Eniola was suspended in nothingness, like an enigma in the vast expanse of space. If she didn't know any better, it'd be peaceful.

That was until Eniola was abruptly slapped to the ground. A groan came out from behind her.

Her eyes snapped open, and a shallow breath wrangled from her throat. Eniola registered a soft bed underneath her, and it wasn't until she dug her fingers into it she realized it was grass. Above her, gold sunlight peaked through the canopy of trees in a circle.

Immediately, Eniola climbed up to her feet and looked around defensively. The only sounds were the peaceful sounds of birds tweeting and the grass that moved underneath her. Where was she? How did they go from inside Enigma to a forest? And where were her friends?

"Lucia! Jay!" she yelled out into an echoing landscape. "Iris! Theo! Keone! Zaira! Where the hell are you?"

Eniola paced around the little forest area, as she weaved in between the trees, to only find nothing. Panic swept through her. The last thing Eniola remembered was her and Iris in the alleyway. Iris confronted her about her abilities. Then the huge swallowing expanse of space had sucked her in.

Kain had found her. He'd trapped her here. But why not a prison or some infinite landscape? Why was it some serene forest?

Then someone giggled. It was light, yet not childlike. Eniola turned around so fast that she almost gave herself more vertigo. Her eyes scanned the trees. No one was there again. Eniola frowned.

The same airy giggle came from behind Eniola. Eniola turned back again. No one was there. It was like they were teasing her. Someone was here. And when Eniola found them, she was going to make them talk.

"Hello?" Eniola asked. "Is anyone here?"

Now whoever was tormenting her stayed quiet and only the serene air filled her ears. Eniola frowned. Maybe it was all in her head? Maybe she was going crazy.

The giggle happened again. Eniola turned back and her eyes widened. For a split second, a figure in a flowy white dress flashed in a little echo of a giggle before they ran through the trees again.

"Come back!" Eniola screamed, and she took off in a sprint through the trees, and the leaves scratched against her. Eniola emerged from the trees and into a wide-open field that ended with a small hill.

Eniola stopped where she was. The figure had gone. Her eyes scanned the field again. Another flash of white ran over the hill and so did Eniola. She ran across the grass before she darted up the hill tirelessly. Once she got to the top, her breath hitched.

There wasn't another field. Instead, an enormous glass dome spread over the area and was kissed by the rose gold sunlight. Inside of it were tall white buildings and hovering ships that floated in between them, all held in between lush greenery and vines.

Eniola covered her eyes from the bright glass that seared into her eyes. Then she removed her hands and raised an eyebrow. One glass panel was way close to her right now. Eniola's gaze travelled upwards. She was right in front of the dome. Her head snapped back. The field was way behind her right now.

How did that happen?

Eniola faced forward again, where the glass panel suddenly receded into nothing, which gave Eniola an opening. Eniola gulped before she slowly stepped in and immersed herself into all the noise. The city smelled exactly like Eniola thought it would. Clean air and grassy mist.

People wearing nothing but white walked around the city. A huge whoosh of sound and air came from above Eniola, and she looked to see saucer-shaped ships that flew above her at incredible speeds. The buildings were tall and pearly white, and in between, they were glitter sky maglevs that whirled them.

Her eyes trained to one skinny building in the middle, where a white holo-screen in bold letters rotated around it. UTOPIA.

UTOPIA. That explained the weird nature and people in all white. This was supposed to be some conjured-up fantasy the PSEUDO had put into Enigma.

The fresh air had turned ominously around her. But as much as Eniola liked to admit it, she couldn't look away from the sheer beauty.

Maybe Enigma was right in the world. This could replace the sheer chaos. It didn't feel wrong yet.

Eniola shook her head and raised an eyebrow. She had no time for this. Her friends were waiting for her.

Then the giggle came back.

Eniola turned around again swiftly to see the white-clothed crowd rush past her. Eniola immediately ran in between the cluster of bodies and pushed past the people. The giggling wouldn't stop. It taunted her and rang in her ears. Someone knew something that she didn't. She had to know.

Eniola emerged from the crowd again with a heavy chest, before she stopped again. The city was gone, and the crowd dispersed. Eniola turned back. She was in the field again.

Eniola looked forward again, and a hill appeared in front of her. But as Eniola squinted, it wasn't just a hill. There were octagon-shaped windows, a door melded into the grass and a glass observatory that rose above it. It was a little hill house.

And there was the flash of white again.

Eniola ran down to the house before she stopped in front of it. The door was swung wide open for her and she entered a small mudroom. The walls were made of the same pearly white as the building's exterior, and a small opening was on the far side. Some commotion came out as well as a faint scent. Eniola sniffed it in and almost jumped.

It was jollof rice. But not just anyone’s. Her mom's. It had been almost a year since she smelled it and she sniffed the nostalgia. Eniola walked in the door. It was much bigger this time, with a wide kitchen, dining room, and living room. Green vines and leaves decorated the walls and ceiling like little lights.

Right in the living room was her family.

Eniola froze as a deer would've in headlights. Everyone was unfamiliar until they weren't. Her parents were there and both of her brothers. Everyone was there except for May and Adeola. Instead, another girl took her place, and a baby boy took Adeola's. Eniola was also missing. She sighed in relief. At least she found her family.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"Guys!" Eniola yelled. "It's me! It's Eniola!"

The conversation still hung in the air. No one looked at her or paid attention. It was like she was a ghost.

"Mom and Dad! Olu! Kol!” Eniola yelled desperately. "Can't you see me?"

"Guys!" Eniola screamed, before walking in front and sitting at the table. Everyone still looked through her like she was missing.

"Olu!" she yelled, running before she peered into his face. "Where's May? Where's Adeola? Where the hell is everyone? Why are you so different? What is UTOPIA?"

Suddenly the air went brisk with change, as the balance had just been disputed. Everyone's eyes moved to Eniola in one motion.

"It's me!" Eniola screamed as she pointed to herself. "Look at me!"

They said nothing, only at once their eyes changed direction and followed something. Eniola turned around.

Another figure loomed in the doorframe. It was Eniola.

Same look, same height. Only this time she was in a milky white dress and a silken hairband wrapped her head of coils. She tilted her head and cocked a smile.

That's why the giggles sounded so familiar and tormented her. They were her giggles. There were two of Eniola.

"Who the hell are you?" Alternate Eniola asked.

"We're the same people," Eniola said. "What the hell is going on? Where is everything? Where are your friends?"

Alternate Eniola took slow steps towards Eniola, who wasn't sure if she should run, hide, or scream. Eniola flinched, whereas Alternate Eniola held a hand out.

"Come on," Alternate Eniola said. "I have something to show you. Do you want to see it?"

Eniola said nothing. She didn't trust this girl, or herself.

For a moment, everything pixelated away before the landscape became nothing but a fleeting swirl of colours. Alternate Eniola did nothing but smile. Then it stopped.

Eniola looked around. Her feet were now on tiled white stones that were surrounded by a border of trees in a square. The square had these benches and a running fountain with an angel perched on top of it.

"What is this place?" Eniola asked. Alternate Eniola ignored her, and turned and walked away from her and to the people on the bench. Then Eniola realized they weren't just any people.

All of her friends, including Zaira, sat on the benches with wide smiles. Eniola's breath hitched. They were her friends, but they weren't her friends. They all wore white dresses and robes and laughed on command.

Iris was the most different. The colour had been removed from her hair and was now a nice thick strawberry blonde. Eniola's jaw dropped at the lack of cybernetic limbs.

They all looked animated, and the air didn't feel right. Nothing felt right. Alternate Eniola had no problem inserting herself inside. Eniola walked up to the benches. No one saw her.

"Guys!" Eniola yelled and pointed to herself. "It's me! It's Eniola!"

"Eniola!" a voice came from behind her. Eniola turned around and into vibrant green eyes.

Keone.

He also looked frantic, like he'd been running everywhere. Never had she been happy to see him. She didn't hug him, or she didn't touch him, but a sigh of relief escaped her. His eyes were filled with concern and he wasn't dressed in all white. Instead, he wore the same clothes he wore before.

"How are you awake?" Eniola stuttered. "How am I awake?"

"Because you're like me," Keone said. "We're not under control by Enigma, because we are Enigma. The simulation won't take us fully."

"I'm not like you," Eniola spat. "We're nothing alike."

Keone simply stiffened. "Let me guess. You woke up in a forest and you came here."

Eniola didn't reply.

"I'm going to take that as a yes," Keone said. "They're trapped, and I think we can free them."

"What?" Eniola asked.

"We can use what we have to free them," Keone said. "Those are not them. Something trapped them inside their consciousnesses and if we don't get them out, they're going to stay there."

"But what about me?" Eniola asked, pointing to Alternate Eniola.

"You don't have full power," Keone said.

Eniola looked back. Maybe that's why Alternate Eniola could see Eniola. Because her consciousness was split in half.

"Give me your arm," Keone demanded.

"No," Eniola said. Her skin always got goosebumps when he touched her. They were not the good kind.

"Give me your arm, or we can't do anything," Keone hissed from behind her.

Eniola turned and held it out.

"Good girl," Keone mumbled, and her stomach flipped.

He squeezed her arm before he ran the fingers off her forearm. The green electricity sparked into his hands and ran down onto hers. The glow heated on the side of her head.

"Touch them," Keone told her, and Eniola turned back towards them. She first came up from behind Alternate Eniola before she grabbed her shoulder. Alternate Eniola glowed green before she faded away in pixels.

It was like serenity had filled her mind and calmed it again. The pounding headache slowly faded away. Her consciousness was being restored.

She looked over at Keone, who put a hand on both Iris and Theo. They pixelated away until their crouched figures took their place. Eniola's eyes widened. Keone only gave her a stare-down.

"You can do it too," he told her.

Eniola gulped and reached over for Lucia. She touched her shoulder before she faded away and a crouched Lucia took her place. Then she did it to Jay. Keone took care of Zaira. And now everyone crouched down.

Eniola reached down for Lucia and shook her. "Lucia? Lucia? Wake up."

"She's not going to," Keone said.

Panic swept through Eniola. "How do you know all of this?"

"Because I'm Paradox."

"Why didn't you say?"

"Why didn't you?" Keone refuted. "You have these abilities."

Eniola remembered Iris and her in the alleyway. She told Iris that she was going to tell her later. But she never did. She gulped when she saw Iris again.

Eniola didn't talk to Keone again. She wouldn't entertain him. Not after she lost herself to Keone back in the safe house. Not after he almost forced himself on her.

Eniola looked up to the dome again and caught the UTOPIA sign that rotated around the vast tower. She never noticed it, but she had noticed nothing. It was up there and it was so loud and proud. If society was truly perfect, why would they need to call it a UTOPIA? Why would they need to convince their citizens of it?

"It's a flaw," Eniola murmured under her breath. "If it was truly a UTOPIA, you don't need to say that. UTOPIA is a flaw."

Then the world glitched, then it stopped.

The world looked the same when it did. Except the streets were empty of all the white-clothed people. It was void. Eniola looked back at the sky again. The UTOPIA sign flickered in and out.

A loud groan came out, and Eniola's gaze trained on the floor. She almost stifled out a cry of relief. All of her friends, Lucia, Jay, Iris, Theo, and Zaira, were all on the ground and uncurling from the crouches they'd been in.

"Oh my gosh," Eniola sighed in relief. She immediately wrapped them all into a thick hug.

"What happened?" Theo asked. Eniola explained everything that happened from the forest to meet her family, then Keone, and when she saw them. She explained, with all too confused expressions.

"The glitch brought you back," Eniola lied. Iris narrowed her eyes at her before she looked back.

"Really?" Zaira asked.

"Yeah," Eniola replied. "I was trapped too."

"What happens now?" Theo asked.

Zaira pointed to the huge building. "We go into there. That building is a citadel for Enigma. When I created Enigma, I made a plan for Enigma to be stored specifically. It's in that building."

"But we can't insert the flaw," Jay said. "We're not outside anymore."

"There's a way," Zaira said. Everyone turned to Zaira, whose face had gone low.

"Tell us," Lucia prodded.

"Uh," Zaira began. "The computers are attached to their hosts through a genetic link. The first computer is attached to me, the second is attached to Keone, and Enigma is attached to Kain."

"So?" Jay asked.

"I created a fail-safe to Enigma," Zaira began. "If someone got a hold of Enigma, then I made it so that I could transfer myself into Enigma so that it could sense my flawed state and break. But it's risky, and I might not survive."

Eniola froze. "What?"

"I can do the transfer, but I'm going to die," Zaira repeated hoarsely. "But I'm okay. I'm already dead to everyone. I brought this madness into the world, so I'm going to bring it out."

"No," Theo cut in. "There has to be another way!"

"I'm sorry," Zaira said in a shaky voice. "You guys have been such great friends to me. But this is the only way."

The world glitched again and stopped right after. Then a wave of black rippled over the ground like a deadly ocean. One by one, the UTOPIA faded into pixels until there was dark nothingness.

"Come on!" Zaira screamed before she took off running to the citadel. Everyone ran after her before they got to the entrance. It receded into nothing and everyone entered. Another building crashed beside them. Eniola jumped as her heart sped up.

It was like an office building, with an all-white foyer and all-white everything.

"It's at the top," Zaira told them. Everyone ran after them before Zaira emerged through a door and into a stairway. Eniola sighed and huffed again before they ran up the staircase all at once. Eniola spared a glance behind her. The building was disappearing.

They made it upstairs, and suddenly everyone stopped. Eniola pushed past the crowd. There were no doors and rooms. A green light suspended the sleek black computer in the air. There it was, right in front of her.

Zaira walked forward, but Jay held her back. "You can't do this."

"This is the only way," Zaira said, as she pushed back against Jay's tall frame.

The sound of ripples rushed behind her. Eniola shivered. The fading of the world was reaching them.

"There's no time," Zaira cried. "Just let me go!"

"But you'll die," Eniola pleaded. "Zaira, there has to be another way."

A tear dripped down her cheek. "I'm so sorry. I have to do this. If I don't, the world is going to get destroyed."

Zaira suddenly reached forward before she sucked in a breath. This would be the second time Eniola watched someone die after Hyejin. She always assumed that sacrificing yourself would be a glorious moment where the world stopped for you.

But then the world continued to ripple and disintegrate. Eniola choked back a sob as Zaira touched on Enigma and closed her eyes. A can't glow trailed from the computer to her arm. Zaira was going to die for real this time.

Then Zaira was pushed to the ground, and the glow disappeared. Eniola looked to see Keone above her.

"Hey!” Zaira yelled.

"I'm sorry," he announced.

Then Keone touched his hand to Enigma and his hand glowed green. Eniola's jaw dropped. It was at that moment that Eniola realized that Keone also had a link to Enigma.

He was Paradox, after all.

The world moved in slow motion. The green light made him alive and connected to the little threads of energy. The world froze and stopped pixelating and Enigma lifted into the air with Keone. It was working. Eniola simply watched.

Keone looked ethereal.

A glitch rippled over the remaining landscape in one huge technicolour myriad of colours that blinded Eniola. She lurched from her spot and launched into the sky slowly, like an enigma. Her eyes shut, but when she opened them all she could see was a colourful whirlpool filled with stars and light, yet made way to an expanse of black. It was mystifying. It was beautiful.

Eniola felt nothing and everything. She was a moment.

Then she was falling into imminent space.