An endless, sterile void stretching in every direction, humming faintly with data streams and echoes of lost voices. Words with no speakers. Commands with no master. His voice echoed endlessly, as though the void itself was questioning him back. > [System Core Integrity: 71%] [Emotional Contamination: HIGH RISK] [Personality Drift Detected] [Initiating Reformat... ERROR. ERROR.] Only the faint outline of a figure—made of fragmented light and dissolving code. Memories floated past him like shattered glass: Jay’s half-lidded smirk. A sandwich offered without comment. A voice: "You’re weird, but not bad." "That’s not in the mission data..." A ripple formed in the distance—then became a shape. Rei stepped toward it. In the reflection stood not one, but two versions of him. One was sharp, expressionless, precise. His uniform perfect. His eyes dead. > "Eliminate Subject-03. Purge the threat. Complete the mission." The other... was tired. His uniform was rumpled. His fingers trembled. His eyes— His eyes looked scared. > "I... I don’t want to." Rei reached out toward the mirror— Blackness bled from the cracks, swallowing the white. > [WARNING: Identity Conflict Escalating] [SYSTEM PURIFIER EN ROUTE] [Fall Back Directive: EMOTION SEVERANCE – Approved] "I won’t give it up." He clenched his fists—real or not. "I’m not just a command." A shape began to form before him—a glowing sigil, spinning slowly like a sun being born. In its center, one phrase: 🌙 Vija Academy – Infirmary Room 3 Rei’s eyes snapped open. The world rushed back—ceiling tiles, dim lanterns, mana monitor blinking in the corner. His chest heaved once. Then again. Sweat clung to his skin like frost. He sat up slowly... and found Jay sitting on the floor beside the bed, leaning against the wall, fast asleep with a pudding cup in hand. Alicia stood in the doorway, arms crossed, watching quietly. "So," she said softly, "you’re awake." She didn’t raise her sword. She didn’t call the guards. "...Who are you really?" free.webn\ove(l)(.)c(o)m Rei’s eyes flickered. For a moment, just a moment, something in him broke through the static. "...I don’t know yet."