The copy stepped fully into the clearing, and for a moment no one breathed.
The change in him was unmistakable.
Before, he had been controlled—cold, silent, following orders.
Now something inside him had shattered.
His movements were sharper.
His breathing unsteady.
His eyes flickering with the same swirling light now burning beneath Ash's skin.
The reactivation had awakened something in him, too.
Palo instinctively pulled Ash backward.
Silva trembled so hard she could barely stand.
The Founder's jaw tightened.
The copy's gaze locked on Ash.
"It hurts," he whispered hoarsely.
"You did this."
Ash shook his head desperately.
"No—I didn't activate anything! He did!"
He pointed at the Founder.
"He unlocked something in me, and it reached you too."
The copy took a slow step forward.
"Your code… calls mine."
The Founder stepped in front of Ash, surprisingly protective.
"Copy, stand down. Your connection is unstable. You cannot—"
The copy lunged.
Fast.
Too fast.
The Founder dodged at the last second, but barely. The copy's hand grazed his coat, tearing the fabric like it was paper. The Founder stumbled back, pale.
Palo cursed under his breath.
Silva whispered,
"He's not following orders anymore."
The copy turned toward Ash again, voice cracking.
"You're the original. The template. The one they protected."
Ash felt something twist inside his chest.
"They didn't protect me," he said quietly.
"They hid me."
The copy's expression flickered—anger, confusion, grief, all tangled.
"You were given a life."
A bitter laugh.
"I was given a command."
Palo stepped between them.
"He doesn't want to fight you."
The copy's gaze sharpened on Palo.
"You're the tether."
Palo froze.
Ash stepped forward, panic rising.
"Don't touch him."
The copy tilted his head.
"If your systems are linked… then hurting him hurts you."
Ash's blood ran cold.
"No. Don't—don't even think—"
The copy's voice grew darker.
"You took everything from me. My purpose. My stability. My place."
His eyes flared with the same glowing pattern as Ash's.
"And now your link traps me too."
Silva whispered urgently:
"Ash—the new activation bond… it ties all three of you. You, Palo, and the copy. If the copy destabilizes, your system reacts."
Ash's heart hammered.
The Founder straightened, voice controlled again.
"Copy. Your code is fragmenting. Stand down, or you'll corrupt—"
"Good," the copy hissed.
"Maybe you'll all feel what I feel."
He moved again—faster than before.
Straight at Ash.
Palo shoved Ash aside and took the impact himself.
The copy slammed into Palo's chest—
and both froze.
A pulse of light flashed between them.
Palo gasped, collapsing to his knees.
Ash felt a sharp jolt in his own chest—like electricity laced with pain.
"Stop!" Ash cried.
"You're hurting him!"
The copy staggered back, clutching his head.
His voice came out warped:
"It burns—
your code—
your tether—
make it stop—"
Ash didn't think.
He ran to the copy.
He grabbed his arm.
And the world exploded in light.
---
Not literal light—
but a flood of memory.
Not Ash's memory.
Not the copy's.
A mother's voice.
Soft.
Warm.
Afraid.
"Ash… if you're hearing this, it means they found you."
Ash staggered.
The copy froze.
Silva and Palo watched in stunned silence.
The Founder's eyes widened in horror.
The voice continued.
"I hid something in you. Something they can never use. Something the world must never see."
Ash's pulse pounded.
The copy whispered,
"What… what is this?"
The voice trembled.
"Project ELARA was never meant to create perfect beings. It was meant to create soldiers. Living weapons."
Palo's breath caught.
Silva covered her mouth.
The copy's eyes darkened with realization.
Ash stood trembling, every part of him unraveling.
His mother's final words whispered through the air:
"You are not a weapon.
But they will try to make you one."
The light faded.
Ash gasped, stumbling backward.
The copy stared at him in shock—not anger anymore, but something like horror.
Palo struggled to his feet.
"What… what was that?"
Silva whispered shakily,
"The message. The one she hid in Ash. It just synced through the tether."
The Founder's voice cut through the silence like a blade:
"Ash. That message is incomplete. There is more."
Ash's heart twisted.
More?
The Founder lifted the device again.
And the copy snapped.
"NO!"
He lunged at the Founder.
The ground shook.
Trees cracked.
And Ash realized—
This wasn't a fight between them anymore.
This was a war between everything he was meant to be
and everything he refused to become.