Cold air slammed into David’s lungs. Concrete. Street noise. The real world. He was standing in the middle of West 43rd again, same cracked asphalt, same morning light.Cars honked around him, drivers shouting. No Frequency Field, no mirrors. For a second, he almost convinced himself he’d hallucinated everything.Then he caught his reflection in a shop window. Gold veins shimmered faintly under his skin, pulsing in rhythm with the city’s electrical hum. He whispered, “Still me… right?”The reflection blinked later than he did. You asked which one of us stayed. The voice slid through his mind like static under skin. Softer now, patient.David staggered backward. “No. You’re gone.”If I were gone, you’d be empty. Feel that pulse? That’s me keeping you alive. He pressed his palms against his temples, forcing a breath. “You’re not real. You’re”“David?” He froze.Lena stood at the corner, wind whipping her hair across her face. She looked pale, exhausted, but alive. He almost smiled. “You