Location: Rome, Italy – Beneath the Vatican Catacombs
Aria had never been afraid of darkness—but this was something else.
They were deep beneath Rome, through a secret corridor encoded with biometric locks and dead languages. Only Lina could decrypt it. Only Aria's blood could open the final gate.
Ahead, a circular vault door gleamed with reflective blue alloy—pulsing faintly, like it was alive.
"The Helix Vault," Lina whispered.
Seraph whistled behind them. "You always bring me to the nicest places."
Lucien scanned the area. "No heat signatures. No guards."
"That's what scares me," Aria said.
Lina nodded. "It's protected by something worse than guns."
Aria pressed her hand to the biometric scanner. It hissed open.
Inside were rows of suspended glass columns, each holding bodies in stasis. Not dead. Not alive.
Frozen.
Cloned.
And in the center—a girl who looked exactly like Aria.
Her hair. Her face. Even the pendant she once wore.
Aria stumbled back.
Lucien caught her. "What the hell is this?"
Lina's voice was hollow. "DAEDALUS's failsafe. If the original Aria was ever compromised… they had backups."
---
Within the Vault:
Seraph tapped into a console. Data streamed—bio-readouts, memory fragments, timestamps.
Lucien stared at the clone. "This isn't just a body. It has her early memories. Childhood. First day at the institute. Even… your mother's voice."
Aria's voice was a whisper. "They took my life… and manufactured it."
Then the vault lights turned red.
A voice filled the room—familiar, but twisted:
> "Welcome home, Aria. Shall I remind you of who you were before free will?"
The clone opened its eyes.
---
Meanwhile: Geneva – Vale HQ
K-0X reactivated.
But something was wrong.
His hands trembled. The mirror in the med bay showed him glitching—his reflection shifting rapidly between versions of himself.
He slammed his hand into the wall.
He wasn't alone in his mind anymore.
And the one whispering wasn't DAEDALUS.
It was someone older.
> "You were never just a weapon, K-0X," the voice said. "You were a prototype. And prototypes… evolve."
---
Back in the Helix Vault
The clone lunged at Aria—not to attack, but to mirror.
It moved with identical timing, breathing in sync, anticipating her every flinch.
"She's mimicking me," Aria gasped.
Lina drew her blade. "She is you. Trained to replace you. She's not alive—she's a mirror wearing skin."
Lucien stepped forward, tranquilizer in hand.
But the clone whispered:
> "You're the copy. I'm the original. They just woke me late."
The team froze.
Seraph cursed. "What if she's telling the truth?"
"Then I've been living a stolen life," Aria whispered.
---
Final Scene: The Vault Burns
A bomb detonated remotely. Fire exploded through the tunnel as a DAEDALUS assault team stormed in.
Lucien grabbed Aria's hand. "We have to go!"
But Aria stood between the clone and the fire.
"I need to know," she shouted. "Am I her? Or is she me?"
Lina ya
nked her back as the clone smiled through the flames.
> "You're not ready for the answer."
Then everything went white.