For several seconds, Sofia couldn’t move at all.She just stood there, staring at Ethan.Or whatever was wearing Ethan’s face now.The screens around them continued flashing those terrifying words.ETHAN HAS ENTERED THE BODY.Sofia swallowed hard and slowly backed away.“No,” she whispered, shaking her head.Ethan smiled at her, but something felt terribly wrong.His smile looked familiar, yet completely unfamiliar somehow.It was Ethan’s face, Ethan’s voice, and Ethan’s eyes, but none of it felt like him anymore.“You’re scared of me,” he said quietly.Sofia laughed nervously because apparently that was becoming her emergency response.“I am scared of everything here.”“That isn’t what I asked.”Sofia stared at him carefully.“Fine, yes, I am scared of you.”His smile disappeared immediately.“That hurts.”Sofia scoffed and folded her arms tightly.“You have no right complaining about hurting.”Ethan stepped toward her, and she stepped backward.“Don’t come any closer.”He stopped im

The laughter continued echoing through complete darkness.Sofia couldn’t see anyone around her anymore.She could only hear everyone’s frightened breathing.Then the mysterious voice whispered again behind them.“You finally found the fourth one.”Sofia swallowed before slowly turning around again.Nothing stood behind her anymore.Only darkness remained where everyone stood.“Okay,” Sofia whispered, “that was absolutely terrifying.”Ethan’s voice suddenly answered from somewhere nearby.“Stay where you are, Sofia.”She immediately recognized his frightened voice again.“Why should I listen to you?”“Because something else is here with us.”Sofia slowly stepped backward through the darkness.“What exactly is here with us?”Nobody answered her question immediately afterward.Then the little girl’s voice whispered nearby.“The fourth consciousness.”Sofia’s heart began pounding harder than before.“What exactly is the fourth consciousness?”The child didn’t answer her immediately.Inste

Sofia stared at Amelia without understanding anything anymore.Her mind felt like a room with broken windows.Every answer seemed to create another impossible question.“You are my sister?” Sofia finally asked quietly.Amelia nodded slowly, looking strangely hurt.“Yes, Sofia, I am your sister.”Sofia shook her head while stepping backward.“That cannot possibly be true.”Amelia looked toward Ethan before answering.“You don’t remember because they removed me.”Sofia’s eyes immediately narrowed with suspicion.“Who removed you from my memories?”Amelia’s expression became colder afterward.“Ethan helped them remove me.”Sofia immediately turned toward Ethan.“Is that true?”Ethan didn’t answer quickly enough.Sofia’s heart sank immediately after that silence.“Ethan, please answer me honestly this time.”“I helped remove some memories.”“Some memories?”“Most of them were dangerous.”Sofia laughed bitterly without feeling amused.“Apparently everything about my life was dangerous.”Am

Sofia couldn’t breathe after hearing her mother’s voice.The entire room seemed frozen around them.Nobody moved, not even Ethan beside her.Sofia stared at the floor beneath her feet.“Mum?”Her voice cracked immediately after saying it.The voice answered from below.“Yes, Sofia, I’m still here.”Sofia covered her mouth with trembling hands.Tears immediately filled her eyes.“No, this isn’t possible.”Ethan slowly approached her from behind.“Sofia, don’t answer her.”Sofia turned around sharply.“Why shouldn’t I?”“Because you don’t know what she is.”“That sounds like my mother.”“It sounds like your mother’s memory.”Sofia shook her head angrily.“You don’t know that.”“I know how the system works.”“And I know my mother’s voice.”Ethan’s expression softened painfully.“So do I.”Sofia immediately froze after hearing that.“You knew my mother?”Ethan didn’t answer immediately.Sofia stepped closer toward him.“You knew her?”“Yes.”“How?”“She helped create the first system.”So

Sofia opened her eyes inside complete darkness.There was no floor beneath her feet anymore.There was no ceiling above her head either.There wasn’t even a clear sense of direction.Everything existed around her simultaneously, without boundaries.Thousands of voices whispered inside her mind.Millions of memories moved through her consciousness.Some belonged to strangers she had never met.Others belonged to people she remembered loving.Sofia slowly lifted her hands before herself.They looked completely normal, somehow.She expected something different after becoming the system.Maybe glowing fingers.Maybe terrifying robotic eyes.Maybe at least some dramatic special effects.Instead, she looked exactly like herself.“That feels suspiciously anticlimactic,” Sofia whispered quietly.The system answered immediately inside her mind.“You remain physically unchanged.”Sofia jumped despite being completely alone.“Please stop appearing inside my thoughts.”“I am not appearing.”“You