Wait… what… did I just create?
The words don't finish leaving my mouth before the thing wearing my face steps fully out of the broken corpse.
It lands barefoot on the classroom tiles like it belongs here more than I do.
Its neck cracks once.
Twice.
Then it smiles again.
Same teeth. Same eyes. Same panic behind them—but inverted, like it learned fear from watching me and practiced it wrong.
"Arjun," it says again, softer this time. "You always hesitate at door-type choices."
My stomach drops.
The girl stumbles back. "Nope. Nope, no, no—this is not happening."
The guy tightens his grip on the metal rod. "Someone explain why there's a discount version of you standing there."
I don't answer.
Because my system does.
---
**[DUPLICATE ENTITY DETECTED]**
**[CLASSIFICATION: ECHO-SPLIT (IMPROPER)]**
**[WARNING: MEMORY DEGRADATION INITIATED]**
---
My head pulses.
Once.
Hard.
Like something bites into a file inside my brain and drags.
I gasp.
"Karan—stay behind me," I say automatically.
The guy blinks. "My name's not—"
He stops.
Frowns.
"Actually… yeah. It is. How did you—"
I didn't know his name.
I'm sure I didn't.
But I said it anyway.
My thoughts stutter.
Something is missing.
Not pain.
Space.
A blank drawer where something used to be.
---
The duplicate Arjun tilts its head.
"You felt that?" it asks me.
I take a step back. "What did you do to me?"
It smiles wider.
"I didn't do anything. You paid already."
---
A sharp crack echoes through the building.
The ceiling shudders.
Windows outside distort like liquid glass.
The world is getting worse.
Fast.
---
The girl grabs my sleeve. "Arjun—listen to me. You need to breathe. Your eyes are—glitching."
"I am breathing," I snap.
But I'm not sure.
Because I can't remember the last full breath I took.
---
**[PASSIVE EFFECT APPLIED]**
**[MEMORY FRACTURE: 2% LOST]**
---
"Only two percent," I whisper. "That's nothing."
But my voice betrays me.
Because I already forgot something important.
Something that should be obvious.
Something like—
My hand twitches.
I can't remember what I was about to think.
---
The duplicate steps forward again.
Slow.
Calm.
Too calm.
"You used Echo Step," it says. "You split your continuity. I'm the leftover version that learned faster."
"That's not how anything works," I say.
It laughs.
"That's exactly how you work."
---
Karan raises the rod. "I'm going to hit it."
"Wait—" I start.
He swings anyway.
---
The rod passes through the duplicate Arjun.
No impact.
No resistance.
Like swinging through fog.
Karan stumbles forward. "What the hell—"
The duplicate leans toward him.
Whispers.
"You'll forget your exit route in six minutes."
Karan freezes.
Then blinks.
"Wait… what exit route?"
---
My blood runs cold.
"Don't listen to it," I say quickly. "It's messing with perception layers."
The duplicate claps slowly.
"Good. He's already adapting."
---
The girl steps in front of me. "Arjun, I think it's not just copying you. It's predicting you."
"I noticed," I mutter.
"No," she says sharply. "I mean it's rewriting your decisions before you make them."
That lands worse than the monster.
---
The ceiling cracks again.
A long, thin fissure opens like an eye.
Something massive moves behind the building.
Not inside.
Above it.
---
The system flickers.
---
**[ZONE INSTABILITY: 14% → 31%]**
**[ANOMALY EXPANSION DETECTED]**
---
"Why is it expanding?" I whisper.
The duplicate answers for me.
"Because you exist in more than one version now."
---
My head spikes again.
Another loss.
Another missing piece.
I stagger.
Something important—
Gone.
---
The girl grabs my face. "Hey! Stay with me. Focus."
"What's my name?" I ask suddenly.
She freezes.
"What?"
"I just need to confirm something," I say faster. "What's my name?"
Her grip tightens.
"…Arjun."
I nod.
Relief hits.
Then immediately twists.
Because I almost didn't recognize it.
---
The duplicate steps closer.
"You're destabilizing," it says gently. "You already lost the anchor."
"What anchor?" I snap.
It points at me.
"You."
---
Karan shakes his head violently. "Nope. I'm done with this philosophical horror crap. Tell me what to kill."
"There's nothing to kill," the girl says. "It's not stable enough to target."
The duplicate laughs again.
"That's incorrect."
---
It raises its hand.
And points at me.
---
My system screams.
---
**[TARGET LOCKED: ORIGINAL HOST]**
---
"Wait—what?" I whisper.
---
The duplicate smiles.
"I'm not the copy," it says. "You are."
---
The classroom lights flicker out instantly.
Not dim.
Gone.
---
Darkness floods in.
Then—
Movement.
---
I feel myself being grabbed.
But not physically.
Internally.
Like something is pulling my memory out through my skull.
---
"No—no, no—" I stagger back.
The girl screams my name.
"Arjun!"
But her voice splits.
Two echoes.
Three.
---
I turn—
And see her standing in two places.
Same girl.
Different expressions.
One terrified.
One calm.
---
"Arjun," the calm one says, "you need to decide which version of this room is real."
---
"I don't have time for riddles!" I shout.
---
The duplicate Arjun steps between us.
"It's not a riddle," it says. "It's a correction."
---
Karan suddenly points behind me.
"Behind you!"
---
I turn.
---
And the wall is gone.
Not broken.
Removed.
---
Beyond it—
A corridor that wasn't there before stretches endlessly.
Filled with doors.
Each one labeled with my name.
---
My head pulses again.
Another loss.
Something critical disappears.
I stumble.
"What did I forget?" I whisper.
No answer.
Only silence inside my skull where something used to be.
---
The girl grabs my wrist.
"I'm Meera," she says urgently. "Listen to me, Arjun. I know you're confused but you need to trust me."
I blink.
"Meera," I repeat.
Something about the name should feel new.
But it doesn't.
It feels… partially familiar.
Which is worse.
---
"How do you know me?" I ask.
"We just met five minutes ago," she says quickly. "But the system—your system—keeps showing me your echo signature. I've seen you die twice already."
Karan snaps, "That's not comforting!"
---
The duplicate Arjun walks toward the corridor.
"We should go," it says. "Before the recursion completes."
"Recursion?" I echo.
It looks back at me.
"You lose 1% each cycle. But I gain it."
---
My chest tightens.
"So I'm… deleting myself?"
The duplicate shrugs.
"You're distributing yourself."
Same thing.
Different horror.
---
Meera shakes her head. "Arjun, don't listen to it. It's trying to push you into the corridor loop."
"What happens if I go in?" I ask.
Karan answers instantly.
"We probably die."
"Helpful," I mutter.
---
The building shakes violently.
A deep groan echoes through every wall.
Something massive is waking up.
---
**[WORLD EVENT TRIGGERED]**
**[ECHO COMPLEX: ACTIVATION PHASE]**
---
The duplicate smiles.
"That's my cue."
It starts walking toward the corridor.
---
"Stop it!" Meera yells.
It doesn't stop.
---
Karan swings his rod again.
Hits nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
---
I step forward.
My head screams.
Another loss.
Another blank.
---
I almost forget why I'm angry.
Almost.
---
"Arjun!" Meera grabs me. "You can't chase it!"
"I'm not chasing it," I say slowly.
Then I realize something.
"…I'm following myself."
---
The corridor doors begin opening one by one.
Inside each—
A version of me.
Different injuries.
Different deaths.
Different choices.
All staring back.
---
The duplicate stops at the first door.
Turns.
And speaks softly.
"Pick one version of you to continue as."
---
My throat dries.
"That's not a choice," I whisper.
It smiles.
"It is now."
---
Meera grips my arm tighter. "Arjun, don't go in there. Please."
Karan mutters, "I hate multiverse mechanics."
---
The corridor hums.
Each door calling me.
Each version of me waiting.
---
My system flickers one last time.
---
**[FINAL NOTICE]**
**[HOST INTEGRITY: 43%]**
**[CHOICE REQUIRED: CONTINUE LINE OR RESET ECHO]**
---
The duplicate steps into the corridor.
And looks back at me.
Waiting.
Patient.
Like it already knows what I'll choose.
---
Meera whispers again, shaking.
"Arjun… which one is you?"
---
The doors all open wider.
And I take one step forward—
not knowing if I'm walking into myself…
or erasing what's left of me entirely.
---
Wait… which Arjun just moved?