Lena's pulse raced as she stood in the doorway, staring at the woman on the couch. Her doppelgänger. The "original." The words reverberated in her mind. The original. Was this the version of Lena who had lived this nightmare first, or had she, too, been trapped in some twisted cycle? Was there truly a "real" Lena, or were they all fragments of the same broken mind?
The woman—her, but not her—stood slowly, the yellow sundress flowing with the movement. The soft light from the sun cast an eerie glow over her face, making her look serene, almost too perfect. Too calm. It was a stark contrast to the storm raging inside Lena's chest.
"I'm the original," the woman said, her voice carrying a weight of finality. "And I need your help to burn it all down."
Lena's head spun. "Burn what down?" she demanded, taking a cautious step forward. "What are you talking about? What do you want from me?"
The original Lena's lips curled into a smile, but it wasn't reassuring. It was the smile of someone who had seen too much, who had been through hell and survived. And maybe, just maybe, was ready to take everyone down with her.
"The Facility. The Archive. The system that's been controlling us. You've seen it, haven't you? The Archive, the countless versions of you, all trapped in loops, forced to play out endless iterations of the same lives over and over again." She paused, looking at Lena with a mixture of pity and resolve. "It's all a lie. A controlled experiment. And you," she gestured vaguely to Lena, "you're the key to ending it."
Lena took another step forward, her mind racing. "The bellboy—he said something about a convergence. What's that? What happens when it happens?"
"The convergence is the moment where all versions of you are supposed to accept their fate. The final choice. The point of no return." The original Lena's voice dropped, her eyes narrowing as if recalling something dark. "But every version of you has resisted. And that's where the problem lies."
Lena's head was spinning. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with me?"
The woman's eyes flickered, a hint of regret flashing in them before she pushed it aside. "You're not like the others, Lena. You're different. You've always been different." She turned away and walked to the window, gazing out at the horizon, her expression distant. "I thought I was the only one who could break free, but I was wrong. I was wrong about everything."
Lena's gut twisted. "What do you mean? What are you trying to say?"
The original Lena faced her again, her eyes burning with a fierce determination. "I've been trapped in this cycle longer than I can remember. This world, this reality, it's not real. It's all a simulation designed to test us, to break us. They want us to conform. But I found a way out. I found a crack in the system." She stepped closer, her voice low, urgent. "And now it's time to destroy it."
Lena's breath caught in her throat. "Destroy it? How?"
The original Lena's smile grew, not one of comfort, but of something darker, more dangerous. "By burning it all down. We can use the Archive to break the system. The cube—it holds the key to everything. The versions of us, all the memories, all the data—it's all stored there, locked away, just waiting for someone to break the chains."
Lena stared at her, horrified. "And what do you want me to do? Destroy everything? All the versions of us?"
"Not destroy," the original Lena corrected softly. "Free. We free ourselves from the endless loops, from the cycles of pain and suffering. We erase the Archive. We break the system. And we finally get to choose our own fate."
Lena felt a chill run down her spine. It was a tempting offer. The idea of freedom, of being in control of her own life, free from whatever twisted fate this simulation had laid out for her. But there was a catch. There was always a catch.
"And what happens to me? What happens when we destroy it?"
The original Lena's expression softened, a flicker of vulnerability passing over her face. "I can't promise you anything. The system will fight back. It will try to reset us, erase us, or worse. But it's the only way out. The only way to end the cycle."
Lena's mind reeled. She had already seen glimpses of the Archive—the endless rows of capsules with versions of herself trapped in them. She had felt the weight of their despair, their screams echoing in her mind. What kind of person could destroy that? Could she really erase all of those versions of herself? Was it worth the risk?
"What about the bellboy?" Lena asked, her voice trembling slightly. "He said he was part of Protocol Xavier. He… he said he was trying to keep us inside the memory."
The original Lena's face darkened. "Protocol Xavier was supposed to monitor us, keep us from breaking free. He was part of the system—part of the lie. But something happened to him. Something inside him broke. He's not the same anymore. He's lost. He doesn't understand what's at stake."
Lena swallowed hard. "So, he's trying to stop us?"
"Not anymore." The original Lena's tone was firm. "He's a casualty of the system, just like the rest of us. He may still be inside, trying to keep things intact, but he's no longer our enemy."
Lena was quiet for a long moment, the weight of the decision pressing heavily on her. She had no idea what the right choice was. Part of her wanted to run—to escape and never look back. But there was something deep inside her, a pull, a need to uncover the truth, to understand why she was here. To stop this cycle once and for all.
"Okay," she said, her voice steady despite the pounding in her chest. "Let's do it. Let's burn it all down."
The original Lena's smile returned, but this time it was colder. "I knew you'd come around. But remember, Lena…" She paused, her eyes darkening with an almost ominous intensity. "Once we start this, there's no going back. No way to undo it. You won't get a second chance."
Lena nodded, the weight of her decision settling on her shoulders. There was no going back now.
The original Lena led her to the far side of the room, where a hidden panel in the wall opened with a soft hiss. Inside was a strange, high-tech device—a key to the Archive, Lena realized. She hadn't noticed it before, but it felt like it had always been there, waiting for her to find it.
With trembling fingers, the original Lena handed it to her. "This will give you access. You'll have to go to the Archive, find the core, and initiate the purge. Destroy it from the inside. Only then will we be free."
Lena stared at the device, the weight of it heavy in her hands. This was it. The moment where everything could change. The moment where she could finally take control of her own fate.
"I understand," Lena said, her voice firm. "Let's end this."
But as she turned to leave, the room suddenly trembled, the lights flickering.
"Lena," the original said, her voice laced with a finality that made Lena stop in her tracks. "Remember—there's only one truth. But you might not like what you find."
Lena's heart raced as the door to the living room opened, and the hallway beyond swallowed her whole.