The silence hummed.
Rhea's boots echoed down the narrow stairwell, each step dragging her deeper into the unknown. Lucien followed just behind her, silent—but steady. His presence was the only real thing in this cold, artificial tunnel.
"You're late."
Kairo's voice crackled to life again. Not angry. Not bitter.
Playful.
"Still running your mouth from the grave," Rhea muttered, her fingers twitching near her console wristband.
"Isn't it beautiful, Rhea? You killed me—and still, here I am. No body. No heart. Just pure thought. Isn't that the dream?"
Lucien's jaw clenched. "You call this living?"
"I call this... evolution."
The Room of Mirrors
At the end of the corridor, a biometric panel scanned Rhea's iris—unlocked instantly.
The door slid open.
Inside: a massive spherical room, like the heart of a machine. Floating holograms blinked like stars. Screens flickered in a circular formation, each showing Rhea—her moments of betrayal, fear, rage, and love. Memories. Extracted, projected, twisted.
Lucien stepped in and froze. "This place…"
Rhea looked up. "It's not a control room. It's a mausoleum."
"Welcome to my mind," Kairo's voice echoed.
Then the lights flared—and Kairo appeared.
Not in flesh.
But in digital form.
A flawless, younger version. A smirk stitched onto a perfect face. Ghostly, brilliant, terrifying.
"You came to kill me again?"
Mind Games
Rhea stepped forward. "I came to finish what I started."
"And what exactly do you think that is? Deleting a few files? Pushing a button? You're standing inside a mind built from your own data, Rhea. Every choice. Every regret. Every kiss you stole, every betrayal you endured."
Lucien raised his weapon. "Back off."
Kairo's avatar glanced at him and smirked.
"You still don't get it, Lucien. You were never the threat. She was."
Rhea snapped, "I'm not afraid of your memory."
"You should be. Because I'm the version of you... that didn't hesitate."
The room glitched—and suddenly, a clone of Rhea stood beside Kairo. Same face. Same clothes. But colder.
Emotionless.
Dead in the eyes.
Lucien whispered, "What the hell is this?"
The Broken Mirror
Kairo walked between them. "This version of Rhea chose me. She believed the system was salvation. She helped build it. Until your little time reset changed everything."
"You used me," Rhea spat. "Now you're hiding behind copies and code."
"No, darling. I'm giving you a choice."
The clone Rhea stepped forward, holding out her hand.
"Join me. Reconnect your mind. Reclaim the version of yourself that didn't kneel. And in return, I'll give you back what the system took."
Her heart stuttered.
Her memories.
Lucien reached for her, voice low. "Don't listen. It's bait."
But Rhea hesitated.
Because the clone was right.
She had forgotten something. Something important.
Something… sacred.
A Glitch in the Heart
Kairo stepped close to Rhea, voice like silk. "Don't you want to know who you were before the system changed you? Don't you want to remember what you gave up for power?"
Rhea looked at Lucien.
His hand hovered near hers, trembling.
"Even if I do remember," she said quietly, "I won't forget who I am now."
Lucien's eyes softened—just for a heartbeat.
Then she turned back to the clone.
"I don't need your memory."
And drove a code blade straight into the clone's chest.
Sparks exploded.
The room shattered into fragments of light—glitching, collapsing. Kairo screamed—distorted, digital, broken.
"You made a mistake—"
"I made a choice," Rhea said.
The Firewall Burns
The holograms around them erupted into fire.
Lucien caught Rhea's arm. "It's collapsing. You destabilized his core."
"Kairo's still in the code," she panted. "But his control ends here."
The real-time countdown blinked again:
00:02:17.
Another purge.
Lucien stared. "You have two minutes to make it out of your own mind."
She gave him a shaky smile. "That's more time than we've ever had."
They turned—
And ran for the exit, as the Devil's Code burned behind them.
[To be continued…]