The corridor was cold. Not just ordinary cold—the kind that felt designed to kill emotion. She walked slowly, her black boots echoing against the metal floor. No other sound. No guards. No alarms. Too easy. Her gun stayed raised, steady. The mission was simple: infiltrate, locate the rogue scientist, and end it. The target’s name was burned into her mind. Dr. Adrian Voss. A brilliant scientist… who vanished years ago after illegal human experimentation. She stopped in front of a large metal door. Slightly open. A green light leaked from inside. She pushed it. And froze. Dozens of glass capsules stood tall inside the room. A faint glow pulsed from the liquid within. Inside them—female bodies. With the same face. Her face. Her heartbeat quickened, but her breathing stayed controlled. Years of training held her together. This didn’t make sense. Or… maybe it made too much sense. The lights flicked on. “So… they sent you.” The voice was deep. Calm. Like it had been waiting. She raised her gun instantly. At the far end of the room, a man stood in a pristine white coat. His hair was lightly graying. His eyes sharp… but there was something else in them. Not fear. Not anger. Something closer to… longing. Dr. Adrian Voss. Her target. She didn’t move. He stepped closer. Slowly. “Interesting,” he murmured. “You grew… stronger than I expected.” A slight tension ran through her—but she stayed silent. The words felt wrong. Like he knew her. Behind him, a large screen flickered to life. Data flooded the display. Graphs. Genetic codes. Old recordings. One video stopped. A little girl… lying on an operating table. Surrounded by medical equipment. Her face. Her finger tightened slightly on the trigger. Adrian glanced at the screen. His expression shifted. “You were dying,” he said quietly. He took another step. “Your mother was sick. Her body rejected every treatment. The only solution… was something no one had ever attempted.” His eyes locked onto hers. “You.” The room felt smaller. “You weren’t a victim,” he continued. “You were the solution.” The screen changed rapidly. Needles. Foreign fluids. A small body trembling. Data rising and falling. Experiments. Over and over again. “I altered your body. Forced it to become stronger… more resilient than any normal human.” There was no regret in his voice. Only something close to pride. “You survived,” he said softly. “Out of all possibilities… you survived.” The capsule lights flickered. “And when you finally did…” he inhaled slowly, “I sent you back.” Silence fell. “Your mother needed you.” The screen shifted again. A house. A woman lying weak on a bed. And a child—her—standing nearby. Then— another shadow entered. A man’s silhouette. A hand raised. The screen went black. Darkness, just for a second. Her heart pounded louder. That fragment… felt familiar. But incomplete. Like a nightmare she had forgotten. Adrian lowered his gaze slightly. “I had no choice,” he said quietly. The words sounded… empty. “Or maybe,” a faint smile formed, “I chose it.” He looked at her again. “You saw it, didn’t you?” Silence. “You saw your mother die.” The air grew heavy. Something inside her trembled. Not a full memory. Just fragments. Blood. Something falling. Fear without shape. Adrian stepped closer. “You don’t remember me,” he said softly. “I made sure of that.” His gaze sharpened. “I erased everything that could bring you back.” The machines hummed louder. “And now look at you,” he whispered, “you came back… strong enough to kill me.” Her finger shifted on the trigger. Not from hesitation. But because something inside her was cracking. The capsules around her lit up all at once. Dozens of reflections. Versions of her. Failures. Ones that never made it out. Adrian stopped right in front of her. Close. Too close. “You are the only one who succeeded,” he said quietly. “My daughter.” The word landed like something that didn’t belong in that room. Silence. And for the first time— her hand wasn’t completely steady.