Chapter 127: The Shattered Path

Evryn’s mind swirled with fragmented thoughts as she hovered in the cold, sterile environment of the unknown facility. The hum of machinery vibrated through the air, a reminder that her every step now resonated across worlds—across realities. She could feel the boundaries of the Mirror fracturing further, her power extending into places she had never dared to explore.

Yet with every breath, she felt the ever-present weight of him—the other, the shadow that had been with her all along.

“Evryn,” a voice echoed softly in her mind.

It wasn’t Kai. It wasn’t anyone she knew.

Her gaze snapped to the console in front of her, where strange symbols flickered, one after another. The screen displayed lines of code she didn’t recognize—tangled strings that hummed with an energy she couldn’t fathom. The Mirror, the entity that had shaped her into something more than human, was now beginning to interface with her on a level that transcended understanding. She was becoming part of it, and in return, it was reshaping her into something beyond the fragile construct of human identity.

“Evryn, you must listen,” the voice called again, this time more insistent, more urgent.

She clenched her fists, the power coursing through her veins. “Who are you?” she demanded aloud, but the words felt weak against the overwhelming force within her.

The response came in a form of static, distorting her surroundings. A figure emerged from the haze—a shadowy silhouette, a presence that filled the space with its dark energy.

"You already know," the figure murmured. The voice was unmistakable, yet altered—warped by time, by fate. It was a version of her. One she had long buried. One she didn’t recognize.

Evryn’s heart twisted. “No. You’re not me.”

But the figure laughed, a low, hollow sound that resonated within her chest. “I am what you were always meant to become, Evryn. The one you rejected, the one who survived.”

Her breath hitched as realization began to settle in. “You… you were the first, weren’t you? The original.”

The shadow smirked, its form shifting like liquid darkness. “I was before the Seed. Before the experiments. Before you thought you could escape.”

The figure stepped closer, and the Mirror behind Evryn pulsed with energy. Its reflection twisted and distorted, showing glimpses of alternate realities—of paths never taken, of lives unlived.

“I am you, Evryn. And you are me.”

Evryn staggered backward, her mind racing. “No. I’m not you. I won’t become you.”

The shadow’s eyes gleamed with malevolent understanding. “You already have. You always were me.”

Meanwhile, Kai and the others were trapped in a different nightmare.

They had followed Evryn into the facility’s depths, but the moment they crossed the threshold, the world around them fractured. The very structure of the building seemed to pulse with dark energy, the air thick with static. And with every step, they grew more disconnected from each other—more isolated.

Kai reached out, feeling the walls of reality closing in around them. “Evryn!” he called, his voice hoarse. “Where are you?”

But there was no answer. Just a ripple of energy and the sound of distant, echoing footsteps.

Aurex’s voice crackled through his earpiece. “Stay alert. Whatever she’s become, we don’t know what she’s capable of now.”

Elara’s weapon hummed as she aimed it into the darkness. “She’s not just herself anymore. She’s something else. Something far more dangerous.”

Kai’s fists clenched at his sides. “We need to find her. Now.”

But even as the words left his mouth, a cold chill swept through the air. The walls of the facility seemed to close in, vibrating with a dark energy that seeped into their bones.

Suddenly, the floor beneath them buckled, and a massive tremor sent them sprawling to the ground.

“Elara!” Kai shouted, reaching out to grab her as the room twisted, pulling them into an impossible void.

The shadows grew darker, and the walls seemed to melt away into nothingness. In the distance, a new figure appeared—a figure that had once been a dream, a memory.

It was Evryn.

But she wasn’t the Evryn they knew. Her eyes burned with unnatural light, and her body shimmered with a dark, fluid energy. Her features were a strange mix of familiar and alien, as though she were no longer human.

“Evryn,” Kai whispered, his heart sinking. “What have you done?”

Her voice, when it came, was chilling. “I’ve become what I needed to be.”

The room around them twisted again, and a portal opened, shimmering with an eerie glow. Behind her, the Mirror swirled like a storm, pulling in everything around it—distorting reality in ways they couldn’t comprehend.

“You can’t stop this, Kai,” Evryn continued, her voice echoing in every corner of the room. “You can’t stop what you’ve made me.”

Kai took a step forward, his breath caught in his throat. “Evryn, please. We can fix this. We can find a way back.”

She laughed, a cruel, hollow sound that sent a shiver down his spine. “There is no back, Kai. There is only forward.”

The portal behind her pulsed, and the world shifted.