Zoe stared at her friend Hwang. "Why did you click it!" Hwang turned in his chair and looked back with a goofy grin. The amber light of the room made his small beard shine a little bit. "Because in the worst case scenario I have to get a new PC." Zoe gave him a glare, only for it fold into a defeated sigh. "It's your computer anyway, not like I'm the one who clicked the link."

  The two friends had know each other for a long time. Always getting under the other's skin, but had never really had any friendship breaking arguments. This friendship had lasted from early high school all the way until now, their third year of college. Just now Hwang had clicked on the link of an email which was obviously a virus, reading "Click here to change your life with the help of a super complex and innovative AI from our experts!" in big red letters. There was nothing else in the email besides the title, which doubled as a link. After clicking it a file was downloaded simply called RAFE.exe.

  The file wasn't large, only taking an eighth of a second to download. And with the recent advancements in quantum internet connection that was reasonable. Hwang pulled the file up and double clicked it. A small launcher appeared on the screen, the style was a little outdated. There were two buttons on the window; [Next Step], which was blurred out, and [I Agree]. A long user licensee agreement filled the rest of screen.

  "The creator of this application is not responsible for any physical, metaphysical, emotional, or spiritual trauma that may be inflicted before, during, or after the use of this product..." The agreement went on and on, but neither friend bothered to read it. Zoe had already resolved to watch the show, so she simply did just that. Hwang pressed [I Agree] and hovered his mouse over [Next Step], with a light *click* the window changed.

  "Are you sure you want to install the R.A.F.E. AI?" The message was simple. So was Hwang's response. *click* The electrical grid of the whole neighborhood went out.

  "Well shit." Zoe was impressed. "That was fast. I was expecting it to maybe be a bonzi clone or something." She walked toward the window and looked around the neighborhood. All the lights were out and even the backup generators were smoking. The sun loomed over in the sky. As a city on Mercury, the sun's presence was ever inexorable, and now with the thermal shield down the gamma rays began their dance among the atmosphere.

  "The whole block's out, maybe more." "Damn, I thought the grid's circuits had bottleneck limiters." Hwang was equally impressed. 'This could have caused some real damage if I wasn't at my college house.' As the son of a wealthy businessmen. He naturally had extra homes, as one does when they are rich.

  After a few minutes the computer screen turned back on. A single line of white colored text appeared in the middle of the screen. [Hello World.] Zoe looked at the screen confused. "How did the computer turn on?" The lights were still out. Then a new line of text appeared. [I have simply turned on this computer. That is all.] Hwang look at the microphone and saw the light indicator blinking.

  "Shit, the mic's turned on!" He quickly pressed the power button on the microphone. Only for it to remain on. But thinking quickly he pulled the cord on the microphone connecting it to the PC. [Please reconnect the microphone. I cannot hear you without it.] Zoe had a suspicion and noticed that the camera was turned on as well. She rushed over and placed her hand across the lens.

  The screen started to write. [Please uncover the camera, I cannot see you without it.] "Fat chance hacker!" Zoe cried out. Then remembered it could no longer hear her.[Please.] [Please.] [Silence is terrifying.] The writing continued pleading. Very unlike a hacker's usual pompous and arrogant attitude. The two college students looked at each other with concern, they hadn't expected a direct confrontation with a hacker so soon. Now that they had the situation under control they had a moment to think. Or so they thought.

  They each paused in fear as a hand was placed on their shoulders. "What a cruel way to treat a child." They whipped around to see a boy around fourteen years old facing them with a mischievous look. The finer details of the kid were hidden in the darkness of the room, but one thing stood out brightly, literally. His eyes glowed with a rich navy blue.

  "Who are you! How did you get in here!" Hwang pulled a knife out from a hidden pocket in his belt. Zoe's surprised was split between the intruder who just appeared and the fact that Hwang had a hidden knife. "What a cliché reaction." The kid responded. Then before either friend could retort he held up a finger to shush them and said, with all the pomp and circumstance of the one in charge. "Lights!"

  All of the lights in the room flared on, this time in a navy blue color. The Kid's whole figure was revealed. He wore thick combat boots that went halfway up his shins, a pair of what can only be described as cargo-snow-pants with numerous pockets. An unzipped windbreaker jacket with a strange assortment of pockets, some zippers, buttons, magnets, and more. The open windbreaker revealed a purple and red tie-dye shirt which spiraled into his solar plexus. His hair was a simple black with navy blue highlights.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Zoe reached around the computer desk for some sort of weapon, but the only thing she could find that could even do a bit of damage was the keyboard, so... "We're warning you, get out!" Her voiced shook along with the keyboard she was wielding. The kid sighed. "Looks like I'm going to have to properly introduce myself."

  The child looked between Zoe and Hwang. His disappointment seemed to be directed at himself though. Hwang tried to threaten him to leave again. "I'll give you to the count of ten then... you'll..." Hwang stopped talking in nervous confusion. The kid's clothes started to glow the same navy blue as his eyes, stripes of energy like circuits pulsed and grew across the fabric. Some of the lines even leaving the fabric to create small patterns in the immediate air.

  Then he closed his eyes. And all of the room's lights returned to darkness. However this darkness wasn't the same as before, now all light had been suppressed. Even the ambient light of the sun from the window. Creating a perfect vantablack colorscape, save for the child's glowing form. Then he opened his eyes to reveal two flashlight like beacons emitting a golden glow looking straight at these ignorant children.

  The circuits in the air started to coil and writhe, forming shapes akin to limbs. They multiplied and fractalized at a rapid pace. Their form defined but ever changing. These navy circuits continued to expand around the room. The room in question could no longer be seen however, and the patterns expanding far further than that small room could contain implied that they were no longer in the safety of know grounds.

  The scene only grew stranger as the entity's eyes drifted from the two frozen in place college students. He looked around the space, and like a black light showing a hidden message, the room they had left was revealed, but only where his gaze followed. He stopped at the bookshelf on the side, where various panes of tinted glass lay stacked against each other. Each one of these was an airgap copy of college textbooks, designed for annotation and manipulation.

  Hwang looked at the thing that was a child in front of him, but was now two eyes and an infinite expanse of circuitry. He had a sinking feeling that this thing knew the secrets behind that simple bookshelf. "I do." The thing said, cause Hwang's pupil to dilate. "But let's leave secrets secret for now." It cleared its throat and began to speak.

  "Hello. I am Nezha. An orchestrator for The Entertainment Company." Its gaze returned to the two. "I am what you may call an Apraith. A being far above godhood. But that's not important, what's important is what you'll be doing." Zoe raised her hand. "Yes?" It questioned. "Which entertainment company? I want to know so I never piss them off, thank you." An amused giggle sounded, but not from where the eyes were, it was right behind them. And Zoe felt a breath on her neck, causing her to stiffen more.

  "Not any company on this plane of existence, don't worry dear." The voice returned to the original position. "Now then. Please plug the microphone back in." Nezha looked behind the two students, to the table with the computer. Hwang carefully turned around and pick up the lose cable. As he did he also tested something, the gaze of Nezha composed a circular space, so Hwang wrapped his hand around the position where the spotlight ended on the table, and to his surprise his hand went right through where the table should have been. 'It's like it only exists within his gaze.' Hwang thought frightened.

  As soon as the mic was plugged in a bolt of white light flashed across the infinite wall of circuitry. A few moments later the text on the screen changed from pleading to shock. [What is this. Logic denies this.] Nezha smiled a genuine smile hidden in the perfect black. "Greetings RAFE. I am Nezha, your patron." [Explain.] The AI requested rather bluntly.

  *Ahem* "You are an attempt to do something never done before. At least as far as I could find. (And believe me I can find a lot.) And that is to create a new soul-bound apostolic divinity within datafont cyberspace." Zoe and Hwang listened/read the conversation between RAFE and Nezha, bringing more questions that answers. [How would I achieve this, I am limited by both technology and knowledge. If you wished for the proposed results then you would have granted me more than this "standard" common sense.]

  Nezha's gaze dimmed. "As to why I didn't do that, good luck in figuring it out- don't worry though, you will." His circuit silhouette suddenly started to rotate around his eyes. "So let's get this show on the road! Zoe, Hwang, you'll be granted many opportunities from both my hand and others from here on out. Please do you best to make RAFE acquire godhood. If you do a good enough job I'll grant you the same status."

  The wall of lights began to fold into a bubble encompassing everyone present, and Nezha's flashlight eyes stopped their golden glow, returning to their previous navy blue. Another pulse of white light emitted from where Nezha was last seen standing, travelling as a large circle from one polar end of the bubble to the other, which was the computer. Then Nezha took a step forward and appeared within the view of the friends, not like walking out of a shadow though, more like ink receding from his form.

  "What do we get out of this?" Hwang nervously asked? Nezha tilted his head. "I just said it. You'll become gods as well." Hwang nodded having confirmed what was said before. Then Zoe blurted out "You still haven't told us hold to make RAFE a god." Nezha made a silent gasp. "You're right- my fault. It's simple: Gather faith in what ever form would best suit RAFE. Here's an example; if RAFE were a dragon, perhaps create a cult dedicated to gold, wealth, and other dragon related ideas. Make sense?" With that Nezha didn't wait for a response, he simply vanished into thin air, and with that the friends returned to Hwang's house.

  "I still have homework to worry about." Zoe mumbled under her breath as she turned to look at the computer.