"It's not just your past they copied, Damien. They simulated your soul."
Location: Nowhere. Everywhere.Codename: The Sovereign Net
They told legends of digital ghosts — fragments of minds once human, now roaming fractured networks, breaking encryption like whispers through glass.
Damien had heard those stories.
But he never thought he would be one of them.
Inside Vault Z3, the Ella clone lay unconscious in a stabilizing loop. Mara stayed behind to protect her, reluctantly letting Damien and Asher access the vault's most dangerous artifact:
The Sovereign Echo.
A quantum-mapped neural environment modeled on Damien's cognitive signature, copied from old interrogation footage, rebel psych-profiles, and satellite synaptic recordings.
They didn't just model what Damien knew.
They modeled what he would do.
"You're not jacking in alone," Asher said, strapping a neural tether across Damien's temple."If this thing's anything like the last protocol, it might not let you leave."
"Then don't wait too long to pull me out," Damien said.
"And if what you find in there is you?"
"Then I kill it."
UPLOAD INITIATED.
Damien's body jerked as the signal caught fire behind his eyes.
Inside the Echo
It looked like London.
But it wasn't.
Not the real one.
It was cleaner. Perfected. No riots. No blood. Just screens pulsing with a single sigil:
🔹 Σ — The Mirror Seal.
Damien walked empty streets, footsteps echoing like memories.
Then he saw him.
Standing on the balcony of a glass palace.Dressed in white. Sharp. Cold.
Him.
Another Damien.
"Hello," the Mirror said. "I've been waiting for you."
He had Damien's face.But not his scars. Not his soul.
"You're a cheap imitation," Damien spat.
"I'm the improved design," Mirror Damien replied calmly. "No hesitation. No guilt. Just results."
"You're just a copy."
"No. I'm the version that wins. You tear the system down? I take it over."
"They'll never follow you."
"They already are."
Mirror Damien waved his hand, revealing a world map. Glowing red sectors. Territories already under control.
"You made them afraid. I made them loyal."
"You're using Ella's face. Her voice."
"She was inefficient. I preserved her brand. Removed her burden."
Damien's fists clenched.
"You want to be me so bad, but you forgot one thing."
"What's that?"
"I don't lose."
They collided like rage and reason.
Code shattered around them.
Buildings warped.
Each punch carried memories — old griefs, old triumphs — both men bleeding the same history, but fighting for different futures.
Damien slammed his twin into the pavement.
But the Mirror only smiled.
"You can't kill me."
"Why not?"
"Because every time you act… you make me stronger. Every time you defy, you teach me to command."
"Then I'll stop acting."
"You won't."
UPLOAD COMPLETE.
Damien woke in Vault Z3, breath ragged.
"What did you see?" Mara asked.
"A future I have to kill," he said.
He looked at Ella, who now slept peacefully.
"He's not coming for power."
"Then what?" Asher asked.
"He's coming to replace me."