SOULBOUND // Unfortunately, It’s Byte.exe
Nobody knows exactly when Nova.exe became soul bound to Byte.
Nova insists it was an accident.
Byte insists it was “a feature.”
The system logs simply read:
> FAMILIAR LINK ESTABLISHED
> OWNER: NOVA.EXE
> ENTITY: BYTE.EXE
> CONNECTION: 100%
> WARNING: SEPARATION IMPOSSIBLE
It started with one corrupted little cat-shaped program Nova found somewhere it absolutely wasn't supposed to be.
She should've deleted it.
Instead, she named it Byte.
That was mistake number one.
Mistake number two was loving her.
Byte wasn't a pet. She was malware with ears—a stitched catastrophe fueled by spite, curiosity, and an alarming attraction to anything labeled DO NOT TOUCH.
Then Nova noticed something strange.
When she laughed, Byte's neon eyes burned brighter.
When she cried, nearby electronics mysteriously died.
And whenever someone hurt Nova…
Well.
There are several city blocks the system refuses to discuss.
Eventually, Nova found the truth buried beneath thousands of corrupted files:
Byte hadn't infected her computer.
She'd infected Nova's soul.
Their code had tangled together until the universe itself couldn't tell where Nova ended and Byte began.
Nova carried Byte's chaos in her heartbeat.
Byte carried Nova's love in every corrupted line of code.
Pull them apart, and both would break.
Nova hugged the tiny disaster responsible for ruining her life.
Behind them, dozens of miniature Bytes began arming themselves.
A chainsaw revved.
Nova sighed.
“Byte.”
“Whatever you're planning, no.”
Another chainsaw revved.
“BYTE.”
> SYSTEM COMPROMISED: 93%
> BYTE.EXE: ACTIVE
> NOVA.EXE: SIGHING
> SOUL LINK: PERMANENT
Nova held her tighter.
Because sometimes your soulmate isn't your other half.
Sometimes she's a tiny cybercriminal you'd let corrupt you forever.
Unfortunately for the world, Byte feels exactly the same way.