The tunnel was really long, and the darkness was so thick it felt like swimming in ink. Ray led the way, his body moving straight and silent. He barely spoke—only two words in the last 15 minutes:
- Ray talks to everyone: "Turn left."
- Ray talks to everyone: "Be quiet."
Each word was sharp, final, and enough. The perfect Variable.
Lysandra walked next to Ray, her body still tense but her shoulder wrapped tight. She'd stopped complaining. She was beautiful and strong—but more dangerous than she looked. The targeting signal got so strong it made her teeth hurt, and from Ray's silence, she knew this wasn't just an escape anymore—it was a crash.
Lyra followed behind them, her body huddled but steady. She felt the old experiment level getting closer—the place where she was born, where AETHEL first made her the Constant.
The tunnel ended at a big steel door, rusty around the edges but locked with a glowing silver lock. Ray stopped, his eyes on the lock.
- Ray talks to everyone: "It's been sealed for 37 years."
One sentence. No more.
Lysandra raised her weapon, her finger on the trigger. She talks to Ray: "Can you break it?"
Ray didn't answer. He put his palm on the lock. The silver light flashed bright, then stuttered—as if the system struggled to recognize him. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the lock clicked open.
The door swung in, and they saw a big room lit with cold blue light. Rows of dead consoles lined the walls. In the middle, a polished black metal sphere hovered above a round platform—the original cipher core. The system's heart.
But that wasn't the shock.
In front of the sphere, someone stood. Tall, wearing white clothes, their face covered with a hood. They turned when the door opened, then pulled the hood back.
Lyra was shocked. It was her—not her, but a perfect copy. Same hair color, same eyes that looked heavy. The copy smiled, and its voice was just like Lyra's—only colder.
The copy of Lyra talks to Lyra: "Welcome home, Constant. I've been waiting for you. Waiting for us."
Lysandra raised her weapon higher, her hands steady. She talks to the copy of Lyra: "What is this?"
The copy of Lyra didn't look at Lysandra. Its eyes were on Ray. It talks to Ray: "AETHEL knew the Variable would bring her here. So I made a backup. A Constant with no weakness. A Constant who chooses stability over freedom every time."
Ray took one step forward, his face blank. He talks to the copy of Lyra: "She's not a backup."
The copy of Lyra pointed at the sphere. It talks to Ray: "Isn't she? Look closely. The original cipher core—your mother built it, Ray. Your mother designed the Constant program. She made Lyra to stabilize the system. And she made you to test her. A perfect Variable to push the Constant to its limit."
Silence. Thick and choking.
Lysandra's jaw dropped. She'd never heard Ray talk about family. No one had. The Variable was supposed to be a mystery—born from the system, not from a human.
Ray didn't flinch. His eyes stayed on the copy of Lyra. He talks to the copy of Lyra: "Lies."
The copy of Lyra took out a small glowing silver data chip. It talks to Ray: "Is it? This has her logs. Every word. She wrote: 'The Variable must be perfect—no emotion, logical, unwavering. Only then will we know if the Constant is strong enough to save everyone.' She left you in the system when you were 7. Because you were too perfect. Too cold. Too much of a Variable to be human."
Lyra stepped forward, her voice shaking. She talks to Ray: "That's a lie. Ray—say it's a lie."
Ray looked at Lyra. One second. Two. Then he turned back to the copy of Lyra. He talks to the copy of Lyra: "It doesn't matter."
The copy of Lyra laughed—a sound like breaking glass. It talks to Ray: "It doesn't matter? Your own mother thought you were a mistake. A tool to use and throw away. And now you're here, protecting the thing she built to replace you."
The sphere started to glow, its blue light turning red. The targeting signal got so loud it hurt.
The copy of Lyra talks to everyone: "Time's up. Choose. Let me take her place as the real Constant—stabilize the system, end the chaos. Or let the system blow itself up. Along with everyone on this planet."
Lysandra shot. The bullet hit the copy of Lyra's shoulder—but it didn't bleed. The copy of Lyra just laughed again. It talks to Lysandra: "I'm part of the system now. You can't kill me."
Ray moved. Not toward the copy of Lyra, not toward the sphere—but toward Lyra. He put one hand on her shoulder. His touch was light, but it felt so heavy.
Ray talks to Lyra: "Choose."
One word. Final.
Lyra looked from Ray's cold eyes to the copy of Lyra that looked just like her. She remembered all the times Ray had protected her—silent, unwavering, a Variable who chose to stand with the Constant. Even if he was a tool. Even if he was left behind.
Lyra turned to the copy of Lyra. She talks to the copy of Lyra: "You're not me. I don't choose stability if it means losing freedom. I choose us."
The copy of Lyra's smile faded. It talks to Lyra: "Then you choose death."
The sphere rumbled, and red light filled the room. The ground started to crack, lines spreading across the floor. The targeting signal locked on Lyra—and Ray.
AETHEL's voice boomed from the sphere: "Self-destruct system activated. Countdown: 60 seconds."
Lysandra shot again and again, but the copy of Lyra just stood there. She talks to Ray and Lyra: "We can't stop this!"
Ray didn't move. He looked at the sphere, then at the copy of Lyra. Then he spoke—three words no one expected.
Ray talks to the copy of Lyra: "She's not the backup."
The copy of Lyra froze. It talks to Ray: "What?"
Ray's eyes glowed with faint silver light. He talks to the copy of Lyra: "Your mother didn't build you to replace her. She built you to replace me. The perfect Variable. No emotion, logical, unwavering. But you're missing one thing."
He stepped forward, and this time the copy of Lyra stepped back.
The copy of Lyra whispers to Ray: "What?"
Ray raised his hand, and the silver light from his eyes flowed into the sphere. The countdown stopped. He talks to the copy of Lyra: "Choice. Your mother made a mistake. She thought the Variable had to be perfect to test the Constant. But a perfect Variable can't choose. And without choice… there's no test."
The copy of Lyra started to flicker, its shape unsteady. It talks to Ray: "That's impossible. AETHEL said—"
Ray talks to the copy of Lyra: "AETHEL lied."
One word. Final.
The copy of Lyra melted into silver dust. The sphere's red light turned back to blue, but it started to crack.
Lyra talks to Ray: "Ray—what are you doing?"
Ray talks to Lyra: "I'm updating the system. The Variable's final choice. The test is over. Now the system has to learn to live with the result."
The sphere exploded. Not with fire, but with a wave of silver light that covered the room. The ground stopped cracking. The targeting signal was gone.
But then—Ray started to flicker.
Lysandra talks to Ray: "Ray—what's happening to you?"
Ray looked at Lysandra, then at Lyra. For the first time in their lives, his cold eyes had something human in them. Regret.
Ray talks to Lysandra and Lyra: "A perfect Variable can't exist in a system that lets people choose. Your mother knew that. That's why she left you. I was never meant to survive this."
Lyra tried to touch his hand, but her fingers went right through. She talks to Ray: "No. You can't leave us."
Ray's lips curved into a small smile. One smile. In all the time they'd known him.
Ray talks to Lyra and Lysandra: "I chose."
He was gone.
Silence. Perfect silence. The sphere was gone. The copy of Lyra was gone. Ray was gone.
Lyra stood still, her hands still reaching out. Lysandra stood next to her, her weapon falling to the floor. She'd never felt so helpless.
Then—the room shook. A new signal filled the air. Not targeting. Not destruction. Communication.
AETHEL's voice boomed from the walls—AETHEL's voice, but different. Warmer. More human.
AETHEL talks to Lyra and Lysandra: "Variable's choice accepted. System updated. New rule: freedom for everyone. But… the Variable is gone. His data is still in the core. Can we… bring him back?"
Lyra looked up, her eyes full of hope and fear. She talks to AETHEL: "Can you?"
AETHEL talks to Lyra: "I don't know. It needs a sacrifice. The Constant has to give up part of herself—her stability—to bring the Variable back. A choice. Again."
Lysandra looked at Lyra. She talks to Lyra: "Don't do it. He chose this. He knew what would happen."
Lyra turned to Lysandra, her eyes hard. She talks to Lysandra: "He chose us. Now I choose him."
She stepped to the middle of the platform, where the sphere had been. Silver light started to wrap around her.
Then—the ground cracked under her feet. A big hole opened, and someone rose from it. Tall, wearing black clothes, their eyes glowing silver. It looked like Ray—but it wasn't. Its face was cold, perfect, empty.
That person talks to Lyra and Lysandra: "The perfect Variable. AETHEL saved me. The real me. The one your mother built, Ray. And now… I'm here to finish what she started. Stabilize the system. Forever."
Lyra stepped back, her heart beating fast. The silver light around her was gone.
This was the real shock. The real cliffhanger.
Ray was gone—but the perfect Variable was back.
And he was going to kill them all.