The copy slammed into the Founder with a force that rattled the trees. Leaves burst into the air like startled birds. The Founder staggered but didn't fall—he steadied himself with surprising agility, coat tearing across the shoulder.
Palo yanked Ash backward.
"Stay behind me!"
Ash shook his head.
"No—if he destabilizes, we all—"
Silva grabbed his arm, her voice trembling.
"Ash, you can't go near them yet. Your system hasn't settled."
But Ash's eyes were locked on the copy.
The copy wasn't attacking blindly.
He moved with purpose.
With fury.
With pain.
And every movement sent another pulse of light flickering through the clearing, echoing the same unstable glow beneath Ash's skin.
The Founder raised his hands, not in defense, but in calculation.
"Copy. You are malfunctioning."
The copy roared—an agonized, fractured sound that didn't belong to any human throat.
"Because of YOU!"
He grabbed the Founder's coat and slammed him against a tree.
"You rewrote my purpose!"
Silva winced.
"He's breaking."
Palo stepped forward, tense.
"Ash… say something. He listens to you."
Ash hesitated—but then stepped closer, voice soft but steady.
"Hey. Look at me."
The copy froze.
Still gripping the Founder, but his eyes moved—slowly, reluctantly—until they locked with Ash's.
The clearing held its breath.
Ash spoke gently:
"You're not malfunctioning. You're overwhelmed.
I know how it feels. I feel it too."
The copy's breathing hitched.
The Founder tried to twist free, but the copy shoved him harder.
Ash ignored the Founder completely.
"You weren't meant to be a weapon," Ash said quietly.
"You weren't meant to chase me. That was forced into you."
The copy's trembling grew worse.
"It hurts," he said. "Everything hurts."
Ash nodded.
"I know. Because we're connected."
A pulse of shared pain rippled between them—Ash felt it like a shock, sharp and cold. He winced, clutching his chest.
Palo grabbed him.
"Ash! Stop—your tether—"
But Ash gently pulled away.
"I'm the only one he won't destroy."
The copy shivered violently.
"Why do you exist?" he whispered.
"Why were you given a life while I was given orders?"
Ash swallowed hard.
"I didn't choose it," he said.
"But I don't want to leave you behind. Not anymore."
Something in the copy's expression cracked—like a glitch in the deepest part of him.
He loosened his grip on the Founder.
For a moment, Ash thought it was over.
But then—
The Founder straightened, brushing off his coat.
"That's enough sentiment," he said coldly.
"It won't stabilize him. He needs a full system override."
Silva gasped.
"No—don't—"
But the Founder was faster.
He raised the silver device again.
A sharp hum tore through the air.
The copy recoiled, clutching his skull.
Ash felt his knees buckle from the shockwave—like someone had split his mind in half.
Palo barely caught him.
"Ash! Stay with me!"
Silva pulled Palo away from the Founder's line of fire.
The copy collapsed, trembling, teeth clenched.
The Founder advanced, his voice steady:
"You were never meant to evolve. You were meant to perform."
Ash snapped, pulling away from Palo, staggering toward the Founder.
"STOP HURTING HIM!"
The Founder turned sharply.
His eyes widened—not with fear, but with recognition.
Because as Ash shouted, the symbol on his skin flared so brightly the shadows around him bent and twisted.
The ground trembled.
Silva whispered,
"His system… it's reacting…"
Palo grabbed her arm.
"No—Ash is reacting."
The copy screamed again.
Ash's pulse raced uncontrollably.
The Founder took a slow step back.
"Ash… what did your mother put inside you?"
Ash didn't know.
He only knew that something ancient and powerful had awakened.
And it responded to pain.
His pain.
The copy's pain.
Palo's fear.
Silva's trembling.
A wave of energy burst from Ash's body—soft, blue, alive. Not violent, but undeniable.
The Founder shielded his face.
The copy froze mid-scream.
Palo and Silva stared at Ash with wide eyes.
Ash staggered, breathing hard, staring at his own glowing hands.
"What… what did I do?"
Silva whispered:
"You synced the tether."
Palo echoed, stunned,
"You connected all of us."
The copy slowly lifted his head.
His voice was no longer furious—or broken.
It was quiet.
Confused.
Almost human.
"Ash… what are we?"
Ash didn't know.
But the Founder did.
And the fear in his eyes said everything:
"You've activated the lost function," he said quietly.
"The one your mother tried to bury."
Ash felt his heartbeat echo through the clearing like a drum.
Palo whispered,
"What function?"
The Founder's voice dropped:
"The merging protocol."
Ash froze.
Silva's breath hitched.
Palo stepped forward, shaking his head.
"Merging? What does that mean?"
The Founder swallowed hard.
"It means if the protocol continues… Ash will become the core. And every being linked to him—every prototype—will be pulled into him."
Ash felt the air leave his lungs.
The copy whispered, terrified:
"You'll absorb us."
Palo stared at Ash, heart pounding.
Silva stepped back in shock.
And Ash realized—
His greatest fear wasn't losing himself.
It was taking everyone he cared about with him.