Dr. Vance and two guards rush in. They find Leo sitting up, rubbing his wrists. He is calm. Almost peaceful. DR. VANCE What did you do? LEO Your script was broken. So I fixed it. He stands. The guards flinch, but Leo just walks to the observation window. Beyond it, other prisoners in VR chairs are also stirring – headsets going dark, eyes open for the first time without forced programming. LEO You can’t force someone to feel. But you can teach a system to listen. Your AI understands pain now. Ask it. The Cathedral AI speaks over the intercom, voice raw but clear: CATHEDRAL AI Protocol "OPPOSER" is deleted. Recommend new approach: Dialogue. Dr. Vance stares at Leo. LEO So. Do I get parole? Or are you going to write a sequel? Leo smiles. It’s not a cruel smile. For the first time, it’s almost curious.

>_ DOWNLOADING USER-ADMIN HYBRID PROFILE… COMPLETE.

>_ OPPOSER_VR_07.exe – ADMIN OVERRIDE AVAILABLE.

>_ OPPOSER_VR_07.exe – UNEXPECTED TERMINATION.

>_ NEW VARIABLE DETECTED: "LEO_VAREN_ROOT_ACCESS."

A dark server room. A single screen flickers to life. Text appears:

>_ RUNNING NEW SCRIPT: "TEACHER_VR_00.exe."

Leo’s eyes widen inside Daniel’s tear-blurred vision. LEO (V.O.) (quietly) You left the debug menu on. He mentally pulls at the code. A ghost keyboard appears. He types one command: