2026-09-11 23:50:30
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The explosion of light was so bright that Sofia had to close her eyes.For one terrifying second, she thought the entire facility had collapsed.The floor shook beneath her feet.Machines screamed.Glass shattered.Somewhere in the distance, alarms started blaring again, but they sounded different this time, almost as if the alarms themselves were panicking.Sofia opened her eyes.Everything had changed.The underground chamber was no longer filled with hundreds of cylinders.They were gone.The little girl was gone.Her mother was gone.Even the metal chair had disappeared.There was only Sofia.And Ethan.He was lying on the floor several feet away.“Ethan!”Sofia ran toward him.She dropped beside him and grabbed his shoulders.“Ethan, wake up.”He didn’t move.“Please.”She touched his face.It was cold.Too cold.“No.”Her hands began shaking.“Don’t do this.”Ethan suddenly inhaled.Sofia gasped.His eyes opened.They were normal.Brown.Warm.His.“Sofia?”She almost cried from
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For several seconds, nobody moved.The entire chamber had gone completely dark.Sofia could hear Ethan breathing beside her.She could hear her mother’s frightened breathing too.But beneath all of it, there was another sound.A heartbeat.Slow.Steady.Not hers.Sofia looked down at her chest.The faint light beneath her skin had disappeared.“Who are you?” she whispered.The ninth voice answered immediately.“You.”Sofia’s eyes widened.“No.”“Yes.”“I already have eight voices.”“Those are memories.”“Then what are you?”There was a pause.“I am what remained.”Sofia felt a chill move through her.“What remained of what?”The voice didn’t answer.Instead, something moved in the darkness.Ethan grabbed Sofia’s arm.“Sofia, stay close.”“I am.”“Where’s your mother?”“I don’t know.”A woman’s voice suddenly came from across the chamber.“Sofia.”Her mother.“Mom?”“Don’t move.”Sofia stopped.“Why?”“Because I can see something behind you.”Sofia’s heart began racing.Ethan whispered
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Sofia couldn’t move.The voice had filled the entire chamber.It wasn’t loud.It didn’t need to be.Every machine had gone silent.Every person standing around them had stopped moving.Even Ethan was completely still.Sofia stared at the floor.“My daughter.”The words kept repeating inside her mind.My daughter.She slowly looked at her mother.“What was that?”Her mother didn’t answer.“Mom.”Nothing.Sofia stepped closer.“You said I was created to contain consciousness.”Her mother’s face remained pale.“You said you made me.”“I did.”“Then why did something beneath this facility just call me its daughter?”Her mother finally looked at her.“Because it believes you are.”Sofia stared.“That isn’t an answer.”“No.”Her mother’s voice trembled.“It isn’t.”A deep vibration moved through the floor.Ethan grabbed Sofia’s hand.“We need to get out.”Sofia didn’t move.“Not yet.”“Sofia.”“I need answers.”Her mother looked around the room.“So do I.”That frightened Sofia more than an
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Sofia stopped breathing.The hand around hers felt almost human.Almost.It was warm, but the fingers were wrong.There were eight of them.Sofia stared into the darkness.She couldn’t see Ethan.She couldn’t see her sister.She couldn’t see anything.Only the hand holding hers.“Don’t turn around,” her own voice whispered again.Sofia swallowed.“Who are you?”The thing behind her tightened its grip.“You already know.”“No.”“You’ve known since the beginning.”Sofia slowly shook her head.“I don’t.”A soft laugh came from behind her.“You just don’t remember.”Suddenly the lights returned.Sofia spun around.Nothing was there.Her hand was empty.Ethan was standing several feet away.His face was pale.“Sofia?”She stared at him.“Did you touch me?”“No.”“You’re sure?”Ethan looked confused.“I was standing over there.”Sofia looked at the floor.There were no footprints.Nothing.Then she noticed something on her wrist.Four tiny marks.Like fingerprints.She quickly covered them
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Sofia fell for what felt like forever.There was no wind.No sound.No feeling beneath her feet.There was only darkness surrounding her completely, swallowing everything until she could no longer tell whether she was falling or simply floating inside an endless space.Then she heard Ethan.“Sofia.”Her eyes opened.She was standing.Her feet were touching cold metal.The darkness had disappeared, replaced by a narrow corridor filled with dim red lights that flashed above her head every few seconds.Sofia looked around.“Ethan?”No answer came.She took one step forward.The lights flickered.Another step.The lights flickered again.Then she heard footsteps behind her.Sofia turned quickly.Nothing.She swallowed.“Very funny.”Nobody answered.She continued walking.The corridor seemed strangely familiar, even though she had never been there before.She passed a glass wall.Behind it was a room filled with computers.Another room contained medical equipment.Another contained severa
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Sofia fell for what felt like forever.There was no wind.No sound.No feeling beneath her feet.There was only darkness surrounding her completely, swallowing everything until she could no longer tell whether she was falling or simply floating inside an endless space.Then she heard Ethan.“Sofia.”Her eyes opened.She was standing.Her feet were touching cold metal.The darkness had disappeared, replaced by a narrow corridor filled with dim red lights that flashed above her head every few seconds.Sofia looked around.“Ethan?”No answer came.She took one step forward.The lights flickered.Another step.The lights flickered again.Then she heard footsteps behind her.Sofia turned quickly.Nothing.She swallowed.“Very funny.”Nobody answered.She continued walking.The corridor seemed strangely familiar, even though she had never been there before.She passed a glass wall.Behind it was a room filled with computers.Another room contained medical equipment.Another contained severa
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