ult br

nside, it's like I'm inside something liv

scle beneath skin. I bite down on a scream, refusing to let fear win. I can't afford to

e silence, sharp

hips to t

til it forms a vertical line. It hums with electricity. The sound i

Seraphine

step at a time, ever

with lines that glow faintly red like veins coursing with data instead of blood. In the cen

de i

ree

de i

No

e. Same eyes. But

erce her skin, her temples, her spine, her wrists. Her veins glow dimly

otot

ns. The air thi

blueprints I once stole from Auren's labs. Project Thanatos. It

iv

't real,"

it

els slide open in the walls, revealing mechanical arms folded in

thinks I'm

hre

be...

scans me from head to toe. A synthetic

ed. Hostile activity detected. Resetting biolog

way, but it slams shut behin

s. The walls shudder, responding

...emerges from the

eraphine. But I do. I made you.

e me," I growl.

ife. Then another. Then four more. They reach for

ars through my ribs. I don't care. I crawl toward the console at the edge of the p

flashes acro

write in pr

No n

hind my eyes. Memories I know aren't mine swirl inside me. Bl

into the console, hard e

accepted. Initiat

e cylinder containing the other Seraphine lo

my knees, br

le

a soft

across the chamber. A fig

e isn't

an plating. His eyes glow faint gold behind a black vis

ed. The rogue

e everything around me explodes i

ight

sharp, precise. My body's being dragged across the Vault floor, the edges of

something on his forearm screen. "Neural i

y muscles aren't responding right. It

eda

edative. A con

e, hacking into the very f

ng under the low red glow of the

others. Impressive. But st

. My voice is hoarse, dry l

esit

e says, "Unit Commander

eg

omach

Auren's top-tier networks. Designed to eliminate rog

s. Omega Task Force isn'

ere to er

cility was sealed after Auren's death. No one's supposed to

m. "Then why

glowing gold of his visor. "I received

send any

oser. "But someone we

od goe

he woman in

s aw

e pass through corridor after corridor, my surroundings warping under the Vault's eerie glow. I

to lose consc

ael stopping abruptly at the base of a massive elevator

e floor and curses

not a

copper on my tongue and

cold. Brigh

la

ial. This isn't

ontainme

unching commands into a side panel. His armor is scratc

out?" I ask, s

hou

den. "What

ens. "I lost

e around. No o

e version of you activated an old AI defense protocol....Protocol Omega. I

ocol Omega wasn't even

closer to

erge. Half-human, half-system. She

ou mean 'e

slides open, revealing a giant 3D

round network is

he neural infrastructure. She'

cloned me, he'd created something more dangerous. More advanced.

she wake up now? A

ow. "Because someone outsid

nk. "

a long, se

th

k it wa

slams in

eathe. "I

he's running on your memories. She speaks in your voice

sion

e than I

y, isn't just a remnan

his

he's

s through the tension, and

er's fl

is sidearm, just as the inter

fills

voi

phine. Did y

the reinforced door behind Kael sl

s weapon, but

behind m

e steps

ical

ical

no s

a s

never have