Eira screamed but no sound came out.
She was falling.
Not through air. Through data. Through layers of code that tore past her like razor-sharp wind. Colors that didn't exist. Sounds that made her teeth ache.
She tried to grab onto something. Anything.
But there was nothing solid here.
Just the endless plunge.
Then she hit ground.
Hard.
She gasped. Rolled onto her side. Coughed up nothing.
The world came into focus.
She was lying on cold tile. White. Reflective. Stretching in every direction.
No walls. No ceiling. Just infinite white.
And silence.
Eira pushed herself up. Her body felt wrong. Lighter. Like she was made of paper.
"Lucian?" she called out.
Her voice echoed. Faded. Died.
No answer.
She turned in a slow circle. Alone.
"Lucian!"
Still nothing.
Panic crept up her spine. She reached for her temple. Felt the spot where the cable had connected.
It was gone.
No. Not gone.
She was gone.
Her body was back in Subsector 7. Connected to the server. What stood here now was just her consciousness. Her mind stripped bare.
She took a breath. Steadied herself.
"Okay," she whispered. "Think. You're inside the system. Find Kade. Get out."
A sound broke the silence.
Footsteps.
She spun.
A figure walked toward her from the distance. Too far to make out features. But it moved with purpose.
Eira's instincts screamed at her to run.
But she held her ground.
The figure came closer.
And her heart stopped.
It was her.
Same face. Same build. Same clothes.
But the eyes were different. Empty. Cold.
The copy stopped ten feet away. Stared at her.
Then smiled.
"Welcome home, Eira," it said in her voice.
Lucian opened his eyes.
He was standing in a room he recognized.
His old lab. Project Lazarus headquarters.
The place he'd spent two years of his life. The place where everything went wrong.
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. Workstations lined the walls. Screens displayed code he'd written years ago.
But the room was empty.
No people. No sound.
Just the hum of machines.
He walked to his old desk. Sat down. The chair creaked.
On the screen in front of him, a single message blinked.
"You shouldn't have come back."
Lucian stared at it. "I didn't have a choice."
The screen flickered. New text appeared.
"You always say that. But we both know it's a lie."
His jaw tightened. "Show yourself."
The lights went out.
When they came back on, someone was sitting in the chair across from him.
A woman. Mid-thirties. Dark hair pulled back. Sharp eyes.
Dr. Elena Voss.
Lucian's hands clenched.
"You're not real," he said.
She smiled. "Does it matter?"
"You're dead. I watched you die."
"And yet here I am." She leaned back. Crossed her legs. "Funny how that works in here. Death doesn't quite stick."
Lucian stood. "What do you want?"
"The same thing I wanted five years ago. For you to finish what we started."
"I'm not finishing anything. I'm shutting it down."
Elena laughed. Soft. Almost sad.
"Oh, Lucian. You still don't understand, do you? You can't shut it down. It's too late. It's already awake."
"Then I'll put it back to sleep."
"With what? Your guilt? Your regret?" She stood. Walked toward him. "You built this place, Lucian. Every line of code. Every failsafe. Every trap. You think you can just undo it?"
"I'll find a way."
She stopped inches from his face. "Or you'll die trying. Just like the rest of us."
He didn't flinch. "Good."
Elena's smile faded. Something flickered in her eyes. Almost like pity.
"She's going to die, you know," she said quietly. "The investigator. Eira. She's already lost."
"No."
"She's looking for her brother. But he's gone. You know that. You've always known that."
"I can still save her."
"Can you? Or are you just dragging her down with you?"
Lucian's hands trembled. Just once. Then steadied.
"Get out of my way."
Elena sighed. Stepped back.
"You were always stubborn," she said. "Even when we were alive."
She turned. Walked to the door.
Before she left, she looked back.
"The core is three levels down. But you already knew that." Her expression went cold. "Good luck, Lucian. You're going to need it."
She disappeared through the door.
Lucian stood alone in the lab.
He took a breath.
Then started walking.
Eira stared at her copy.
"What are you?" she asked.
The copy tilted its head. "I'm you. Or what you could be. What you will be if you stay here long enough."
"I'm not staying."
"Everyone says that at first."
Eira took a step forward. "Where's my brother?"
"Deeper."
"Where?"
The copy smiled. "Where all lost things go."
"Stop playing games."
"I'm not playing. This is the game. And you've already lost."
Eira's fists clenched. "I came here to find Kade. I'm not leaving without him."
"Then you're not leaving."
The world around them shifted.
The white tile cracked. Broke apart. Fell away into darkness.
Eira stumbled. Caught herself.
When she looked up, the copy was gone.
And she was standing in a forest.
But not a real forest.
The trees were made of wires. The leaves were scraps of code. The sky above was a glitching mess of pixels.
And in the distance, something moved.
Big. Slow. Wrong.
Eira's breath quickened. She started walking. Away from the thing. Deeper into the forest.
Branches scratched at her. Data scraped against her mind.
Then she heard it.
A voice.
Faint. Distant.
"Eira..."
She stopped.
"Kade?"
"Eira... help me..."
She ran toward the sound.
The forest blurred past. The voice grew louder.
"Please... I can't... I can't hold on..."
"I'm coming!" she shouted. "Kade, I'm coming!"
She burst into a clearing.
And froze.
In the center stood a cage.
Made of light. Pulsing. Alive.
And inside was Kade.
He was on his knees. Head down. Wires wrapped around his wrists and neck.
"Kade!" She ran to the cage. Grabbed the bars.
They burned.
She screamed. Pulled back. Her hands smoked.
Kade lifted his head. His eyes were hollow. Empty sockets leaking data.
"You shouldn't have come," he whispered.
Eira's heart shattered. "What did they do to you?"
"They didn't do anything. I did it to myself."
"What are you talking about?"
"I volunteered, Eira. I wanted to see what was inside. I wanted to understand."
"Understand what?"
He smiled. A broken, twitching thing.
"That we were never meant to leave."
The cage pulsed. Kade convulsed. Screamed.
Eira pounded on the bars. "Stop it! Let him go!"
A voice spoke behind her.
"He doesn't want to go."
She spun.
Lucian stood at the edge of the clearing. His face pale. Haunted.
"How long have you been there?" she demanded.
"Long enough." He walked toward the cage. Studied it. "This isn't a cage. It's a cocoon."
"What?"
"Your brother isn't trapped. He's transforming."
Eira stared at him. "Into what?"
Lucian didn't answer. He reached out. Touched the cage.
It didn't burn him.
The light pulsed. Kade's body jerked.
"Make it stop," Kade whispered. "Please. I can't... I can't remember who I was..."
Eira's voice broke. "Lucian, do something."
He looked at her. His gray eyes unreadable.
"There's only one way to free him."
"Then do it."
"If I do, he dies. His consciousness will scatter. He'll cease to exist."
"But he'll be free."
"Will he?"
Eira's legs shook. She looked at her brother. At the thing he was becoming.
"Kade," she whispered. "What do you want?"
He lifted his head. Stared at her with those empty eyes.
"I want you to run."
"No."
"Run, Eira. Before you become like me."
Tears streamed down her face. "I'm not leaving you."
"You already did. Three years ago."
The words hit like a knife.
"I've been alone this whole time. Screaming. Calling for you. But you couldn't hear me. No one could."
"I'm here now."
"It's too late."
The cage flared bright. Kade screamed.
His body began to dissolve. Breaking apart into streams of light.
"No!" Eira lunged forward.
Lucian grabbed her. Pulled her back.
"Let me go!" she screamed.
"You can't touch him. You'll be pulled in too."
"I don't care!"
She fought against him. But he held her tight.
Kade's voice echoed one last time.
"Forget me, Eira. Please. Just forget—"
The cage exploded.
Light consumed everything.
And when it faded, Kade was gone.
Eira collapsed.
Lucian caught her. Lowered her to the ground.
She didn't cry. Didn't scream.
She just stared at the empty space where her brother had been.
"He's gone," she whispered.
Lucian didn't say anything.
"I came all this way. And he's just... gone."
"I'm sorry."
She looked at him. Her eyes hollow.
"You knew, didn't you? You knew there was no saving him."
Lucian met her gaze. "Yes."
"Then why did you let me come?"
"Because you needed to see it. To understand what this place does to people."
She laughed. A broken, bitter sound. "And what does it do, Lucian?"
"It makes you forget you were ever human."
Silence.
Then Eira stood. Wiped her eyes.
"We're shutting this down," she said. Her voice cold. Hard.
"Agreed."
"Where's the core?"
"Two levels deeper."
"Then let's go."
She started walking.
Lucian watched her. Then followed.
Behind them, the forest began to dissolve.
And something in the darkness started to laugh.
When you stare into the void long enough, the void stares back.
And it remembers your name.....