Descent into the Unknown

The metal hatch groaned as X pulled it open, revealing a narrow ladder leading into pitch-black depths. The air that rose from below was cold, sterile, unnatural.

Kessler hesitated. "Once you go down there… there's no turning back."

X exchanged a glance with Raven. She looked wary, but she nodded. "Let's finish this."

Without another word, X descended first, pistol drawn.

The deeper he went, the more the air changed. Not damp like the tunnels above—too clean. Too artificial.

When his boots finally touched solid ground, the sight before him made him freeze.

The room was massive, lined with rows of glass chambers. Inside them—bodies.

Not corpses. Experiments.

Some looked unfinished—half-formed muscle, skin stretched over enhanced bone structures. Others were like him—or at least, earlier versions of what he had become.

Raven exhaled. "What the hell is this?"

Kessler's voice was quiet. "Project Genesis. Echelon's attempt at perfecting the genetically enhanced assassin."

X stepped closer to one of the chambers. Inside, a man that looked eerily like him floated in a suspension liquid.

Kessler swallowed hard. "You weren't the first, Agent X. But you were the only one that survived."

X turned to him, his voice deadly calm. "What do you mean?"

Kessler hesitated. Then he gestured to a terminal on the wall. "See for yourself."

X tapped the screen. Files. Hundreds of them.

SUBJECT 001—FAILED

SUBJECT 002—FAILED

SUBJECT 003—TERMINATED

SUBJECT 010—STATUS: ACTIVE

X's real name wasn't even there. Just a number. A project.

Raven read over his shoulder. "You weren't recruited. You were made."

X clenched his fists. It had always been a lie.

Before he could process it, alarms blared.

Kessler paled. "They found us."

X grabbed him. "Is there another way out?"

The scientist pointed to the far side of the room. "An old escape tunnel. But we have to move, now."

Gunfire echoed from above. Echelon was closing in.

Raven took out a grenade, holding it up. "We destroy this place?"

X looked around—the place that held his past, his stolen identity, his origin.

Then, his jaw tightened. "Do it."