Chapter 16 : Paradox

The chamber exhaled a cold hiss as the capsule door slid open, releasing a veil of frost into the dimly lit room. The Overseer stood motionless, eyes burning with feverish intensity, watching as the figure emerged from the mist.

Tang Su Ah.

A dark reflection. A twisted mirror of her twin sister, Tang Su Yan.

She moved with slow, deliberate grace—an eerie elegance. Her vacant eyes stared forward, hollow and glassy, as if the soul behind them had long since withered away. Beneath her fragile exterior, the other half of the core pulsed—a shard of raw, malevolent energy fused into her very essence.

His masterpiece.

The hybrids had dragged her to him—broken, battered... a pathetic offering of human flesh. A survivor. A twin. A perfect vessel.

He had shattered her mind piece by agonizing piece. Torture, degradation—an unrelenting symphony of suffering. Each scream, each fractured breath, had stripped her bare, until nothing remained but obedience.

Now she was his.

A blank canvas awaiting his vision.

The shard embedded within her was pure power—untainted, boundless. Where Milena, the codex bound to Tang Su Yan, embodied light and hope… Tang Su Ah had become the antithesis. A vessel of chaos. The shadow to Milena's light.

Balance, in its cruelest form.

The Overseer's lips curled into a twisted smile as he stepped forward. His fingers traced the edge of her pale cheek.

"You are perfect," he whispered, his voice like a caress of steel.

She didn't flinch. Didn't blink.

Her mind belonged to him.

With Tang Su Ah at his command, the world would kneel. Hope would crumble beneath the weight of despair.

And Tang Su Yan—his precious little thorn—would finally break.

The air crackled, a sudden, sharp shift in the usually calm hum of our indoor farm. Milena and I were deep in conversation, planning the next phase of upgrades to our modernized greenhouse, a space she'd helped design, a testament to her incredible abilities. Then, it happened.

A glow, soft but insistent, began to emanate from her. Not a blinding flash, but a steady pulse of light that seemed to resonate with the very fabric of the room. I instinctively stepped back, my hand moving towards the familiar weight of my weapon.

"I feel a new transcendent being," Milena said, her voice low, a tremor of urgency cutting through her usual calm. "The other half of my core… it has acquired a physical body. I don't know how."

The light faded, leaving her bathed in the normal glow of the hydroponic systems. She turned to me, her youthful face etched with a concern that mirrored my own.

"And this transcendent being," she continued, her voice trembling slightly, "has the same… familiarity… as you, Su Yan. It's like… a reflection."

A reflection? My mind raced. The other half of her core. The Overseer. It could only be him. He'd found a way, somehow, to create his own transcendent being, a dark echo of Milena. A chill ran down my spine.

"What do you mean, a reflection?" I asked, my voice tight, trying to keep the fear from creeping in.

"It's like… looking into a mirror," she explained, her eyes searching mine, as if trying to find answers there. "I feel its presence, its energy. It's like… you Su Yan like a twin, but twisted, dark."

Me? Twin ?. The word echoed in my mind, a terrifying concept. He'd created a twin, a dark mirror of Milena, and, according to her, a reflection of me. The implications were horrifying. He's trying to make a copy of me, but twisted, broken, and under his control.

I was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts, the implications of Milena's words swirling around me like a dark storm. A new transcendent being. A reflection. A twin. It didn't make sense, not completely. But a chilling sense of dread settled in my stomach, a gut feeling that refused to be ignored.

This new being, this echo of Milena, felt… connected. Connected to me, to Milena, and to the Overseer. It was a tangled web, a knot of fate that I couldn't yet unravel.

"Connected how?" I asked Milena, my voice barely a whisper. "What do you mean, connected?"

She tilted her head, her eyes searching mine, her expression a mix of confusion and concern. "I don't know exactly," she admitted, her voice soft. "But I feel a… resonance. A shared energy. Like we're all part of something larger."

A shared energy. That was terrifying. The Overseer, Milena, and now this… this thing. We were linked, bound together in a way I didn't understand, but instinctively feared.

"It's like… a triangle," Milena continued, her voice thoughtful. "Three points, connected by lines of energy. We're all part of the same structure."

A triangle. Three points. Me, Milena, and the Overseer. And this new being… it was the third point, the missing piece. The piece the Overseer had created.

I rubbed my temples, trying to clear the fog of confusion. It was too much, too fast. I needed to understand, to make sense of it all.

"The Overseer," I said, my voice tight. "He's behind this, isn't he? He's created this new being."

Milena nodded slowly, her eyes filled with a deep, unsettling sadness. "I believe so," she said. "He's trying to replicate my abilities, to create his own weapon."

A weapon. A weapon with a familiar energy, a reflection of me. He was trying to create a twisted version of Milena, and of me. A weapon to counter us, to destroy us. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. We must prepare. This is not good.

Near the skeletal remains of a once-bustling metropolis, a scene of carnage unfolded. A caravan, laden with supplies and materials destined for a neighboring fortress, lay in ruins. Twisted metal and scattered cargo littered the desolate landscape. The attackers, swift and brutal, had left no survivors, save for those who had fled in terror.

The survivors, their faces etched with fear and disbelief, recounted their harrowing experience to their leader. They spoke of a figure, a woman of terrifying power, who had descended upon them like a vengeful specter. They described her movements as a blur, her attacks as devastating, her eyes as cold and merciless. And, most importantly, they identified her as Tang Su Yan.

The leader of the neighboring fortress, a grizzled veteran named Markus, listened to their reports with a growing sense of anger and betrayal. He had considered Tang Su Yan an ally, a beacon of hope in a world consumed by chaos. Now, it seemed, she had turned on them, attacking their supply lines, jeopardizing their survival.

Markus, fueled by a mixture of outrage and desperation, decided to confront Tang Su Yan directly. He gathered a small contingent of his most trusted warriors and set off for her fortress, determined to demand answers and seek retribution. He would go to Su Yan fortress to complaint and protest. He would not stand for this.

I was enjoying a rare moment of peace on my terrace balcony, the cool evening breeze a welcome respite from the day's relentless demands. Then, Mochi's insistent knock shattered the tranquility.

"Boss," she said, her voice tight with tension, "the leader of the Black Grizzlies Fortress, Markus, wants an audience with you. He seems… angry. And pissed. Also, their supply caravan, the one they bought from us, was attacked the other night."

My stomach clenched. Markus? Angry? That was… concerning. We had a good relationship, a mutual understanding. An attack on their caravan, especially one carrying supplies from us, was even more troubling.

"Bring him in," I said, my voice calm, though my mind raced. "And Mochi, have the security team on standby, but keep them out of sight."

I stood, the quiet moment of reflection replaced with a surge of adrenaline.

Something was very wrong. And I had a feeling it was connected to Milena's unsettling revelation about the new transcendent.

Markus stood in the reception area, his broad frame radiating an almost palpable anger. His weathered face, usually etched with a gruff friendliness, was now a mask of fury. His eyes, narrowed and hard, bored into mine.

"Su Yan," he began, his voice a low growl, "what is the meaning of this? My team, who were supposed to deliver the goods I purchased from you to my neighboring fortress, were attacked and killed. A few survivors returned and informed me the attacker was you. Do you have an explanation for this?"

His words hung in the air, heavy with accusation. I met his gaze, my own expression calm and steady, though a knot of anxiety tightened in my stomach.

"Markus," I said, my voice even, "I understand your anger, but I assure you, I had nothing to do with the attack on your caravan."

"Nothing to do with it?" he scoffed, his voice rising. "My people saw you! They recognized you!"

"Markus," I said, my voice steady, "I understand your anger, and I want to help clear this up. I assure you, I was here, inside the fortress, during the entire time your caravan was attacked."

His eyes narrowed, skepticism etched into the lines of his face. "Then who was it?" he demanded, his voice laced with suspicion. "Someone who looks exactly like you?"

"I understand your doubt," I replied, maintaining a calm demeanor. "But I can prove I was here." I gestured to Mochi, who quickly brought up the fortress's CCTV system on a nearby screen. "Let's review the footage."

The screen flickered to life, displaying a series of time-stamped recordings. We scrolled through the hours, showing Markus footage of me in various locations within the fortress: in the monitoring room, overseeing training sessions, in the greenhouse with Milena, even having a quiet meal in my personal quarters.

"As you can see," I said, pointing to the timestamps, "I was here, within the fortress walls, the entire day and night. There is no possibility I could have attacked your caravan."

Markus watched the footage intently, his expression slowly shifting from anger to confusion. He scrutinized every frame, searching for any sign of deception. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh, the tension draining from his shoulders.

"This… this is confusing," he admitted, his voice laced with bewilderment. "If it wasn't you, then who…?"

"That's what I intend to find out," I said, my voice firm. "Someone is impersonating me, and I won't let them get away with it. We will investigate this together. We will find out who did this."