The mirrored chamber sealed shut behind them.
Marcus stood alone.
Lucien and Ember had vanished the moment the iris-doors closed, their voices cut off mid-word. The Vault had isolated him—exactly as the Mirror intended.
Across the reflective floor stood Mirrored Chen, the Architect-forged ideal Marcus was meant to become. Its movements were fluid, its presence cold and undeniable.
"You shouldn't exist," Marcus said, his voice echoing in the vast stillness. "You're just a projection."
"No," the Mirror replied calmly. "You are the projection. A data seed. A chance deviation."
It stepped forward. Its body shimmered with fractal enhancements: neural overlays, quantum-veined skin, and eyes that adjusted light like lenses. "Your system is based on a hybrid code—part human, part Architect. A fusion. A compromise."
[System Anomaly Detected: Mirrored Code Signature Interference][Neural Sync at Risk – Memory Drift Approaching Threshold]
Marcus clutched his head as distorted images flooded his mind—images not from his own life. Cities beyond Earth. Planets shaped by Architect will. He saw himself leading them. Replacing humanity. Becoming its next stage.
He staggered. "No… I'm not you."
"You are," the Mirror said softly. "But only if you let go of fear. Let go of limitation. You could be more than human. You could be the first True Architect Hybrid."
The mirrored walls pulsed, showing scenes of a different Earth—thriving, efficient, emotionless. No war. No chaos. Just purpose.
But Marcus's fists clenched.
"That's not life. That's control."
[Override Possible: Authorize Full Architect Sync?][Y/N]
The prompt burned across his vision like temptation.
The Mirror smiled, as if it had already won.
Then Marcus whispered, "System… show me my real reflection."
The mirrors shifted. The chamber dimmed.
And for the first time, Marcus saw a different vision: himself surrounded by people. Not gods. Not machines. Survivors. Friends. Lucien handing him a rifle. Ember laughing beside a campfire. A child holding his hand in the ruins.
His future.
Not perfect.
But free.
[Override Rejected][New Path Chosen: Divergent Legacy][Installing Unique Evolution Trait: "Singularity Will"]
Power rushed through him—but it was different this time. No pain. No mutation. Just clarity. Resolve.
Marcus looked the Mirror in the eyes. "You're not my destiny. You're a warning."
And with that, he stepped forward, hand outstretched—not to fight, but to rewrite.
[Initiating System Merge: Mirrored Code Absorbed – Conversion in Progress]
The Mirror flinched for the first time. "No. You can't—"
"I already did."
Light exploded.
When it cleared, Marcus stood alone.
The chamber had gone dark.
But within him now pulsed a new core—one that understood both sides of what he was, and chose neither.