”Phase 3: The Path of Solitude – Neo & Nia’s Illusion”

Neo and Nia looked at each other.

Their eyes rested on the capsule.

They had to go back – to the place where there was no more hiding.

Nia took a deep breath. "We have to do this." Her voice remained steady, but in her eyes, something flickered – a mix of fear and determination.

Neo let his fingers glide over the cold surface. "Yes. A debt that must be settled."

Selene stepped closer, her gaze relentless. "Your mind will be tested. You must accept the truth if you want to survive."

Nia lifted her chin. "Then let's see if the truth can still kill us."

Then Neo's gaze fell on the control panel. A slight furrow of his brow.

"There is only one capsule."

Silence.

Selene's gaze moved from the system to the twins. "The system is designed for one person. If you both want to enter, there is a risk."

Neo fixed his eyes on her. "We share everything. Even this."

Nia nodded. "Find a way."

Selene placed a hand on the control panel. A quiet breath, then her resonance flowed into the system. The hum of the machines changed.

"I can split the connection, but it will be more intense. Your thoughts could merge. If you are not in sync… one of you might get trapped in the illusion."

Neo smirked slightly. "We have always been in sync."

Nia closed her eyes and stepped into the capsule. Neo followed her.

The water surrounded them both.

The machine vibrated – and began.

Born in Darkness – The First Memories

He was small.

Too small to understand what was happening.

Neo felt his mother's heartbeat against his back as she held him tightly. Nia lay beside him, just as afraid.

Outside, heavy boots echoed across the floor.

Then came the voice. Cold. Mechanical. Merciless.

"Your children – or your life."

His mother sobbed, but her arms around him and Nia did not loosen. His father stood between them and the men in black armor.

"Take us, but not them!"

The soldiers laughed.

Then the first shot rang out.

Neo screamed as his father's blood splattered onto him. Nia clung to him.

His mother was torn away.

Then came the knife.

Her warm gaze met his one last time before the life faded from her eyes.

No final words.

Only the metallic grip at his neck as the soldiers seized him.

And the light of the Upper City opening above them.

Reeducation – The End of Identity

"The Upper City is just."

"The Slums are filth."

"Your existence serves the city."

Again and again, the voices echoed in their heads.

Neo felt electricity surge through his veins when he refused to repeat the words.

"Wrong."

Another shock.

Another scream.

Nia learned faster. She spoke the words to escape the pain.

They had no names anymore. Only numbers.

Their memories were shattered – erased and replaced.

All that remained was the truth the Kryntors had implanted in them.

They were tools. Not humans.

Children of the Shadows – The Hunt for Resonance Bearers

They were trained.

They were shaped.

They were sent into the slums and other areas of Prime Eden.

Neo and Nia became perfect hunters.

Their mission: Find people with strong resonance and deliver them to the Upper City.

"You are saving them," the Kryntors said. "You are preserving balance."

They believed it.

Until that day.

The Day the Truth Shattered

They found the child among the ruins of an old chapel.

It looked at them – with fear, but also with something else.

With knowledge.

"Neo. Nia. Don't you recognize me? It's me, Deita."

A word.

A name they did not know – but it felt like a blade piercing their hearts.

Something tore open inside them.

Memories that should not exist.

Memories they thought had long been lost.

Then they saw the truth.

They no longer saw the glowing towers of the Upper City.

They saw the bloodstained hands.

They no longer saw the heroes they were supposed to be.

They saw the monsters they had become.

"We didn't save them."

"We delivered them."

Because of us, they became slaves.

Test subjects.

The dead.

And the child?

It pleaded with them.

But it was too late.

The Kryntors had already caught up to them.

Betrayal – The Fall from the Sky

"You are defective."

"Your existence has no more value."

"You will be erased here and now."

Their commanders had made their decision.

The Kryntors already had new hunters.

Younger. More obedient. Better.

Neo and Nia were no longer tools.

They were disposable.

Without hesitation, their execution was ordered.

But they fought.

They ran.

They fell.

Wind tore at their bodies as the towers of the Upper City disappeared behind them.

And then – impact.

Pain. Dust. Darkness.

The slums had taken them back.

But not as victims.

As outcasts.

Return to Reality

Neo's eyes snapped open.

His body still trembled, his heart raced. Beside him, Nia gasped, her fingers digging into the metal of the capsule.

Their past had almost swallowed them whole.

But this time, they had chosen to face it.

Silence.

Stella: "Well… that was not what I expected." Her gaze was thoughtful.

Kirah: "You… lived through it." Her voice was quiet, almost reverent. "You broke through your illusions."

Kyro nodded slowly. "It is hard to face it. But you did it."

Rex smirked. "Not for the faint of heart. Welcome to the club."

Ezryel leaned against the wall. "I wouldn't have thought it possible, but… you're still standing. Maybe you're tougher than I expected."

Liebe lowered his head slightly. His voice was calm but firm. "No matter what happened… you survived. Now you decide who you are."

Selene stepped closer. Her gaze rested on Neo & Nia for a long moment before she spoke quietly:

"You have faced your truth. Now, only one question remains: Are you ready to live with it?"

Neo and Nia looked at each other.

"Yes.

Their past had almost swallowed them.

But this time, it was they who chose to face it.