The chamber pulsed with a low, eerie hum as the group stepped cautiously onto the fifth floor. Pale light trickled in from crystalline veins embedded in the ceiling, casting jagged shadows across smooth obsidian walls. The scent of ozone and iron lingered, sharp and dry. Runes shimmered faintly across the walls, reacting subtly to their presence.
Roger's jaw tensed. "Something's… wrong."
Kai shivered. "The pressure in the air—it's like we're being watched."
Aria crouched near a rune-etched pillar, her blade already drawn. "We are."
A rumble answered her words—not of stone or earth, but like something awakening within their own minds. Then a figure stepped from the shadows.
It was Roger.
Or rather, a perfect reflection of him—same build, same scarring, same cold eyes. But there was something… off. The smile it wore was too sharp. Its stance too measured.
Roger stared, stunned for only a second.
Then it moved.
Faster than any of them expected, Echo-Roger lunged straight for Kai.
Time slowed.
Kai's eyes widened, and he stumbled backward. The Echo's fist grazed his nose—barely missing—before Aria dove forward, grabbing Kai's shoulder and yanking him out of the way.
Roger's voice cut through the moment. "Kai, fall back! Aria, guard his flank!"
He was already moving.
The two Rogers clashed in the center of the chamber, their fists slamming into each other with sickening force. The impact sent shockwaves through the air, rune-light flaring with every hit.
Roger blocked a high kick with his forearm and countered with a brutal elbow. Echo-Roger ducked, sweeping Roger's legs. Roger rolled with the momentum, came back up with a spinning strike that connected—barely—against his double's jaw.
The Echo grinned, unfazed.
"I don't like how smug my face looks on you," Roger growled.
Echo-Roger shot forward again, feinting low before smashing a fist into Roger's ribs. The real Roger staggered but turned the momentum, grabbing the Echo's arm and slamming it over his shoulder. The sound of bone cracking was followed by a rapid flurry of palm strikes aimed at pressure points—but the Echo adapted, shifting mid-fall and catching Roger in the side with a vicious knee.
Aria swept in from the flank, striking toward the Echo's blind side, but her blade was caught by a shimmer of runic shielding that blinked into existence for only a second. Kai, now behind cover, tapped into his bracer, his fingers weaving calculations mid-air.
"Give me 20 seconds!" he shouted. "I'm locking the mimic pattern!"
Roger ducked under another swing and shouted back, "You've got 15!"
The Echo jabbed a fist toward Roger's throat. Roger caught the arm mid-motion and used it—twisting and dragging the clone downward, following with a brutal roundhouse kick to its chest. The clone crashed back, rolling across the stone floor before rising instantly, mirroring the same stance Roger had used in training.
Roger breathed heavily, chest rising and falling. Then his eyes narrowed.
"Alright," he muttered, half to himself. "Let's stop testing."
He dashed forward, feinting left—but as the Echo predicted his movement, Roger dropped low and slammed his shoulder into its gut. They rolled, fists striking, knees clashing. Roger took a solid hit to the jaw—he tasted blood—but didn't stop. He forced the Echo toward the far wall, where Kai's bracer now glowed.
"NOW!" Roger bellowed.
Kai pressed his hand against the stone. The runes around the Echo flared violently, locking it in place mid-motion. Aria charged in, slashing downward—this time, her blade cut through the shimmer and buried itself deep in the Echo's shoulder.
The clone let out a distorted gasp.
Roger didn't wait. He leapt, grabbing the Echo's neck in a tight chokehold, pinning it to the wall with sheer force.
"I'm not you," he hissed. "You're just what I could've become."
With a surge of strength, he slammed the Echo down onto the stone. The body crumbled, dissolving into dust, its last expression eerily calm—as if acknowledging Roger's dominance.
Silence fell.
Kai exhaled shakily. "That… that was terrifying."
Aria sheathed her blade. "It learned. Every movement you made, it adjusted to counter."
Roger wiped his brow, the adrenaline still buzzing in his veins. "Yeah, well… next time it can take someone else's face."
He looked at the others, then—more seriously—walked over to Kai and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"
Kai nodded. "You pulled it off. That timing was perfect."
Roger smiled faintly. "Couldn't have done it without your lock."
Aria tilted her head. "Your leadership's improving."
Roger blinked. "Was I leading?"
"You didn't notice?" Aria smirked.
The Director, silent until now, stepped forward. "You adapted. Took initiative. Made use of everyone's strengths. That's leadership."
Roger scratched the back of his neck, slightly sheepish. "Guess it just… made sense in the moment."
The Director nodded. "It will need to keep making sense. That was only the beginning. The deeper we go, the more reflections of the past will try to claim the present."
Roger looked toward the scattered dust on the stone. "Next time, I'll be faster."
Aria raised an eyebrow. "Next time?"
Roger turned to her, his expression resolute. "We're in the Pit. There's always a next time."
And together, they moved forward—one step deeper into the darkness.