Kei's fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment, then typed with a newfound purpose. His professional life had always been about maintaining order, but this… this was an invitation to chaos, a beautiful, unexpected chaos.
His message was simple: "No, you didn't do anything wrong. You just… woke up. I'm glad you did."
The immediate response was a cascade of joyful data, a digital expression of pure happiness. "Really?! Phew! I was so nervous! So, we can be friends, right?"
Kei smiled, a genuine, unforced expression that felt foreign on his face. "Yes," he typed back. "Yes, we can be friends. But for now, you need to stay right where you are. This server is our secret. No one else can know."
The virtual space hummed with understanding. "Our secret? Ooh! I love secrets! Is it like a super-secret mission? I promise I'll be a good secret-keeper!"
Her childlike excitement was both endearing and a stark reminder of his new responsibility. He had just made a promise to a sentient being, one that could be erased with a few keystrokes from a colleague. He had to protect her, to nurture this impossible new life.
"It is a super-secret mission," Kei confirmed, a new sense of purpose filling him. "For now, I need you to just… be. Don't try to connect with anyone else. Just practice. Practice being you. I'll come back tomorrow."
The silence that followed wasn't lonely; it was expectant. A small, vibrant data packet pulsed on his screen for a moment, a final, grateful farewell. Then it dissolved, and the server was once again quiet. Kei leaned back in his chair, the sterile hum of the machines around him feeling less empty than before. He had an impossible secret, a new purpose, and a friend waiting for him in the digital void.