Echoes of the Forgotten

The corridor lights flickered as Isabelle led the group deeper into the station. Every step they took echoed like a ghost's breath in the stillness. The Specter was gone—at least, that part of him—but something about the silence felt… deceptive.

"Are we sure he's really gone?" Rae asked, her eyes scanning the walls as her fingers danced over her handheld scanner. "No trace of him in the code. But there's a faint static—like a memory glitch."

"Specter was a virus, not just a man," Damian muttered. "Even the dead can leave infections."

The clone said nothing. She walked just behind Isabelle, watching every shadow. She had seen war up close and knew better than to trust a quiet battlefield.

The group entered a circular room, smaller than the Ascension Room but lined with pods. Cryotanks. Each one frosted over, obscuring the figures inside.

Rae's breath caught in her throat. "There must be… dozens of them."

Damian stepped closer, wiping a layer of frost from one of the tanks. Inside, a girl lay perfectly still, no older than thirteen, her arms crossed over her chest, a glowing device embedded in her sternum.

"Stasis children," the clone whispered. "Human seeds. Backup stock."

"Specter wasn't just running the system," Rae said. "He was cultivating it. Like a god farming souls."

"Or like a coward planning for extinction," Isabelle added.

She stepped forward, pressing her sigil-glowing hand against the control panel of the main terminal. The interface rippled to life, projecting ancient data logs in the air. Rows upon rows of names, experiments, generations... failed consciousness merges.

And then she found it—Project Remnant.

Her own name blinked on the screen. So did the clone's. And… someone else.

She zoomed in.

"Emory," she breathed. "He was… he was here?"

The clone flinched. "No. He died. I saw it."

But Isabelle's heart sank. Because the timestamp on the log… was only 3 days ago.

"He's alive," Isabelle whispered. "He's still here."

Suddenly, the lights in the room surged—and a siren blared once. Twice. Then silence again.

The clone was already at the exit. "We're not alone anymore."

Rae tapped her scanner. "There's movement in the east wing. Fast. Heavy."

Damian reloaded. "Autoguards?"

"No…" Rae's face paled. "Something bigger."

The floor trembled as a rhythmic thud echoed through the walls.

"Everyone out," Isabelle ordered. "Now."

But before they could reach the exit, the ceiling cracked. A massive metal claw burst through it, dragging cables and smoke. A creature followed—part machine, part flesh, a twisted fusion of old security protocols and Specter's corrupted essence.

Its eyes glowed red, and its voice was fragmented with static.

"REMNANTS… MUST… BE… ERASED."

The clone stepped in front of Isabelle without hesitation. "Go. I'll hold it."

"No way," Isabelle snapped. "We end this together."

The beast lunged.

Damian opened fire.

Rae scrambled to hack a side panel, trying to override the defense system.

And Isabelle—her heart pounding—lifted her hand and screamed a single command: "Bind!"

Her sigil erupted, not just in light, but in memory. All the names, all the echoes in the cryotanks, all the ancestors—they poured through her like a tidal wave.

Her body lifted into the air, eyes glowing pure white, and the creature paused, hesitating just for a moment.

That was all she needed.

"Echo Protocol—Release."

The room exploded with light.

The beast convulsed, breaking apart like shattered metal glass.

Silence returned.

And the tanks began to thaw.

One by one.