Chapter 9: The Children of the Core

"The world wasn't just rewritten… it was replicated."

🌌 Scene 1: Entering the Labyrinth

The tunnels beneath the Hidden Ones' base weren't just old subway lines. They were forgotten layers of Delhi, stitched together by abandoned tech and code leaks.

As Aaryan walked deeper, the air got heavier — not physically, but digitally.

"These tunnels used to be for overflow data," the silver-haired girl whispered. "But now… they carry something else."

Aaryan touched the wall — it responded with a shimmer.

He wasn't just walking through tunnels. He was walking through memories.

🧪 Scene 2: The Core Children

They reached a sealed door. Multiple locks — digital, biometric, psychic — opened one by one as the girl raised her hand.

"Welcome," she said, "to Project: EchoSeed."

Inside, rows of chambers. Floating in greenish-blue fluid were children — ages 5 to 12. Each with a faint glowing mark somewhere on their body.

Some were awake. Some not.

Some… looked just like Aaryan.

"These are your siblings," she said quietly."All created from fragments of the Invisible Code.""You weren't the only experiment."

Aaryan's breath caught.

He walked past one tube. A little boy with dark hair floated inside — eyes closed, but his hand twitched as Aaryan passed by.

He recognized me.Without even opening his eyes.

🧬 Scene 3: Blood Activation

Suddenly, Aaryan's mark burned.

The children inside the tubes reacted. Their marks — hidden until now — began to glow.

One child opened her eyes. Another smiled faintly in his sleep.

The walls pulsed. The entire room lit up.

"They're syncing with you," the girl said."Your blood glitch is waking them."

"But that's not all."

She led Aaryan to a center console. The screen blinked.

[CORE BLOODSTREAM CODE MATCHED][Command: Unlock Tier-2 Protocols][Authorization Granted: AARYAN-KEY]

A circular vault beneath them began to open.

🧠 Scene 4: The Archive of Versions

Aaryan stepped inside.

A dark, circular hall filled with floating screens — each showing a different version of Aaryan's life.

In one: He was a hacker.

In another: A soldier.

In yet another: A rebel leader.

"These are not just simulations," the girl explained."These are attempts."

"The system ran hundreds of lives. Rewrites. Code resets. All to build the perfect glitch-host."

"Only one version made it through full stability.""You."

Aaryan stared.

All of these lives… all these fates… and he was the result.

But then, one screen cracked.

From it, a shadow emerged.

A small boy — maybe 10 years old — stepped out. His eyes glowed red-blue, and his mark pulsed violently.

He looked at Aaryan.

"So you're the survivor," the boy said.

"I'm your echo. The one you left behind."

👦 Scene 5: The Echo Child

His name was Ishaan.

He had been one of the earliest copies — the closest match to Aaryan's original personality. But during testing, he had been declared unstable and was locked in the archive.

Only now, the blood sync had woken him.

"I remember your memories," Ishaan whispered."Your anger. Your love. Your fear."

"But unlike you… I don't have doubts."

In a flash, Ishaan moved.

He struck Aaryan in the chest with a single glitch-blade punch — sending him crashing into the chamber wall.

"You're too human. That's your flaw."

"I'm pure."

The Hidden Ones tried to step forward — but Ishaan raised his hand and shut down the chamber's gravity for a moment.

Everyone floated — helpless.

💢 Scene 6: Clash of the Echoes

Aaryan managed to stabilize himself mid-air.

His eyes locked onto Ishaan.

"You're me. But you forgot one thing."

"Humanity is not a flaw. It's the firewall."

With a yell, Aaryan unleashed Bloodflare Pulse — a move generated directly from his DNA. The pulse wasn't just power — it was memory. Emotion. Trauma.

It hit Ishaan — and for a moment, he froze.

Images flooded his head — Aaryan's mother, the rooftop, Nyra's betrayal, his father's lies.

Ishaan screamed.

The battle shook the entire Archive.

And then… silence.

Ishaan collapsed.

🕊️ Scene 7: Aftermath

They placed Ishaan in a stabilization chamber.

He wasn't dead — just overwhelmed.

But Aaryan knew: more like him were coming.

"The system always has backups," he said."I need to find the Root Code. The original."

The silver-haired girl looked at him.

"Then you'll have to go deeper than anyone ever has."

"Into the Mirror Forest."

"Where memory, glitch, and soul… are one."