Page 109 of GlitchBorn Heart

He brings the GameNet schematics up on the main screen. This month’s theme: A historic 1920s Prohibition cityscape mapped in neon lines. Speakeasies, back alleys, shops, and old-school gangsters fill the map. My generation loves the old stuff; Ash will be beside himself with glee.

“Here’s how this will work,” Kael begins. “We go in together, but before we go, Lyra will have already connected with Eli to communicate that he needs to go into GameNet with us to help him get away from Vikktor.” He turns to me. “We’ll need you to do that right after we’re done here.”

“Got it.” I break his stare because if I don’t, I’ll melt into it, drown in the dark gravity of him. My body is still split, begging me to lean into him instead of pull away. But I don’t. I can’t.

Kael continues. “Once inside, the rescue in-game will coincide with the real-world extraction. No void reaction. No citywide surge. To the system, it will read as nothing more than a player event. We want Vikktor to think Eli was just hacking into GameNet. An anomaly lost to lag, swallowed by the simulation.”

Kael’s focus on each of us individually is laser sharp. “Lyra, you’ll hack the game, keep Eli focused and use what you’ve learned to influence any systems while inside. Ash you’ll track Eli’s vibrations, tell us if he gets all ‘voidy,’ soothe him, keep him calm. You two should be able to stabilize Eli’s environment long enough for us to reach him.”

Ash gives him a nod of confirmation. “Jett,” he turns, eyes blank, “you’ll be the hand in both worlds. First with us inside the game, then drop, and slip through the CIC security upstairs. You’ll get to Eli’s body before the system even registers you’re there.”

Jett says nothing, merely acknowledging Kael’s authority. “The rescue in the game will mask the real extraction you’re doing upstairs, in the real world.”

Kael shakes his head while shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “This works because it breaks every rule GameNet was built on.”

Jett speaks up first. “No magic inside the game. No channeling, no flares, no U21 signatures bleeding into the code. You’re right—we’re breaking every rule you’ve created, Kael.”

Ash nods in agreement. “GameNet was designed as a neutral ground, safe for citizens and U21s alike. Magic destabilizes the physics engine, fractures the immersion, lights up your monitoring systems like a beacon. Anyone caught bending the rules gets hard-locked, flagged, erased from the network entirely. This plan ignores all of that. I hope you have a work around.”

KaeI gives them both a disdainful stare. His pitch-black eyes fully convey that he finds their comments worthless. “I can lie to my own system and get away with it.” He lifts his gaze to the grid, jaw tightening. “I enforce the rules. I wrote them. I monitor the violations. I decide what gets flagged and what gets buried.”

The room goes quiet. His arrogance smothers any thoughts we have of contradicting him.

“I’ve already remedied this. If anyone else were to try this, my protocol would eat them alive. But it won’t touch us because it answers to me. Tonight, out of necessity, the rules are negotiable.”

A pause. Kael Ryudon is not a rule breaker. He’s a rule maker. Could the change be the very vow he made to me? Am I wrong to still question my trust in him?

Ash shifts his weight, the humor draining from his face for once. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “That all sounds great, Kaze. But what if Dax is watching?” He exhales through his nose.

The name bears weight, heavier than it should. People treat him like someone to be worshiped, like a deity, just for creating an intricate source of escape for our generation.

I turn slowly, meeting Ash’s gaze. He’s not joking, no grin, no smart-ass deflection. He’s generally concerned about this guy.

“Dax Kross doesn’t babysit his creation.” Kael’s voice is calm. “GameNet runs on my automated governance protocols. He sold control to Vikktor years ago.”

Ash snorts softly. “Yeah, but...you know, he has that weird thing...” His eyebrows raise.

“I’m the one who enforces GameNet rules. Ember manages all GameNet play. We’ve got this, Ash.” Kael nudges Ember for reinforcement. That’s not what he gets.

Ember finally looks up. “Kael, if you inject magic into the game...”

“I know exactly what it does; it flags the system. It wakes up things that were never meant to be aware.”

Ash’s jaw tightens. “Including its creator.”

Why is everyone so afraid of Dax Kross, billionaire playboy?

Kael doesn’t deny it, just swipes his hand through the air, collapsing the rule set into a single glowing thread. “I happen to know Dax built GameNet to observe human behavior under pressure. Choice. Risk. Time. Believe me, you don’t build something like that without wanting to watch it break, daring it to be tested.”

“And if he is watching?” Ember asks quietly.

“Then he’ll see exactly what I want him to see. That the rules still hold. That the system is stable. That no magic is being used.” Kael’s response is emotionless.

Ash’s eyes squint. “But you are.”

“Yes...and no.” Kael further explains the plan. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Jett’s expression tightening into frustration.

“Let me worry about Dax Kross. You worry about making sure Eli doesn’t know he’s being retrieved. We need him to think he’s completing an objective. Nothing more.” Kael glances back at the screen, dismissing all of our questions.