Chapter 49 The CEO’s Decision

Chapter 49 The CEO’s Decision
The countdown was still blinking in the corner of my eye.

\[4... 3...\]

"You have to choose, Cyprian!" Cedric shouted. "The door is closing. Just go! Don't worry about us!"

"Shut up, Cedric!" Oswin yelled. He looked at me, his eyes full of fear. "Look at the tank. That’s your air. Go be a man again and leave us to rot. It’s what players do, right?"

"I'm not a player anymore, Oswin," I said. "The hell you aren't!" Oswin flew into my face.

"You pull that lever and we turn into smoke. We’re just the ladder you used to get back to the top. Just hit the button and finish it."

"The books are closing!" The Primeval god’s voice boomed. "Two seconds left. Choose your life, soul."

\[2... 1...\]

"Wait!" I shouted. "System, access the Ledger. Search for 'Asset Liquidation'."

\[Notification: Asset Liquidation Protocol found.\]

"What are you doing?" Cedric asked. He stared at the blue screens appearing around me.

"I'm checking the value of that body," I said. "Your body?" Oswin asked. "You can't liquidate yourself. That’s suicide, kid."

"It’s a transfer," I said. "System, what is the value of the 'Cyprian' biological vessel?"

\[Calculating... Estimated value: 2 Permanent Materialization Charges.\]

"Two charges," I whispered. "Cyprian, don't," Cedric said. He reached out, his hand passing through my shoulder. "You’ll never feel the sun again. You’ll be a ghost forever."

"I've been a ghost since the day Isadora shot me," I said. "That guy in the tank? He’s just a backup file I don't need."

"You're crazy," Oswin said. "You're going to stay in the dark so we can walk in the light? Why the hell would you do that?"

"Because you're the only ones who didn't try to use me," I said. "Alaric wanted a puppet. You guys just wanted to survive. I can give you that."

"But the cost..." Cedric said.

"The cost is already paid," I said. "System, initiate Asset Liquidation. Target: Biological Vessel. Output: Permanent Materialization for Entities 'Oswin' and 'Cedric'."

\[Warning: This action is irreversible.\]

\[Warning: User 'Cyprian' will remain in the Grey Layer permanently.\]

"Do it," I said. "Stop!" The Primeval god roared. The servers started to spark. "That body is property of the Silver Circle! You cannot move those assets!"

"I'm the Auditor," I said. "I just found a massive debt in your lab. I'm here to collect."

"Cyprian, wait!" Oswin yelled. I hit the confirm button.

The tank exploded with a blinding white light. I didn't feel the heat, but I felt the pull. The life in that body—the blood, the heartbeat, it all turned into gold light.

The light split into two parts. One part slammed into Cedric. The other hit Oswin. They started to grow solid. Cedric let out a loud gasp and fell to his knees on the floor.

Oswin landed on his feet. He looked down at his boots. He kicked a piece of glass, and it skittered across the floor with a loud clink.

"I can feel the floor," Oswin whispered. He looked up at me. "I can feel the cold air."

"It worked," I said. My voice sounded hollow now. Like I was speaking from the bottom of a hole.

"Cyprian?" Cedric looked around. "Where are you? I can't see you."

"I'm right here," I said. I reached for his shoulder, but my hand didn't touch anything. "I can't hear him, Oswin!" Cedric sounded panicked. "Is he gone? Did the system delete him?"

"No," Oswin said. He was staring at the air where I was standing. "He's still here. He just stepped back."

\[Notification: Liquidation Complete.\]

\[Entity 'Cyprian' status: Permanent Invisible Hand.\]

"You did it, you idiot," Oswin said to the empty room. He wiped a tear from his face. "You really stayed behind for us."

"Go home," I said. I knew they couldn't hear me. "Go find a place to sleep. Get some real food."

"What do we do now?" Cedric asked. "We're in a basement full of dead machines. The Silver Circle is coming."

"Let them come," Oswin said. He picked up a lead pipe. "We aren't ghosts anymore. We can actually hit back now."

"I'll be watching," I said. The room started to fade. I wasn't in the basement anymore. I was everywhere.

I could see the whole city of Aethelgard. I could see the data running through the streets like neon blood. I could see the debts and the cracks in the walls.

"The Grey Layer is yours," the Primeval god whispered. "You have chosen the hard path. You will see everything, but touch nothing."

"I don't need to touch it," I said. "I just need to make sure the books stay balanced."

"The Silver Circle will try to find you," the God said. "They will try to reboot the server."

"Let them try," I said. "I hold the keys now. And I’m not letting anyone in."

I looked down at the basement. Oswin was helping Cedric up. They were heading for the door. They looked small from up here, but they were real. They were the only real things left.

The windows in my vision started to change. They were a dull, flat grey now.

\[System Update: Administrative Lockdown Engaged.\]

\[City Status: Under New Management.\]

I felt a digital wind push me deeper into the code. I was the ghost in the system. The man who wasn't there.

"Cyprian?" Cedric’s voice echoed one last time, faint and distant.

I didn't answer. I was already gone. A new alert flashed in front of my eyes. It was red. It was urgent.

\[Alert: Sector 7 Firewall breached.\]

\[Source: Unknown External Entity.\]

\[Message: We found the backup server. Begin the purge.\]

The city shook. The grey world around me started to flicker.

"Not on my watch," I whispered. I reached out with my mind, grabbing the data streams. I began to close the gates, one by one. But the breach was spreading too fast.

Something huge was pushing its way through the walls of the Grey Layer.