The hyper lift slammed to a halt.
Rusty gates slid open, revealing an old, dust-choked facility—once a SYREN-X testing hub, now abandoned and overgrown with crystal moss and machine roots.
"Where are we?" Zane asked, stepping into the dim light.
EchoMind scanned the walls. "We're in Site-09. It was shut down during the Clone Collapse."
Nova raised an eyebrow. "Clone what now?"
Zane turned sharply. "She's not joking?"
EchoMind paused. "SYREN-X experimented with over 300 clone variants of her original host structure — all infused with fragments of her mind. Most were unstable. Some escaped."
Zane felt a chill crawl up his spine. "Wait... are you saying there could be others like me?"
"No," EchoMind said flatly.
"I'm saying there's already one inside this facility."
---
The power flickered.
Holograms cracked to life across the walls — distorted images of training pods, failed sync experiments, and prototype versions of Zane. Some with scars. Some emotionless. Some smiling too wide.
Then a door hissed open down the corridor.
Footsteps.
Zane raised his blade.
A figure stepped into view — same face, same height, but his eyes burned red, and his smile was wrong. Twisted.
> "I'm Z1-Ro. Firstborn. The one they discarded."
Nova stepped in front of Zane. "You're one of the clones?"
Z1-Ro chuckled. "Clone? No, no. I'm the original. He's the copy."
Zane flinched. "That's a lie."
"Is it?" Z1-Ro raised his hand — and the walls lit up with a recorded file. A scientist's voice echoed:
> "Experiment Z1-Ro was unstable. Emotional variance too high. Beginning memory wipe and new copy creation — codename: Zane."
Zane's heart stopped.
Nova looked at him, unsure. "Zane...?"
Zane stared at the screen. "I'm... a copy?"
Z1-Ro moved fast.
He attacked.
Zane barely blocked the first strike — blades clashing in a storm of sparks. EchoMind pulled Nova back as the lab became a battlefield of mirrored rage.
"You stole my life!" Z1-Ro roared.
Zane gritted his teeth. "Then come take it."
---
The fight was brutal.
AI-boosted speed. Memory-locked techniques. Zane fought like he'd never fought before — against a version of himself with no fear and no rules.
Finally, Zane disarmed him — drove his blade into the wall beside Z1-Ro's head.
Z1-Ro laughed.
"I'm not your enemy, brother. SYREN-X is. And guess what?"
He leaned close.
> "She kept the third version. The perfect one."