Lina was breathing.
Slow.
Uneven.
But alive.
Mira checked her pulse again.
"It's stable…" she whispered.
Noah was still unconscious beside her.
For a moment—
Everything felt quiet.
Too quiet.
Lina's eyes moved slowly across the room.
Taking in the details.
The walls.
The lights.
Mira.
"You're… Mira," Lina said weakly.
Mira froze.
"How do you know my name?"
A pause.
Then Lina blinked.
"I… don't know."
Silence.
Mira stepped back slightly.
"Something's not right…"
Lina pushed herself up slowly.
Her body trembling.
"My head… hurts…"
"That's expected," Mira said carefully.
Lina nodded.
But her expression…
It didn't fully match her voice.
"Where's Noah?" she asked.
Mira glanced at him.
"He's still out."
Lina followed her gaze.
Something flickered in her eyes.
Relief.
Or something pretending to be it.
"I remember…" Lina whispered.
Mira leaned closer.
"What do you remember?"
Lina hesitated.
"Voices…"
A pause.
"They were fighting."
Mira's heart rate picked up.
"And now?"
Silence.
Then—
"They're gone."
Mira didn't relax.
Not even a little.
"Gone?" she repeated.
Lina nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Too easily.
Mira stepped back again.
"Stay where you are."
Lina frowned slightly.
"What?"
"I need to run a check."
"A check?"
"Yes."
Lina's expression hardened.
Just for a second.
Then softened again.
"…Okay."
Mira moved toward a nearby console.
Her fingers moving quickly.
Monitoring brain activity.
Signal patterns.
Cognitive spikes.
Her eyes widened.
"No…"
Lina tilted her head.
"What is it?"
Mira didn't answer immediately.
Because what she was seeing—
Didn't make sense.
"There's only one pattern," she said slowly.
Noah groaned softly behind them.
Lina turned instantly.
Too fast.
Her reaction—
Too precise.
"Noah…" she said.
Mira's eyes narrowed.
"Say his full name."
Lina froze.
"…What?"
"Say it."
Silence.
Then—
"Noah Hale."
Perfect.
Too perfect.
Mira's stomach dropped.
"How do you know that?" she asked quietly.
Lina didn't answer.
For a moment—
Her face went blank.
Then—
"I told you," she said calmly.
"I remember things."
Mira took a step back.
"No… that's not it…"
Noah slowly opened his eyes.
"…Lina?" he whispered.
She turned to him instantly.
"Yes."
He tried to sit up.
Pain flashing across his face.
"You're okay?"
A pause.
Then she smiled.
"Yes."
Noah studied her carefully.
Something was off.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"Yes."
Too fast.
Too certain.
Silence.
Then Noah asked:
"What did I tell you… inside?"
Lina's eyes flickered.
A fraction of a second.
Then—
"You told me to fight."
Correct.
But incomplete.
Noah's gaze sharpened.
"That's not all."
Silence.
Lina didn't answer.
Mira stepped forward slowly.
"She doesn't know," she said quietly.
Noah's heart sank.
"Or she's hiding it," he replied.
Lina looked between them.
"You're both acting strange."
Her voice—
Still calm.
Still controlled.
Too controlled.
Mira took another step back.
"Noah…"
He didn't take his eyes off Lina.
"I know."
Silence filled the room.
Then—
Lina smiled again.
But this time—
It didn't feel human.
"You're testing me," she said.
Noah didn't deny it.
"Should we be?" he asked.
A pause.
Then—
"Yes."
Mira's breath caught.
Lina's eyes darkened slightly.
Because in that moment—
They understood the truth.
She wasn't lying.
But she wasn't Lina anymore.
Not completely.
Inside her—
Something had changed.
Not four voices.
Not chaos.
Something worse.
Unity.
A single mind.
Watching.
Learning.
Becoming.
And now—
It was pretending.