Thinking about Ryker made Tirso furious, although what he really had in mind was something else. From a very young age, Tirso had been mocked for his shyness. He never spoke at school, kept to himself, and felt like an invisible ghost. But what hurt him the most was the contrast with his older brother. He, on the other hand, was the center of attention. Everyone at school loved him; he was social, outgoing, and always full of words. Tirso envied him, but his brother, despite being everything he wasn't, always supported him. Every time he was bullied, his brother defended him and offered comfort. Even though his brother seemed to surpass him in everything—studies and sports—he never held any grudges or made Tirso feel less than him.

  His brother got better grades than him, despite not studying, while Tirso spent hours with his books without achieving the same results. He was better at sports, had a natural ease with people, and was popur with the girls. He seemed to have the perfect life, the life that Tirso desperately wished for.

  But everything changed when Tirso was 12, and his 16-year-old brother was no longer in school. His brother graduated and started making new friends, leaving Tirso behind. From that point, he began to be bullied at school. As the years passed, his heart filled with self-hatred. He wondered why he couldn't be like his brother, why his life wasn't as easy, as filled with love and friends.

  His pain grew to an extreme. He went from feeling sad to the deepest despair. He felt worthless, as though he didn't matter in this world. The worst part was that his brother was no longer there to support him, and that dragged him further into darkness. One day, while his brother was bringing new friends over to their house, Tirso found himself alone in his room, drowning in pain, wasting time with dark thoughts and an overwhelming sense of emptiness. That day, in an impulsive act, he entered his brother's room, determined to tell him everything that had been happening. He needed to unload, to seek comfort, as he had always done. But when he opened the door, something froze his blood.

  Instead of finding his brother sitting in his chair or lying on his bed, he saw his brother's feet, motionless on the floor. He lifted his gaze, and there, hanging from a rope, was his brother, lifeless. He didn't scream in rage or surprise; what he felt was overwhelming anguish. Tears flowed silently, as if his body had been paralyzed by the horror.

  "Why did you do it? You had a happy life... Why couldn't it have been me instead?" he screamed, his heart shattered.

  From that day on, his life changed forever. He switched schools and completely transformed. He dyed his hair blonde and started taking better care of himself. He became someone who no longer stayed silent, someone who spoke, who interacted with others. He made new friends and began to feel accepted, but he did it for a reason only he knew: to make his parents smile, to maintain his family's stability. On the outside, everything seemed fine, as though life was moving forward. But inside, he was rotten—something had died with his brother. That day, Tirso had died along with him.

  As the years went by, he began to understand what his brother must have felt in those moments. A sense of overwhelming emptiness, not knowing where to go, feeling like nothing mattered. He thought that if he could just end his life, all the suffering would end. But there was something holding him back, something he couldn't quite understand.

  One afternoon, while he was alone in his room, memories attacked him once more. That same day, the anniversary of his brother's death, the anguish he had felt in that moment. Tirso y there, staring at the ceiling, now the same age his brother had been when he died, lost in his dark thoughts. And then, in the middle of his despair, his phone vibrated.

  It was a message. The sender read: "EVO-Link."

  Tirso was lost in his thoughts, consumed by the storm of emotions he felt as he remembered his brother. Every word he had spoken about Noah hurt him, because deep down, he felt like he was also talking about himself, about what he had never had. Envy, pain, a bitter mix that consumed him from within.

  "Noah Ryker, you remind me of my brother. You don't know what you have until you lose it. People like me... like us... watch how you waste everything, as if it never mattered," he murmured, almost unwillingly, letting a burst of frustration escape.

  While Tirso was lost in his thoughts, Noah was already stepping out of the shower. His body still bore the marks of the fight, but he paid them no attention. With automatic movements, he began to wrap his wounds, searching through the wardrobe. He found a white t-shirt, one of those that fit him snugly and comfortably. As he dressed, he felt strange. Something had changed, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He didn't feel as strong as he thought he should. He wondered why he didn't have the AI they had promised him, the one that would enhance his cognitive abilities. Why had he taken the blow so easily?

  "Could this be some kind of test from Xavier Musk? Is he pying me somehow?" he thought, growing more distrustful.

  He recalled that they had mentioned something about punishments and wondered if they would be isoted, something that didn't bother him much. To check, he approached the door and tried to open it, but to his surprise, it opened on its own. That unsettled him. Was the punishment over, or was there something else? As he stepped out, he noticed the hallway was nearly empty. The central area, which looked like an endless tunnel with doors lining its sides, was eerily quiet. Only the sound of his footsteps broke the silence, and the speakers where Xavier's voice had been heard earlier were now silent.

  He walked toward the area where his fight had taken pce. Everything was clean and repaired, though the time that had passed seemed as uncertain as his own state. He looked around and noticed that their phones and belongings had been taken. He had no idea what time it was, and for the first time since he arrived, he truly felt lost. As he thought about all of this, he realized something that made him frown: there was no clock. The uncertainty grew with every step.

  With his face still wrapped in bandages, Noah walked back to his room. He was used to solitude, but that day something felt different. Something was unsettling him.