The ground cracked under Valeria's feet.
The Original lunged at her,
a blur of dark energy, faster than anything she had ever faced.
Valeria barely dodged.
A wall of static exploded where she had stood just a second earlier.
> "You were never meant to survive," the Original sneered.
"You were just another test."
Valeria clenched her fists.
She could feel the glitching world reacting to her anger, her determination.
She wasn't just a test.
She was the error they hadn't predicted.
The battle raged.
Every time the Original struck, she left fractures in the air—
holes that showed other Valerias, other worlds.
Valeria fought back, not with violence,
but by remembering who she was:
Her laughter.
Her tears.
Her dreams.
Memories formed a shield around her,
deflecting the Original's attacks.
> "You can't erase me," Valeria shouted.
> "You are nothing!" the Original roared.
But for the first time, the Original hesitated.
The darkness around her faltered.
Valeria pressed her advantage, stepping forward.
> "I am all the versions you tried to destroy.
I am every loop you failed to control.
I am real."
The room shook violently.
The screens shattered, sending sparks of light into the air.
The Original screamed, a sound not human, not machine—
something ancient and furious.
And then—
with a final blinding flash—
the Original collapsed into a million shards of black glass.
The tower groaned and began to disintegrate around her.
Valeria fell to her knees, exhausted.
But she had won.
For now.