Chapter 8: The Mirror CrackedThe first light of dawn, a pale grey smear through the lab's polarized windows, found them exactly where the night had left them: Aarav leaning against a console, Mira curled in her chair, the space between them now filled with the ghost of confessed secrets. The sharp, electronic thud of the magnetic lock disengaging at precisely 06:00 was like a starter’s pistol, jerking them both back into the present.The door hissed open, revealing the empty, sterile corridor. Freedom. Yet, neither of them moved.The professional tension that had once been a sharp, competitive edge had vanished, replaced