As they prepared to leave, Zion's eyes caught something in the corner of the Archive. A single encrypted file, older than the others, labeled: "Project DNA: Successors." ☠️
Curiosity gnawed at him. He opened it.
The screen filled with photographs of a young couple in white laboratory coats. They were scientists—brilliant ones, judging by the awards listed beside their names. And they had eyes that looked hauntingly familiar.
"What is this?" Zion murmured, his voice barely audible.
He read on. The file was a death record from 2140, during AETHER's final purge.
"Subjects 402 and 403: Terminated for attempted system sabotage. Location: Dome 7. Status of offspring: Unknown."
Below the text was another photograph. The same couple, but this time holding an infant. And on the infant's shoulder, clearly visible, was a birthmark.
Zion's hand trembled as he pulled down his collar. The same birthmark.
His breath stopped. The world stopped.
He turned to look at Kael and Nyra, who stood frozen at the entrance, their faces pale with fear and guilt. In that moment, everything made sense. Their careful words. Their protective silence. Their fear of him learning the truth.
"You told me AETHER couldn't save my parents," Zion said, his voice cracking like ice. "But the truth is... AETHER killed them. And you hid it from me. For ten years."
Nyra stepped forward, her hand reaching out. "Zion, we can explain—"
"Explain what?" he shouted, his eyes blazing with pain and rage. "That you lied? That the people I trusted most in this world kept the biggest secret of my life from me?"
Before anyone could respond, alarms shattered the silence. Arthur's forces had found them. They were surrounded.
Zion clutched the key fragment in his hand, his heart torn between the family he loved and the truth that now burned inside him. The key to humanity's future was in his grasp. But in his heart, something far more dangerous was awakening. 💔