Elara's home - early morning .
Eva stirred.
Her eyelashes fluttered, catching the first faint light of morning pressing through the curtains. Her fingers curled softly into the blanket beneath her, breath steady but shallow.
And then—
Her eyes opened.
She blinked up into a pale face leaning over her watchful, quiet, unmoving.
Elara.
For a moment, Eva stared, trying to understand what was wrong with the image in front of her. The woman's features were familiar. The scent was familiar. But her expression....
It was too still.
Too distant.
Eva's voice came out in a soft, croaky whisper:
"Oh… Mommy, you're awake."
She tried to smile, but it faltered as she watched Elara's face remain unreadable. No flicker of recognition. No warmth.
Eva's eyes searched hers.
"You okay?" she asked, sitting up slightly.
Elara tilted her head, almost mechanically. Her voice was quiet, far away.
"I don't know."
Eva blinked. Her chest tightened.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
Elara didn't answer. She stood slowly, her movements deliberate, precise. Her gaze drifted around the room like she was seeing it for the first time, or like she was trying to remember what it was supposed to be.
Eva slipped her legs off the bed, bare feet touching the wooden floor. Her voice grew firmer.
"Mom… it's me. It's Eva. You know me, right?"
Elara turned. Her eyes met Eva's. For the briefest second, something shimmered behind them, recognition, grief, longing.
And then… it was gone.
"You should lie back down," she said gently. "Your system is still adjusting."
Eva froze. System?
"…What's wrong with you?" Eva asked, more sharply now. Her heart beat faster.
Elara's hand moved slowly to her chest, pressing lightly over her heart, as though confirming it was still there. Her next words chilled the room:
"I think… I remember being someone else."
Eva stood, now fully alert.
From the hallway, quiet footsteps approached...
Lucas, disheveled, eyes tired. But when he entered the room and saw them both awake, standing, facing each other, he paused.
"…Everything okay in here?"
Elara didn't answer.
Eva did. Her voice was small. Scared.
"I think Mommy's not Mommy."
Lucas looked at elara
Elara turned to him slowly.
And smiled.
It wasn't Elara's smile.
It was… someone else's.
---------------------------------
Elsewhere — Raven and Damien
In a dimly lit room filled with monitors and glowing interfaces, Raven paced restlessly
" Something wrong " he muttered " I can feel it."
Damien, seated at a console, glanced up.
" you're sensing it too"
Raven nodded.
" Ever since eva's Fold- walk, the energy signatures have been... unstable. Its like the layers are shifting."
Damien tapped a few keys, bringing up a holographic display.
" The readings from Elara's home are fluctuating. It's subtile, but it's here ."
" We need to go there " Raven said firmly. Somethings happening and we need to find out what ."
-----------------------
Back at Elara's Home
Eva reached out, gently touching Elara's hand.
" May be you should rest a bit more. I will be right here."
Elara nodded slowly, lying back down.
"Thank you sweetie."
As Eva watched her drift back to sleep, a sense of unease settled over her. Something was changing and she could feel it deep within.
--------------------------
Elara's Home – Morning Arrival
The screen flickered. A soft beep cut through the tension in the room.
A small round light turned from amber to green.
Raven and Damien both looked up.
The signal.
Everything was… stable.
They stared at the glowing indicator, silent for a beat.
Then, without a word, they exchanged a glance. A silent agreement passed between them, this wasn't over. If anything, this moment of calm only made things more suspicious.
They stood up at once, grabbing their coats, stepping into the early morning light. The streets were quiet, washed pale with dawn mist as they made their way swiftly to Elara's home.
At Elara's Door
The knock echoed softly through the house.
Moments later, the door creaked open.
Eva stood there in her nightgown, the morning light catching in her tousled hair. She blinked sleepily at them.
"You're Daddy's friends," she said plainly, then added, "Daddy's not here."
Damien and Raven looked at each other.
Something about the way she said it…
Raven knelt down, his eyes searching hers.
"You're acting strange, Eva," he said gently. "We know it's you."
Eva tilted her head, a confused expression crossing her face. She blinked twice, her brows knitting together in perfect innocence.
"Huh?" she said. "What do you mean?"
Damien leaned toward Raven, whispering, "Is it an error?"
"I don't understand…" Raven muttered. "She's the child. She's acting like a normal 3-year-old. I think I should check her."
Before Damien could say more, Eva chirped brightly,
"Daddy not at home. He went to work."
Raven kept his voice warm.
"Do you want to come with me for a minute? I think I left some sweets in the other room."
Eva's face lit up. "Yes! I want it!"
She slipped her hand into Raven's, and together, they disappeared down the hallway.
Meanwhile — Damien
As soon as they were gone, Damien moved swiftly. He entered the house, scanning its familiar edges with sharp eyes. The air was still, fragrant with the soft lingering scent of night flowers.
Then he found her.
Elara was asleep, curled on her side on the couch. Peaceful. Still.
Damien hesitated for a breath. Then he pulled a small metallic device from his inner coat pocket, a silver wafer, thin and cold.
He leaned in and gently pressed it to her arm, careful not to wake her. The device pulsed faintly against her skin. Scanning. Listening. Reading.
Footsteps returned.
Damien slipped the device back into his pocket just as Raven re-entered the room, eyes narrowing suspiciously for a moment until he saw it was only Damien.
"She's clear," Raven said, quietly. "No Fold signature, no contamination. No trace of temporal bleed either."
Damien exhaled.
"Same with Elara."
He paused, brow furrowing.
"I don't understand."
Raven stood beside him, arms crossed.
"Maybe our machine's off," he muttered.
"Maybe," Damien replied. But neither of them sounded convinced.
After a long moment, they turned, slipping silently out of the house.
Back Inside
Eva stood by the window, watching them leave. She held a small red candy in her hand, unwrapped but uneaten. Her expression was blank.
Then, her form shimmered faintly, like a ripple passing through her skin.
In the soft morning light, the child faded.
And in her place stood the real Eva, the nineteen-year-old version.calm, her eyes no longer wide with childlike wonder but sharp, aware, calculating.
She watched Raven and Damien disappear into the distance, her gaze steady. Her lips curled, but not into a warm smile, this one was cold, precise.
A victorious smile.
"I did it…" she whispered.
Then, slowly, she turned away from the window and walked back toward the bedroom, quiet as a falling petal.
Behind her, the faint shimmer of Fold-light flickered once....then vanished.
-------------------------
Outskirts of the City – Dawn
Jian lay sprawled across a bed of soft, damp grass in a quiet green field just outside the city. Morning mist drifted low across the ground. The world was still.
But his breath wasn't.
He woke with a violent jolt eyes snapping open, chest rising fast. His heart pounded like it wanted to tear out from his ribcage. The echo of the dream still clung to him, sharper than ever.
It was always the same.
In the dream, Elara stood before him, young, glowing, her eyes filled with trust. She had been crying , terrified, trembling slightly as he held her. His arms wrapped around her, gently, like something precious he couldn't bear to break.
"Do you trust me?" Jian whispered in the dream.
Elara looked up into his eyes. She didn't hesitate.
"I trust you… always," she said softly.
Her voice still rang in his ears.
His fingers trembled as they brushed her hand, then pressed something small, metallic.
A hidden switch.
A shutdown command.
Her body went still.
Eyes wide.
Mouth slightly open as if still trying to say something.
She collapsed against his chest, silent and lifeless.
The next image: the grave. Earth piled high. A crude marker etched with timeworn words:
Elara -2001- Error .
He had deceived her. Betrayed her belief in him to remain loyal to those who commanded him.
Jian sat up, his breath ragged, hand pressed over his heart like he could smother the ache clawing at his ribs. That moment never left him. Not in waking. Not in sleep.
He stayed there for a long moment, staring into the fog.
Then he stood.
And walked.
Back to the city.
------------------------
Elara's House — One Hour After Raven and Damien Left
A knock broke the silence. Firm. Measured.
Eva paused mid-step, instantly alert, cautious. Could it be Raven and Damien again ?
She opened the door slowly, carefully .
Jian stood there.
His face was pale, drawn, the weight of sleepless nights pulling at the corners of his eyes.
"Is everything okay?" she asked gently.
Jian didn't answer. His silence was louder than any words.
Her eyes softened, and she stepped aside.
"So… it's not okay. Come in."
Before Jian could respond, a voice floated calmly from within.
"She's sleeping," Eva called from the hallway.
Jian blinked. She hadn't even looked his way.
"Just come in," she said again, her voice light but strangely… knowing.
Jian stepped inside slowly. The air inside the house felt different now, heavier, sharper. Fold-light residue lingered like the faintest static.
Something had changed.
He said nothing.
But his eyes told the story: the past was still chasing him. And the house he entered now… might no longer be the one he left behind.
They sat quietly in the dim light of the living room. The morning sun filtered through gauzy curtains, casting soft golden lines across the table.
Eva placed a steaming cup of tea in front of Jian and sat beside him. Her movements were calm, but her gaze was sharp, watchful.
"Is it about the 2001 version again?" she asked casually, her voice low but cutting through the stillness.
Jian didn't answer.
He stared down at the tea like it held a thousand truths he couldn't swallow.
Eva let out a quiet sigh and raised her hand in a familiar gesture of mock surrender.
"As usual… tight lipped ," she muttered with a small smirk. Always secretive.
She leaned back against the couch, her tone shifting into something more annoyed, more playful.
"Anyway, those two idiots came today. Again."
Jian's eyes finally lifted, sharp and alert. "Damien and Raven?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I handled it."
His brow furrowed. "Handled?"
"They came to check on us," she said smoothly, crossing one leg over the other. "But I already made another layer, deep, solid. Fold-anchored. To them, I was just the child Eva. And Elara? Looked the same to them. Normal. Innocent."
Jian studied her. "And they believed it?"
"Of course they did," she replied, a touch of pride in her voice. "They saw no cracks. No error flags. No pulses. Just a quiet house and two resting souls."
She paused.
"But…"
Jian leaned forward, catching the shift in her tone.
"Elara had an episode this morning."
His body tensed. "What kind of episode?"
Eva tilted her head thoughtfully, as if choosing the right words.
"Some kind of… identity flicker," she said at last. "She slipped. For a second....maybe two."
Jian's voice dropped, low and steady.
" Explain "
"She started speaking like the version you gave Lucas...Elara 2002, the cruel, arrogant one. Her voice, her eyes...it was her," Eva said, her tone sharp and unbothered. She flicked her hand to mimic a sudden switch. "Sometimes she shifts without warning. The cold shell of 2001 shows through again. And just like that, she's back to being the 'wife' Elara. Like nothing happened."
Jian's eyes darkened. "She's bleeding through."
Eva nodded solemnly.
"She remembers, Jian," she said, her voice quiet now. "Even if the layer holds, the core's still flickering. And if that happens too often…"
Jian finished for her, voice hard. "They'll detect it."
A silence stretched between them. The steam from the tea rose like a fading ghost.
Eva looked at him sideways.
"So what now?"
Jian exhaled slowly.
"We prepare," he said.
Eva's smile returned , sharp, cold, and just a little victorious.
"Good," she whispered.
Suddenly, Eva froze. A wave of fear spread across her body like ice under her skin. Jian noticed the change but said nothing, watching her carefully.
Minutes passed in silence.
"What is it?" he finally asked.
Eva turned to him with wide, terrified eyes. "Jian?" she whispered, voice trembling. Hesitant, nervous, she continued, "I think… for a second, it felt like her eyes were watching me."
"Who?" Jian asked, his voice low.
Eva hugged herself tightly, shivering.
"Voox," she said, barely audible.
Jian's eyes widened. He glanced around sharply, alert. Eva slowly lowered her arms and looked up at him.
"Is she gone?" he asked.
Eva took a breath. "That was terrifying," she said. "It felt like she was right beside me... like she wanted to erase me. I could feel her eyes all around me, watching."
To be continue...