The roar from the lower levels shook through Ash's bones like a warning he couldn't outrun.
Seren held his face in both hands, her voice cracking.
"Ash, stay with me. Don't give in to whatever that thing is."
Kai kept the dim flashlight raised, breath trembling.
"Copy or no copy, we can't stay here. The whole place sounds like it's waking up."
But Ash barely heard them.
His mind pulsed with pressure.
Rhythmic, suffocating, pulling him downward like invisible hands.
come back… complete… complete…
He pressed his palms against his skull.
"It's… calling me."
Model Zero moved closer, slow and deliberate, not wanting to trigger Seren.
"You hear the origin because the part of you that was removed resonates with it," the copy said.
"I can block the connection if you come near me. But I cannot protect you from across the room."
Seren stepped between them immediately.
"You're not taking him anywhere. He's not stepping one foot closer to you."
Model Zero's voice deepened. Not angry, but urgent.
"If it enters his mind first, he will lose himself."
Seren's hands curled into fists.
"He doesn't need you to survive."
Kai's voice cracked. "You sure about that? Because he looks like he's about to pass out!"
Ash felt the world bend.
His vision warped, one moment clear, the next trembling like ripples across water.
And beneath everything…
another presence pushed against his thoughts.
Not speaking,
just pressing,
invading,
searching.
Seren gripped him tightly. "Ash. Listen to me. Stay with me."
Model Zero extended a hand, slow, gentle, careful.
"Ash, I am not your enemy. You need me."
"No!" Seren shouted. "He doesn't!"
The rumbling below grew stronger, the pulse syncing with Ash's heartbeat.
The pressure inside his head sharpened like a blade.
Ash gasped. "It's… breaking through."
Seren turned him toward her, eyes terrified but determined.
"Look at me, Ash. Don't let it take you. I'm right here."
But something in him was slipping
through cracks he didn't know he had.
Kai dropped to his knees beside them.
"Ash, buddy, breathe. Stay awake. Focus on her voice."
Model Zero's eyes glowed brighter.
"I can stabilize him. If he touches me, the origin will lose access."
Seren spun toward the copy, anger trembling through her.
"You only want him near you because it benefits you. You don't care about him!"
The copy didn't react to the accusation.
It simply said, with unsettling calm:
"I don't need to care to protect him."
Seren staggered, as if struck.
"You're proving my point."
Another violent tremor rocked the hallway.
A metallic shriek echoed from below,
louder and closer.
The origin was rising.
Ash's vision split.
He saw the hallway and beneath it, a dark room glowing dim red,
shadows moving,
something massive shifting in the dark,
something trying to climb upward.
He felt its awareness brush his mind.
Cold.
Vast.
Searching for him.
Ash grabbed Seren's wrist suddenly, not out of certainty, but desperation.
"Seren," he whispered, "I'm… losing control."
Her breath caught.
"No. No, you're not. I've got you. I won't let anything take you."
Model Zero's voice turned sharp.
"Ash. Now. Take my hand."
Seren exhaled shakily.
"Ash. Don't. Please."
Kai looked between them, panic rising.
"Guys, the floor is literally shaking . Now would be a great time to make a decision!"
Ash's heartbeat slammed in his ears.
Seren clutching him…
Kai pleading…
Model Zero waiting with a steady hand…
complete… come back…
His mind fractured.
And he knew whatever decision he made
would change everything.
Ash inhaled shakily.
Then,
He reached out.
Not fully.
Not touching yet.
But his trembling hand hovered
between Seren and the copy…
Caught between two futures.
Two selves.
Two dangers.