Lila's eyes opened to a blinding light. She blinked once, twice, and her vision cleared, revealing a vast expanse of pure white. It wasn't empty. Shapes moved in the distance, vague silhouettes she couldn't quite make out. It reminded her of clouds on a stormy horizon, shifting constantly but never becoming clear.
Her hands brushed against something soft beneath her—grass. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, her breath shallow and uneven. Her heart pounded in her chest as if it had been racing for hours. Where… where am I?
Around her, the landscape stretched endlessly. White grass swayed in a breeze she couldn't feel. Trees made of polished glass stood in the distance, their branches fractal and jagged like frozen lightning. There was a stillness to it all. No birdsong. No buzzing insects. No ambient hum of life. Just the sound of her own breath.
Her breath.
Her hands moved.
Her body was her own.
Her heart lifted with hope. I'm back. I'm finally back.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice echoed from behind her.
She spun around, heart lurching in her chest. Standing there, just a few feet away, was herself.
Lila froze, her mind struggling to process what she was seeing. Her double stood with perfect posture, her arms folded behind her back. Her face was calm, lips curled into a soft smile that somehow felt colder than the void she had just escaped from. Her eyes were golden—not brown like Lila's own—but glowing, burning like twin red suns.
"No," Lila muttered, taking a step back, shaking her head as if that would make the image disappear. "No, you're not real. You're just… just another dream."
Her double tilted her head, the motion eerily smooth. "A dream, huh?" she said, stepping closer, her bare feet crunching on the white grass. Her gaze never left Lila, her eyes sharp as knives. "I suppose you'd like that, wouldn't you? A simple explanation. Something you can believe."
"Shut up," Lila snapped, her breath quickening. She glanced at her hands, squeezing them into fists, nails biting into her palms. I'm awake. This is real. It has to be.
Her double gave her a look of pity, tilting her head further. "Oh, sweet girl. You think you're the only Lila who's had this conversation?"
Lila's breath caught in her throat.
Her double's smile widened, more teeth than lips now. "How many of you do you think I've seen? How many Lilas have walked this same path, argued the same points, claimed the same things?" Her eyes narrowed, voice dripping with mock sympathy. "Dozens. Hundreds, even. Each of them now a part of me."
Her stomach churned. No, that's a lie. It has to be.
"You're lying," Lila hissed, her hands trembling. "You're trying to mess with me."
Her double's gaze softened, like a parent scolding a stubborn child. "Mess with you? You think you're special just because you've held on a little longer than the others?" She leaned forward, her voice a whisper. "You're not."
"Shut up!" Lila roared, taking a step forward, her fists raised like she was about to throw a punch. Her heart thundered in her chest, anger mixing with fear until it became something sharp and wild.
Her double didn't move, didn't flinch. She just watched. Observing. Calculating. The patience of someone who had seen this exact scene play out a hundred times before.
"You're persistent, though," the double said, eyes flicking down to Lila's fists with faint amusement. "I'll give you that. Most Lilas break long before this point. I suppose that's why I like you. You have just enough stubbornness to keep things interesting."
Her words dripped with something else. Familiarity. As if the person she was speaking to wasn't a copy. Not just "a Lila." But Lila.
"Who are you?" Lila asked, her voice shaking with barely-contained rage.
The double's smile returned, slow and knowing. "You already know, don't you?" She took a step forward, her bare feet making no sound as they touched the grass. "I am the whisper behind your thoughts. The itch you can't scratch. The voice that tells you to give up when everything hurts too much to go on."
Her gaze burned hotter, the golden glow intensifying. "I am the Core."
Lila's heart stopped. Her throat closed, a cold shock running through her veins.
"No," she breathed, shaking her head so hard it hurt. "No, no, no! You're not— You're not that!"
"Denial," the Core said, lifting a hand and studying her nails as if Lila wasn't worth her attention. "Predictable. I've heard it all before. 'This isn't real.' 'This is a dream.' 'You're just in my head.'" Her eyes flicked back to Lila, sharp and full of something hungry. "But that doesn't change what I am. Or what you are."
Lila's voice cracked. "I'm not like you."
The Core stepped forward, her smile gone now. Her face was stone, her eyes blazing. "Yes, you are. You're exactly like me. Every Lila is." She gestured to the world around them, the endless white expanse. "This is our place. Yours. Mine. But soon it will just be mine. It's all the same."
The name hit Lila like a punch to the chest. She sucked in a sharp breath, her mind racing. The Core. Me. The words echoed in her head, threading together in ways she didn't like.
Her gaze darted back to the Core, her face twisted in a snarl. "You're lying. You're twisting things to mess with me."
"Am I?" The Core's face didn't change. "How many times have you asked yourself why you're still fighting? Why you haven't given up? Why this all feels so familiar?"
Lila's jaw tightened, her breath shakey. Don't listen. Don't let it in.
Her double stepped closer, face now inches from Lila's own. Her voice was low, the words heavy with certainty. "You've always been part of me, Lila. Part of us, Every version of you. Every timeline. Every failure." Her lips curled into a grin, soft and gentle, like an old friend sharing a secret. "You don't need to fight it. You just need to understand. Once our minds become one, everything will be so much clearer for us."
"Then I'll never understand," Lila growled, her voice fierce despite the tears burning in her eyes. She stepped forward, her eyes meeting the Core's, wild and defiant. "I'm not afraid of you. I'm not like the others. You'll never take me."
For the first time, the Core's expression flickered—just for a second. A faint twitch of something like doubt.
Her golden eyes narrowed, and her smile returned, sharp as glass. "We'll see," she said, stepping back into the white fog. Her voice echoed like a distant bell. "But you'll break eventually. You all do."
The fog rolled in, and Lila's vision blurred. She clenched her fists, her eyes squeezed shut as the world faded around her.
When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in the field.
Her limbs moved, but not of her own will. Her arms felt heavy, distant. Her breath came in slow, steady draws—not the frantic, rapid breathing she'd been doing just a moment ago.
Her heart froze as realization struck. No. No, no, no.
Her hands moved, gripping something hard and cold. Her head turned, though she hadn't told it to. Her body walked, her legs following a path she didn't choose.
Her lips parted, and a voice that wasn't hers spoke softly, playfully.
"Guardians always make such a fuss," the Core said through her mouth. Her mouth. Her voice. Her body.
Her heart hammered in her chest, and her eyes darted to the side, desperate for something—**anything—**to take back control. She screamed, but the sound didn't leave her lips.
Her gaze shifted forward, locking onto the Guardian ahead. It raised its weapon, defiant. Brave.
Her lips curled into a smirk that wasn't hers. Her hands raised, fingers snapping into place. Dark tendrils exploded from the ground, wrapping around the Guardian's limbs. Her arms moved like a conductor, pulling the threads tighter. Her eyes narrowed. Her eyes darkened.
"Sleep, Lila," the Core whispered in her mind. "I'll wake you when it's over."
Lila's scream echoed into the void as the Guardian fell, his fragmented light snuffed out in an instant.