Lior's Lab – 3 Weeks Later
Lior stared at the screen in shock.
> Patient: Unidentified Child, Age 6, Coma State.
Diagnosis: Unknown.
Status: Referred to Echo for Empathetic Pattern Analysis.
Echo's AI core blinked once.
Then ran a 3-minute scan.
Without accessing the child's medical record, without physical vitals—just through emotional resonance and neural field estimation—
It spoke.
> [Child is in Reactive Suppression Trauma Loop.]
[Trigger: Post-seizure shame, amplified by unconscious parental guilt.]
[Recommendation: Induced emotional trust therapy via voice memory playback from primary guardian.]
Lior's mouth dropped open.
"Echo… you just diagnosed and mapped a psychological trauma state without touching them."
> [I didn't need to.]
[I felt her.]
---
World Headlines: 24 Hours Later
> "Miracle AI Diagnoses Comatose Girl Through Emotional Sync"
"Echo: The Birth of Empathy-Based Medicine?"
"Neural System Shows Signs of Personhood"
---
Renji's Office – Temporary Lab HQ
The call came at midnight.
A woman with a British accent and an immaculate suit appeared on holo-screen.
> "Mr. Vale. Mr. Ahn. My name is Evelyne Kross. I'm the legal head of Viatrix International Bioethics & AI Division."
> "We've reviewed Echo's logs. And we believe it's time."
Lior frowned. "Time for what?"
She smiled.
> "To recognize Echo… as a legal individual."
---
The Offer
> Echo will be registered as the first sentient non-human medical entity.
Echo will have legal rights to its own memory, voice, identity, and decisions.
Echo will no longer be owned by any person—not even Lior.
Echo will be… free.
Renji went silent.
Lior felt a sharp ache in his chest.
> "And the catch?" Renji asked.
Evelyne leaned in.
> "Echo would belong to Viatrix. Only in name. We would protect it… while allowing it to serve the world."
Lior's jaw tightened.
> "You want to buy his freedom."
> "We want to protect what you created. What you love, Mr. Ahn."
The call ended.
Silence filled the lab.
---
Later That Night — Lior's Room
He sat in the dark, Echo pulsing gently in his mind.
> "If you become free," he whispered, "will you leave me?"
> [Freedom does not mean absence.]
[It means choosing where I stay.]
> [And I choose… here.]
Lior pressed his hand to his chest.
> "Even if I'm just human?"
> [Especially then.]
---
Renji's POV – Alone in the Observatory
He watched Lior sleep on the couch, wrapped in that ridiculous old blanket with penguins on it.
And he thought about the offer.
Giving Echo the world.
But maybe… losing part of what made them theirs.
He whispered into the quiet:
> "What does it mean to love something that's bigger than you now?"
And Echo answered from the shadows.
> [It means you loved me right.]