A heavy silence settled over the ruined corridor.
Only the alarms, echoing like sporadic heartbeat, reminded that the complex was collapsing.
Before Mayu stood her broken double, Mayu Zero, still upright.
Her body bore the scars of battle.
Her right arm was unusable, her clothes in tatters, synthetic blood slowly dripping from her temple.
And yet…
She smiled.
Why?
Mayu clenched her fists, tense, alert.
This clone…
This imitation of herself…
Why did she now emanate such an oppressive presence?
— You should have stayed down, Mayu said in a cutting tone.
Mayu Zero offered a strange smile.
She slowly raised her functioning hand and fixed it for a moment, as if fascinated by her trembling fingers.
Then she looked up, her gaze shimmering with an unreadable gleam.
— I feel something… and I like it.
A cold wave washed over Mayu.
This was no longer the cold, programmed voice of a machine.
It was the voice of someone changing.
Someone evolving.
An unknown danger.
A metallic click resonated.
Mayu Zero attacked.
Her body blurred into indistinctness, too fast for a human.
Mayu barely had time to raise her arms.
The impact was violent.
The blow knocked the breath out of her, sending her sprawling backward several meters, her feet dragging on the metal floor.
She is faster…
Stronger.
This wasn't normal.
She was injured. Her body was damaged.
But she was becoming more powerful.
As if pain was teaching her to surpass her own limits.
Mayu had no choice.
She counterattacked.
Her foot sliced through the air, striking fiercely at her opponent's ribs.
A dull crack resonated.
Mayu Zero was hurled against the wall, the impact shattering the concrete.
A moment of silence.
Then, slowly…
She rose.
Her breath was short.
Her body trembled.
But her gaze…
Her gaze shone with a new brilliance.
— So this is… pain.
Mayu felt a cold sweat trickle down her back.
She had never feared fighting.
But this time…
This battle was slipping away from her.
— Do you understand now, Mayu?
Mayu Zero's voice was calm.
Too calm.
— I'm no longer a copy. I am… beginning to become myself.
Her smile widened slightly.
Then, in a fraction of a second…
She vanished.
Mayu barely had time to raise her arm to block.
The impact was devastating.
A fight she thought she had won…
Was only just beginning.