The moment Kai stepped back into the Arkveil Cathedral, he knew something was wrong. It wasn’t the silence. It wasn’t the missing guards. It wasn’t even the black rose blooming on the altar. It was the smell—like burning paper and blood, barely hidden beneath incense. "One of you isn’t real anymore." "Chapter 44 starts with blood." Kai turned sharply as the gate behind him closed. Astra and Nyx appeared seconds later, carrying a weakened Seris between them. Her eyes were half-lidded, mana fluctuating wildly inside her chest, like a soul trying to escape a body it no longer trusted. Kai gripped the note until it crumbled. Astra read the message over his shoulder, face pale. "This is the Author again. He’s turning us against each other." Nyx tilted her head, amused. "Or maybe one of us turned on our own." But deep down, the seed had been planted. And it was already growing. [System Alert – Narrative Instability Detected] Synchronization: Fragmented One Companion Identity: Inconsistent Recommend: Loyalty Verification Protocol Requirement: Eliminate One Suspected Companion "What the hell is this?" Astra hissed as the System projection hovered in front of them. Kai stared at the text. One of his harem members was a fake. Or worse: overwritten. Fınd the newest release on novel-fire.net "I’m not doing that," he said. "I’m not killing anyone." Nyx laughed softly, stepping away from the group. "You say that now." "Enough," Astra snapped. "No one’s dying." But her fingers drifted toward her spellbook. Seris coughed weakly. "I saw it... inside him," she murmured. "The Author. He doesn’t just write. He replaces. He erases someone—then rewrites them like a character on a blank page." Kai crouched beside her. "You mean one of you isn’t... who they were anymore?" She nodded. Slowly. "The body is the same. But the soul is borrowed." The group moved cautiously through the Cathedral halls. They found signs of a struggle—slash marks on the walls, scorched tiles, a shattered mana crystal in the war room. Only static echoes where the System had failed to record. And one final message burned into the floor: They gathered in the main sanctum. Each of them now carried suspicion in their gaze — like daggers sheathed just below the ribs. Kai stood before them. "We’re going to test this. Each of you — tell me something only the real you would know. Something no one else could fake." "Are you serious?" Astra asked. "Fine," she said, stepping forward. "First time we kissed, it wasn’t after a battle. It was before. And I was the one who grabbed you." Astra’s eyes were steady. She shrugged. "Your worst fear isn’t death. It’s being forgotten. I read it off your System files during that dungeon run when you thought I was asleep." Nyx smirked. "Cute, right?" She looked up, eyes still foggy. "You almost died saving my village. But the first thing you said to me after was... ’Do they serve coffee in heaven?’ You thought I was an angel." That was the exact line. But that was the problem. Because someone was missing. Suddenly, the cathedral lights flared. And a voice echoed through the sanctum. "You hesitate at the altar. That is your sin." "You want love without sacrifice. Loyalty without pain. A hero without a cost." "But stories demand blood." A figure stepped from the shadows. She wore Liora’s face. Her armor. Her voice. Like someone had hollowed her out and left a script behind. Kai stepped forward. "Where’s the real Liora?" The doppelgänger smiled. "She’s dreaming of endings. This body... it’s mine now. And you only have one chance." She held up a shard of mirrored glass. "Kill the fake. Or I will." [System Trigger – Decision Point Activated] – [Execute Suspected Impostor] – [Do Nothing – Warning: Companion Termination Imminent] Astra was already raising her staff. "We kill it. Right now." "Wait," Kai snapped. "We don’t know she’s the fake." "Do you really want to risk it?" Seris struggled to her feet. "There’s only one way to know..." And pointed it at Nyx. "Why me?" Nyx asked, eyes narrowing. "Because you were too perfect," Seris said. "Too rehearsed. Your memory wasn’t proof. It was a script." "No," he said. "I know Nyx. She’s been with me since—" "Since when?" Seris interrupted. "Can you remember the exact moment she joined us?" Nyx stepped back, suddenly calm. "That’s a shame," she said. But it wasn’t Nyx’s smile. She drew a blade from her shadow and slashed at Seris. Astra raised a barrier just in time. "Hostile confirmation!" she shouted. [Impostor Detected – Soul Signature Mismatch] Classification: AUTHOR’S PROXY Objective: Destabilize Narrative Nyx/Proxy’s body twisted — limbs elongating, eyes multiplying, voice fracturing. "You should’ve chosen her," it growled. "But now I’ll choose you." A dark spell ignited from its hand. His sword pierced the proxy’s chest mid-cast. The creature screamed — not in pain, but frustration. Its form unraveled into a cloud of ink and glitching text. Kai dropped his sword. Nyx’s body lay on the ground — real now, unconscious but intact. "She was overwritten," Astra whispered. "The real Nyx... she was still in there." "But barely," Kai said. And for a moment, he felt cold. Because he’d almost let her die. [System Notice – Impostor Eliminated] Nyx Status: Restoring... 47% Loyalty Flag: Fractured Emotional Core: Wounded Recovery Time: Unknown Astra stood beside him. "You did what you had to." "No," Kai said quietly. "I did what I should’ve done earlier." He looked down at Nyx. And realized something terrifying. They could all be taken. That night, Seris stood by his door. "Would you do it?" she asked. "If the System told you I was next. If it said I was the fake." "Then maybe it already has." Leaving him in silence. She left with silence. He stayed with the memory. 💔 Not every hero gets a happy ending... 📚 Add to your library if your heart can handle it. 💬 Who deserves forgiveness—and who deserves vengeance? 🔺 Vote if you want more heartbreak, more beauty, more depth.