Red Light. Stillness. Tension.
The emergency lights cast the entire Origin facility in crimson hue. Shadows lengthened, stretched—like they were listening.
Dr. Velasco stepped into the room with slow, deliberate grace. No guards. No backup. Just her and her reflection.
Her shadow flickered unnaturally behind her—as if alive, and separate.
Elias, Maya, and Kael stood their ground.
Velasco smiled slightly. "Welcome home, Elias."
---
No Fight, Just Words
Kael's blade twitched. "One more step and—"
"I didn't come here to fight," Velasco said.
She turned to Elias. "I came to talk. You're more important than you think."
Elias narrowed his eyes. "I know what you did to me. What you did to all of us."
"Yes. And still… you're standing here. Alive. More evolved than any subject before you. That matters."
Maya stepped between them. "You want him to become like Dominic."
Velasco didn't flinch.
"No. I want him to become more."
---
THE TEMPTATION
Velasco turned to the console, input a code, and a hidden pod emerged from the floor. Inside: a humanoid shell, made of obsidian and glass—half machine, half shadow.
"This," she said, "is the final armor. The true fusion. No more split between you and your shadow. No more danger of losing control. You'd be one."
Elias stared at it, heartbeat pounding.
His armor flickered.
Flame danced along his arms—uncertain.
Maya whispered, "Don't listen to her."
Velasco leaned closer to Elias. Her voice softened.
> "With this, you could stop Dominic. End all of this. No more pain. No more death. Just control."
> "You could protect everyone."
---
The Choice
For a moment, Elias didn't speak.
He walked up to the pod.
Placed his hand on the glass.
The shell inside moved, reacting to him.
It wanted him.
His shadow surged behind him, pulled toward the merge.
Maya stepped forward, voice trembling.
"If you step into that… I don't know if you'll still be you."
Elias closed his eyes.
Then—
He stepped back.
And shattered the pod with a single punch.
The machine hissed and sparked. The fusion armor dissolved into dark smoke.
Velasco didn't look surprised.
"Pity," she said. "But I understand."
---
A Warning and a Truth
Before turning to leave, Velasco left one final sting:
> "You think Dominic is your enemy? He's not. He's just the first result. The true enemy is the one who created the shadows in the first place."
Elias tensed. "You?"
She smiled.
"No. It."
> "The shadow inside all of us—the thing that first crossed over during the 1999 eclipse… it's waking up again."
She pointed at Elias's chest.
"And it chose you, Elias. That was never an accident."
With that, she vanished—melted into shadow.
---
AFTERMATH: DOUBT
Maya walked beside Elias as they left the collapsing room.
"Do you believe her?" she asked.
Elias didn't answer right away.
He looked up at the jungle sky above the exit tunnel—stars faint behind drifting smoke.
"I don't know anymore."
Kael added grimly, "Whatever she meant by it waking up, we won't be ready if we're still arguing about who we are."
Maya nodded.
"Then we fight smarter. Together."
Elias, for the first time in days, smiled faintly.
But inside his chest, his shadow stirred… and whispered back:
> We're not alone anymore.