter as the automaton began to awaken.
The robot powered up, its mechanisms humming softly. For five minutes, it sat motionless, scanning its surroundings. Then, without hesitation, it began accessing the quantum realm, its interface glowing with strange energy.
Behind Merit, the girl smirked mischievously. Without warning, she slipped her arm around his waist, her movements both calculated and intimate. Before he could react, her right hand dove into his pants, grasping his prick and balls firmly.
Heat flooded his body as blood rushed to his prick. His thoughts faltered under the softness of her touch, her hand moving with deliberate intent.
"You thought you could avoid me forever?" she murmured, her voice a blend of playfulness and menace. "All these years, you knew I had feelings for you, and yet you didn't make a move. You even stayed at my house for days. What kind of man won't at least make a move? Fine, I'll make the first move now and get pregnant."
Merit froze, unable to process the absurdity of her logic. 'What kind of reasoning is that? You can't just reverse-rape someone!'
Yet, deep down, he knew he couldn't resist. He had always hesitated and was too scared to make the first move. There was always something unnerving about the glint in her eyes—something inhuman.
Reluctantly, he let her unzip his pants, letting his hardened prick bob up and down.
Merit could feel her shudder after seeing the size of it. "And you were hiding such a… monster."
His head fell back as he surrendered to the sensation, her hands expertly fondling him.
Christine's left hand speedily jerked his prick up and down, one that she could not fully wrap her hand around. Her right hand grabbed his ballsack and pulled downward.
For a moment, the world disappeared. He forgot the robot, forgot everything except the pleasure coursing through his body. Clear liquids
But then, her voice broke the spell. Leaning close, she whispered into his ear, "It's time to send you off."
Merit's eyes shot open. His head snapped toward her, and his blood ran cold. Her eyes, both of them, were glowing brightly with an otherworldly light.
"W-what the hell?" he stammered, fear overtaking desire. "You're not human, are you?"
The massive boner he had quickly deflated like a balloon with a hole in it.
She smiled, a chilling, enigmatic grin. "You're almost there. But not quite."
Her eyes then flick towards the QRIA. "Maybe when you return, you'll grasp the truth. My creation will show you."
Her words barely registered as Merit's gaze darted toward the robot, which was now fully operational.
Its portal shimmered like liquid glass, rippling with quantum energy. Panic surged through him, but before he could react, she struck.
Her kick was sudden and brutal, landing squarely on his back. The impact sent him flying forward, spine cracking as he collided with the robot. His dead body tumbled into the portal as it swallowed him whole.
Christine stood there, her glowing eyes fixed on the empty space where Merit had been moments ago.
She exhaled sharply, her hand sliding between her thighs. "F*ck, after all that, I'm horny."
The room fell silent except for the faint hum of the robot, which had returned to its passive state. Christine smirked, her mysterious aura unbroken.
Meanwhile, Merit hurtled through the void, his mind filled with confusion and regret. Who was she? What did she mean by her "creation"? And how had he, of all people, ended up in this predicament?
He never got the answers. Somewhere in the endless quantum realm, his life flickered out.