Chapter 7 – The Heart of the Machine

The air was thick with smoke and burning oil.

Ryo staggered to his feet, staring at the hidden hatch behind the Rustborn King's crumbled throne. A dull blue glow pulsed from within, flickering like a heartbeat.

> "Ohhh boy. You just killed a cybernetic war god, and now you're about to open a secret hatch in a haunted murder-lab. What could possibly go wrong?"

Ryo wiped the blood off his face, ignoring the system's sarcasm. If something was still active down here, he needed to know what.

Karin and Vos stepped beside him, weapons at the ready.

"You think this is what the Hellions were after?" Karin asked.

Ryo exhaled. "There's only one way to find out."

Opening Pandora's Box

He crouched down, prying the heavy latch free. It groaned in protest, ancient gears grinding as the hatch hissed open.

A stairwell led down into darkness.

Vos tightened his grip on his rifle. "I don't like this."

"Yeah?" Ryo muttered. "Welcome to my life."

They descended cautiously, boots clanking against the metal steps. The further they went, the colder it became—unnatural cold, the kind that seeped into your bones.

At the bottom, they found a door.

Not rusted. Not abandoned.

Still powered.

Ryo felt his pulse quicken. Someone had kept this place running.

> "Yep. Definitely not ominous. Go ahead, genius. Open the creepy sci-fi vault."

Ryo ignored the system, placing a hand on the control panel.

The door hissed open.

Inside was a lab.

The Machine's Final Secret

Unlike the ruined facility above, this chamber was pristine.

Glowing holo-screens flickered, displaying lines of code in a language Ryo didn't recognize. Large glass cylinders lined the walls, filled with some kind of viscous liquid.

And inside those cylinders—

People.

Or at least… something like people.

Ryo's breath caught. "What the hell…"

Bodies floated in the liquid, their forms partially cybernetic. Some had metallic spines, others had wires running beneath their skin. Their eyes were closed, but monitors beside each tube displayed vital signs.

Karin swallowed hard. "Are they… alive?"

Vos stepped forward, scanning the data. His expression darkened.

"They're not dead."

Ryo turned to one of the holo-screens. The Rustborn King had said the experiments failed. That the human mind rejected the process.

Then why were these ones still stable?

He reached out, tapping the interface. The system chimed.

> [NEW QUEST: AWAKENING]

Objective: Access the data logs.

Warning: Unknown risk factor detected.

> "See? Even the system thinks this is a bad idea. That means you're absolutely going to do it anyway."

Ryo inhaled sharply. Screw it.

He tapped the terminal.

The holo-screens shifted, displaying a log entry.

A distorted voice crackled through the speakers.

> "Project Lazarus… final phase initiated. Genetic-hybridization successful. Subjects stable. Awaiting command."

Vos tensed. "Project Lazarus?"

Karin frowned. "What the hell were they doing down here?"

Before Ryo could respond, a new voice—cold, mechanical, precise—cut through the room.

> "Command received. Awakening protocols engaged."

Waking the Dead

The machines hummed.

Fluid drained from the cylinders.

The figures inside began to move.

"SHUT IT DOWN!" Vos bellowed, slamming a hand against the console.

> "Denied."

A warning flashed across the screens.

> [PROJECT LAZARUS: INITIALIZING]

The first cylinder opened.

A figure stepped forward, steam hissing off their cybernetic frame.

Ryo's blood ran cold.

Because they recognized him.

And they were smiling.

> "Ah… finally."

> "We've been waiting for you, Ironborn."

The Hunt Had Only Just Begun.