I opened my eyes.
That shouldn't have been possible. I'd been scattered. Dissolved. Ended completely across dimensions where consciousness couldn't exist.
But I was breathing. Thinking. Existing.
"Eva?" Albert's voice, broken and desperate. "Eva, can you hear me?"
I tried to speak. Couldn't. Throat wouldn't work. Body felt wrong. Like wearing clothes that didn't fit anymore.
"She's awake," Subject Seven said. Her voice sounded weak. Distant. "But something's different. Her quantum signature—it's not the same."
I forced my eyes to focus. Saw Albert kneeling beside me. Saw tears streaming down his face. Saw guilt and relief and terror mixed together.
"How?" I whispered. Words felt strange. Heavy.
"I don't know." Albert touched my face gently. Like he was afraid I'd disappear again. "
