Chapter 21 · Mirror Image Nightmare

"Get the hell away from it, Kai!"

Eve’s voice cracked through the static in my head, but she was too late. I was already staring into eyes that were exactly like mine. Same deep amber, same jagged scar running through the left brow, same look of predatory hunger.

It wasn't a reflection. The thing in the tank wasn't a mirror. It was a body—my body—suspended in a thick, neon-green slurry that smelled like ozone and rotting meat.

"What is this?" I whispered, my voice sounding hollow even to me. I stepped closer, my boots clicking on the cold metal grating. "Eve, what the fuck is this?"

She grabbed my shoulder, her grip tight enough to bruise. I could feel her trembling. It wasn't fear—it was something worse. Pure, unadulterated panic. "It's a prototype. A backup. Silas doesn't just want your blood, Kai. He wants a version of you that doesn't talk back."

"A backup?" I ripped my arm away from her. "I'm not a piece of software you just copy and paste!"

"You're not," she snapped, her eyes darting to the monitors lining the wall. "But this thing is. And it's waking up.