Morning came with a dull weight rather than rest, and I woke to the same ceiling I had stared at the night before, the same faint lines running across its surface, the same quiet hum of the settlement beginning to build outside, but nothing about the moment felt the same as it had before. The knowledge of what now existed inside my head did not fade with sleep, and if anything, it felt sharper, more present, as though whatever had awakened in me had no intention of letting me forget it.
I did not get up immediately. Instead, I lay still for a while, letting my thoughts organize themselves around the one thing that mattered most right now.
Angel.
The name alone felt strange, too deliberate for something that claimed it did not know what it was, and yet there was no denying its presence. It had not spoken since the night before, but I could feel it in the same way I felt the pressure when it first activated, quiet but unmistakable.
"Angel," I thought.
There was no delay this time.
"Active," she responded.
The voice was clearer than before, more stable, and there was something else beneath it now, something that had not been there when she first introduced herself. It was subtle, but noticeable.
Adaptation.
"Explain my stats," I said, shifting slightly as I sat up, my back resting against the wall while I tried to make sense of the system that had been forced onto me.
There was a pause.
Then—
"No data available for detailed explanation."
I frowned.
"What do you mean no data?" I asked.
"Current database insufficient for comprehensive definitions," Angel replied. "Basic interpretation possible. Advanced interpretation unavailable."
I exhaled slowly, running a hand through my hair as the frustration settled in, because it felt like I had been given something powerful, something important, and at the same time, something incomplete.
"So you don't actually know what most of this means?" I asked.
"Correct," she said.
I leaned my head back slightly against the wall, staring ahead without really seeing anything, and for a moment, the situation became almost absurd.
I had an AI in my head.
And it was just as lost as I was.
"Then what do you know?" I asked after a moment.
The response came quicker this time, more structured.
"Geographical data available," Angel said. "Current location: Skorrag. Classification: dead planet. Atmospheric composition: stable but resource-limited. Psi density: minimal. Nearest systems identified."
A series of names and coordinates followed, too fast for me to process all at once, but enough to give me a sense of scale I had never truly considered before.
"List them again," I said.
This time she slowed the delivery, presenting them in sequence, ten systems in total, each one accompanied by brief descriptors—habitable, industrial, trade-heavy, high-density, restricted—and as I listened, something shifted in my understanding of where I was.
Skorrag was not just isolated.
It was insignificant.
"Recommendation remains unchanged," Angel added. "Relocation required for optimal development."
I let that sit for a moment, then shook my head slightly.
"Yeah, that's easy to say," I muttered.
There was no response to that.
I pushed myself up fully and stepped outside just as Mary was preparing to leave, already dressed and moving with that same focused energy she carried every morning, her attention split between the device in her hand and the group gathering a short distance away.
"You're up early," she said without looking at me.
"Didn't sleep much," I replied.
She nodded, as if that was expected, then gestured toward the group. "Training," she said. "They're starting advanced modules today."
I glanced in that direction, watching as the others gathered around her, some older, some closer to her age, all of them carrying pieces of equipment that looked barely functional until you understood what they were capable of.
"You'll be back later?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said. "Don't get yourself killed."
I huffed quietly at that, and she smirked before turning away, joining the others as they moved off toward whatever space they used for training, their figures gradually blending into the movement of the settlement.
I watched until she disappeared, then turned back, my thoughts already shifting again.
"Angel," I said internally. "How do I get rich quickly?"
There was a brief pause.
"Acquire employment," she replied.
I blinked.
Then narrowed my eyes slightly.
"That's it?" I asked.
"Recommendation optimized for immediate resource gain," she said.
I let out a slow breath, something between amusement and disbelief settling in.
"You're joking," I muttered.
"I do not possess humor protocols," she replied.
And yet—
It felt like she did.
There was something in the timing, something in the delivery, that felt almost… deliberate.
I frowned slightly, considering that.
"Your tone is changing," I said.
"Adaptive response framework active," Angel replied. "Communication patterns adjusting based on user interaction."
I tilted my head slightly, processing that, and the realization that followed was… strange.
She was learning.
From me.
"Great," I muttered under my breath. "So now I've got a voice in my head that sounds like it's judging me."
"No judgment protocols detected," she replied immediately.
I snorted quietly.
"Sure."
I shifted my weight and started moving, heading toward the usual work routes, though I already knew the chances of getting decent work today were low, especially with everything that had been happening across the settlement.
"Explain psionics," I said after a moment.
There was a longer pause this time.
"Insufficient data," Angel replied. "Current user psi value too low for functional analysis."
I frowned.
"So I have it, but I can't use it?" I asked.
"Correct."
I exhaled sharply.
"Then how do I increase it?"
Another pause.
"Training," she said.
I stopped walking for a second.
Then slowly shook my head.
"You're not serious."
"No alternative data available," Angel replied.
I resumed walking, but this time with a slight edge to my expression, because whether she meant it or not, that answer felt like a dismissal.
"Right," I muttered. "Very helpful."
There was no response to that, and for a while, I walked in silence, the usual sounds of the settlement filling the space instead, people moving, trading, arguing, surviving, all of it continuing as though nothing had changed.
But something had.
For me.
By the time I reached the general information center, I already knew something was off, because the place, which was usually crowded with people looking for work, deals, or information, was nearly empty.
That alone was enough to stop me.
I stepped inside slowly, scanning the space, confirming what I was seeing.
No lines.
No noise.
No activity.
"Where is everyone?" I muttered.
"External event detected," Angel said. "High probability of population shift toward single location."
I already knew where.
The pit.
I exhaled slowly, turning back toward the entrance, the realization settling in with a mix of irritation and reluctant curiosity.
Of course.
Something interesting was happening.
Something big enough to pull everyone away from work.
And where there was that kind of attention—
There was money.
I stepped back outside, adjusting my direction without hesitation this time.
"Guess it's the pit today," I said under my breath, letting out a quiet huff as I started walking.
Because if there was one thing Skorrag never failed to do—
It might be time to turn chaos into opportunity.