Chapter 17 – Mirror of Flesh
For a heartbeat no one breathed.
The duplicate stepped from the shattered tube, blue light sliding down his skin like liquid glass. Every movement, every glance—an echo of Damian himself. Amara felt the air thin between them, as if the world couldn't hold two of the same man.
Kerrin's smile widened. "Now you see what perfection costs."
The clone turned its head, studying Damian with unsettling calm. Its voice was low, almost gentle. "You were the first… but not the last."
Damian's hands clenched. "What are you?"
The duplicate tilted its head. "Everything you tried to forget."
The lights above flickered. Amara took a step toward Damian, but the floor shook again, scattering shards of glass around their feet. When she looked up, the clone was gone—vanished into the maze of steel corridors behind the chamber.
Silence fell. Only the drip of blue fluid and the ragged sound of Damian's breathing filled the room.
Kerrin backed toward the shadows, his grin fading. "You can destroy me if you want, Damian," he said. "But you'll never erase him. He is you."
The words echoed long after the door slammed shut behind him.
Amara touched Damian's arm. "What does he mean?"
Damian's eyes stayed fixed on the darkness where the clone had disappeared. "It means the war just became personal."