The echo of his own voice rang out between the towering, gnarled trees—Except it wasn’t his voice.

  Mike turned his head sharply, gasping. That wasn’t his sound. Not the familiar, slightly raspy tone of a 45-year-old man, but a deep, clear woman’s voice, filled with power and command.

  His hand flew to his throat. He could feel the subtle vibration as he breathed. His breath—but not his body.

  His heart—or rather, the heart of this body—pounded.

  His armored fingers dug into the grass as he sat up. The armor was massive, but the body he inhabited seemed to move with ease. Every muscle was taut, every movement controlled—yet none of it was his.

  No. No. No.

  His eyes nded on the helmet lying beside him. Bck as night, shaped like a death's head. His breathing grew shallow.

  Slowly, almost mechanically, he lifted his hands and stared at the gauntlets—dark metal, polished, impossibly heavy. These hands weren’t his.

  He tried to stay calm. Okay… stay cool. There has to be a rational expnation. Maybe it’s some kind of simution? A VR glitch?

  But he knew better.

  This felt too real. Too raw.

  Then—it began.

  A tugging sensation.

  At first, just a faint pulse in his skull. Then stronger. Deeper. Like something pulling at his very mind.

  Mike gasped, clutching his head. A low hum reverberated through his thoughts—foreign, yet disturbingly familiar.

  What… what is this?!

  Then he heard it.

  A voice.

  Not from the outside—but from within.

  “Who are you?”

  The voice was cold. Calm. Almost predatory.

  “Why are you in my head?”

  His blood turned to ice.

  It wasn’t his voice.

  It wasn’t just a stranger’s voice.

  It was Tessa.

  Not as a character. Not as lines of code.

  But as a living, thinking presence.

  The Fight for ControlPanic surged through his body—if it was even his body anymore.

  His fists clenched—not by choice.Something else moved him.

  Another force.

  Tessa.

  He felt her growing stronger—an overwhelming personality rising from the depths of his mind.

  Mike fought back. He tried to anchor himself, to stay grounded in his own thoughts.

  “Get out.”

  The words echoed like a command. A searing pain shot through his skull, as if his consciousness was splitting in two.

  “No! Stop! This is my body!” he shouted in his mind.

  But it was useless.

  Tessa was stronger.

  His thoughts began to fade.

  His reflexes, his movements—no longer his.

  Slowly, his armored hands opened and turned in the light. Not because he moved them.

  Because she did.

  He was being pushed aside.

  Reduced to a voice.

  Just a shadow in her head.

  First Words – Two Minds, One FleshMike gasped silently as Tessa rose to her feet. Her posture was regal, her movements graceful and deliberate.

  “What is this? Why am I here?”

  Her voice was firm, commanding—but also… confused.

  “What the hell is happening?!” Mike shouted internally.

  He didn’t expect a response.

  But he got one.

  “You’re in my head.”

  Tessa stood still. Her bck boots sank slightly into the damp forest floor.

  “But you’re not me.”

  Mike felt his awareness wavering.

  “Of course I’m not you! I’m Mike! I’m a human! I was at my PC—I was pying this game—I…”

  A twitch ran through her body. Her right hand clenched briefly, unconsciously.

  “A game?”

  She said the word like it was foreign. Alien.

  “Yes! Conan Exiles! I created you! I pyed you! You’re just a character!”

  Silence.

  Then a low, dangerous ugh.

  “I’m not a game.”

  Mike’s thoughts reeled.

  “I am real. I am Tessa Sturm. Empress of Kerberus. And you…”

  She paused.

  “You’re just a voice.”

  The Bitter TruthMike fought the rising panic. He tried to move—tried to recim his body—but nothing responded.

  Tessa was in control.

  But she wasn’t unaffected.

  She could feel him.

  His presence. His thoughts. She couldn’t erase him.

  Just like he couldn’t erase her.

  Slowly, she turned her head, scanning the forest with cold, calcuting eyes.

  “This is not my empire.”

  Mike exhaled mentally. At least she understands that much.

  “I don’t know where we are,” he said, “But what I do know is—we’re stuck in the same body.”

  Another pause.

  Then a slow nod.

  “I can feel it.”

  A deep breath.

  “Then I suppose we’ll have to find out why.”

  Mike didn’t know whether to feel terrified… or relieved.

  But one thing was clear.

  They were trapped.Together.Whether they liked it or not.

  End of Chapter 3