The echo of a bootstep echoed through the chamber.
Aelius turned, and for a moment… he thought he was looking into a mirror.
But the figure before him wasn't breathing.
Wasn't blinking.
Wasn't human.
"Designation: AELIUS_PRIME_REJECTION_001," it said in his own voice.
"Target: Anomaly. Objective: Elimination."
It tilted its head.
"You shouldn't exist."
A pulse of black static surged outward. The platform beneath Aelius shattered, flinging him into a new combat arena—a sky fragmented by time and void.
The clone advanced.
Fast.
Too fast.
Aelius barely raised a barrier before a shadow-kick landed, sending cracks through his ribs and his will.
"I've fought worse," he growled.
"Correction," the clone said, emotionless.
"You've never fought you."
As fists collided and void-forged weapons clashed, Aelius felt a strange dissonance—
His clone didn't hesitate.
No fear.
No second-guessing.
No guilt.
