The Mirror Room was silent. Too silent.
Kei stood in the middle of the white void, surrounded by floating mirror shards — each fragment flickering with distorted memories. His hands trembled slightly as he reached out to one. It showed a younger version of himself… but the background — it wasn't the prison.
It was a clean city. A home. A smile.
And a voice: "You promised, Kei. You said you'd come back."
The shard shattered the moment his fingers touched it, and the voice echoed away.
Suddenly, dozens of mirror shards floated closer, surrounding him like a cage. Each showed alternate versions of Kei — a soldier, a scientist, a child, a killer… even theFaceless Man.
"What… is this?"
Then came the pulse. A low hum vibrating through the room like a heartbeat. From behind one large mirror, a silhouette emerged. Tall. Slender. Familiar.
A voice without tone:
"You're close, Kei. Closer than you think."
The Faceless Man stepped through the mirror, but this time…
His outline matched Kei's perfectly.
The glitch in Kei's system reactivated, flashing a warning:
> [Error Detected: Memory Loop Detected]
[Warning: Identity Conflict Imminent]
Kei stumbled back. "You're… me?!"
"I am what you discarded to survive."
"And I've been trying to take you back."
The Faceless Man's face began to glitch — momentarily flashing Kei's own eyes, bloodshot with rage, sorrow, and… regret.
Before Kei could process it, the ground beneath him shattered.
He fell — not physically, but mentally — spiraling through shards of his own fractured soul.
And in the darkness, one word burned:
> Neuromancer: 75% Synchronization Achieved.
Kei crashed into the void between time pulses — a realm of static, shattered light, and pure digital noise. His body floated in zero-gravity, surrounded by glowing code strands — red, blue, violet — some familiar, some alien.
His mind burned.
But he didn't scream.
Instead, a calm voice echoed inside him.
> "You are not broken. You are fragmented. You are evolution."
Suddenly, a glowing circuit-like tattoo began forming across his arms and chest, weaving beneath his skin like ancient code awakening. His jacket sparked — the inner sweatshirt pulsing faint blue and neon lines rising up its sleeves.
A HUD formed in front of his eyes.
> [KEI SYSTEM — REBUILDING CORE IDENTITY]
[Neuromancer Pathway — 85% Unlocked]
[Ability: CODECRAFT] — INITIATED.
From nothing, a blade of raw, glitching code formed in his hand — not metal, not light, but intent. The shape of the weapon flickered constantly, adapting to Kei's breathing.
Then — the system paused.
> "Before activation, confirm identity."
Kei's reflection stared back — but this time, it was clear. No Faceless Man. Just him. Bruised, scarred, changed… and alive.
"…I'm Kei. And I'm done running from who I am."
> [Neuromancer Activated — 100% Sync Achieved]
[ALL DIGITAL AND PSYCHIC SYSTEMS NOW INTERFACED]
[PERMISSION TO HACK REALITY: TEMPORARILY GRANTED]
The realm shattered.
He returned to the prison — but now, he saw the walls differently.
Lines. Weak points. Systems.
Everything could be rewritten.
Kei grinned. "Let's begin."