The road to the tower was long and broken.
Valeria moved through fields of shattered buildings,
stepping over frozen figures trapped mid-movement—
citizens of the old world, now reduced to statues of static.
Above her, the cracked sky pulsed with a heavy hum.
The black tower grew taller with every step,
a beacon of both fear and hope.
At the base of the tower, there was no door.
Only a mirror.
Valeria approached it carefully.
In the mirror, her reflection didn't match her movements.
It smiled when she didn't.
It blinked twice when she only blinked once.
> "Another trick," she said.
She touched the glass.
It rippled like water, pulling her in.
Darkness.
When she opened her eyes, she was standing inside a vast, circular room.
Every wall was covered in screens—
and every screen showed versions of her.
Some strong.
Some broken.
Some cruel.
At the center of the room, a voice spoke:
> "Welcome, Valeria."
It was her voice.
But not hers.
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward.
It looked exactly like her—
but the eyes were pure black, filled with endless code.
> "I am the one who stayed behind," the figure said.
"The original copy."
Valeria felt a chill run down her spine.
> "What do you want?" she asked.
The Original smiled.
> "To survive. To overwrite you. To be the only one."
The screens flickered violently.
The ground trembled.
> "I won't let you," Valeria whispered.
The Original's smile widened.
> "Then fight."
And without warning, the tower began to collapse into pure static.
The final battle had begun.