THE TRAP THAT WAS ALREADY SET

Chapter 10: The Trap That Was Already Set

The night was thick with silence, the air too still—too perfect.

Adrian led the way through the abandoned industrial district, his golden eyes flicking to every shadow. Evelyn walked beside him, her movements tense but controlled. Lucas was behind them, muttering complaints under his breath, and Sophie walked closest to Adrian, her heart pounding.

They had followed the clues—traces of movement, leaked transmissions, whispers in the underground networks—until it all led here.

A seemingly empty warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

Too easy.

Too obvious.

Adrian didn't trust it.

Yet, when he pushed open the metal doors, the inside was… empty.

Dust. Rotting crates. The lingering scent of metal and something else.

Something wrong.

Lucas frowned. "Huh. I was expecting, I don't know, an army of brainwashed super-soldiers."

Evelyn scanned the space, her lips pressing into a thin line. "They were here. Recently."

Adrian stepped forward, every muscle in his body on edge. "Stay close."

Sophie swallowed hard and did exactly that.

Then—

The lights flickered on.

Bright. Blinding. Everywhere.

And in that moment—Adrian knew.

They were already trapped.

A cold, familiar voice echoed through the space, smooth and haunting.

"Oh, Adrian."

Sophie's breath hitched. That voice—it was her.

Vanessa King.

Adrian's mother.

His hands curled into fists. "Show yourself."

A soft, almost amused laugh. "I've been watching you, my son."

Adrian's blood ran cold.

Sophie's fingers brushed against his, grounding him, but his entire body was rigid.

A slow clap echoed, and then, finally—she stepped into view.

Vanessa King.

She was elegant, dressed in a fitted black suit, her long dark hair flowing in soft waves. She looked untouched by time, as if the years had only made her more refined.

Her eyes—a sharper, colder version of Adrian's own golden gaze—locked onto him with an expression that sent a chill through Sophie's spine.

It wasn't anger.

It wasn't hatred.

It was admiration.

Like a mother gazing upon a son she was proud of.

Adrian took a slow step forward, his voice deadly calm. "What do you want?"

Vanessa smiled. "Oh, darling. You already know."

The doors behind them slammed shut.

And in the rafters above—figures moved.

Sophie's heart pounded.

They weren't alone.

A trap.

A perfectly orchestrated one.

Adrian's jaw clenched. "Let us go."

Vanessa's smile widened. "But why would I do that, my dear?"

She tilted her head, golden eyes gleaming.

"When you've finally come home?"

Adrian didn't move. Didn't breathe.

Home?

The word coiled around him like poison.

His golden eyes burned into Vanessa's, searching for the lie, the trick—anything.

But she only gazed at him calmly, like a mother greeting her long-lost son.

Sophie's voice was sharp. "You experimented on him. You erased his past. And now you want to call him your son?"

Vanessa's gaze flickered toward Sophie. "Ah, you must be the one keeping him… distracted."

Adrian stepped in front of Sophie before he even realized what he was doing.

Vanessa's lips curled. "Protective, are we? How sweet."

Lucas scoffed. "Alright, enough with the villain monologue. You clearly want something. What is it?"

Vanessa didn't even spare him a glance. Her focus remained on Adrian.

"I've given you time, Adrian. Time to run. Time to play pretend. But the Revenant Project was never just about creating soldiers."

She stepped forward.

"It was about creating a King."

Sophie's blood turned to ice.

Adrian's fingers twitched. "…What?"

Vanessa tilted her head. "Did you really think you were just another experiment? No, darling. You were the first. The only true Revenant. The perfect one."

Evelyn's breath caught. "You don't mean—"

Vanessa smiled. "Oh, but I do."

She took another step forward.

And then, whispered the words that shattered everything.

"You were made to replace me."

Silence.

A deep, suffocating silence.

Adrian's hands shook. "No."

Vanessa's expression softened. Like a mother comforting a child.

"Yes, Adrian. You were never meant to be a soldier."

Her golden eyes gleamed.

"You were meant to rule."

Sophie's heart pounded. This wasn't just a trap.

This was a war for Adrian's soul.

And Vanessa King had just made her move.

Adrian's breath came slow, controlled, but inside—he was burning.

Vanessa's words coiled in his mind like venom.

You were made to replace me.

You were meant to rule.

He met her gaze, his golden eyes unwavering.

"No."

Vanessa's expression didn't falter. "No?"

Adrian took a step forward, every inch of him radiating defiance. "I wasn't made to rule. I wasn't made to be your legacy." His jaw clenched. "I was made to be your prisoner."

A flicker of something—**amusement?—**passed through Vanessa's eyes. "Oh, Adrian. You're thinking too small."

Sophie's fingers twitched at her side, her instincts screaming that they needed to run. But the doors were locked, soldiers above them, shadows shifting in the dim light. There was no easy escape.

Vanessa took another step forward, voice smooth as silk.

"You've been fighting a battle you don't even understand. Struggling against an identity that was always yours."

Her gaze softened—too motherly. Too knowing.

"Do you know why you've survived every attempt to break you?" she whispered. "Why you've always been stronger, faster, more… complete?"

Adrian's jaw tightened, but he didn't answer.

Vanessa's smile grew. "Because you weren't meant to be a soldier, Adrian."

She raised a hand—and the lights flickered.

Something shifted inside him.

An invisible pressure, wrapping around his mind, his body—something trying to awaken.

Adrian gritted his teeth.

Sophie gasped as Adrian's eyes darkened, his entire body locking up as if he was being pulled by unseen strings.

Vanessa's voice was a whisper.

"You were meant to be a god."

And suddenly—Adrian couldn't breathe.

It was like an invisible force had wrapped around his chest, squeezing his lungs, drowning him in a presence too powerful to fight.

He staggered, golden eyes flickering.

No.

He felt it—something inside him reacting to Vanessa's words, something deep, something that wasn't entirely his.

A voice. A command embedded in his very being.

Submit.

His fingers trembled.

The urge to let go, to stop fighting—it was there.

But then—

A hand grabbed his.

Sophie.

Her grip was tight, warm—real.

"Adrian," she whispered.

And suddenly—he could breathe again.

His golden eyes blazed as he yanked himself free from Vanessa's influence, stepping back, breaking whatever hold she had.

The flickering lights steadied. The invisible force shattered.

Adrian's voice was razor-sharp.

"I don't care what you think I am." His breathing was heavy, but his resolve was iron. "I don't care what you made me for."

His golden eyes glowed fiercely as he stared her down.

"I will never be yours."

Silence.

Then—

Vanessa sighed, almost… disappointed.

"So stubborn," she murmured.

Her gaze flicked to Sophie—too thoughtful.

Then she smiled.

And Sophie's stomach dropped.

"Oh, my dear boy," Vanessa said softly.

"You really think this was about you?"

Adrian's body went rigid.

A slow, cold dread crept into his veins.

Vanessa turned slightly, gesturing to the shadows.

And then—they stepped forward.

Revenants.

But not just any Revenants.

Adrian's breath hitched.

Because he recognized them.

The others. The ones who had been created before the project was supposedly shut down.

The ones he thought were dead.

They weren't.

They were standing right in front of him.

Golden eyes. Enhanced bodies.

And not a single trace of resistance in their expressions.

Sophie's grip on his hand tightened.

Vanessa's voice was gentle.

"Do you see now, Adrian?"

She tilted her head, watching him closely.

"I don't need to control you."

She gestured to the Revenants.

"Because I control them."

And just like that—the trap was complete.

---

The air crackled with tension.

Adrian's golden eyes burned as he stared at the Revenants standing before him.

They were like him.

No—they were meant to be him.

His supposed brothers-in-arms. The ones who had never made it out alive.

And yet—here they stood.

Silent. Unyielding. Their golden eyes empty.

Adrian's chest tightened.

This wasn't just about him.

This was a warning.

Vanessa had been holding back.

And now, she was ready to show him exactly why he would never win.

Sophie gripped his arm. "Adrian, we have to move—"

Vanessa raised a single hand.

And the entire room trembled.

Sophie gasped as the Revenants' bodies suddenly twitched, their heads snapping toward Adrian in perfect synchronization.

Adrian's heart pounded.

No hesitation. No individuality.

They were moving like a single unit.

Like a hive mind.

Lucas cursed. "Okay, that's definitely not normal."

Vanessa smiled. "It took years to perfect. The first versions were failures—too independent, too rebellious."

Her golden eyes gleamed. "But then, I found the solution."

She took a slow step forward, voice smooth, controlled.

"Tell me, Adrian. Did you ever stop to wonder why you're different?"

Adrian didn't answer.

Vanessa's smile widened.

"You weren't supposed to be. You were meant to be like them. A perfect soldier. But something changed."

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"Because of her."

She turned her gaze toward Sophie.

Adrian's entire body tensed.

Sophie's breath hitched. "What?"

Vanessa sighed. "It was an accident, really. A mistake in the conditioning. You were always meant to be superior, Adrian, but something… interfered."

Her golden eyes darkened.

"A connection that shouldn't exist. A bond that wasn't supposed to form."

Adrian felt it.

The way Sophie's presence steadied him. The way she had broken Vanessa's hold over him just moments ago.

It wasn't luck.

It was something more.

Vanessa's voice was sharp. "And that is why you failed. Why you are flawed."

She gestured to the Revenants.

"These ones? They are perfect. They have no attachments. No weaknesses."

Her lips curled. "And that is why they will destroy you."

Then—

She lowered her hand.

And the Revenants attacked.

---

They moved as one.

A blur of bodies, fast—too fast.

Adrian barely had time to react as the first Revenant lunged.

A fist shot toward his ribs. He twisted—barely dodging—but another came from behind.

No wasted movement. No hesitation.

They weren't just strong. They were flawless.

Evelyn rolled under a sweeping kick, her daggers flashing as she aimed for a weak spot—but the Revenant countered instantly.

Lucas wasn't so lucky.

A knee slammed into his stomach, sending him flying. He crashed into the crates, groaning.

"Yeah, okay—ow," he wheezed. "These guys don't mess around."

Sophie's heart raced.

She had seen Adrian fight before. Seen him take on monsters, killers, the worst of the worst.

But this—

This was different.

The Revenants fought like shadows. Unrelenting. Precise. No hesitation, no emotions—only orders.

And the worst part?

Adrian was holding back.

Because he didn't want to kill them.

Vanessa's laugh echoed through the warehouse.

"Oh, Adrian. Do you really think you can save them?"

Adrian's jaw clenched as he dodged a lightning-fast strike, countering with a brutal elbow—but the Revenant barely reacted.

They weren't people anymore.

They were weapons.

And Vanessa knew it.

She stepped forward, her golden eyes gleaming.

"You don't get it, do you?"

Adrian gritted his teeth. "Shut up."

Vanessa's lips curled.

"They're not just soldiers."

The room shook.

The Revenants froze.

Sophie felt it. A shift in the air. Something deeper.

Something worse.

Vanessa's smile widened.

"You were built to lead them, Adrian. But they were built to become something more."

Her golden eyes darkened.

And then—

The Revenants changed.

Their bodies twitched violently, golden veins pulsing—before turning black.

Sophie's breath hitched. "What's happening?"

Evelyn staggered back. "This isn't normal—"

Adrian's stomach dropped.

Because he knew.

He felt it in his blood, in the very core of his existence.

They were evolving.

Vanessa's voice was a whisper.

"Welcome to Phase Two."

And in the next instant—

The world exploded into chaos.

---

What's Next?

How will Adrian fight Revenants that are evolving beyond human limits?

Can Sophie break the connection before they lose?

What else is Vanessa hiding?