The room was silent.
Ethan's pulse pounded in his ears as he stared at the black screen. That thing—whatever it was—had spoken.
It had seen them.
Noah exhaled sharply. "Okay. Someone want to explain why we just watched a horror movie trailer starring real life?"
Valerie crossed her arms. "That footage was taken three days ago. The last time we sent a team into the tower."
Ethan turned to her. "And?"
She held his gaze. "No one came back."
The Origin of the First One
Olivia stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "You know what it is, don't you?"
Valerie didn't deny it.
She walked over to the wall, tapping a dusty file. The words stamped across it read:
PROJECT GENESIS: PHASE ONE
Ethan's chest tightened. A government experiment.
Valerie flipped the file open, revealing images—X-rays, reports, blood samples.
A name was scribbled at the top.
SUBJECT 01: ADRIAN VALE
Ethan's fingers curled. "He was human."
Valerie nodded. "Once."
She pointed to a photograph. A man in a lab coat. Sharp features. Dark eyes.
And then another image—one taken later.
The same man.
But now his skin was ashen, veins black, eyes burning like molten gold.
Noah muttered, "That's not human anymore."
Valerie's voice was grim. "No. And he's waking up."
The Tower's True Purpose
Ethan exhaled, trying to piece it together. "The tower—it's not just a beacon, is it?"
Valerie shook her head. "It's a prison."
Silence.
Then Olivia spoke, voice low. "For him."
Valerie nodded. "Adrian was the first successful 'evolution'—a human turned into something more. Stronger. Smarter. Almost unstoppable. But he was unstable."
She motioned to the screens. "The infected aren't moving on instinct. They're moving because of him."
"He's calling them."
Ethan clenched his fists. "So if he gets out—"
Valerie finished for him. "This city won't survive."
"Neither will the world."
A Mission with No Return
Noah ran a hand through his hair. "Alright. So what's the plan?"
Valerie's team exchanged uneasy glances.
Finally, she sighed. "We destroy the tower."
Ethan frowned. "Won't that just set him free?"
Valerie met his gaze, her expression unyielding.
"Not if we take him out first."
A heavy silence followed.
Then Olivia smirked. "So… we break into a collapsing tower, kill a superpowered nightmare, and escape before everything goes to hell?"
Valerie shrugged. "That's the short version."
Noah groaned. "This is officially the worst day of my life."
Ethan exhaled. "Then we better not waste it."
He turned toward the window, staring at the dark tower in the distance.
The final battle had begun.