The chamber fell into absolute silence.
No alarms.
No vibrations.
No movement.
Only the figure's words echoing through my mind.
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE HERE.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
The world seemed to narrow.
The people around me.
The glowing facility.
The shattered cylinder.
Everything faded into the background.
Because for the first time since waking up in this world, I had heard something I never thought I would hear.
Something that confirmed my deepest fear.
I didn't belong here.
Not Ethan.
Me.
The person who remembered another life.
Another world.
Another reality.
The person who had awakened inside Ethan's body.
The figure had seen it.
Recognized it.
And somehow understood it.
Kairo immediately stepped fully in front of me.
Protective.
Dangerous.
Unmoving.
"Enough."
His voice cut through the silence.
The figure's gaze shifted toward him.
But only briefly.
Then it returned to me.
ANOMALY CONFIRMED.
The facility lights flickered again.
The air seemed to vibrate.
Like the entire structure was reacting to the discovery.
Selene looked between me and the figure.
Confusion covered her face.
"What is it talking about?"
No one answered.
Especially not me.
Because how could I?
How was I supposed to explain that I wasn't originally from this world?
That I'd spent months pretending I belonged here?
That I'd fallen in love with people who technically shouldn't even exist in my original reality?
The truth sounded insane.
And somehow this machine—this thing—already knew it.
Adrian looked shaken.
More shaken than at any point since his arrival.
"That's impossible."
The figure turned toward him.
IMPOSSIBLE EVENTS HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED.
A pause.
ADRIAN VALE SURVIVAL.
Adrian didn't respond.
Because it wasn't wrong.
The figure looked back at me.
Its expression remained calm.
Clinical.
Like a scientist examining an unexpected result.
TIMELINE DEVIATION ORIGIN LOCATED.
My stomach dropped.
Timeline.
The word hit me like a punch.
Because it wasn't talking about politics.
Or bloodlines.
Or heirs.
It was talking about the story itself.
The story I had changed.
The story I had unknowingly broken.
Kairo's voice hardened.
"Stop looking at him."
The figure ignored him.
That alone was alarming.
Almost everyone listened when Kairo spoke.
This thing didn't seem to care.
Its eyes remained fixed on me.
QUESTION.
The single word echoed through the chamber.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then—
it asked:
WHO ARE YOU?
The question struck harder than I expected.
Because I didn't have an answer.
Not anymore.
Was I Ethan?
Not originally.
Was I the person from my previous life?
That life felt increasingly distant.
Like a dream fading with every passing day.
I didn't belong fully to either world.
And for the first time, I realized how lonely that truth really was.
The figure waited.
Patiently.
Like it genuinely expected an answer.
I swallowed.
"I don't know."
Silence.
Then—
unexpectedly—
the figure nodded.
ACCURATE RESPONSE.
I stared.
"What?"
The figure tilted its head.
IDENTITY INSTABILITY CONFIRMED.
Wonderful.
Apparently I was now an officially recognized existential crisis.
Selene looked completely lost.
"Kairo, can somebody explain what's happening?"
Kairo's jaw tightened.
But before he could answer—
the figure suddenly froze.
Completely.
Its eyes lost focus.
The facility lights flickered violently.
Something had changed.
Something unexpected.
Adrian noticed immediately.
"No."
The word escaped him.
Sharp.
Urgent.
The figure's expression became blank.
More blank than before.
Then the voice returned.
Different this time.
Distorted.
Glitching.
EXTERNAL OVERRIDE DETECTED.
The chamber froze.
Kairo's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
No one answered.
Because the figure itself was changing.
The calm demeanor vanished.
The measured movements disappeared.
Its body stiffened.
Like something else had taken control.
Then a second voice emerged from its mouth.
Not the same voice.
Not mechanical.
Human.
Cold.
Familiar.
My blood ran cold instantly.
Because I recognized it.
We all did.
Cassian.
The figure smiled.
A real smile this time.
Cruel.
Satisfied.
Victorious.
And suddenly everything became clear.
Cassian hadn't just activated the facility.
He had accessed it.
Controlled it.
Manipulated it.
The figure looked directly at Kairo.
Then spoke in Cassian's voice.
"Now I understand why you've been so difficult to eliminate."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Kairo's expression darkened immediately.
"Cassian."
The smile widened.
"Hello, nephew."
Every word dripped with satisfaction.
Like a hunter finally cornering his prey.
The figure slowly stepped forward.
Its movements now completely different.
Less precise.
More human.
More dangerous.
Cassian continued speaking through it.
"I spent years searching for answers."
His gaze shifted toward me.
Then—
"I never expected to find the cause."
My stomach tightened.
Cause.
He was talking about me.
The realization hit immediately.
And judging by the look in his eyes—
that was very bad.
Very, very bad.
The figure pointed directly at me.
"You."
The chamber fell silent.
"You don't belong here."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Cassian's smile deepened.
"That's why everything changed."
The words echoed through the facility.
Every secret.
Every betrayal.
Every deviation.
Every unexpected outcome.
He was blaming all of it on me.
And the worst part?
A small piece of me wondered if he was right.
The figure took another step forward.
Kairo immediately moved to block its path.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Because now there was no doubt.
No misunderstanding.
No hidden agenda.
The confrontation was finally here.
Cassian's voice emerged again.
Cold.
Sharp.
Certain.
"Do you know what happens when something enters a system where it doesn't belong?"
Silence.
Then he answered his own question.
"It gets removed."
The facility lights flashed red.
Every alarm suddenly activated at once.
A deafening warning echoed throughout the structure.
And the figure's eyes locked onto me.
Not Kairo.
Not Selene.
Not Adrian.
Me.
TARGET IDENTIFIED.
The words weren't Cassian's.
They were the system's.
And somehow that made them even worse.
Because for the first time—
both Cassian and the facility agreed on something.
They wanted me gone.