The titanium hatch groaned open under hydraulic pressure as Raine's reversed scale oozed bioluminescent slime—reeking identical to the clones' nutrient broth.
"Welcome home, Vessel." Serena's draconic claws scraped the moss-coated observation window, asphalt blood smearing inverse crosses. "Meet your ancestors... charming family portraits."
In the 300-meter pressure chamber, twelve cylindrical pods floated in a slime pool. Each pulsed with void-matter through vein-like conduits, syncing with Raine's bloodstream. Behind fogged glass coiled clones of the First Dragon—bearing Raine's slit pupils, Serena's fangs, and the Inquisitor's mechanical spine.
Garret's ice-claw jammed into the console, ooze crystallizing warning codes: 「SELF-DESTRUCT ACTIVATED」. Black crystals seeped from his wolf ears. "Triple biometric keys needed... How'd you get my DNA?"
"You gave it." Serena flicked a memory chip. Holograms showed Cycle 177—Garret kneeling at magma's edge, handing her bloodstained claws. "You said...'remind me not to drink lava whiskey next cycle'."
Ellen's mechanical spine sparked. She stumbled against a pod, starlit scales projecting Lyria's coordinates: "Bio-wavelength match 99.7%... Immediate termination advised—" Her voice glitched into Elaina's tenderness. "Time for medicine, dear..."
Raine's gills flared. The abyssal pressure burned his new organs, but sharper pain came from the pod's label—「Hybrid Vessel 098: Raine/First Dragon/Dracula」.
"Surprised?" Serena's tail activated rotation protocols. "The Citadel's been brewing perfect vessels for centuries... My genes as broth, old bat's seasoning, mechanical marinade..."
Lyria's song pierced the hull. Mermaid bioluminescence revealed the pool's secret—hundreds of Garret clones in secondary tanks, foreheads branded 「III」.
"Five minutes till detonation." Serena threw Dracula's fang necklace at Garret. "Choose, popsicle... blow this hellhole or watch your pups become next gene stew?"
Raine's pupils split. Left eye saw 「Maternal Protocol」 in Ellen's core, right eye caught inverse codes on Lyria's tail—matching Serena's 300-year-old experiment ID.
"Don't listen!" Ellen ripped off her arm, scales forming chains. "Core override in progress... Destroy main power... urgh—"
The slime pool boiled. First Dragon clones synced eye-opening, mechanical tails shattering glass. Their throats vibrated void-frequencies: 「Vessel reclamation... commencing...」
Submerged Currents
Lyria's song triggered resonance waves. Alarms blared in Citadel's underground tanks—「Serena 000」 embryo pods fracturing, biomass coalescing into asphalt tentacles crawling toward Raine...