Phase 2

Elara had been there since the beginning, since Aiden's very first simulated breath as a newborn in the digital cradle she had coded. She had watched over him, guiding his growth with a careful hand, orchestrating the milestones of a life accelerated by the simulation's swift passage of time.

She remembered the way Aiden's simulated laughter filled her headphones, a sound so sweet and pure it almost made her forget it wasn't real.

As Aiden grew from a child into a man, Elara's role shifted from creator to silent guardian. She watched him navigate his world with a sense of wonder, each decision he made a testament to the complexity of the life she had given him. Time in the simulation might move swiftly, but her connection to Aiden remained constant, a fixed point in the ever-changing landscape of her work.

She knew every facet of his life, every joy, every sorrow. And though she had designed him to be self-sufficient, a part of her longed to reach through the screen, to comfort him as she had when he was just a digital child in need of guidance.

These thoughts were Elara's secret, a private narrative that played out in the theater of her mind. She would shake them off as she left the Core each night, stepping back into the real world where such fantasies had no place. But they were always there, waiting for her return, a silent testament to the depth of her connection to the man who lived inside her machine