"A man becomes a myth when the world forgets the scars and remembers only the fear."
04:46 AM – Covert Telecom Node, Under Indiranagar Flyover
Kabir set the relay to passive and watched.
The clone had moved again.
Each time it activated, digital traffic in the area slowed for two seconds — barely noticeable, unless you were watching the entire city breathe.
Tonight, the breath hitched.
A security drone passed overhead, and Kabir snapped the recorder shut.
"Zone 4 spike confirmed," said a voice in his earpiece. It was Neha, the only link left from his past agency life.
"Visual?"
"Negative. It's hiding between pings. Like it knows what we're watching."
Kabir muttered, "Because it remembers what I used to be."
Elsewhere – Zayen's Safe Corner, Above a Godown
Zayen stood before a mirror bolted to the wall.
Not to admire himself.
But to rehearse.
He mimicked the clone's speech pattern, posture, twitch of the left eye — even the unnerving half-smile.
He had to learn the impostor before the impostor replaced him in the minds of people… and in data.
His phone vibrated.
A message. From a scrambled number.
"You're not the only you anymore."
He threw the mirror off the wall.
Underground Bunker – Crown Neural Lab
The clone was now functional.
Not perfect. But enough.
It could walk into a political office and mimic Zayen's tone, posture, speech.
More dangerously, it could think like him.
But only when told to.
Controlled chaos.
The Crown Commander tapped on a tablet.
"Initiate Mirror Protocol. Let them see each other."
Abandoned Building – Old Tech Hub – 6:09 PM
Kabir waited on the upper floor. Neha stood near the stairwell, tense.
Footsteps echoed.
Zayen entered first, gun in hand, face shadowed.
Then—more footsteps.
From the other side of the corridor.
Another Zayen.
Neha raised her weapon. "What the hell…"
Kabir didn't blink.
"Don't shoot."
Both boys faced each other, ten feet apart. Same body. Same voice.
Only the real one flinched.
The clone spoke:
"I'm not here to kill you.I'm here to become you.You're the pain. I'm the perfected memory."
Kabir whispered to Neha: "That's what Crown wants. A myth they can program."
The clone lunged forward, fast—Zayen tackled him through the shattered glass.
Both tumbled two floors down.
Minutes Later – Street Level
No body.
Just blood.
Only one figure limped away into the mist.
Kabir ran after him, but by the time he reached the exit, the figure was gone.
And on the glass wall?
A checkmark.
Two halves.
One in chalk.
One in burnt black ink.
Government Surveillance Station – Crown Infiltration
A terminal flickered.
[Protocol Shift: Operation GODMIRROR – ACTIVE]
[Subject: ZAYEN_MEHRA.ORIG]
[Status: OBSOLETE]
The commander leaned back and smiled.
"The real one's time is over."