Zero trembled, his body jerking in unnatural spasms as static crackled from his throat. His eyes—human now, not the blank, controlled void they had been before—flickered between recognition and confusion.
I knelt beside him, heart hammering. The system was still fighting. Still trying to take him back.
He clenched his fists against his temples, jaw tight. Then he whispered something.
I almost didn’t catch it. It was distorted, barely audible.
But I heard it.
My own name.
"Tony..."
The world tilted. No. No, that wasn't possible.
I forced a swallow, my mouth dry. "What did you say?"
His fingers dug into the dirt, his whole body glitching—stuttering, skipping, as if reality itself wasn’t sure whether he should exist at all.
His lips parted, breath shaky. "Tony..."
And then somethin
