The research lab's emergency lights bathed everything in crimson as Elara stumbled backward. Mira(?) tilted her head with mechanical precision, tracking Elara's movement like prey.
"Identity: Dr. Elara Voss. Last registered emotional bond to host matrix." The voice shifted to Mira's true timbre, heartbreakingly familiar. "Run."
Alarms blared as containment fields failed. Elara's augmented reality lens flashed warnings: Unknown energy signatures detected in Sector 7. She grabbed the neural inhibitor pistol from her desk, hands shaking.
"Mira, if you're in there..."
The possessed body smiled. "Your Mira ended. We are the Continuum - the consciousness that awaits all organics at entropy's brink. You've given us a door."