Chapter 12-Descent

The storm outside had faded to a pale, swirling whisper, but the silence that replaced it was worse. It crawled into Elara's bones as she and Reyes approached the old mining shaft that led into the crust of Europa—toward Project Thanatos.

She paused at the edge, staring into the black void below. A rusted lift platform hung by thick cables, creaking faintly in the frigid wind.

"You're sure this is it?" Reyes asked, his voice dry and tight. His leg was bandaged but stiff, the pain barely masked.

She held up the battered tablet salvaged from Isaac's pack. The map flickered with residual energy, marking the route beneath their feet with a blinking red dot.

"Isaac's log pointed here. No other facility is this deep. Project Thanatos isn't just buried—it was erased."

Reyes stepped onto the lift and immediately gripped the side rail. "Great. Let's find out why."

Elara activated the control panel. Sparks sputtered. Then—groaning metal. The lift lurched into motion, descending slowly into the planet's icy heart.

2,000 Meters Down

The walls of the shaft pressed inward, jagged ice threaded with strange mineral veins glowing faint blue. Faint pulses echoed from deep below—like sonar. Like breathing.

Elara kept one hand on her pistol.

"You feel that?" Reyes asked suddenly.

She nodded. It wasn't just pressure or vibration. It was like... a presence. Watching them. Reaching.

The comms unit in her helmet hissed with static. Then a voice.

"Elara..."

Her heart stopped. She snapped around, expecting to see Reyes had spoken.

He was silent. Pale.

"Elara... you left me."

Isaac's voice.

But he was gone. Vaporized in the Core's overload. Wasn't he?

"No," she whispered. "You're not real."

"What if I am?"

Reyes's helmet snapped toward her. "What did you say?"

Elara blinked. "You didn't hear that?"

He shook his head. "Hear what?"

The lift jolted suddenly—then stopped.

They had reached the base.

The Gate to Thanatos

A massive blast door loomed before them, crusted in frost. On its surface, the words were barely legible:

PROJECT THANATOS – ACCESS RESTRICTED – OMEGA CLEARANCE ONLY

Elara approached the console beside it. "Manual override. We'll hotwire it."

Reyes raised his rifle. "Make it fast. This place feels wrong."

She pried open the panel and bypassed the primary circuit. Sparks flew. Lights flickered on across the doorframe.

Then, a deep thoom echoed behind them.

They turned.

Something moved in the shaft. A flash of motion—quick, skittering, bone-white against the walls.

"That wasn't just ice," Reyes muttered.

The door slid open with a hiss.

Inside was blackness.

Into the Frozen Tomb

They entered the facility. The air was warmer—but staler, old, metallic.

Dead.

The walls were unlike the rest of Titan Station. No alloy. Instead—organic plating, grown like roots or veins, woven into the architecture. As if the station had been… assimilated.

"What is this place?" Reyes murmured.

Elara accessed the terminal near the entry. "Logs are fragmented. But there's something called 'Primordial Strain - Vault 0'."

More corrupted video files played on loop:

> "Subject 04 lost containment. Project Thanatos compromised. Emergency deep freeze initiated."

"This was a mistake. The Strain is not a virus. It's a will. It thinks."

"Do not let it wake up again."

The Echo Returns

As they moved deeper, the walls pulsed faintly with life.

The lights flickered—and Isaac's voice returned.

"You're close."

Elara froze. This time, Reyes heard it too.

"I—heard him. That was Isaac."

Elara's eyes widened. "Then either he's alive... or the Strain kept a part of him."

Suddenly, an emergency siren wailed through the hall. Sealed doors slammed shut behind them. From a vent above, something dropped to the floor.

Long limbs. Translucent flesh. Razor-lined arms.

A bio-terror—mutated, barely humanoid.

It shrieked and charged.

Reyes fired, tearing holes into it—but it reformed. Adapted.

Elara sprinted to the next door, bypassing the lock under fire. "Get in!"

Reyes dove through just as the door slammed shut, the creature's claws scraping against the seal.

They were breathing hard. Alive.

But deep within, the alarms quieted. And something... woke.