Chapter 26: Something Woke It Up

A low, guttural vibration echoed through the facility, reverberating in Kael's chest like a deep bass note of impending doom. The flickering lights sputtered as if the very air was charged with an unnatural force.

Kael and Elara stood frozen in the Control Room, their eyes locked onto the terminal's final message:

"GRIDFALL PROTOCOL ACTIVATED. PROJECT OMEGA HAS BREACHED CONTAINMENT."

"THIS IS NOT A NATURAL EVENT. SOMETHING WOKE IT UP."

Elara took a slow, steady breath. "That doesn't sound like your average mutant problem."

Kael tightened his grip on his [Plasma Rifle]. "No. It sounds worse."

The system's [Hostile Signature Detection] pulsed again, displaying a single, massive energy reading moving through the facility. The entity was in the lower levels, and it was coming up.

[Detected Hostile: Unknown.]

[Threat Level: Unclassified.]

[Approach Speed: Slow, but deliberate.]

Kael's HUD flickered as the power grid fluctuated wildly, and then—without warning—the entire facility went dark.

For a split second, everything was absolute silence.

Then came the sound of something shifting—heavy, unnatural, scraping against metal.

Kael activated his [Enhanced Perception], his visor switching to low-light mode. A faint anomaly glow pulsed from deeper within the facility, its energy casting distorted shadows against the walls.

Elara muttered a curse under her breath. "Tell me we're not about to meet another Titan."

Kael barely heard her. His focus was on the thing moving below them.

The way it moved… it wasn't stumbling like a mindless zombie or charging like a berserker mutant. It was calculating, each footstep measured—like a predator hunting prey.

The radio in Kael's ear crackled to life. It was Dane.

"Kael, we've got a problem. Something's wrong with the power core—it's giving off massive energy spikes, way beyond normal levels."

"We know," Kael replied. "Something else is in here with us."

"Yeah, well, whatever it is, it's messing with the systems. Power grid's completely unstable."

Bren's voice cut in. "Want us to shut the core down?"

Kael hesitated. If the core was overloading, it could be the only thing keeping whatever was down there contained. But if it blew, the whole facility could collapse on top of them.

"Hold position," Kael ordered. "We need more information before we do anything drastic."

Then, another sound came. A voice.

A deep, distorted whisper echoed through the halls—warped, unnatural, layered with something… mechanical.

"You… do not… belong here."

Elara's fingers twitched toward her machete. "Okay, that's new."

Kael's blood ran cold. This wasn't just another mutant.

Kael and Elara moved cautiously, making their way toward the stairwell leading down to the lower levels. The air grew thicker, charged with something that made their skin prickle. The [Anomaly Sensor] in Kael's gauntlet flickered erratically, its readings fluctuating like a heartbeat on the verge of collapse.

As they descended, the hallways became worse. Walls were covered in a strange, blackened material that pulsed faintly, spreading like veins across the metal. It looked like flesh fused with machinery, shifting slightly in response to their presence.

Jonas's voice crackled through the comms. "Kael, I don't like this. The whole damn place feels… wrong."

"I know," Kael muttered. "Stay near the exit. If we tell you to run, you run."

Dane chimed in again. "Whatever's down here… it's messing with the power core. If we don't stop it soon, we might not get a second chance."

Kael and Elara rounded the final corner, coming face to face with a massive, reinforced containment door. It was partially open—not broken, but pried apart by something strong.

Beyond it, the anomaly glow pulsed like a heartbeat.

And in the center of the room stood the thing.

The creature was unlike anything Kael had seen before.

It was humanoid in shape—at least, it had once been. Its body was a grotesque fusion of flesh and metal, thick plating covering sections of its form while exposed muscle and sinew pulsed with anomaly energy. Its head was partially mechanical, a twisted mass of cables and glowing red optics where a face should have been.

And its voice, when it spoke again, was layered with the echoes of a hundred different voices.

"Gridfall… is inevitable."

Elara took an instinctive step back. "Kael…"

"I see it."

The system finally registered the entity, labeling it in bold red text:

[Detected Hostile: PROJECT OMEGA]

[Threat Level: UNKNOWN.]

[Status: SELF-AWARE.]

Kael's grip tightened on his rifle. "System, analyze weak points."

[Analysis Failed. Subject is Adaptable. Weaknesses Unstable.]

Kael's stomach twisted. It could change its vulnerabilities in real-time.

Then, Omega moved.

It surged forward, unnaturally fast for its size. Kael barely activated his [Energy Shield] in time before the impact sent him skidding backward. Sparks flew as his gauntlet absorbed the blow, but the force still rattled his bones.

Elara reacted instantly, firing her [Plasma Shotgun] at point-blank range. The blast tore through Omega's shoulder, sending shards of metal and flesh scattering—but even as it staggered, its body reconstructed, the wound sealing itself.

It was regenerating.

Omega turned its gaze to Elara. And then, for the first time, it smiled.

A jagged, mechanical sound—half laughter, half static—echoed through the chamber.

"I… evolve."

Kael pushed off the ground, his mind racing. "We need to disable it before it adapts fully!"

Elara fired again, this time aiming for Omega's exposed chest. The plasma rounds hit, searing through its organic tissue—but as soon as the damage registered, the metal plating shifted, covering the weak spot.

Kael activated his [Shockwave Pulse], sending out a concussive blast to stagger it. "Go for the joints! It can't regenerate mechanical parts as fast!"

Elara adjusted, slicing at Omega's knees with her machete while Kael fired precise plasma shots at its shoulder joints. The strategy worked—its movements became slower, more erratic.

But then, Omega learned.

The metal plating on its legs extended, protecting its joints. Its next strike was faster, catching Kael across the chest and slamming him into the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and his HUD flickered from the force.

Omega loomed over him.

"You… are obsolete."

Kael clenched his fist around his gauntlet. "Not yet, I'm not."

He triggered the [Plasma Overload], channeling raw anomaly energy directly into his gauntlet. The runes flared brighter than ever before, and Kael drove his fist into Omega's chest with everything he had.

The impact sent a shockwave through the room, the overload disrupting Omega's systems. Sparks exploded from its body, and for the first time, it screamed.

Omega staggered back, its regenerative process failing to keep up with the damage.

Elara grabbed Kael by the arm. "We need to leave. Now."

Kael's HUD flashed red. The power core was overloading.

They had minutes to get out before everything went to hell.

And Omega… Omega was still standing.