Chapter 43: The Burn Before the Break My hand stayed on the console. I didn’t move it. I didn’t want to. The surface was cold at first, but now it felt like it was pulling heat from me, not giving any back. The screen in front of me kept scrolling lines of code, too fast to read, too fast to understand. I didn’t need to understand. I just needed it to work. The timer above the code read 04:59. Then 04:58. I watched it drop. Mira stepped closer. She didn’t try to pull me away. She didn’t reach for the console. She didn’t even look at the screen. She looked at me. Only me. Her eyes didn’t plead. They didn’t warn. They just watched, like she was waiting to see if I’d flinch. She whispered, “It won’t bring her back — it’ll bring you back to her.” I didn’t answer. I didn’t turn my head. I kept my eyes on the timer. 04:55. The numbers didn’t care what she said. They didn’t care what I felt. They just kept going down. I thought about what she meant. Bring me back to her. Not bring her back to me. That was the difference. That was the trap. That was the truth. I wasn’t trying to undo death. I was trying to undo myself. To go back to the moment before I broke her. Before I broke everything. The code slowed. Just for a second. Just enough for me to see a single line blink red at the center of the screen. CONFIRM FINAL OVERRIDE — IRREVERSIBLE. I didn’t hesitate. I slammed my palm down on the CONFIRM button. The room convulsed. Not like an earthquake. Not like a machine breaking. Like something alive had been cut open. The walls didn’t crack. They dissolved. One second they were there — solid, white, humming with whatever energy kept this place breathing — and the next they were static. Not television static. Not digital noise. Something older. Something raw. Like the room was made of film and someone had lit it on fire. Mira vanished. Not like she walked away. Not like she faded. One moment she was beside me, close enough that I could feel the space she took up in the air, and the next she was gone. No sound. No flash. No echo. Just absence. I didn’t call for her. I didn’t look for her. I stared at the timer. 04:12. The drive under my skin burned hotter. It wasn’t pain. Not exactly. It was pressure. Like something inside me was expanding, pushing against my ribs, my lungs, my throat. Like my body was too small for what was happening inside it. I could feel the drive pulsing. Not with electricity. Not with data. With memory. With weight. With everything I had buried, deleted, erased. It was all coming back. Not in pieces. Not in flashes. All at once. And it was too much. I didn’t move my hand from the console. I didn’t step back. I didn’t close my eyes. I stood there, breathing shallow, watching the timer tick down, feeling the drive burn, listening to the silence that Mira left behind. The static walls didn’t move. They didn’t close in. They didn’t spit out another door or another question. They just hung there, flickering, unstable, like the room itself didn’t know what to do next. I didn’t either. I had confirmed the override. I had chosen the irreversible. I had accepted that I was still the architect. That I was still the one who did this. That I was still the one who had to fix it. The timer said 04:11. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. Waiting. The code on the screen stopped scrolling. It froze. A single line remained. > SYSTEM REBUILD IN PROGRESS — DO NOT INTERRUPT Below it, a progress bar. Empty. Waiting to fill. I didn’t know what would happen when it did. I didn’t know if I’d survive it. I didn’t know if Mirabel would. I didn’t know if any of this was real. But I knew I couldn’t stop now. I had pressed the button. I had said her name. I had confirmed the override. There was no going back. The timer dropped to 04:10. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The progress bar twitched. A sliver of light filled the far left edge. 0.1%. The drive burned hotter. I gritted my teeth. I didn’t look away. The timer said 04:09. The static walls flickered. Something moved inside them. Not a shape. Not a shadow. A face. My face. Younger. Cleaner. Smugger. The face of the man who built this. The face of the man who erased her. He looked at me. He didn’t speak. He didn’t smile. He just watched. Like he was waiting to see if I’d break. I didn’t. I stared back. The face dissolved into static. The progress bar jumped to 0.3%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move my hand from the console. I didn’t step back. I didn’t close my eyes. I just stood there. Breathing. Watching. Waiting. The timer said 04:08. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched again. 0.5%. The static walls pulsed. Another face appeared. Mirabel. Not the version from the photos. Not the version strapped to the table. Not the version whispering in the dark. Her. The real her. Before I touched her. Before I broke her. Before I deleted her. She looked at me. Not with anger. Not with fear. With disappointment. Like she had known I would do this. Like she had known I would fail her. Again. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 0.7%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 04:07. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 0.9%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Lena. No. Not Lena. Mira. The version I had been talking to. The version who guided me. The version who watched me. The version who knew everything. She didn’t look at me. She looked past me. At the console. At the progress bar. At the timer. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. You’re not done yet. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 1.2%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 04:06. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 1.5%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. The child. The one with the blue ribbon. The one I held the scalpel over. The one I let die. She didn’t look at me. She looked at the floor. At her hands. At the blood. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Why did you let me die? The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 1.8%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 04:05. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 2.1%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Me. Older. Tired. Broken. The version of me who woke up in this room. The version who didn’t remember. The version who asked questions. The version who cut himself. The version who injected himself. The version who screamed. The version who begged. The version who finally said her name. He looked at me. Not with pride. Not with shame. With exhaustion. Like he had been carrying this too long. Like he was glad someone else was here to take the weight. He whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Finish it. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 2.4%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 04:04. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 2.7%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Mirabel. Again. But different. Angry. Furious. Her eyes were red. Her mouth was open. She was screaming. Not at me. At the room. At the machine. At the system. At everything that let this happen. She didn’t whisper. She shouted. I heard it this time. “DON’T YOU DARE STOP.” The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 3.0%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 04:03. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 3.3%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Mira. Again. But this time, she was smiling. Not a kind smile. Not a gentle smile. A knowing smile. Like she had won. Like she had always known I would get here. Like she had been waiting for this exact moment. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Welcome home, architect. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 3.6%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 04:02. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 3.9%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Me. But not me. A version I didn’t recognize. Dressed in a suit. Standing in front of a boardroom. Signing a document. The document had Mirabel’s name on it. I didn’t remember this. But I knew it was real. He looked at me. Not with guilt. Not with regret. With satisfaction. Like he had done the right thing. Like he had made the hard choice. Like he had saved the world by destroying her. He whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. You did what you had to do. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 4.2%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 04:01. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 4.5%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Mirabel. Crying. Not screaming. Not shouting. Just crying. Quiet. Broken. Alone. She looked at me. Not with anger. Not with disappointment. With love. Like she still believed in me. Like she still hoped I would fix this. Like she still thought I could be better. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Please. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 4.8%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 04:00. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 5.0%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Mira. Again. But this time, she wasn’t smiling. She wasn’t watching. She was walking away. Turning her back on me. Leaving. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. I knew what it meant. You’re on your own now. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 5.3%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:59. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 5.6%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Me. Holding the scalpel. Standing over Mirabel. She was strapped down. She was begging. I was calm. I was focused. I was sure. I looked at me. Not with horror. Not with shame. With certainty. Like I knew this was the only way. Like I knew this was right. He whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Do it again. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 5.9%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:58. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 6.2%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Mirabel. Smiling. Not crying. Not screaming. Smiling. Like she remembered something good. Like she remembered me before I broke her. Like she remembered the brother I used to be. She looked at me. Not with love. Not with hope. With forgiveness. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. It’s okay. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 6.5%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:57. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 6.8%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Mira. Again. But this time, she was holding something. A photograph. The first one. The one I found in the envelope. The one of her I didn’t recognize. She looked at me. Not with expectation. Not with judgment. With sadness. Like she knew what was coming. Like she knew I wouldn’t make it. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Goodbye. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 7.1%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:56. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 7.4%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Me. Younger. Holding Mirabel’s hand. Walking through a park. Laughing. She was laughing. I was laughing. We were happy. I didn’t remember this. But I knew it was real. He looked at me. Not with nostalgia. Not with regret. With warning. Like he was trying to tell me something. Like he was trying to stop me. He whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Don’t lose her again. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 7.7%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:55. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 8.0%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Mirabel. In a hospital bed. Tubes in her arms. Machines beeping. Eyes closed. Not dead. Not alive. Somewhere in between. She looked at me. Not with fear. Not with pain. With peace. Like she was ready. Like she had accepted it. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Let me go. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 8.3%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:54. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 8.6%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Mira. Again. But this time, she was holding the scalpel. Not me. Her. She looked at me. Not with anger. Not with sadness. With resolve. Like she had made her choice. Like she was done waiting. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Your turn. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 8.9%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:53. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 9.2%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Me. Standing in front of the console. Hand on the surface. Timer counting down. Drive burning. Just like now. He looked at me. Not with fear. Not with hope. With understanding. Like he knew exactly what I was feeling. Like he had been here before. He whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Keep going. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 9.5%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:52. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 9.8%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Mirabel. Smiling. Again. But this time, she was holding something. A key. The first key. The one that started all of this. She looked at me. Not with forgiveness. Not with love. With challenge. Like she was daring me to finish. Like she was daring me to be better. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Prove it. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 10.1%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:51. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 10.4%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Mira. Again. But this time, she wasn’t alone. She was holding a child’s hand. The child with the blue ribbon. They were both smiling. They were both looking at me. Not with judgment. Not with expectation. With hope. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. We’re waiting. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 10.7%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:50. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 11.0%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Me. Older. Tired. Standing in front of a grave. Mirabel’s grave. I was crying. I didn’t remember this. But I knew it was real. He looked at me. Not with grief. Not with guilt. With promise. Like he had made a vow. Like he had sworn to fix this. He whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. I’ll bring you back. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 11.3%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:49. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 11.6%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Mirabel. In the surgical theater. Strapped down. Eyes wide. Mouth open. Screaming. Not at me. At the ceiling. At the lights. At the world. She looked at me. Not with fear. Not with anger. With betrayal. Like she had trusted me. Like she had believed in me. Like I had broken that. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Why? The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 11.9%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:48. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 12.2%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Mira. Again. But this time, she was holding the drive. The one in my chest. She looked at me. Not with pity. Not with anger. With purpose. Like she had given it to me for a reason. Like she had known I would need it. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Use it. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 12.5%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:47. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 12.8%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Me. Holding the scalpel. Standing over the child. The one with the blue ribbon. She was crying. I was calm. I was sure. I looked at me. Not with horror. Not with regret. With duty. Like I had no choice. Like this was the only way. He whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. It’s not your fault. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 13.1%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:46. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 13.4%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Mirabel. Smiling. Again. But this time, she was holding my hand. Like she was leading me somewhere. Like she was showing me the way. She looked at me. Not with love. Not with hope. With trust. Like she still believed in me. Like she still thought I could fix this. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Follow me. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 13.7%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:45. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 14.0%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Mira. Again. But this time, she was gone. Not vanished. Not dissolved. Gone. Like she had never been there. Like she had never existed. The space where she stood was empty. Just static. Just noise. Just nothing. I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t see anything. But I knew what it meant. You’re alone now. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 14.3%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:44. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 14.6%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Me. Standing in front of the console. Hand on the surface. Timer counting down. Drive burning. Just like now. But this time, the timer said 00:00. And the progress bar was full. And the drive was gone. And Mirabel was standing beside me. Smiling. Holding my hand. He looked at me. Not with fear. Not with hope. With peace. Like it was over. Like it was done. He whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. You made it. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 14.9%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:43. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 15.2%. The static walls flickered. Another face. Mirabel. Crying. Again. But this time, she wasn’t alone. I was holding her. I was crying too. We were both broken. We were both lost. But we were together. She looked at me. Not with love. Not with hope. With need. Like she needed me to be strong. Like she needed me to fix this. She whispered something. I didn’t hear it. But I knew what it was. Don’t leave me. The face dissolved. The progress bar jumped to 15.5%. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t move. I didn’t speak. I just watched the screen. And waited. The timer said 03:42. The drive burned hotter. I didn’t scream. I didn’t beg. I didn’t ask for help. I just stood there. The progress bar twitched. 15.8%. The static walls pulsed. Another face. Mira. Again. But this time, she was holding a photograph. The last one. The one of me and her as