The descent felt endless.
Aiden's boots hit the rusted metal steps with muffled thuds as he followed the narrow staircase spiraling deep beneath the abandoned outpost. A cold, metallic smell clung to the air, thick enough to taste. Behind him, Lyra checked her gear, her flashlight beam trembling slightly—not from weakness, but from instinctive fear. Even she felt it.
They had followed the signal.
They had followed the whispers of the Fallen Kings.
And now they were standing on the edge of something they could neither predict nor fully understand.
Aiden paused, pressing his palm against the wall. The steel vibrated. Not like machinery. Not like generators.
It sounded like breathing.
"What is that?" Lyra whispered.
Aiden didn't answer. He just tightened his grip on the Darkwave Blade, feeling its faint hum grow stronger. The weapon reacted only when danger was near.
And right now, it felt alive.
They reached a landing, and the staircase opened into a long, dimly lit corridor lined with flickering crimson lights. The walls were carved with symbols—not written, not drawn… etched, as if something had clawed them out.
"What kind of place is this?" Lyra murmured.
Aiden scanned the corridor. "Something older than any outpost we've seen."
As they moved forward, their footsteps echoed unnaturally—like every sound was duplicated, delayed, and then returned distorted. It felt like the corridor listened and then replied back.
And then the whispering began.
Very faint at first.
A barely audible tremor in the air.
"Aiden… turn back…"
Lyra froze. "Did you hear that?"
Aiden didn't respond, but he had heard the same words. Not around them. Inside them.
The corridor led to a massive steel door, half-open, cables torn and hanging like veins. The crimson lights dimmed, then suddenly brightened as they stepped inside.
What lay beyond stole both their breaths.
A cavernous hall, larger than any underground structure should be able to support. At the center stood a towering monolith of obsidian-like stone. It was cracked, pulsing with dim light.
And surrounding it were dozens of suspended containment pods. Some shattered. Some empty. Some still vibrating faintly.
Aiden stepped forward. "This is where they experimented on the test subjects…"
"And where they created the Nullborn," Lyra finished.
Before he could respond, a metallic shriek tore through the hall.
Something dropped from the ceiling—fast, pale, shifting like liquid shadow. Aiden barely had time to react before it lunged. He rolled aside, the creature's claws slicing through the metal floor like paper.
Lyra fired her shock rifle. The blast hit, sending the creature skidding back. Its body flickered as though struggling to maintain shape.
"It's not stable!" she shouted.
The creature twisted, its face writhing into something vaguely human—then twisting again into something far from it. Its eyes were hollow vacancies, pulsing with dark light.
Aiden felt a chill. "It's a failed Nullborn…"
The creature screeched and charged again.
Aiden activated the Darkwave Blade. The room filled with a low hum as the blade ignited with deep, vibrating energy. He swung, grazing the creature's shoulder. It shrieked again—the pain reaction oddly delayed.
Lyra darted in from the side, firing another shock round.
The creature lashed out, knocking her back into one of the containment pods. The glass cracked.
"Aiden!" she gasped.
He sprinted toward her, but the creature cut him off, lunging with unnatural speed. Its form stretched and contorted like clay being pulled apart.
Aiden ducked, sliding beneath its limbs and slicing upward. The blade tore through the creature's torso, sending a spray of black mist spiraling into the air.
The Nullborn shrieked, stumbling.
But instead of collapsing…
It began to multiply.
Two shapes split out from the mist.
Then four.
Then six.
Lyra's breath hitched. "This is not good!"
Aiden tightened his grip. "They're defending the monolith."
The swarm rushed them.
Lyra unleashed a barrage of shock rounds, each blast tearing through the figures—but for every one that fell, another crawled out of its remains.
Aiden activated the blade's overload mode. The hum intensified. The floor vibrated.
He spun, swinging the blade in a wide arc. A wave of dark energy erupted, ripping through the incoming swarm and slamming many of them into the far walls. The creatures convulsed, their forms unraveling like loose threads.
Lyra stared. "Aiden… the blade's power is increasing."
"It reacts to the monolith." Aiden pointed. "That thing is amplifying everything."
Lyra hesitated. "Should we destroy it?"
Aiden didn't answer immediately. Something about the monolith… called to him. Not with whispers. Not with threats.
With memories.
His memories.
He stepped closer. The faint cracks in the stone glowed brighter, revealing brief flashes inside the obsidian surface—scenes of cities collapsing, the Fallen Kings walking through smoke, people screaming, the Nullborn being created in tanks.
And then… another vision.
One he had never seen before.
It showed him—Aiden—lying inside a containment pod. Unmoving. Monitored. Studied.
Lyra called his name, but he barely heard her.
A shadow moved behind the monolith.
A tall figure stepped out—silent, controlled. Wearing a sleek black exo-suit with luminous veins running through its armor. Its helmet was smooth, reflective, showing no face.
But Aiden felt recognition anyway.
Lyra raised her weapon. "Who are you?!"
The figure spoke, its voice calm and eerily even.
"I am Subject Zero."
Aiden stiffened.
The figure tilted its head slightly. "You should not be here."
Aiden took a step forward. "What are you protecting?"
Subject Zero paused, then answered with unsettling simplicity.
"You."
Aiden felt cold rush through him. "What does that mean?"
Subject Zero's helmet shifted slightly—almost like a smile forming behind the opaque surface.
"The truth is not ready for you. But the monolith… will show you in time."
Lyra whispered, "Aiden, step back… this thing isn't human."
Subject Zero turned slightly toward her. "None of us are what we appear to be."
The monolith cracked further, the glow intensifying. A deep, resonating pulse shook the entire hall.
Aiden felt the ground tremble beneath his feet.
Subject Zero raised one hand. "Leave. Now. Before the awakening begins."
Aiden didn't move. "What's awakening?"
Subject Zero's voice lowered.
"The Architect."
And then—
The monolith split wide open.
A wave of dark energy exploded outward, engulfing the hall.
Aiden and Lyra were thrown back, the world spinning violently, the air filled with a deafening roar as something massive and ancient… began to rise from within the crack.
And the last thing Aiden saw before the darkness swallowed him—
Was Subject Zero watching with absolute calm.
Like everything was unfolding exactly as intended.