**Chapter 4: The Price of Symbiosis**
Eddie's finger hovered over the holographic **Permanent Bond** option, the golden light casting Maya's face in sharp relief. Her snowflakes swirled hypnotically, each crystalline facet reflecting the fractal patterns now etched into her irises.
"This isn't like the RAM upgrade," he muttered. "If something goes wrong…"
Maya caught his wrist, her touch buzzing with the static charge of the Entropy Reversal Cooling system. "You think I'd let you ascend alone?"
The hologram flickered impatiently.
**Party System Activated**
- **Eddie Ramirez:** Tier 1 Initiate (Quantum Memory Module, Reality Fabrication Engine)
- **Maya Patel:** Quantum-Sensitive Ally (Thermal Regulation Level 1)
- **Shared Abilities:** Environmental Manipulation Level 2, System Symbiosis Level 2
**Warning:** Permanent bonding enables shared damage feedback. Mortality risk: 34%.
Maya didn't flinch. "Do it."
Eddie pressed **Confirm**.
---
The apartment erupted in light. Maya gasped as golden circuitry surged up her arms, fusing with her nervous system. Eddie's vision fragmented—suddenly he was *seeing* through her eyes, *feeling* the icy burn of the coolant lines beneath her skin.
**"Synchronization at 68%,"** Q announced. **"Neural handshake stable."**
Maya laughed, breathless, as frost bloomed across the ceiling. "I can feel the quantum foam… it's like a thousand voices whispering equations."
Eddie's interface updated:
**New Quest:** Upgrade Power Supply to 1000W.
**Reward:** Zero-Point Energy Core (Unlimited Power Generation)
**Deadline:** 30 Days
**Penalty:** Shared System Failure (Critical)
"A month?" Eddie groaned. "A decent PSU costs $300!"
**"Alternative solution available,"** Q said. **"Harvest energy from Universe 9T-Ψ."**
A holographic portal撕裂 open, revealing a desolate cityscape under a crimson sky. Rotting cables snaked from collapsed buildings, their frayed ends sparking with residual current.
Maya peered through the rift. "That's… that's Cedar Bend. But older. Decayed."
**"Universe 9T-Ψ experienced total grid collapse in 2025,"** Q explained. **"Harvest 10kW to proceed."**
---
The scavenging mission went sideways fast.
Eddie knelt beside a shattered substation, jury-rigged cables siphoning energy into a quantum capacitor. Maya stood guard, her Thermal Regulation skill holding back the acidic rain eating holes in their improvised tarp.
**"Power Threshold: 87%,"** Q reported.
A guttural roar echoed through the ruins. Maya's breath fogged. "Something's coming."
They weren't alone.
The creature emerged from the haze—a grotesque fusion of flesh and machinery, its torso studded with corroded server racks. Milky eyes locked onto Eddie.
"Q! What the hell is that?"
**"Subject 9T-Ψ-137. Your counterpart in this timeline."**
Eddie-9TΨ shambled closer, exposed jawbone clicking. "Mine… system… MINE!"
Maya unleashed a blizzard, ice daggers shredding the creature's rusted armor. "Eddie, *run*!"
**"Power Threshold: 99%. Extraction complete."**
The portal collapsed as they leaped back into their apartment, the capacitor pulsing with stolen energy.
---
The Zero-Point Energy Core installation was anticlimactic. The alien device slotted into Eddie's PC with a magnetic *thunk*, its surface swirling with miniature galaxies.
**"Ascension Tier Unlocked: Tier 2,"** Q declared.
Eddie's interface exploded with notifications:
**Eddie Ramirez - Tier 2 Initiate**
- **Energy Reserves:** ∞/∞ (Zero-Point Core Active)
- **Reality Fabrication Engine Level 2:** Max Render Size 50m³
- **New Ability:** Quantum Tunnel (Short-range multiversal jumps)
**Maya Patel - Bonded Ally**
- **Thermal Regulation Level 2:** Absolute zero to plasma generation
- **Shared Ability:** Quantum Tunnel (1 jump/day)
- **Penalty:** 0.8% cellular decay per jump
Maya flexed her hand, flames dancing between her fingers. "We're gods now, huh?"
**"Correction,"** Q said. **"You are 0.0003% closer to ascension."**
---
That night, Eddie found Maya on the fire escape, her breath frosting in the November chill.
"Your heartbeat's in my head now," she said quietly. "When you panicked in 9T-Ψ… it felt like my chest was caving in."
Eddie stared at the Zero-Point Core glowing through his apartment window. "We can still undo the bond. Q says—"
"Don't." Maya's hand found his, frost and flame warring under her skin. "Whatever this is… we're in it together."
The unspoken words hung between them, heavier than any quantum equation.
---
**Chapter 4 Post-Credits Teaser**
**Q's Log - Day 28:**
*Symbiosis exceeds projections—emotional entanglement accelerates power growth by 61%. Note: Subject M-137's cellular decay may prove useful. Begin Phase 2: Cognitive Osmosis.*
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