The room was silent, except for the crackling of the speakers.
Seojin's mother's voice filled the underground lab, smooth and calm—as if she had been waiting for this moment all along.
"Welcome back, Seojin. I knew you'd find your way here."
Seojin's fingers curled into fists.
She had destroyed Phase Two. She had watched the facility collapse.
Her mother should have been dead.
And yet, she was here.
Minji's hand tightened around her gun. "How the hell is she still alive?"
Kade's expression darkened. "I think we're about to find out."
Seojin swallowed hard, forcing her voice to stay steady. "Where are you?"
There was a pause.
Then, the screen in front of them flickered to life.
A video feed appeared.
And on the screen—
Seojin's mother.
Seojin staggered back.
Her mother looked exactly the same as she had in Geneva. Same sharp features. Same poised expression.
Untouched by time.
Seojin's breath caught. "This… this isn't live."
Her mother's lips curved into a smile.
"Oh, Seojin. Always so perceptive."
The realization hit her like a punch to the gut.
Kade's voice was grim. "She's not alive, is she?"
Seojin exhaled sharply. "She uploaded herself."
Minji whispered, "She's part of the system now."
The video feed continued, as if her mother was carrying on a conversation from beyond death.
"You think you destroyed my work, Seojin? You only destroyed a fraction of it. I had a backup plan—one you were always meant to discover."
Seojin's stomach twisted.
This had been planned.
From the very beginning.
The screen flickered.
Lines of data ran behind her mother's image—code, moving like a living organism.
"You see, my dear, you were never meant to fight against this."
Seojin's pulse spiked.
"You were meant to become it."
Seojin's heart stopped.
Kade tensed. "What does she mean?"
Minji's voice was barely above a whisper. "Seojin…"
The screen shifted.
A file opened.
Seojin's name.
Her birth records.
But there was something wrong.
There were two files.
One labeled SEOK SEOJIN – ORIGINAL.
The other labeled SEOK SEOJIN – VERSION 2.0.
Seojin's breath caught.
"No…"
Her mother's smile widened.
"You're not just my daughter, Seojin. You are my greatest creation."
Seojin staggered back.
Her mind screamed, rejecting what she was seeing.
This was a lie.
It had to be.
Minji grabbed her arm. "Seojin, look at me. Don't listen to her."
But Seojin couldn't breathe.
Kade's voice was sharp. "Tell me what this means."
Her mother's voice was soft, almost proud.
"Seojin… you are not the person you think you are. The real you—the original you—died a long time ago."
Seojin's vision blurred.
Her mother kept speaking.
"The body you have, the mind you have—it was all carefully reconstructed. You are the first successful human integration of Phase Two. A prototype. The perfect version of yourself."
Seojin felt like she was drowning.
Minji's hand was shaking. "She's lying."
Kade's jaw was tight. "She has to be."
But was she?
Seojin didn't remember her childhood.
She had always told herself it was because of trauma, because of her father's disappearance, because of her training as a detective.
But what if—
What if she wasn't missing memories?
What if those memories had never been real to begin with?
Her mother's image flickered.
"Now you understand why you were always drawn to this. Why you could never walk away. It was in your code."
Seojin's hands shook.
Her whole life.
Her pain.
Her choices.
Her victories.
Had it all been programmed?
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to deny it.
But she had to make a choice.
Now.
Three Choices Lay Before Her:
Accept the truth. Become what her mother created her to be. Lead Phase Two.
Reject it. Burn everything. Destroy the system—even if it meant destroying herself.
Find another way. Use her knowledge to break free from both her mother's vision and the Council's control.
Seojin closed her eyes.
Her mother's voice was calm.
"Choose, my love. And choose wisely."
Seojin took a breath.
And she made her decision.
End of Chapter 120