"Rose! Are you alright? What the heck is that? What are you hugging?" Tansy’s voice cracked as she stumbled closer, eyes wide and unblinking.

"Sister?" Rose whispered, her expression unraveling into confusion.

Her gaze flickered between the living Tansy standing before her... and the lifeless Tansy cradled in her arms.

"What is happening...? Are you really my sister?" Rose muttered, her grip tightening as if afraid the truth might slip away if she loosened it.

Before anyone could process it—

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The sharp echoes of gunfire tore through the air.

At the same time, the entire building began to collapse—not outward, but inward. The glowing barrier surrounding the arena started closing in from all directions, forming a shrinking, circular death trap. Walls cracked, floors warped, and debris dissolved the moment it touched the shimmering edge.

From the chaos, two final participants burst into view, sprinting toward them with desperate eyes. One of them raised his gun and aimed straight at Tansy.

Time seemed to pause.

Rose’s eyes—once filled with confusion—suddenly turned a vivid, unnatural pink.

The man holding the gun froze.

Then, as if his body no longer belonged to him, he slowly turned... and lunged at his own teammate.

"What the fu—"

He never finished.

Both of them stumbled together into the collapsing barrier, their bodies disintegrating instantly upon contact—erased without even a scream.

And just like that—

The barrier stopped.

Silence fell.

Then, above them, the sky lit up.

[Congratulations on Winning the Capital Games]

The words appeared in glowing letters, projected by hovering drones. Fireworks erupted across the sky, filling the air with bursts of color and thunderous echoes.

Three survivors.

The game was over.

Tyler stood still, feeling a strange sensation ripple through his body. Fragments of the Orion Cube flowed into him, merging seamlessly as if they had always belonged there.

But he ignored it.

His attention stayed locked on Rose... and Tansy.

"How did you do that?" Tansy asked, her voice unsteady but sharp.

"Do what?" Rose blinked, as if waking from a dream. She slowly stood up, still refusing to let go of the corpse in her arms.

"You controlled them," Tansy said, narrowing her eyes.

"I... I don’t know," Rose replied, shaking her head. "It just... happened."

"Are you the real one?" Rose asked.

Tansy hesitated—but nodded. "Yeah... but I remember getting shot..."

Her voice faltered as realization crept in.

"Then... why are there two of me?"

A pause.

Only then did Tansy truly look down.

At the body.

At herself.

The same face. The same clothes. The same everything.

"Is that... me?" she whispered, reaching out with trembling fingers to touch the corpse.

The moment her hand made contact—

It vanished.

Not slowly. Not dramatically.

Just... gone.

Like it had never existed.

Both girls froze.

Then, almost in sync, they turned toward Tyler.

Tyler was in deep thought.

"So this one is fake?" Rose muttered, her voice trembling as she tightened her arms around Tansy. Relief flooded her expression —she didn’t care how it worked, only that her sister was still here.

"No..." Tansy shook her head slowly, still trying to piece things together. "But I clearly remember running in front of you... and getting shot."

Her hand instinctively moved to her chest, as if expecting to feel the wound again.

Tyler watched them both, his expression calm but serious. "You’re both right—and that’s the problem," he said. "It’s not as simple as one being real and the other fake."

Tansy looked up at him, confused.

"Well... the one that died was also you," Tyler continued. "Think of it like this— your original body fell and lost consciousness at that exact moment. But instead of everything ending there, something walked out and took over."

Tansy frowned. "Took over?"

"You," Tyler replied. "Another version of you. A version that got shot."

He gestured toward the empty space where the body had vanished.

"It’s like your consciousness jumped— or split— into a second instance. That version kept moving, saved Rose. After it died you woke up in your own body again."

Tansy’s breathing slowed as the idea sank in.

"That... means..." she whispered.

Tyler nodded slightly. "Yeah. That ’other’ one was just a copy."

Tansy’s eyes widened.

"That was my copy...?"

Both girls were confused.

"How do you know all these? Do you know what happened?" they asked.

Tyler remained silent for a few seconds, his eyes scanning the empty space where the body had been. His mind pieced together possibilities.

Finally, he exhaled.

"Well... I think I understand it," he said slowly. "But it’s going to sound a little crazy..."

He glanced at Rose’s eyes, then at Tansy, then back at the sky where the drones still hovered like silent witnesses

"Look at the replay," Tyler said quietly.

Above them, the surveillance drones shifted position. Their lenses flickered, and within seconds, a translucent projection spread across the sky like a giant screen. The footage rewound, then began to play.

It showed everything.

Tansy sprinting toward Rose.

The stumble.

The fall.

Then—

Something impossible.

As the fallen Tansy struggled to rise, another Tansy appeared above her position—almost like a second layer slipping into reality. That version moved without hesitation, rushing forward while the original still lagged behind for a split second.

It was that second Tansy who reached Rose first.

Who took the bullet.

Who died.

The projection froze.

Then shifted again.

Rose stood in the middle of the road, her eyes glowing a soft, eerie pink. A man aimed at her—but instead of firing at her, he turned and shot his own teammate.

Then himself.

The replay ended.

Silence settled around them.

Tyler exhaled slowly. "See... both of you have abilities that don’t line up with anything normal. This isn’t tech. It’s not genetic enhancement either."

He glanced at them, his expression serious.

"And I’m pretty sure the entire country just watched that."

---

Far away, in the Capital—

"Quick! Bring them here—bring both of them here!" the King shouted, slamming his hand against the armrest of his throne.

His advisors flinched but didn’t hesitate.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Messengers rushed out. Orders were transmitted instantly across secure channels.

The King’s eyes burned with a mix of greed and urgency.

"Those girls... they are not normal. Whatever that power is—we will control it. I want that power. If I can’t have it then my descendants will have it. They both will breed my kids for me."

---

Meanwhile, in a hidden base near the outer territories—

"Move! Head to the borders!" a commanding voice roared.

A rebel leader stood before a group of armed fighters, his face tense with determination.

"Bring those two girls to us. They might be the key to ending this dictatorship once and for all!"

Around him, engines roared to life.

Sleek flycrafts lifted into the air one after another, cutting through the sky like blades.

The hunt had begun.

---

Back near the shrinking barrier—

The glowing shield flickered and dimmed, its intensity fading as if acknowledging the end of the game.

Tyler narrowed his eyes. "I think you both are—"

Before he could finish—

A group of people approached from the Capital’s direction.

They were dressed in refined, luxurious clothing—far too polished for a battlefield. Their posture was calm, controlled, and confident.

"Hello, winners," one of them said with a polite smile. "Please, come with us."

Behind them hovered a large flying caravan, far more advanced than the standard units used during the games. It gleamed with clean metallic surfaces, spacious and imposing.

Tyler, Tansy, and Rose exchanged brief glances before stepping forward.

They entered.

Inside, the caravan was wide and comfortable, filled with soft lighting and polished interiors. It was a stark contrast to the chaos they had just come from.

Tyler gave the man near the entrance a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Thanks."

The man nodded with a thin smile.

But the moment Tyler walked past—

He subtly brushed his shoulder, wiping away the spot Tyler had touched, as if it were something dirty.

What he didn’t notice—

Was that something far smaller than dust had already spread across his clothing.

Nanobots.

Invisible.

Silent.

Already at work.

Inside Tyler’s ear, a faint sensation tickled.

A tiny structure assembled itself—an earpiece formed from microscopic machines, embedding seamlessly without detection.

---

Moments later—

They were guided to separate bathing areas. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Clean water. Fresh clothes. Isolation.

Exactly what Tyler expected.

As water ran over him, he closed his eyes.

Then—

Voices.

Faint.

Filtered through the nanobots he had planted.

"Do you think those two girls are witches?" one man whispered.

"Don’t know..." another replied. "But whatever they are, they won’t be treated like humans for long."

A pause.

"They’ll be experimented on. Forever, probably."

A soft, uneasy chuckle followed.

"Poor things."

---

Tyler stood still under the stream.

The water continued to fall, but his expression changed.

His eyes opened slowly.

Cold.

Calculating.

The reflection in the polished wall no longer looked like someone who had just survived a battle.

It looked like someone preparing for the next one.

"Looks like I have to something" he murmured under his breath.

His mind raced.

"Looks like it’s the only way..." The nanobots began to cover his body.