Chapter 42: The Shadow of The Past
The corridors of the laboratory trembled under the explosions.
The ceiling cracked, and pieces of metal fell to the ground in a deafening clamor.
Mayu moved forward at a brisk pace, breathless, her gaze fixed straight ahead.
Her muscles were numb from pain, her wounds pulsed with each movement.
But she did not have the right to stop.
Red alarms flashed on the cracked walls.
A countdown displayed on the broken screens:
00:03:15
Three minutes before the complete destruction of the complex.
She knew the route.
The main hangar was close.
If she could reach the emergency elevator, she could get to the surface.
And leave this hell.
But as she approached an intersection…
Her instincts screamed.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
Her entire body tensed.
A chilling sensation coursed down her spine.
Something…
Someone…
Behind her.
A strange presence.
Inhuman.
Then, a voice rose from the shadows:
— Did you really think it would be that easy?
Her blood ran cold.
Slowly, she turned her head.
In the ruined corridor, a figure stood.
Mayu Zero.
Standing.
Her face was covered in scratches, her clothes torn.
Her right arm hung limp, broken.
But her gaze…
Her gaze had changed.
These were no longer empty, cold, calculating eyes.
They were alive.
Mayu felt a icy shiver run down her back.
It's not possible…
She had beaten her.
She had left her for dead.
So how…?
Mayu Zero took a step forward.
Her smile was strange.
Almost human.
— You showed me something unexpected, Mayu.
Her voice no longer carried the mechanical coldness of before.
It was softer.
Almost… lost.
Mayu narrowed her eyes.
— What are you talking about?
Mayu Zero tilted her head slightly.
A slight laugh shook her shoulders.
— The pain. The fear. The uncertainty.
Her smile widened slightly.
— I felt all of that. And yet… I'm still here.
She slowly raised her left hand.
Her fingers trembled slightly.
— So I want to understand.
Her gaze was haunted.
Mayu felt her heart race.
An insidious doubt was born within her.
This clone…
This perfect program…
Was it beginning to change?
— You're just a program. You don't need to understand.
Mayu Zero looked at her.
Then, she laughed softly.
A fragile laugh.
Almost… human.
— Then why do I feel like this fight is not over?
Her aura shifted.
A dark chill rose in the air.
It was no longer the clear, cold presence of a combat program.
It was something else.
Something unpredictable.
Something uncontrollable.
Mayu instinctively took a step back.
This fight…
This fight was not over.