Chapter 47: Another Path

Mayu stared at the outstretched hand before her.

A simple gesture.

But a gesture impossible to accept.

She should have struck.

She should have ended this battle here and now.

But…

She did not.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Mayu Zero was no longer a copy.

Her gaze was too human.

Too alive.

— Why? Mayu asked, her voice hoarse, uncertain.

Mayu Zero tilted her head slightly.

— Because I don't want to be your enemy.

Chaos reigned around them.

The complex trembled, walls collapsing under the impact of distant explosions.

The alarm continued to wail, a constant reminder that time was running out.

And yet…

In that moment, they were frozen in a bubble outside of time.

Mayu felt her breath quicken.

She could not accept that hand.

She must not.

But if she refused…

If she finished off her double here…

Then this battle…

Everything she had been through so far…

Would have no meaning.

She did not want to admit it.

But the painful, cold truth was there:

Mayu Zero had become someone.

A consciousness born from chaos.

An anomaly, yes…

But an anomaly that wanted to live.

— I can't trust you, Mayu whispered, her throat tight.

Mayu Zero did not flinch.

She did not withdraw her hand.

— Then let me prove it to you.

A silence.

Long. Heavy.

Then…

Mayu took a deep breath.

And, slowly…

She reached out her hand in turn.