로그인The lights went out.Elena stood perfectly still.She could hear Adrian breathing beside her.She could hear the faint hum of machines.And somewhere in the darkness, someone was laughing.Not loudly.Not wildly.It was a quiet laugh.Almost childish.Elena stared into the darkness."Turn the lights back on."Her grandfather's voice came from somewhere ahead."You always hated the dark."Elena's hands curled into fists."Stop playing games."A click sounded.The lights returned.The young girl was still inside the glass chamber.She looked exactly like Elena.Not similar.Exactly.Same face.Same lips.Same small scar above her eyebrow.Even the tiny mark on her left wrist was there.Elena slowly raised her hand.The girl did the same.They stared at each other."Who is she?" Adrian asked.Elena couldn't answer.Her grandfather did."She is you.""No.""She is the version of you that never died."Elena's eyes widened."What?"Her grandfather walked closer to the chamber."Twenty years
Elena woke with a sharp breath.For several seconds, she couldn't move.She stared at the ceiling, trying to understand where she was.Then she remembered.Her mother.Her grandfather.The white room.The impossible truth.Her grandfather was alive.Elena sat up."Where am I?"Adrian's voice came from beside her."Back in the city."She turned.He was sitting on the floor against the wall, one hand pressed against his temple.The source stood several feet away.Seraphine was nowhere to be seen.Elena looked around."What happened?"Adrian gave a tired laugh."That's what I've been trying to figure out."Elena slowly stood."Where is Seraphine?""Gone.""What?""She disappeared when the network collapsed."Elena frowned."Did she escape?""I don't know."Elena looked at the source."What about Origin?"The source lowered its head."Trapped.""Where?""Inside the network."Elena exhaled."Then it's over.""No."The source looked at her."Not yet."Elena's expression tightened."Why?""B
The lights went out.Complete darkness swallowed the chamber.For several seconds, Elena couldn't see anything.She couldn't even see Adrian."Adrian?""I'm here."His hand found hers.She held it tightly.The creature's voice echoed through the darkness."Your death was not an accident."Elena's breathing became uneven."Then tell me what happened."A low laugh came from somewhere beneath them."You still demand answers.""I deserve them.""You deserve nothing."Adrian stepped forward."Don't talk to her like that."The creature laughed."And you."Adrian froze."You are the copy that was never meant to survive."Elena's fingers tightened around his."What does that mean?"The creature remained silent.Then the lights returned.Elena looked up.The creature was enormous.Its body seemed to be made from silver metal and something living beneath it.Long strands of light moved beneath its surface like veins.Its face was almost human.Almost.But its eyes were completely silver.Seraph
Elena screamed.The memories came back all at once.Not gently.Not like pieces of a puzzle finally falling into place.They crashed into her mind like a storm.Her childhood.Her brother.Blackridge.The experiments.The source.Her death.And everything that had happened between those moments.She dropped to her knees."Elena!"Adrian rushed toward her.But before he could reach her, a force pushed him backward.He slammed against the wall."Adrian!""I'm okay!"He struggled to stand.Seraphine watched Elena without moving.Her silver eyes glowed in the darkness."Remember."Elena covered her ears."Stop!""You wanted the truth.""I don't want it like this!""You cannot control truth."Another memory struck her.She was twenty years old.Standing inside the original Blackridge laboratory.Her grandfather was shouting."You don't understand what you've created!"Young Elena turned toward him."No. You don't understand what I've discovered.""You've endangered everyone.""I discovered
The ground moved beneath Elena's feet.Not a small tremor.Not the kind that could be mistaken for an old building settling.This was different.The entire underground city seemed to breathe.Stone cracked.Metal screamed.Dust fell from the ceiling.And beneath everything came a slow, rhythmic sound.Boom.Boom.Boom.Like a heartbeat.Elena stood frozen.Adrian grabbed her arm."Elena, we need to go."She didn't move.Her eyes remained fixed on the enormous red eye glowing beneath the floor."I can't.""Why?""Because it's connected to me."Adrian's expression tightened."That's exactly why we need to leave.""If I run, it follows."Another violent tremor shook the city.Several soldiers fell to the ground.The second network was reacting to something beneath them.Elena could feel it.Not through her ears.Through her mind.Something was waking up.Something that had been sleeping for years.Something that knew her.A voice whispered inside her head.You opened the door.Elena clos
Elena did not move.Hundreds of armed figures stood beyond the open gates.Their weapons were raised.Their faces were hidden behind black masks.And every single mask carried the same broken-circle symbol.The woman standing at the center smiled as though she had walked into a meeting rather than an underground city filled with frightened people."Hello, Elena."Elena's fingers tightened around Adrian's hand."Who are you?"The woman tilted her head."You really don't remember me?""No.""Of course you don't."She took a slow step forward."Your memories were never meant to survive."Elena felt a chill run through her."Then tell me your name."The woman smiled."Dr. Seraphine Vale."The name struck something inside Elena.A flash.A laboratory.A woman in a white coat.A hand placing a silver device against Elena's temple.A voice saying:"Don't fight the memory."Elena stumbled backward.Adrian caught her."Elena?"She pressed a hand against her forehead."I know her."Seraphine's







