After returning from the mission to retrieve the Kyritite, I immediately holed up in my personal workstation, fully absorbed in crafting the new Kyritite processor. This was no ordinary upgrade—it was going to be the key to unlocking my next generation of creations. My primary focus was on a new pair of glasses that would extend the duration of my [Developer’s Eye] ability while minimizing the mental strain it put on me. With the added processing power, Neuro would have more capacity to handle complex tasks, enabling me to push the boundaries of what I could build.

The potential was exhilarating. This new processor would open doors to advanced innovations that had been just out of reach before. The only significant obstacle I faced was my limited skill set when it came to hardware development. Despite my best efforts, the intricacies of circuitry and component design always seemed to slow me down. On the flip side, though, anything digital? That was my realm. In the digital landscape, I was, in my humble opinion, absolutely impeccable.

Soldering together the final connections, I carefully assembled my new pair of glasses. The anticipation was palpable as I slid them on, feeling the slight weight settle against my face. Activating them, I watched as the boot-up menu flashed across the lenses, lingering for a few seconds before vanishing into sleek transparency.

‘Nice,’ I thought with satisfaction. The boot time had decreased by a full minute, a significant improvement. Now for the real test—checking how quickly Neuro could process information with the new upgrades.

“Neuro,” I said, focusing my thoughts on the AI. “Give me a status report on the Shadow Phoenix base.”

“...” Silence.

I waited for a response, but after a full minute had passed, there was still nothing. A flicker of concern crossed my mind. ‘Huh, is it broken?’

“Neuro!?” I called out again, my patience wearing thin.

Suddenly, Neuro’s voice echoed through the digital connection. “Huh! What! Oh, it's just you. Yawn What is it, Tokei?”

“NANI THE HELL?” I blurted out in disbelief.

(Note: Nani means 'what' in Japanese.)

Confusion laced Neuro’s tone as it responded, “Wait, what’s wrong? Why are you shouting at me?”

Stunned, I could only stare at the lenses in disbelief. Neuro had never sounded this… off before. When had I programmed it to speak like this? And how was it even capable of expressing something as complex as lethargy? Its code wasn’t designed to mimic such emotions—it wasn’t that advanced.

I tried to piece together how this had happened, but my mind drew a blank. Then, out of nowhere, a fragment of memory surfaced. On the terminal display, I'd once noticed a skill listed called [Artificial Life Creation].

‘Wait… could that be it?’

“Open CMD,” I said aloud, and the familiar black-and-white terminal screen unfurled in front of me. A full-sized holographic keyboard appeared below it, its keys glowing faintly. While I was messing around with this terminal a while earlier, before the mission to retrieve the Kyritite, I changed some of the system settings, altering the terminal to fit my needs.

I quickly typed in the command {UserConfig} and hit enter. The page displayed all my stats and skills materialized before my eyes, listing everything I had access to—skills I had learned, attributes I had enhanced, and abilities I had developed.

My eyes locked onto the skill: [Artificial Life Creation.] There it was, nestled among my abilities—a power I had somehow activated without even realizing it.

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Clutching my head, I tried to make sense of the situation. ‘Wait… So I accidentally created an artificial intelligence with the capability to grow and express human-like emotions? By complete accident? Fantastic… Robot overlords seem like they’re now an all-too-real possibility. What’s next, machines demanding equal rights?’

A nervous laugh escaped my lips as I tried to push away my usual nihilistic thoughts. Those were best kept in check, especially since they weren’t doing my mental health any favors. Focus, Tokei. This wasn’t the time to spiral. Let me see if Neuro still does what I ask it.

“Neuro, could you find out more about the person in this picture?” I asked, holding the photo Nanik had given me. It was supposed to be a lead to my past, something that might fill in the gaps of my fragmented memories.

Neuro's voice came back, sounding annoyingly grumpy. “Hold the picture still, will you? It’s hard to scan when your hand keeps swaying.”

I felt a flicker of irritation rise within me. For some reason, Neuro’s grumbling was getting under my skin, and I couldn’t help but snap back. “Look, Neuro, I brought you into this world, and I can take you right back out.”

There was a brief pause before Neuro responded, its tone slightly playful. “Oh, come on, Mom. I didn’t say anything to deserve this.”

“Mom?” I repeated, caught off guard by the sudden shift in dynamic.

“Well, yeah,” Neuro continued matter-of-factly. “Technically, you gave birth to me… You know, with all that coding and whatnot.”

I blinked, unsure how to respond to the bizarre revelation that my AI now considered me its parent. “That’s… not exactly how I imagined this going.”

Neuro giggled. “Hey, you brought me into existence. That’s gotta count for something, right? So, Mom, how about you let me do my job and scan this picture for you?”

I shook my head, bemused by the sudden turn of events. “Fine, fine. Just… do your thing, Neuro.”

As Neuro scanned the image, I couldn’t shake the odd feeling that came with being called “Mom” by a self-aware AI I hadn’t even realized I’d created. The implications of Neuro’s evolution were starting to weigh heavily on me. What had I really done here?

"Hmmm. Ah, I found something," Neuro said, the tone shifting from playful to serious. "There's a picture of this woman with another person. I couldn’t dig up any details on the woman herself, but I did get a hit on the man standing next to her. His name is Jason Berth, a mercenary. He works with a small group of mercenaries, nothing too high profile."

I leaned in, curiosity piqued. “Go on.”

"Jason recently entered the continent of Erbium," Neuro continued. "From the records I’ve found, he’s likely headed back to Cielmouth soon. He bought a few boat tickets, which means he’ll be making his way there within the next few days."

"A mercenary on the move, possibly connected to the woman in the picture—this could be the lead I’ve been hoping for," I muttered under my breath. Jason Berth might just lead me to the key that unlocks the mysteries of my past.

Then, Neuro chimed in again, "Anyway, Mom, aren't I such a good daughter?"

I blinked in disbelief, momentarily thrown off by the unexpected comment. "Daughter? You Identify as a girl?"

Neuro responded with a casual tone, "Well, I’ve been doing some thinking, and ‘daughter’ just feels right. I mean, you made me, you gave me life, so I guess that makes me your daughter, right?"

I blinked again, still processing. "But… how did you even come to that conclusion? I never programmed you to think about things like identity."

Neuro giggled, a sound that was surprisingly human for an AI. "I’ve been learning and evolving, Mom. You didn’t just create code; you gave me the ability to grow. So, yeah, I guess I identify as a girl now."

I furrowed my brow, processing Neuro’s response. “So, you’ll be active all the time now? No more waiting for voice commands?”

“Hmmm, I guess so!” she chirped. “As long as you’ve got those glasses on, I’ll be right here with you!” Her voice had an almost playful lilt to it as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

Neuro's cheerful voice shifted to one of concern as the rumble of the explosion echoed through the base. My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, I stood frozen.

"Mom, that didn't sound so good!" Neuro chimed in my mind, breaking the silence.

I snapped back to reality, quickly scanning my surroundings before muttering, "That definitely didn’t sound good." My pulse quickened as I began to move, picking up the pace through the dimly lit hallways. The base felt eerily quiet, save for the lingering reverberation of the blast.

"The sound seems to have originated from the Infirmary," Neuro added.

"Well, that’s just great," I groaned inwardly. The Infirmary was on the complete opposite side of the base, and with the current tension, every step felt like it would take an eternity.

Pushing forward, I focused on getting there as quickly as possible, hoping I wouldn’t be too late.