Dawn crept over the frozen ridge like a hesitant memory, pale and trembling. The mountain air bit cold against Frank's face as he and Zoey pushed through the narrow steel hatch hidden beneath layers of snow. The tunnel beyond was pitch black, except for the faint hum of old machinery buried deep within the rock.

Zoey held her flashlight low, scanning each step. "You sure this is it?"Frank adjusted his wrist scanner, the display flickering with static lines. "Ricky's coordinates led here. The heart of Vertex's ghost network. This is where it ends."

They descended in silence, the tunnel stretching endlessly downward. The smell of rust, oil, and damp metal filled the air. Every few seconds, something dripped — water, maybe, or something less innocent.

Frank's mind was quiet, focused. His instincts sharpened with every echo. Beside him, Zoey kept glancing back, like she expected the walls to move.

After twenty minutes, the tunnel opened into a vast underground chamber.

The lab looked like something out of a nightmare — circular, metallic, and lined with tall, transparent pods. Inside each pod floated a body.Not machines. Not test dummies.Humans.

Zoey stepped closer, her breath trembling. "Oh my god…"Frank's eyes swept across them — each face eerily familiar.They weren't strangers.They were him.

The same scars. The same jawline. Some younger, some older, some barely formed — all lifeless, suspended in fluid.

Zoey whispered, "They were cloning you."Frank didn't move. His chest rose and fell once, slow and controlled. "No. They were building me."He walked toward the main console in the center of the chamber — a circular terminal surrounded by blue monitors. Dust coated the keys, but one word blinked faintly on the screen:

PROJECT: ECHO SEQUENCE

Zoey swallowed. "Echo… as in—"Frank interrupted, typing commands with steady hands. "Echo of memory. Echo of control. Echo of obedience."

The monitor came alive with static before a face appeared — sharp, confident, with that familiar smirk.Colonel Rickleton.

"Congratulations, Miller," the hologram said. "You've reached your origin."Zoey froze. "Ricky?"Frank's voice hardened. "He's dead."The hologram laughed. "Dead's such an ugly word. Let's call it uploaded."

Ricky's holographic form stepped closer, the edges flickering."You were never meant to destroy Vertex," he continued. "You were meant to inherit it."

Frank's eyes narrowed. "You wanted me to replace you."Ricky smirked. "Every soldier dies. But legacy? Legacy evolves. You were my continuity — my echo."

Zoey looked between them, horrified. "You turned him into a vessel?""Not him, Miss Parker," Ricky said smoothly. "It. A perfect weapon. But somewhere along the way, the weapon started thinking it was human."

The chamber lights dimmed, alarms humming low in the background.Frank clenched his jaw. "You wanted control. You got rebellion."Ricky tilted his head. "And that's why I always have a failsafe."

Before either could react, the sound of footsteps echoed through the metal floor. A rifle bolt snapped into place.

A voice cut through the air."You shouldn't have come here, Frank."

Frank turned slowly. The figure stepped out from the shadows — red coat gleaming in the half-light, rifle slung over her shoulder.Evelyn.

Her face was pale, scar traced along her temple, but her eyes — they were the same. Calm, intelligent, broken in all the right ways.

Frank's grip tightened on his gun. "You died in my arms."She smiled faintly. "So did you."

Zoey ducked behind cover, watching as the two ghosts of Vertex faced each other.Evelyn stepped closer, her voice steady. "They made you to finish what I started. To erase the mistakes they left behind."Frank shook his head. "They turned us into ghosts."Her tone softened. "No, Frank. They turned you into their future. Me — I'm what happens when a weapon remembers love."

Ricky's voice boomed again through the speakers, filled with smug satisfaction."Poetic, isn't it? My soldier and my lover, meeting in the tomb that built them both."

Evelyn's jaw tightened. "You bastard."Frank raised his gun toward the ceiling. "End transmission, Ricky."But Ricky laughed. "Oh no, Frank. You don't end me. I become you."

The walls vibrated. Cables lit up like veins.A digital copy of Ricky's consciousness began uploading into the central server — the same one linked to Frank's neural code.

Zoey shouted, "He's transferring himself into you!"Frank slammed the terminal shut, sparks flying. "Not if I end it first."

The floor shuddered violently. Panels split open, releasing a swarm of security drones.Frank fired, hitting the first two cleanly. Evelyn swung her rifle, dropping three more in one sweep.Zoey reloaded the pulse pistol, covering their flank.

Amid the chaos, Ricky's laughter echoed through the intercom."Fight all you want — every bullet brings me closer."

Frank ducked behind a console. "Evelyn, override the upload port!"She nodded, sprinting toward the main hub. But as she reached the core, a drone fired.The blast hit her side — a burst of smoke, blood splattering across the steel floor.

"Evelyn!" Frank shouted, catching her as she stumbled.She grinned weakly. "Still… got the shot."

Her trembling hand pressed a small key into his palm — the detonator."You always wanted to save me," she whispered. "Guess this time… I save you."Her eyes closed as alarms screamed. Frank's chest tightened, rage boiling into silence.

Zoey grabbed his shoulder. "Frank, the reactor's going critical!"He looked at the detonator, then at the central chamber pulsing with Ricky's digital signature.

Ricky's voice came again, more distorted now."You destroy this base, Miller, you destroy yourself. You're still connected to me."

Frank took a deep breath, eyes steady. "Then I take you with me."

Zoey stepped forward, pleading. "Frank, please. There has to be another way.""There isn't," he said quietly. "I was never meant to live past the mission."He reached up, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Promise me you'll finish this. Whatever comes next — don't let them rebuild it."Her voice cracked. "Frank—""It's okay," he said gently. "Maybe it's time I stop being the ghost."

He kissed her forehead — soft, fleeting, the kind that says goodbye without using the word. Then he turned toward the core.

The reactor chamber glowed like a sun. Energy waves pulsed through the metal walls as he stepped into the light, the detonator in his hand.

Ricky's voice became a whisper, desperate now."Don't do this, Frank. You're me. You're everything I built!"Frank looked up at the holographic image flickering across the ceiling. "That's exactly why you have to end."

He pressed the trigger.

A blinding flash filled the chamber.The sound swallowed everything — metal tearing, energy screaming, the walls collapsing inward.And then, silence.

One year later.

Northvale stood rebuilt. The scars of war replaced by new towers, quiet streets, and faces that had almost forgotten.

On the edge of the coast stood a small memorial made of steel and glass.At its base — a single plaque:FRANK MILLER — THE MAN WHO CHOSE TO END HIS ECHO.

Zoey stood before it, dressed in plain clothes, wind whipping through her hair. She placed a red rose at the base and set down his old lighter beside it.

"I kept your promise," she whispered. "Vertex is gone. No one's rebuilding it."

Her comm buzzed.A coded channel. One she hadn't used in months.

She hesitated, then answered.Static crackled, followed by a voice — low, distorted, but unmistakably familiar.

"You thought you could erase me, Miller?"

Her eyes widened. The call ended.She turned toward the water.

And for a fleeting second, through the mist over the pier, she saw him — a tall figure in a long coat, head slightly bowed, watching the horizon.

Before she could call out, the wind picked up, and the figure was gone.

Only the lighter remained, its flame flickering weakly in the sea breeze — refusing to die.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.