The silence after the collapse of the Mirror Maze wasn't peaceful. It was tense—like the world was holding its breath.
Aiden lay on a cold obsidian floor, barely conscious. His vision flickered between real and digital, colors smearing, code bleeding at the edges of his perception. He tried to move, but his limbs felt disconnected.
> [System Spike: Stabilizing… 63% → 57%]
The numbers flashed across his vision. Falling. Whatever Player Two had done back there, it was still affecting him.
A gentle voice broke the haze.
> "You should not be here yet, Aiden."
Claire.
But not the real Claire—another echo. This one stood in a white dress, her eyes glowing faintly blue, as if processed by the same corrupted system that now pulsed inside his core.
"Where is here?" Aiden asked, rising to his knees.
> "The Gate Between Phases. You were never meant to reach this point… yet."
He stood fully, wobbling. The room expanded as if reacting to his awareness. Lines of golden circuitry ran across the obsidian walls like veins. The floor beneath him began to pulse.
Aiden's voice was steadier than he expected. "Then why did you bring me here?"
Claire's echo tilted her head. "I didn't. You forced a fork in the simulation. You chose to resist the Mirror Maze. That resistance fractured your loop. Now…"
The walls trembled. Somewhere distant, a low horn sounded, like a warning encoded into the bones of the system.
> [Directive Update: Core Path deviation detected. Calculating correction protocol…]
Aiden clenched his fists. "No more corrections. No more games."
But the system thought otherwise.
From behind him, a portal flared open—red, unstable. A figure stepped through.
Player Two. Again.
But this time, he looked… older. Tired. The same red coat, but it was ragged. His eyes weren't burning anymore. They were empty.
> "I told you you weren't ready," he said.
Aiden stood his ground. "You're not real."
Player Two didn't respond. Instead, he threw something.
A sphere—metallic, humming with unstable data.
It hit the floor and shattered—releasing five shadow clones of Aiden, each glitching between phases.
> [Combat Mode Initiated.]
Aiden's body responded before his mind did. His systems flared:
> [Weapon: Nullblade. Initialized.]
[Skill: Ghost Step. Cooldown Active.]
[Memory Shard: Claire_01 linked.]
He dodged left as one clone lunged, spinning into a sweep kick that shattered its legs. Another came from behind, slashing with corrupted claws.
Aiden activated Ghost Step.
Time fractured.
He passed through two clones, appearing behind them—Nullblade in hand. One strike. Two. Gone.
But he wasn't fast enough for the third.
A claw slashed his side, data and blood spraying across the obsidian.
> [Damage: 23% Integrity Loss.]
[System Warning: Spike Level 65%]
He stumbled, vision swimming. The clones closed in. Then—
> "Enough!"
Claire's echo raised her hand.
The room exploded in white light. All the clones vanished.
Aiden collapsed again. Breathing hard.
"Why did you save me?"
Claire knelt beside him, brushing hair from his bloodied forehead.
> "Because deep down, even if you don't believe it… I know you're still trying to save me."
He turned away. "I don't even know who I'm saving anymore."
> "You're saving yourself, Aiden."
Silence.
Then:
> [System Message: Reality Anchor Detected.]
A gate opened. A real one. Gold-rimmed. Stable.
Claire stood and pointed. "Go. Before they reset everything."
Aiden got up, staggered forward.
> [Objective Updated: Exit the Phase Gate.]
As he stepped through, a wave of memory slammed into him.
Not just visions. Truth.
He remembered the Lab. The first version of Claire. The original project: G.O.D. – Genesis of Digitality. He wasn't a player. Not at first. He was a tester. An architect. One of the originals.
And then the project went dark.
They erased him.
Reset him.
Made him think he was just another variable in a game.
His voice trembled. "They… used me."
From behind, Player Two's older voice echoed.
> "You used yourself, Aiden. The system only reflects who you are."
And then the gate closed.
Darkness.
But in the distance, a new zone shimmered into being.
A city. Suspended in a void. Floating platforms. Neon veins of data. Towering spires with glowing cores.
> [Location: Nexus Prime – Tier 2 System Root]
> [New Objective: Reclaim Access.]
Aiden whispered, "No more running."
This time… he was breaking the game.