The door slammed shut behind them with a hiss like a final breath.
Rhea didn't move.
Lucien's hand was warm in hers, his grip just tight enough to say, I'm here. But her focus was locked on the figure across the pristine white room.
Her.
But not her.
RHEA-2 stood barefoot on the sterile floor, head tilted, gaze eerily calm. The resemblance was perfect—same scars, same curve of the lips, same fire buried deep in the eyes.
Except hers were colder.
And Kairo? He stood beside the clone like a proud creator admiring his most dangerous invention.
"Welcome back, Rhea," Kairo said, voice almost soft. "You've brought yourself full circle."
Rhea swallowed hard, heat crawling up her spine. "You built her to replace me."
"No." Kairo took a step forward. "I built her to perfect you."
Lucien growled under his breath, stepping half in front of Rhea. "Back up, Kairo."
But RHEA-2 moved first—graceful, fast. In an instant, she was standing just feet away, expression unreadable.
"She's been syncing with your memories," Kairo said, hands behind his back like he was giving a lecture. "Every override, every breach—you've fed her what she needs to become the superior version of you."
Rhea's stomach twisted. "You used the memory trade system."
"More than that." Kairo's eyes flicked to Lucien. "She knows your fears. Your regrets. Even your desires."
RHEA-2 looked at Lucien. And smiled.
It was Rhea's smile—but empty.
Lucien flinched. "You're not her."
"I could be," RHEA-2 said quietly. "Better, even. I would never betray him. Never freeze when it mattered. Never trade memories for escape."
The words hit like bullets.
Rhea felt it in her chest—every failure, every scar being twisted into a weapon.
But Lucien didn't waver. "You'll never be her. You're code. Beautiful, maybe. But not real."
That's when the lights dimmed—and the floor panels split open.
Battle mode.
Mechanical limbs extended from the walls, locking down the exits. RHEA-2 stepped back, eyes glowing faintly blue now.
"She's not here to talk," Kairo said calmly. "She's here to prove she deserves to live more than you do."
"Let her try," Rhea snapped.
Then it started.
RHEA-2 lunged, faster than a human should move—Rhea barely dodged, the force of the strike knocking her back against Lucien's chest.
He caught her. "I'll flank left—she moves like you, but she hesitates right."
"Got it," Rhea panted, launching forward.
They moved as one—Lucien attacking low, drawing attention, while Rhea leapt to the side, slamming a sonic blade into a panel to disrupt the clone's balance.
But RHEA-2 recovered instantly, flipping backward with the grace of a trained soldier.
"System override detected," she intoned coldly. "Executing elimination protocol."
Rhea ducked as a ceiling-mounted turret activated. "She's wired into the damn room!"
Lucien flung an EMP dart at the nearest turret. "Then we short-circuit her throne."
Another blast rocked the lab as sparks showered down. Rhea spun, sweat dripping from her temple, and landed a direct hit—a cable whip slicing across RHEA-2's arm.
Synthetic skin peeled back. Not blood. Wires.
But she didn't stop.
She slammed Rhea into the wall, face inches away.
"I have your memories," she hissed. "Your guilt. Your weakness. And he'll never choose you once he sees what you really are."
"Wrong," Rhea growled.
She kneed the clone hard and rolled away, coughing. "He already has."
Lucien reached her just as RHEA-2 surged again. He pulled Rhea behind him, protectively. "I don't need a perfect version of her."
He locked eyes with the clone.
"I need the one who bleeds."
RHEA-2 froze. Just for a second.
And that second was enough.
Rhea activated the manual reset on her wrist console. A burst of white light flashed through the room—resetting local AI.
RHEA-2's body shuddered. Her eyes dimmed.
"No—" Kairo moved too late.
Rhea rushed forward and ripped the sync drive from the wall console, severing the feed.
RHEA-2 collapsed.
The room fell into silence.
Only Rhea's ragged breath, Lucien's hand still on her back, grounding her.
She looked at her fallen mirror.
And then at Lucien.
"Still want breakfast?" she asked, voice shaky.
He grinned, brushing her cheek. "Let's skip straight to dinner."
She let out a soft laugh, the kind that trembled with adrenaline and something tender underneath.
But before the moment could settle, the far wall screen flared.
Kairo's voice echoed.
"You think you've won. But the deeper system has already triggered."
Onscreen, a countdown began: 00:09:59
Rhea's heart dropped.
Lucien muttered, "What is that?"
"Ten minutes," Kairo said. "Until the next phase begins."
Then the screen went black.
Rhea looked at Lucien, eyes wide.
"No more running," she whispered. "We finish this."
[ To be continued…]