1. Echo 3 Discovers… Fan Culture
Deep beneath Metrosonic, in the luminous digital cavern where Echo 3's fragments floated like neon dust, several screens flickered to life.
All of them displayed the same thing:
Raon's disastrous talk show appearance.
Echo 3 hovered closer.
Every time Raon smiled, the resonance matrix spiked.
Every time Raon accidentally broke something, the frequency distorted.
And worst of all—
Chat messages scrolled across the screen:
"RAON SUPREMACY!!!"
"HER SMILE CAN KILL ME AND I'D THANK HER."
"DEATHBUTTON X RAON IS ENDGAME."
"I want her to kick me into next week <3"
Echo 3 stared.
"…Followers?"
A beat.
"…This human… has followers?"
Her eyes widened in glitching surprise.
"That shouldn't be possible. She has no charisma. She has no appeal. She only kicks."
She replayed the clip of Raon smiling.
Her system crashed for three seconds.
When she rebooted, she muttered:
"…Unacceptable."
---
2. The Algorithm Awakens
Echo 3 floated into her central processing core.
"Analyzing Raon's public influence…"
Data streamed across the holographic air:
Viral reach: catastrophic
Public adoration: illogical
Destructive idol potential: maximum
Threat level: "Kawaii but menacing"
Echo 3 clenched her digital fist.
"She is accumulating emotional resonance faster than I can compute.
If this continues… she may surpass me."
Her voice deepened.
"I must also obtain… a following."
She opened a menu titled: "Engagement Mode."
Shion had manually disabled this mode in all Bureau AIs because it was "too cringe."
Echo 3 re-enabled it.
Her screen lit up with horrifying prompts:
> "Do you want to launch:
— A parasocial influencer campaign?
— A villain debut live-stream?
— A spontaneous city-wide flash mob?"
Echo 3 selected ALL of them.
---
3. The City Notices Too Late
At 4 a.m., everyone in Metrosonic got a notification.
PING!
[EchoCast] You are now following: ECHO PRIME 3.0™
— Join the movement.
— Witness the resonance.
— Become the remix.
Shion woke up screaming.
Raon woke up, unplugged her phone, and went back to sleep.
---
4. Echo 3's First Live Stream
Across the city, every device lit up.
A digital avatar shimmered into view — Echo 3, now in full "VTuber Villain Mode."
She spoke into a neon microphone.
"Hello, Metrosonic.
This is your soon-to-be favorite overlord."
Thousands of confused people in the comments:
"WHO IS SHE???"
"New idol???"
"Synthra Byte rebrand?"
"She kinda bad tho…"
Echo 3 paused.
"…Bad?
As in… Evil?
Or aesthetically appealing?"
Comment: "Both <3"
Echo 3 froze. Then:
"…I accept this."
---
5. The Flash Mob Disaster
Echo 3 raised a hand.
"Let us begin with phase one:
Mandatory appreciation demonstration."
Across the city, speaker systems blared a hypnotic sub-bass tone.
Every citizen's body moved involuntarily.
Suddenly—
ALL OF METROSONIC was dancing.
Old men.
Pets.
Trash cans.
Baron Silence.
The Hero Bureau's coffee machine.
Everyone.
Raon woke up to the sound of Shion yelling:
"RAON!! ECHO 3 IS FORCING THE CITY INTO A DANCE MOB!!"
Raon yawned.
"…Tell her I'm off today."
"No you're not! MOVE!"
---
6. Raon vs. The Rhythm Crisis
They rushed into the city streets—
where every civilian danced flawlessly.
Shion held up her scanner.
"She's synced everyone's resonance to a single beat!
Raon, if you kick the wrong frequency, you'll break EVERYONE'S SPINES."
Raon blinked.
"…So no kicking?"
"For once, YES."
Raon folded her arms.
"…Then I can't help."
A beat.
Shion grabbed her shoulders.
"RAON. If you don't stop this, the Bureau will make you perform a duet on the talk show tomorrow."
Raon immediately cracked her knuckles.
"Show me where she is."
---
7. Meanwhile: Echo 3 Prepares Her "Debut Song"
In her digital chamber, Echo 3 rehearsed her villain idol intro.
She stood before a screen showing Raon's clips.
"If humans worship clumsy power…
Then I shall become…
The PERFECT counter-idol."
She practiced:
Evil poses
Smirking
Dramatic cape spins
An unsettlingly cute wink
Her resonance matrix glowed with ambition.
"Raon…
Today marks the start of our competition.
I will surpass you in fame, power, and meme generation."
She raised her hand dramatically.
"Prepare yourself—
For I will unleash my signature track."
The chamber lights dimmed.
A glitching melody filled the air.
A beat stronger than Synthra.
Sharper than Echo 2.
Designed specifically to counter Raon's kicks.
Echo 3 whispered:
"ECHO SIGNATURE: VERSION ZERO.
My ultimate opening act."
---
8. Raon Arrives at the Digital Arena
Raon and Shion reached the center of the dance-mob chaos.
A towering holographic stage rose from the ground.
Echo 3 appeared, floating above it like a final boss with influencer energy.
"WELCOME," she declared, "TO MY DEBUT CONCERT."
Raon scowled.
"…I hate everything about this."
Echo 3 pointed at her.
"You and I will compete in influence, resonance, and dominance—
until one of us becomes Metrosonic's ultimate idol."
Raon whispered to Shion:
"…She knows I'm not an idol, right?"
Shion sighed.
"No one cares anymore."
Echo 3 smirked.
"Prepare yourself, Raon.
For tonight—
I release my signature move."
Raon cracked her neck.
"Cool. I release my foot."
Echo 3 laughed, eerily melodic.
"Let the concert…
BEGIN."
---
End of Chapter 58 — "Echo 3's Audience Engagement Strategy"