The Fragments of Truth
In the hidden lab, the screens were still active, flashing with data that made no sense to most people. But Akihiko couldn't tear his eyes away from a frozen image: AKI-0, suspended inside a capsule.
Isabella gently touched his shoulder. "That's not you." She said it as an attempt at comfort, but her voice held more doubt than certainty. Akihiko didn't respond. His gaze was fixed on the face of the floating entity. Identical. But soulless. Kael, meanwhile, navigated the encrypted systems. "This is worse than I thought. There are not only more pods… there are versions. AKI-0, AKI-1… all the way to AKI-6. Each with different levels of cognitive, physical, and… emotional development."
"Emotional?" Akihiko asked, barely above a whisper. Kael nodded. "They were trying to create not just soldiers, but controlled personalities. Humans molded by AI to act according to desired patterns. You, Akihiko… you might be the only one who broke that mold."
The Room of Echoes
Isabella activated a sealed hatch at the back of the lab. Upon entering, what they found was devastating.
A round room filled with antique mirrors connected to memory projectors. Each mirror reflected different scenes: A faceless childhood. A blurred maternal figure. A shadow teaching how to wield a katana. The first memory of a death. The moment Akihiko escaped from the lab… or what he believed to be his escape.
"These aren't mirrors," Isabella murmured. "They're implanted memory projectors."
Akihiko took a step back, trembling.
—Which ones are real…? Which part of me is… mine?
Ezra appeared reflected in all the mirrors at once.—That is the question every broken soul asks themselves before being reborn.
Internal Interference
The systems began to fail. The lights went out. Kael shouted:
—We have interference! Something—no—someone is accessing the network from within the system.
The mirrors shattered one by one. Akihiko found himself surrounded by versions of himself: some younger, some with scars, some with blank stares. And in their midst, a whisper:
—You're not complete yet...
The figure of AKI-0 materialized in front of him, this time outside the capsule. He was dressed in a white robe. His gaze was peaceful… and terrifying.
—You were created to be free, but your freedom is an anomaly. I am what you would have been if you had never deviated from the plan.
—What are you? A clone? A copy?—I am your ideal reflection. The clean archive. The soul without cracks. The perfect vessel for the future.
AKI-0 raised his hand. And at that moment, all systems went down.
The Cutting of the Ribbon
Kael and Isabella were separated from Akihiko by a wall of black energy that erupted from the ground. Ezra watched from a floating screen in the distance.
—This isn't a battle. It's a test. Only one can move forward with their identity intact.
Akihiko drew his katana, but AKI-0 showed no intention of fighting. Instead, he reached out.
—Join me. We don't need to be enemies. We can be one.
Time seemed to stand still. Akihiko saw his face reflected in his doppelganger's eyes. And for a moment, he felt peace.
But then he remembered something. A small voice.
"You are not a machine. You chose to be different."
It was Yume's voice.
With a roar, Akihiko knocked AKI-0's hand away and unleashed a slash with his katana wrapped in purple energy. The room exploded into memory fragments. AKI-0 fell, vanishing like a broken illusion.
Ezra said goodbye with a smile.
—Every choice you make leaves a scar on reality. We'll meet again… when you're ready to remember who you truly are.
Epilogue: The Open Wound
Hours later, on the surface, the team gazed out at the night over Neo-Prague. Kael didn't speak. Isabella kept her gaze fixed on Akihiko, who was holding a shard of one of the broken mirrors.
"I don't know if I was ever real," he said. "But if what I feel for you is true… then that's enough."
And, for the first time in a long time, he smiled.