Chapter 23 · The Other Lyra Quit Fighting

"You're late." The voice came from the thing wearing Lyra's face.

It stepped through the core door, boots squelching through blood. Same jacket. Same scar along the jaw. Same stance, weight back, ready to move.

Lyra raised her gun. "Who the hell are you?"

The copy smiled. Too many teeth. "I'm you. The version that stopped pretending this could be fixed."

Jude shifted beside her. His shoulder brushed hers, warm and solid despite the blood drying at his temple. He moved just far enough to put himself between Lyra and the copy.

"She's lying," he said.

"Am I?" The copy tilted its head. "Then tell her what happens at reset four hundred, Mercer."

Jude's jaw tightened. "Don't."

"Memory gets cut loose." The copy took one step closer. Fresh blood slid from its sleeve. "One anchor point. A name. A face. A reason. The system strips something out so you can't learn the pattern."

Lyra kept the barrel trained on its chest. "That's not how the reset works."

"You've made it through three hundred ninety-eight resets. You tell me."

The number hit harder than the threat.

Jude's breath caught.

The copy noticed. Of course it did. "Two more.