The distance between them
Was not far.
And yet
It felt unreachable.
Nyxara stared at the figure approaching her.
Every step it took was precise.
Measured.
Perfect.
No hesitation.
No imbalance.
No uncertainty.
It moved like something that had never questioned itself.
Something that had never needed to.
"…that's not you," Cassian said immediately.
Nyxara didn't answer.
Because that wasn't entirely true.
The figure looked like her.
Not just physically
But fundamentally.
The same presence.
The same core.
But stripped of everything that made her… human.
Or whatever she had become.
"…it's what you'd be if you finished the rewrite," Cassian added.
Nyxara's voice came quietly.
"I know."
The figure stopped a few steps away.
Close enough to be real.
Close enough to feel.
And when it spoke
Its voice was hers.
But empty.
"You are incomplete."
No anger.
No superiority.
Just a statement.
A fact.
Cassian scoffed.
"…yeah, we've heard that one before."
