There was a ringing in her ears.
Then, suddenly, her heart started beating frantically.
Evelyn opened her eyes in the darkness and gasped for the icy air.
The overhead lights flickered and the walls cracked and crumbled.
She was lying on the floor of the research facility — the building that should have been swallowed whole by the 'Reflection Collapse'.
Her fingers touched the cold, real floor.
No mirrors. No light gates. Only the lingering acrid smell of burnt machinery remained.
'Am I back?'
She struggled to her feet. The silence around her was deafening.
The lab hall was deserted and the surveillance screens were black.
Stumbling, she reached the control console and pressed the main power switch.
Blinding fluorescent lights flared up instantly.
All the screens activated simultaneously and began playing recorded footage in reverse.
[Timestamp: 02:46 AM] [Location: Main Control Room]
The figure in the footage was herself.
Her eyes were vacant as she swung a metal rod and smashed the core module of the mirroring device.
Glass shattered, sparks flew and system alarms blared in succession.
Her lips formed words that were clearly visible in the recording:
'End the loop.'
Then, all the lights went out.
Evelyn froze, her throat tightening.
This wasn't an illusion — she had destroyed the experiment with her own hands.
Yet, standing amidst the wreckage now, she could still see countless fragments scattered across the floor. The mirror shards were as fine as dust, and under the fluorescent light, each one reflected a different scene.
She bent down and picked up one piece.
Within it, she saw another version of herself:
This Evelyn walked side by side with Lucas out of the lab, her expression serene as if everything had already ended.
Another fragment showed her lying in a pool of blood, clutching the terminal.
Another depicted her kneeling, expressionless, before her mother's grave.
Each shard reflected a different version of her — different endings and different expressions.
Some laughed maniacally, some wept and some wore no expression at all.
Her fingers trembled as she held the shards.
'These are... possibilities?'
The hall lights flickered again and the console emitted a system auto-boot prompt.
'Vision-S residual core initialising...'
'Primary consciousness located: E.S. // Status: Anomaly.'
She approached the terminal as new text appeared on the screen:
'Evelyn Song, you have successfully terminated the loop.
The cost: you have become a 'Mirror Realm Returner'.'
'Returner...?' she murmured.
Suddenly, the terminal flickered and Lucas's voice crackled through it:
'Evelyn, can you hear me?'
Her heart skipped a beat. 'Lucas? Where are you?"
"I never left. I'm just trapped on the other side of the data layer.
When you destroyed the device, you severed the passageway — but you also severed the balance between us.'
Evelyn stared at the screen, where a faint green waveform flickered weakly.
"So I returned and you got trapped in the reflection?"
'Yes, the current you has detached from the original system.
That means every version of you that ever existed now resonates within you."
As he spoke, the screen erupted in static.
Countless fragments of imagery flashed by, each showing a different version of her struggling, fleeing or dying in alternate realities.
The entire hall seemed engulfed in a mirrored echo.
Evelyn fought to steady her breathing.
"Tell me, how do I restore everything?"
Lucas's voice was faint and barely audible.
"Return to the centre of the Mirror Realm.
There remains an unfinished memory there.
You must confront the 'First Mirror' — the original version of you that was replicated."
'If I don't go?'
'Then all the possibilities you've seen will become reality. You'll never be able to tell which one is the real you."
She closed her eyes.
A chorus of whispers from countless 'hers' echoed in her mind:
"Stay. 'Don't go back.' 'We are the real ones.'
She jerked her head back, trying to suppress the tearing sensation.
Gripping the terminal tightly, she walked deeper into the ruins.
At the end of the corridor, the walls had collapsed. Rain mist poured through the cracks, bringing with it the scents of rust and dust.
In the centre of the breach stood a shattered mirror, its surface cracked yet still faintly reflective.
Her reflection appeared within the mirror — but a second too late.
That split-second delay sent a familiar chill through her.
'So you're still here,' she murmured.
The mirror image of 'her' flashed a strange smile.
Lips moved silently, yet Evelyn clearly heard the words:
'Welcome back.'
The next instant, the mirror surface rippled and a blinding light erupted.
Before she could react, she was swallowed by it.
As the light faded, Evelyn found herself standing in a vast white room.
Mirrors lined every wall, creating endless reflections.
She approached one of the mirrors and her reflection spoke.
'You thought returning to reality would let you escape? 'Return' is never escape; it's the other side of the cycle."
"Then which one am I?" Evelyn asked.
Her mirrored self smiled and extended a hand, the palm of which glowed with the familiar Vision-S emblem.
"You are the sum of all versions.
You are the reflected origin."
As she finished speaking, the mirror surface trembled violently. All the reflections spoke simultaneously, their voices blending into an indistinguishable, incantation-like roar.
Evelyn felt her body being torn into countless fragments, each of which was projected into a different mirror image.
Those 'hers' opened their eyes in different scenes:
One wept in the snow; one burned amid the ruins; one smiled and turned towards the light.
At the centre of the overlapping images, she heard Lucas's final words:
"Remember, Evelyn — true return isn't going back to the past, but acknowledging all of yourself."
Boom!
All the mirrors shattered simultaneously.
The white space dissolved into a sky of light dust, drifting down like snow.
When it had all settled, she stood alone in the clearing.
Dawn light filtered through the shattered skylight, bathing her in its glow.
For the first time without fear or doubt, she lifted her head.
After countless collapses and returns, she finally understood:
The mirrored self was not an enemy, but an extension of herself.
She whispered softly, 'I'm back.'
In that instant, the static in the air gradually dissipated and the Vision-S system shut down completely.
The terminal screen automatically displayed its final log entry:
Subject E.S. // Loop Terminated // All Reflections Integrated.
The light slowly faded.
Evelyn left the ruins and walked towards the dawn.