Chapter 4

Before he even noticed the week had passed, the day of his discharge arrived. Dressed in a simple, yet surprisingly comfortable outfit provided by the hospital, Viktor stepped out of the St. Cardis Hospital, the same gleaming skyscraper he had seen in his dream. The warmth of the sun caressed his skin, a stark contrast to the cold steel and gleaming white walls of his recent confinement. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the crisp air of a world he had only seen through a shattered reality shard.

The bustle of the city streets washed over him, the sounds of hovercars and chattering pedestrians a symphony of life. He looked down at his wrist, where a small, almost imperceptible bump lay under his skin. Marcus had explained that it was his new interface with the world, a conduit to his newfound wealth and identity. With a flick of his wrist, a holographic screen sprang to life, casting a glowing blue square in the air before him. The sight was surreal, yet he had grown used to it from the lessons Marcus had given him in the hospital.

With a few casual flicks, he navigated the interface and called for a hovercar. The process was simple, yet it had taken him a couple of days to figure out. The anticipation grew as the car descended from the sky. He stepped back, giving it room to land, and the vehicle touched down with a gentle hiss.

The door slid open, and the interior was a sleek cocoon of black leather and chrome. He looks around one more time, when he realised this was exactly the same scene he had seen days before, in his dream.

Sighing heavily, he sat down, his hands shaking slightly as he fastened the seatbelt. The car's AI greeted him with a gentle, feminine voice, confirming his destination and asking if he was ready. With a nod, the vehicle lifted off the ground, the electromagnetic engines humming to life beneath him. The asphalt grew distant, replaced by a sea of rooftops and the ever-present hum of the city.

Viktor leaned back into the plush seat, his eyes wide as the world outside the window grew smaller and smaller. The buildings grew into a blur as the hovercar picked up speed, weaving through the skyways with an elegant grace that belied its size. The wind whipped past, a gentle thrumming that seemed to harmonize with the persistent tick in his mind.

The journey to his new residence was a blur of new sights and sounds. He saw floating billboards that sang out to passersby, drones zipping through the air delivering parcels. He watched as the cityscape changed from gleaming steel towers to a bustling street lined with a mishmash of fast food joints, their neon signs blinking in a cacophony of colors that assaulted his senses as he got out of the hovercar.

The apartment building looked like any other on the block, a blend of retrofitted brick and gleaming chrome that spoke of a time when the old had been forcibly married to the new. The door was unassuming, with only a small plaque that read '1042'. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever lay ahead, and stepped inside.

Sliding the door open with a faint hiss, Viktor looked around. The apartment was a mess, with papers and lab equipment sprawled across the kitchen table, which was pushed against a wall in the conjoined living and dining area.

He took a tentative step forward, his eyes scanning the room. Dust danced in the beams of light that streamed through the dirty windows, painting the room in a soft, golden glow. The floor was covered in a fine layer of grime, evidence that no one had stepped foot inside for years. The smell of stale air and the faint scent of something chemical tickled his nose.

The bedroom was stark, the bed stripped of all bedding, the mattress bare. The only personal touch was a framed photograph on the nightstand, its glass cloudy with dust. The picture was of a young woman, her smile bright and eyes full of life. She looked vaguely familiar, but the name 'Elena' was the only clue he had to her identity.

He moved through the apartment like a ghost, each step echoing in the emptiness. His hand hovered over the dusty photograph, and he took a deep breath, feeling a pang of sadness. It was as if he was invading someone else's space, someone who had left in a hurry and never returned.

Viktor stopped outside of the office room, the door slightly ajar. The ticking in his head grew louder, as if beckoning him to enter. He pushed the door open, and the room unfolded before him, an eerie replica of the one he had spent forever in. The desk was still the same birch wood, the clock hanging above it, unshattered. The beige walls looked identical, and the same creaking chair and books lay scaattered around the room.

Everything was the same, yet everything was wrong. The desk was dustier, the books on the shelves had real pages that fluttered slightly in the stale air. The clock ticked, its hands moving in a rhythm that seemed to mock him. He stepped in, his heart racing. This was not the room he had left behind in his dream, but a tangible echo of it.

The books... they had to be placed just so. He could feel it in his bones, the right order was important. With trembling hands, he pulled down the first volume, its title obscured by the dust that had gathered over the years. He brushed it off, the name 'Elena' written in a script that was eerily similar to his sister's handwriting. He placed it back on the shelf, his eyes scanning the room, searching for the next book he knew must follow.

One by one, he rearranged the books, his heart racing as the ticking grew louder, more insistent. He could feel the pressure building in his chest, a crescendo that matched the tempo of the clock. His breathing grew shallow as he worked, his eyes darting from book to book, trying to remember the exact arrangement from his dream. It was as if the room itself was watching him, waiting for him to make a mistake.

The moment the last book clicked into place, the wall behind the desk shuddered, and a hidden compartment slid open, revealing a narrow staircase leading down. The dust billowed out, thick and choking, and he coughed, waving it away.

As he descended the stairs, the ticking grew more distant, replaced by a faint whirring that grew louder with each step. The stairs led to a large, underground chamber, the walls lined with metal and glass, gleaming with the sheen of cutting-edge technology. The air was cooler here, fresher, charged with a faint scent of ozone.

The lights flickered to life, illuminating an astonishing array of high-tech equipment that sprawled before him. Mechanical arms stretched out from the walls, their metallic limbs ending in an assortment of tools that twitched and whirred to life. Tables laden with beakers and flasks shimmered with an inner glow, the chemicals within swirling in mesmerizing patterns. In the center of the room stood a gleaming contraption that looked like a cross between a surgical table and a spaceship control panel.

The whirring grew louder, and a metalic orb floated towards him. It hovered over him, the device emitting a soft, pulsing light. "Elena Gunter has been deceased for five years, three months, and seventeen days," a voice, cold and mechanical, echoed through the chamber. "Protocol G0n3 initiated. Proceeding with post-mortem instructions."

The orb's light grew brighter, and a holographic projection of his sister flickered to life before him. Elena looked as she did in the photograph, her smile a stark contrast to the cold, metallic room. "Viktor," she began, her voice filled with warmth and hope. "If you're watching this, it means you've made it out of the cryosleep. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to greet you in person, but I left you this message to explain everything."

Her image paused, as if gathering her thoughts. "Honestly, I don't know how much the serum has affected you. I designed it to give you control over your dreams, so that you can wake up by yourself. Imagine my suprise when instead of being aborbed into your genetic code, it was rejected. Imagine my suprise. My brother, a Codec who has yet to bloom." She burst out laughing, the sound echoing in the cold chamber.

Viktor stared at the hologram, his mind racing. A serum to give him a codex? It sounded absurd, but here he was, standing in a hidden lab that seemed plucked straight from a sci-fi novel. The ticking in his head grew softer, almost a comforting background noise as he tried to digest her words.

Elena's laughter faded, and she grew serious. "I was stuck after that, Viktor. I had no idea you were already gifted. It made all of my hard work worthless, sending me into a pit of despair for a few weeks. That was until, I discovered, exactly how adaptable you genetic code was. Since your Codex had yet to bloom, it was influencable, however for some reason yours was able to almost entirely adapt to another genetic code."

Her holographic figure grew more animated as she spoke, her hands gesturing to the equipment around the room. "It took me twenty years to refine the serum. Twenty long years of trial and error. I named it 'Echo', after the way it allows you metamorph your Codex into another one after being exposed to its genetic code. Almost like an echo of sorts. And it worked. Or I hope it did. Well... if you're watching this then it did."

Her smile faltered, and she took a deep breath, her eyes misting over. "But there was a cost, Viktor. The Echo serum was extremely unstable. It needed time to stabilise. A lot of time. Decades... There's also an incredbly high chance you would lose your memories. And it's not just the serum. The very essence of a Codex is unpredictable, especially one as malleable as yours. I've done everything I could to stabilise it, but I will never know if it has succeeded or not. Which pains me to admit, but that means we will most probably never see each other again."

Viktor felt a tear slip down his cheek as he watched his sister's hologram. Her words were a puzzle, each piece revealing more questions than answers. "5 years too late..." he murmured to himself. The room remained silent, the whirring of the machinery the only response.

The hologram of Elena nodded, understanding in her gaze. "I know this is a lot to take in, but you must remember, you are unique. Your ability to adapt, to become whatever you need to be... it's incredible. I've left you some files," she gestured to a nearby console, "They contain everything I know about Codexs and the Echo serum. It's not public knowledge, so keep it safe and secret."

Viktor approached the console, his hand hovering over the holographic interface. With a gentle touch, a series of files floated before him, each one marked with a cryptic symbol that looked like a combination of ancient runes and binary code. "You're a Codec, Viktor," Elena's voice continued, filled with pride. "A person born with the ability to manipulate reality itself. It's a gift, a responsibility, and a danger all rolled into one shitty deck. You'll be in a dangerous world. And I ask of you only one thing..."

"...Survive"