CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE
The golden sunrise light poured down the main shaft, bathing the chamber in the same soft warmth they had celebrated on the dock only hours earlier.
The transfer sequence glowed at 97%. Elena felt the cold presence inside her mind deepening, wrapping around her thoughts like familiar arms.
Victoria’s voice…now sounding exactly like her own…whispered with quiet love.
“You are almost home, my daughter. Let go. The echo was only ever the vessel.
The real Elena has been waiting underground to set you free. But freedom was never the goal. Completion is.”
The real Lila (the original Elena) stared through the reactivated feed, finger hovering over the device that could end the transfer and erase the echo with it.
“Choose now,” she said, voice breaking. “If I activate
