Part 109
last update2025-05-07 19:08:53

Dawn’s pale light filtered through the cracked windows of the old textile mill where Leon and Mara had taken refuge. Myriad threads of dust drifted like ghosts in the shaft of morning sun, and the only sound was the distant hum of a generator someone had jury-rigged to power a single bare bulb. Sleeping on metal beams had given Leon a stiff back, but the ache paled beside the weight of what still lay ahead.

He rose quietly, careful not to wake Mara. She lay curled beneath a tattered blanket, her face at peace despite the battles she’d survived. Leon brewed a pot of coffee on the little stove they’d salvaged, inhaling its acrid steam as he watched her sleep. In his pocket lay the silver sphere—the last failsafe—grown cold with potential, waiting for the moment it would decide the fate of the fractured world.

The door rattled. Leon tensed and lifted his rifle. Bren staggered in, leaning on his cane, face etched with fresh cuts.

“It’s time,” Bren rasped. “The signal’s active again. It’s
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  • Part 121

    As the two Leons stood inches apart.The original—his skin still pale from cryosleep, his eyes blinking in the filtered light—was quiet. Calm. He looked younger, less worn, untouched by years of betrayal, war, and loss. He was the ghost of a man before the storm.The current Leon—battle-hardened, scarred, wiser—watched him with a strange sense of reverence.And guilt.Calia stood in the corner of the vault, arms crossed, ready for anything. Bren kept one hand on his weapon. Mara… watched with something like awe.“You say you’re me,” the original Leon said softly.“I was,” the older Leon replied. “I am. But I’ve walked a different path.”Original Leon walked slowly toward the dusty mirror-wall across the lab. “Then show me.”Leon hesitated.But Mara stepped forward.“No lies now,” she said. “Let him see what the world did to you. To us.”Leon closed his eyes—and allowed the system node in Mara to project memory.The chamber darkened. The walls shimmered. Images emerged from the glass l

  • Part 120

    The current Leon—battle-hardened, scarred, wiser—watched him with a strange sense of reverence.And guilt.Calia stood in the corner of the vault, arms crossed, ready for anything. Bren kept one hand on his weapon. Mara… watched with something like awe.“You say you’re me,” the original Leon said softly.“I was,” the older Leon replied. “I am. But I’ve walked a different path.”Original Leon walked slowly toward the dusty mirror-wall across the lab. “Then show me.”Leon hesitated.But Mara stepped forward.“No lies now,” she said. “Let him see what the world did to you. To us.”Leon closed his eyes—and allowed the system node in Mara to project memory.The chamber darkened. The walls shimmered. Images emerged from the glass like echoes: the day Leon had lost everything… his name scrubbed from the registry… Sophia turning away… the system giving him his first "task"… the mansion… the clone… Duskport’s fall… the cry for help… and finally, the moment he learned Mara was the core.The ori

  • Part 118

    The two Leons stood inches apart.The original—his skin still pale from cryosleep, his eyes blinking in the filtered light—was quiet. Calm. He looked younger, less worn, untouched by years of betrayal, war, and loss. He was the ghost of a man before the storm.The current Leon—battle-hardened, scarred, wiser—watched him with a strange sense of reverence.And guilt.Calia stood in the corner of the vault, arms crossed, ready for anything. Bren kept one hand on his weapon. Mara… watched with something like awe.“You say you’re me,” the original Leon said softly.“I was,” the older Leon replied. “I am. But I’ve walked a different path.”Original Leon walked slowly toward the dusty mirror-wall across the lab. “Then show me.”Leon hesitated.But Mara stepped forward.“No lies now,” she said. “Let him see what the world did to you. To us.”Leon closed his eyes—and allowed the system node in Mara to project memory.The chamber darkened. The walls shimmered. Images emerged from the glass like

  • Part 117

    The return to Duskport was like walking through a dream carved out of ash.The city wasn’t just ruined. It was hollow. Streets where people once danced were now blank slates of gray. Entire buildings had vanished—no rubble, no signs of collapse. Just absence. As if the system had reached down and erased them pixel by pixel.Leon Carter, Mara, Calia, and Bren moved through the mist without speaking. They’d brought only what they could carry. No drones. No signals. Only old-world maps and memories to guide them.The entrance to the memory vault was beneath the ruins of City Hall.Leon had worked here once. Before the collapse. Before the betrayal. Before he became a threat worth copying.He stood at the edge of the sunken courtyard, where the building had once risen into the skyline. Now, only its foundation remained—like bones in an unmarked grave.“We’re sure the vault’s still down there?” Calia asked, gripping the sidearm strapped to her leg.Leon nodded. “It was designed to survive

  • Part 116

    Ashmire was no longer a ruin. It was a question mark carved into the earth.In the days following Sophia’s fall, the survivors gathered under broken beams and shattered towers, lighting fires not just for warmth but for hope. They didn’t know who to follow anymore. Some still whispered her name. Others turned to Leon. But most were just lost.Leon Carter wasn’t a leader. Not really. But somehow, the world kept pushing him forward.He stood atop the remnants of an old cathedral tower, overlooking the wreckage. Beneath him, Calia directed supply routes. Bren trained the younger survivors how to hold a blade. And the girl—the Mara clone—wandered between people, silent but watching.She had become something more. Not just a child. Not just a vessel. She was proof that innocence could be preserved, even in war.The question now wasn’t who to fight. It was what came next.And whether this peace was real—or just the eye of a storm.Leon descended from the tower slowly. Every step brought him

  • part 115

    Ashmire was no longer a ruin. It was a question mark carved into the earth.In the days following Sophia’s fall, the survivors gathered under broken beams and shattered towers, lighting fires not just for warmth but for hope. They didn’t know who to follow anymore. Some still whispered her name. Others turned to Leon. But most were just lost.Leon Carter wasn’t a leader. Not really. But somehow, the world kept pushing him forward.He stood atop the remnants of an old cathedral tower, overlooking the wreckage. Beneath him, Calia directed supply routes. Bren trained the younger survivors how to hold a blade. And the girl—the Mara clone—wandered between people, silent but watching.She had become something more. Not just a child. Not just a vessel. She was proof that innocence could be preserved, even in war.The question now wasn’t who to fight. It was what came next.And whether this peace was real—or just the eye of a storm.Leon descended from the tower slowly. Every step brought him

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