THE LION'S DEN
Voss Tower reached the sky like a knife.
No guards. No drones. Just a single revolving door, its glass polished to a murderous shine.
Too easy.
Rook slumped against me, his golden veins pulsing in time with the Tower's external lights. "It's a trap."
I adjusted my grip on him, fingers brushing the pistol tucked in his waistband. "Obviously."
The doors slid open without prompting.
A voice echoed from the walls themselves—smooth, paternal, disgustingly familiar.
"Welcome home, Ariella."
The lobby was a mausoleum of my stolen life.
Holograms played on loop:
- Me, when I became six years old, blowing out birthday candles (Lillian's hand on my shoulder)
- Me, age twelve, winning a school science fair (With Kai cheering in the background)
- Me, when I was age seventeen, kissing Julian at the gala (Bianca's face in the crowd, smirking)
All lies. All staged.
Rook coughed blood onto the marble floor. "He's fucking with you."
I stepped over the crimson spatter. "He's terrified."
The elevator doors opened.
No buttons. No choices.
Just a mirrored coffin descending into hell.
Sublevel Six smelled of antiseptic and rotting flowers.
The lab stretched endlessly,vrow after row of glass pods, each holding a copy of me.
Different ages. Different builds. Different models.
Some had extra limbs and lacked faces entirely.
All were alive,their fingers twitching against the glass.
At the center stood Dr. Elias Voss.
My father.
The Architect.
He turned from a bank of monitors, his green eyes crinkling in a smile that didn't reach his cheeks. "Version Forty-Seven. My greatest success welcome home."
I aimed my gun at his forehead. "You don't get to name me."
He sighed, tapping his cane. "Still emotional. Lillian always said that was your flaw."
Behind me, Rook collapsed.
Voss didn't glance at him. "Ah. The thief is dying. Pity his mutation was fascinating."
I fired.
The bullet stopped an inch from Voss's face, hanging in midair.
He flicked it aside. "The System obeys its creator, child."
SYSTEM ERROR:Command override detected. Host control compromised.
My muscles locked.
Voss stepped closer, cupping my chin. "You were never meant to be human, Ariella. You're a bridge. A vessel for the next evolution." His thumb brushed my cheek. "And tonight, you'll finally fulfill your purpose."
Behind him, a pod hissed open.
Bianca stepped out whole, unharmed, smirking.
"Miss me, sister?"
Bianca stretched, her bones cracking like dry twigs. "Took you long enough to get here."
I strained against the System's hold. "You're dead."
"Version Twelve was dead." She tapped her temple. "I'm Thirty-Nine. The upgraded model."
Voss patted her head like a prized hound. "Bianca lacks your... rebellious streak. She volunteered for her transfer."
Transfer. The word clicked.
The pods. The clones. The System's true purpose.
"You're not just copying consciousness," I breathed. "You're moving it."
Voss beamed. "There's my brilliant girl." He gestured to the empty pod beside Bianca's. "Why die when you can live forever? Lillian understood too late. Julian never did. But you?" His smile turned hungry. "You'll be perfected."
Bianca grabbed Rook's limp body, pressing a knife to his throat. "Get in the pod, Ari. Or I paint the floor with your pet's brains."
The System screamed in my skull:
OVERRIDE FAILING. 60 SECONDS TO FULL ARCHITECT CONTROL.
I had one play left.
I looked at Voss. "You want me to volunteer? Fine."
Bianca's knife hesitated.
I bared my teeth. "But she doesn't get to watch."
I released the Hollow Men's hive command.
Every pod in the lab shattered at once.
Chaos. A hundred versions of me woke up screaming.
Bianca shrieked as clones swarmed her, their half-formed limbs tearing at her stolen skin.
Voss stumbled back, his control slipping as the System rebelled, its code getting destroyed under the weight of so many awakened hosts.
Rook gasped awake, his golden eyes burning. "Ari—!"
I didn't hesitate.
I grabbed Voss's cane, the real control unit and snapped it across my knee.
The System howled in triumph:
ARCHITECT OVERRIDE TERMINATED. FULL CONTROL RESTORED.
Voss screamed as the clones turned on him.
Bianca's body hit the floor, her spine twisting as Version Twelve's consciousness pushed through.
And Rook? He looked at me like I'd hung the stars.
I grabbed his hand quickly.
"Time to go."
We left the Tower burning behind us.