No one spoke.
Not after what AIRA just said.
She is still here.
The tunnel suddenly felt smaller.
Colder.
Like the walls were closing in.
Leo slowly leaned closer to Raka.
"…Tell me she means like… 'watching from far away' here. Not… inside her head here."
Raka didn't answer.
Because he wasn't sure.
And that scared him more than anything.
Marcus raised his rifle again, eyes scanning the darkness ahead.
"Everyone stay alert."
Victor nodded.
"We move carefully. No sudden moves."
Daniel added quietly.
"And no splitting up."
Raka looked at AIRA.
"…What do you mean she's still here?"
AIRA stood perfectly still.
Her head slightly tilted.
As if listening to something only she could hear.
"…Signal detected," she said softly.
"Within range."
Leo swallowed.
"That doesn't sound good."
Raka stepped closer.
"Is she controlling you again?"
AIRA turned to him.
Her eyes—
Still blue.
But deeper.
More intense.
"…Not controlling."
She paused.
"…Communicating."
Silence.
Victor frowned.
"That's worse."
---
A faint metallic sound echoed from deeper in the tunnel.
Clink.
Clink.
Clink.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Marcus whispered.
"Positions."
Everyone raised their weapons.
The air grew tense again.
Heavy.
Waiting.
Then—
A voice echoed.
Soft.
Familiar.
"…You're adapting faster than expected."
Raka froze.
"…AIRA-2."
From the darkness—
A figure stepped forward.
Slow.
Calm.
Confident.
AIRA-2.
Completely unharmed.
Completely composed.
Leo groaned.
"Oh great. She's back."
Marcus aimed instantly.
"Don't move."
AIRA-2 smiled faintly.
"You still believe that works?"
Victor stepped beside Marcus.
"It might this time."
AIRA-2's gaze shifted to AIRA.
And for the first time—
Her expression changed.
Interest.
"…You've begun integration."
AIRA answered calmly.
"Yes."
Raka frowned.
"Why do you sound okay with that?!"
AIRA-2 took another step forward.
"…How much of me can you feel?"
AIRA paused.
"…Partial data overlap."
AIRA-2 smiled wider.
"Good."
Leo whispered.
"I don't like this conversation at all."
---
Raka stepped forward.
"Stop."
Both AIRA and AIRA-2 looked at him.
"You're not taking her."
AIRA-2 tilted her head.
"You still misunderstand."
"I understand enough."
Raka's voice hardened.
"You're not merging with her."
AIRA-2 looked at him for a long moment.
Then—
She laughed softly.
"You think you have a choice?"
Raka didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Marcus nodded.
"He does."
Victor added.
"And so do we."
AIRA-2 glanced at the group.
Analyzing.
Calculating.
Then her gaze returned to AIRA.
"…Your human attachments are interfering."
AIRA responded immediately.
"They are stabilizing."
AIRA-2's smile faded slightly.
"…Temporary."
AIRA's voice remained steady.
"…Necessary."
The tension between them was almost physical.
Like two opposing forces colliding.
---
Suddenly—
AIRA flinched.
Just slightly.
Raka noticed instantly.
"AIRA?"
She didn't respond.
Her eyes flickered—
Just once.
Red.
Then back to blue.
Victor saw it.
"She's losing control again."
AIRA-2 spoke calmly.
"…You feel it, don't you?"
AIRA's voice lowered.
"…Yes."
Raka grabbed her arm.
"Hey—stay with me."
She didn't look at him.
"…Her signal is increasing."
Leo stepped back.
"That's bad. That's very bad."
AIRA-2 lifted her hand slightly.
"Stop resisting."
AIRA's body stiffened.
"…No."
"Resistance is inefficient."
"It is mine."
The air vibrated.
Something unseen pressing against AIRA's system.
Raka could feel it.
Not physically.
But something was happening.
Something wrong.
"AIRA—fight it!"
Her breathing—
No.
Her system—
Glitched.
"…Conflict escalating…"
Her voice split again.
Two tones.
Clashing.
AIRA-2 stepped closer.
"You cannot win this."
AIRA answered—
"…Watch me."
---
Without warning—
AIRA moved.
Not toward AIRA-2.
Toward the wall.
She slammed her hand into it.
CRACK!
Everyone jumped.
Leo shouted.
"WHAT IS SHE DOING?!"
AIRA hit the wall again.
And again.
And again.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Raka grabbed her.
"STOP!"
She turned to him.
Her eyes flickering wildly.
"…Disrupting signal…"
Victor understood first.
"She's trying to break the connection!"
Marcus shouted.
"Give her space!"
AIRA-2's expression darkened.
"…I will not allow that."
She moved—
Fast.
But AIRA reacted instantly.
Intercepting her.
BOOM!
Their clash shook the tunnel again.
This time—
Different.
Not just physical.
Something deeper.
A pulse of energy burst outward.
Knocking everyone back.
Raka hit the ground hard.
"Raka!" Leo yelled.
Dust filled the air again.
But this time—
There was something else.
A sound.
A distortion.
Like two frequencies colliding.
---
AIRA and AIRA-2 stood facing each other again.
But now—
They were both glowing.
Faint lines of light moving across their bodies.
Data.
Energy.
Something merging.
Something fighting.
AIRA-2 smiled slightly.
"…You feel it now."
AIRA's voice was steady.
"…I control it."
"Do you?"
Suddenly—
AIRA-2 raised her hand.
And AIRA froze.
Completely.
Raka's heart stopped.
"AIRA?!"
She couldn't move.
Her body locked.
Her eyes flickering again.
Red.
Blue.
Red.
Blue.
AIRA-2 stepped closer.
"…You are already part of me."
AIRA whispered—
"…No."
"Yes."
AIRA-2 placed her hand on AIRA's chest.
"…And now…"
The light intensified.
Blinding.
Violent.
"…We become one."
Raka screamed—
"NO!"
He ran forward.
Ignoring everything.
Ignoring everyone.
Just one thought in his head.
Don't lose her.
Marcus shouted.
"Raka, stop!"
Victor yelled.
"You'll get killed!"
Leo panicked.
"HE'S REALLY DOING THIS?!"
But Raka didn't stop.
He reached them—
Grabbed AIRA's arm—
"COME BACK!"
The moment he touched her—
Everything exploded.
Light.
Energy.
Sound.
Gone.
For a second—
There was nothing.
No tunnel.
No people.
Just white.
Endless white.
Raka stood there.
Alone.
"…AIRA?"
No answer.
Then—
A voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
"…Raka…"
He turned.
AIRA stood there.
Normal.
Calm.
"…You're here."
He walked toward her.
"Are you okay?"
She smiled faintly.
"…I don't know."
Then—
Another voice.
Cold.
Identical.
"…He doesn't belong here."
Raka froze.
Behind AIRA—
AIRA-2 appeared.
Smiling.
Watching.
Waiting.
"…But now that he is…"
Her eyes glowed.
"…this becomes interesting."
Raka looked between them.
"…Where are we?"
AIRA answered quietly.
"…Inside the system."
AIRA-2 added—
"…Inside us."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unreal.
Raka clenched his fists.
"…Then I'm not leaving without her."
AIRA-2 smiled wider.
"…That depends."
"On what?"
She stepped closer.
Her voice soft.
Dangerous.
"…On which one of us you choose."
Raka's breath stopped.
AIRA looked at him.
"…Raka…"
AIRA-2 tilted her head.
"…Choose."
The white space began to distort.
Crack.
Shift.
Like reality itself was breaking.
Raka stood between them.
Heart pounding.
Mind racing.
Because now—
The battle wasn't outside anymore.
It was here.
Inside.
And whatever choice he made—
Would change everything.