The moment the unknown access locked in, Aiden stopped feeling like one person, not splitting, not merging, suspended.
Like all versions of him had been grabbed at the same time and held just slightly out of reach of their own decisions.
Adrian moved first, but even that movement felt delayed, as if intention had to pass through permission layers before becoming action.
Seraphina didn’t move at all. That was worse.
Because stillness meant recognition.
And recognition meant she already knew what this was.
Unknown Source: Control Layer Active.
The system didn’t sound like the system anymore. It sounded like something that had finally taken ownership of itself. Aiden tried to speak, but his voice came out fragmented.
“I can’t feel." His sentence broke before finishing. The reflection
