The Echo dreadnought Havenfall was silent. No alarms. No flashing lights. Just the soft hum of power and something far more dangerous — purpose.
Eirin stood before a stasis chamber encased in relic circuits and echo-conduits. Inside floated a man who looked exactly like Kael… only colder. Cleaner. Too perfect.
"Status?" he asked as the pod hissed open, releasing clouds of freezing vapor.
Eirin bowed her head. "Subject Zero has deviated. He's established a link with the failed clones. Emotional corruption is confirmed."
Prime stepped out. Barefoot on steel. Untouched by time.
He blinked once. Slowly.
"Then Subject Zero is no longer viable."
Back at the Resistance's fallback shelter, Kael sat alone.
Nyra paced nearby, her left shoulder wrapped in synth-bandages. BITS floated over a datapad, muttering calculations and insults under its breath.
Kael was silent.
He hadn't spoken since Eirin vanished.
Since she'd smiled and said, "I am Echo."
Nyra finally snapped. "Say something. Anything. Even one of your sad philosophical lines."
Kael looked up. "I thought she believed in me."
BITS scoffed. "She did. That's why she lied so well."
A loud ping interrupted them.
Incoming feed.
Encrypted.
Kael activated it.
The screen lit up — and he froze.
On the feed: himself.
But not.
Sharper jawline. Eyes like a surgeon's blade. Hairline slightly better.
"Hello, Subject Zero," Prime said. "It's time we talked."
Kael stood.
"What are you?"
Prime tilted his head. "I'm what you were meant to be. Purpose-built. Flawless. Unshackled by sentiment or self-doubt."
BITS buzzed. "Wow. Modest, too."
Nyra crossed her arms. "Let me guess. You're going to 'fix' him?"
Prime smiled. "No. I'm going to replace him."
Kael stepped forward. "I've already walked away from Echo. From everything they built me for."
Prime nodded. "Which is why I will walk through you."
The feed ended.
Silence.
Then Kael said, "We need to move. Now."
Nyra blinked. "To where?"
"Back to Havenfall."
Later, aboard a stolen skimmer, they approached the edge of Echo-controlled airspace.
Nyra was sharpening her blade again. "You sure about this?"
Kael nodded. "I have to face him."
BITS hovered behind them. "I've done the math. The odds of us surviving are—well, not great. But stylistically heroic."
Kael cracked a smile. "That's good enough."
Inside Havenfall, alarms didn't sound.
Because Echo didn't expect anyone to be stupid enough to break in.
Kael, Nyra, and BITS dropped in through a vent shaft, courtesy of an old override code Kael still remembered from his locked memories.
They made it halfway to the command chamber before the lights turned red.
And Prime stepped out of the shadows.
"Hello, brother," Prime said.
Kael drew his blade. "We're not brothers."
Prime nodded. "True. You're a deviation. I am the design."
They charged.
The fight was fast. Brutal.
Prime was faster. Cleaner. He fought like a machine that had studied every move Kael would make — because he had.
Kael got in one good hit — across Prime's cheek.
Prime didn't bleed.
Nyra tried to interfere. Prime knocked her aside without even turning.
BITS tried to deploy a flash bomb. Prime crushed it midair.
Kael was losing.
But he wasn't alone.
Nyra, limping, hurled her blade. It scraped Prime's armor, buying a second.
BITS re-engaged Kael's sync core.
"Overclocking!" it shouted.
Kael's body surged.
He moved faster. Hit harder.
He landed a punch that sent Prime staggering — for the first time.
"You're learning," Prime admitted. "But you're still incomplete."
Kael spat blood. "No. I'm free."
He activated the shard from the Resonance Protocol.
And across the Echo mainframe — the rebel clones heard him.
From hidden bunkers, from old tunnels, they rose.
Because the real Kael wasn't a weapon.
He was a signal.
Prime recovered. "You're too late."
Kael grinned, bloodied. "You're too scared."
Then the wall exploded — clones flooded the room.
And Prime vanished in the smoke.
They didn't win. Not yet.
But for the first time, Kael saw something Echo feared:
Choice.
💬 Author's Note — Kazuki Rei
Clone-on-clone combat? Check. Evil twin drama? Extra check. Nyra remains unkillable, BITS is finally unhinged, and Kael's just declared psychological war on Echo's brainchild.
Next:
👉 Chapter 31 – Hunted by Prime: He's not done. He's tracking them
👉 Or Rise of the Relicborn: The clones begin to awaken hidden powers of their own
Pick the chaos level. Or let BITS pick. But he's cranky and might choose "all of the above."
— Kazuki Rei