Location: Tavara – Crimson Rail Terminal, Midnight
The platform was eerily silent as the last express train roared through the city's underground. But amidst the blinding light and metallic screech, one figure stepped off—long coat, silver boots, and a briefcase with a biometric lock.
She looked like Vesper—but she wasn't.
Her name: Cyra.
Same face. Different soul.
Crafted in the void of Lucien Kael's secret lab, Cyra was everything Vesper wasn't—flawless precision, zero remorse, and immunity to emotional disruption. She didn't remember Nora. She didn't need to.
Her only order: Eliminate Damien Lancaster and retrieve Subject Vesper if unstable.
---
Location: Lancaster Estate – Security Control Room
Damien stared at the monitor. A silent alarm had been triggered at the north gate. No breach, just a disruption—subtle enough to go unnoticed.
But not by him.
"She's here," he said.
Nora rushed in, holding a tablet with biometric scans. "It's not Vesper. Same facial structure, but the vitals are... ice cold. Whoever this is, she's a perfect mimic."
Damien's jaw tightened. "Lucien made a twin."
"No," Nora corrected. "A puppet."
---
Location: Blackridge Mansion – Lucien's Lab
Lucien watched from his command screen as Cyra entered the estate perimeter. He smiled as he sipped his espresso.
"Let the glass version shatter them both," he said.
Behind him, Vesper was restrained in a reinforced neural cage. Her eyes were bloodshot, her body trembling under the weight of mental overrides.
She screamed as a memory of Nora flashed—her laughter, her kindness, her truth.
Lucien leaned in close and whispered, "You're obsolete, dear. But I'm giving you a front-row seat to your replacement's success."
---
Location: Lancaster Estate – Rooftop Confrontation
The wind howled. Damien emerged into the night air, holding a modified tranquilizer gun. He aimed at the figure cloaked in black.
Cyra turned slowly.
For a moment, he faltered. "Vesper...?"
"No," she said flatly. "She was imperfect."
She moved like lightning.
He fired. Missed.
A blade nicked his shoulder.
Nora arrived just in time, triggering the EMP device in her hand. Cyra's body jolted—only for her to adapt. Metal beneath her skin flexed.
"She's cyber-enhanced," Nora breathed.
Damien gritted his teeth, blood soaking his sleeve. "Then we end her with fire."
Nora nodded. "Plan A?"
"Plan B."
---
Location: Safehouse – Hours Later
Damien lay on the couch as Nora stitched his wound. The adrenaline had faded, but the truth weighed heavier.
"She wasn't human, Nora," he said. "Not fully."
"She was a mirror," Nora replied. "But mirrors crack."
Damien turned to face her. "And what about Vesper? If she's still alive... is she ours? Or Lucien's?"
Nora looked down, her voice cracking. "I don't know anymore. But I won't stop trying."
Damien gently took her hand. "Neither will I."
Outside, the sun began to rise—but peace was still far away.