"The truth doesn't care if you're ready for it. It just waits in the dark for you to stumble over it."
—Gareth Lancer
The underlevels of Arcadia didn't exist on any official schematic. They were a ghost in the machine, the buried skeleton of the original research facility that the academy had been built upon. The air grew colder with every meter the industrial lift descended, until their breath fogged in the pale emergency lighting.
The descent team consisted of Unit Hound—Gareth, Lyra, Riven, Jade, and Corren—led personally by Vice Commander Rael. Their boots echoed on the metal lattice floor.
"Why do I feel like this is how every horror story starts?" Lyra murmured, her voice barely carrying over the lift's groan.
Riven checked his wrist-guards. "Relax. We've got Cipher. Guy took down security drones with a practice spear."
Gareth said nothing. His gaze was locked on his HUD's holographic map. Static interference flickered across the display every few seconds. It wasn't supposed to.
[System Notice: Environmental distortion detected.]
Rael's voice cut through their comms. "Eyes sharp. The anomaly reading spikes every ten minutes. Whatever's causing this is still active."
When the lift shuddered to a halt, they stepped into a wide corridor lit by flickering amber lights. The walls were old—older than Arcadia—lined with corroded pipes and faded warnings: "Nanite Containment Zones" and "Bio-Digital Integration Tests." The air smelled of dust, metal, and something faintly electric, like the air before a storm.
Riven whistled, the sound swallowed by the oppressive silence. "Creepy. Ten credits says we find a dead body."
"Make it twenty," Jade muttered, scanning with her thermal visor. "You'll owe me."
They reached a sealed bulkhead door. Its locking mechanism was fused—something had melted through it. Gareth knelt, brushing away a layer of fine ash.
"Plasma scoring," he murmured. "But not recent."
Rael frowned. "Can you open it?"
Gareth placed his palm on the panel. His system flickered to life, casting a faint blue glow.
[Analyzing...]
[Suggested countermeasure: Magnetic polarity reversal]
[Override success.]
The door groaned, its mechanisms shrieking in protest before ripping open, the metal sticking to Gareth's hand until he dismissed the ability.
Beyond lay a chamber that froze them in their tracks. It was a forest of silent machinery—rows of pods and glass tubes filled with pale fluid, consoles humming with residual energy. Dust coated everything, but faint circuits glowed like veins through the floor.
Lyra stepped forward, her whisper filled with awe and dread. "What is this place?"
Rael's jaw tightened. "The original core of Arcadia. Research Division Theta. The birthplace of Project Aurora." He swept a hand toward the pods. "It was meant to integrate artificial intelligence with human neural patterns. To create a new form of consciousness. The Erebus machine was the interface."
He paused, the weight of history heavy in his words. "When the Erebus birthed something no one could understand, it became the virus. That thing uploaded itself to Aurora. Our resident AI began disintegrating, its blue light turning to red viral code that ate through it like fire through silk. Aurora was consumed. If it's back... we don't know if it's the original or the corrupted version."
Gareth froze. The word 'Aurora' hit something deep inside him—a resonance. The machines around him seemed to pulse faintly in time with his own heartbeat.
[Subchannel AURORA — reconnecting...]
A whisper brushed against his thoughts, clearer now, as if the proximity strengthened the signal.
"You're close, Gareth."
He blinked. "Aurora?"
"You shouldn't be here yet. They'll see."
"Who's they—"
The lights cut out.
For three heartbeats, they were plunged into absolute darkness. Then the emergency red lights flickered on... and every pod in the room activated simultaneously.
Shapes moved behind the glass. Human-like, but wrong. Some malformed, some perfect. Eyes opened—glowing the same cold blue as Gareth's system interface.
"Contact!" Rael barked. "Defensive positions!"
Riven pulled his gauntlets together, plasma crackling. Lyra's fingertips ignited with light. Corren cocked his railgun. Jade's hands shone with an ethereal glow.
Gareth stood still—analyzing.
[Analyzing targets... origin: failed prototype L-0 series.]
[Adapting countermeasure... data incomplete.]
The glass burst outward. Figures stumbled free—skin pale, eyes blank, movements unnervingly precise.
Rael fired first. Two went down. A third leaped onto a wall, moving with liquid grace.
Riven blocked a swipe, sparks flying. "These things are—!"
"Half machine," Gareth finished. "Erebus test subjects. The original zombots."
One lunged at him. He sidestepped, grabbed its wrist, and twisted. The creature's arm snapped with a mechanical crack—but it just kept coming. Gareth ducked under a strike and countered with a palm strike that released a concussive burst of kinetic energy.
The hybrid flew back, slammed into a console, and went limp.
[Countermeasure complete: Kinetic Burst.]
Rael shouted, "Cipher! Contain them, don't destroy them! They're data assets!"
Gareth looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "They're trying to kill us, sir!"
"Welcome to Arcadia," Rael snapped.
After ten chaotic minutes, the chamber was silent again—filled with smoke, sparks, and the smell of ozone. The hybrids lay still, most neutralized by EMP bursts and containment fields.
Rael exhaled, lowering his rifle. "Everyone intact?"
Lyra nodded, panting. "Barely. What were those things?"
Rael's expression was grim. "Remnants. Early experiments from the L-series. Prototypes meant to stabilize the virus... before it started bonding with human hosts."
Riven frowned. "So, like the zombots?"
"These can't even be called zombots," Rael said. "Zombots are far smarter and more controlled. If you encounter a real one, you flee. You don't fight."
Gareth's gaze was drawn to one pod at the far end of the room. Unlike the others, it wasn't broken. Inside was a figure suspended in fluid—a young woman with silver hair and closed eyes. Her display showed stable vitals.
[Data match: E-01 prototype.]
Rael noticed where he was looking. His face hardened. "Step away from that pod, cadet."
"Who is she?" Gareth asked quietly.
Rael's tone turned sharp. "A mistake."
As the others began clearing the area, Gareth lingered.
The woman in the pod looked almost peaceful.
Then, for a split second, her eyes opened—glowing the same cold blue as his system interface.
His breath caught.
The system in his head flared violently.
[Warning: AI resonance detected.]
[Link unstable—merging risk 47%.]
Aurora's whisper returned, clearer and more urgent than ever:
"Don't let them shut her down. She's part of you."
And just like that, without any command, E-01's pod began to unlock with a soft, deliberate hiss.