Chapter 9: Ashes of the Past

The heavy doors of the hideout slammed shut behind Sera as she stormed out into the narrow alley. The stale air of the lower districts burned in her lungs, but she kept walking, her mind racing.

Her footsteps echoed sharply off the walls, drowned out only by the hum of distant machinery and the occasional hiss of steam from broken vents.

She didn't stop until she reached the edge of the sector, where the neon lights of the city above bled into the darkness below. Leaning against the railing, she stared out over the chasm that separated the lower districts from the world she had left behind.

Her reflection glimmered faintly in the glass panel beside her—a fractured image of who she used to be.

The words on the screen haunted her.

Project Seraphim. Prototype 02.

She gripped the railing tighter.

"Running won't change what's in those files," came a voice behind her.

Sera spun, drawing her blade in one fluid motion. Oleg stood at the edge of the alley, his hands raised in surrender.

"Easy," he said, taking a cautious step closer. "I'm not here to fight you."

Sera didn't lower the blade. "Then what do you want?"

"To make sure you're still with us."

She hesitated, her grip tightening.

"I'm not one of them," she said through gritted teeth.

Oleg nodded. "I believe you."

"Do you?"

"I do."

Sera's shoulders slumped slightly, and for the first time, her mask of confidence cracked.

"But?" she asked quietly.

"But you need to believe it too."

Sera finally lowered the blade, though her hand still trembled.

"You don't know what it's like," she said. "Not knowing if you're even real. If you're…" She swallowed hard. "If you're just another experiment."

Oleg stepped closer. "You're not a machine, Sera. You're a survivor. And that means you get to decide who you are—not them."

She met his gaze, searching for any trace of doubt. But all she saw was certainty.

After a long moment, she nodded. "Fine. Let's go back."

Meanwhile…

Elián paced nervously inside the hideout, his eyes darting to the decrypted files still glowing on the monitor. He couldn't stop staring at the project name—Seraphim.

A thousand questions swirled in his head, but one thought kept pushing to the surface.

What else aren't they telling me?

Before he could dig deeper, the door hissed open, and Sera and Oleg stepped inside.

"You're back," Elián said, relief and frustration mixing in his voice.

"Let's just get to work," Sera replied, brushing past him.

Elián clenched his jaw but didn't argue. Instead, he pulled up more of the data.

"The files mention a secondary location," he said. "A facility under Sector 13. It's abandoned, but…"

"But what?" Sera asked.

"There's power running to it."

Oleg frowned. "Then it's not abandoned."

"Exactly."

Sera grabbed her gear. "Then we check it out."

Oleg hesitated. "This feels like a trap."

"It probably is," Sera said, strapping on her blade. "But we don't have time to sit around and debate it."

The trip to Sector 13 took them through crumbling tunnels and rusted gates. The deeper they went, the thicker the air became—stale and heavy, like something long forgotten.

Finally, they reached the facility. The entrance loomed before them, its metallic doors sealed shut and covered in faded warnings.

Elián approached the panel beside the door, his fingers dancing over the keys. Sparks flew as he bypassed the locks, and with a hiss, the doors creaked open.

The corridor beyond was dark, lined with flickering lights and broken monitors.

Sera took the lead, her blade humming softly as she activated its edge.

"Stay close," she whispered.

They moved deeper into the facility, the walls closing in around them. Every step echoed, making the silence feel heavier.

At the end of the hall, they found a control room. Broken monitors lined the walls, but one still glowed faintly.

Elián approached it cautiously, wiping away the dust. The screen flickered to life, showing a live feed from deeper inside the facility.

What they saw froze them in place.

Rows of containment pods filled the room, each one holding a body—some human, others… not.

Sera's breath caught.

"They're still alive," Elián whispered.

Before anyone could speak, the screen glitched, and a distorted voice crackled through the speakers.

"Welcome back, Prototype 02."

Sera's heart stopped.

The room plunged into darkness.