Lira began to operate covertly, using her Vanguard access to dig deeper into the Project Genesis archives. The official reports were meticulously scrubbed, but she was a master at finding the ghosts in the machine, the data fragments that lingered in forgotten caches. She found Mark's original profile: 'Subject Genesis – child of Atlas Storm and Seraphina Vale.' The names hit her like a physical blow. The greatest heroes Earth had ever known. Their son, turned into this… 'demon.'
The official story of their heroic sacrifice at the Zero Event was enshrined in public history. But the deeper Lira delved, the more discrepancies she found. An obscure financial transfer to a hidden Vanguard black-ops account, dated suspiciously close to the Zero Event. Classified communications between Elias Crowe and a younger Dr. Voss, referencing "resource acquisition" and "containment protocols" in relation to the Stormvale family. No direct evidence, but enough smoke to suggest a raging fire.
She orchestrated a clandestine meeting with Mark in the ruins of an abandoned power station. He appeared silently from the shadows, his golden eyes wary. Lira dropped her weapons, a gesture of trust. "They lied to you," she stated, her voice steady, her power radiating sincere, unwavering empathy. "About everything. About your parents."
Mark's composure cracked, a ripple of raw pain flashing across his face. "What do you know?" His voice was a low growl, laced with venom.
Lira held out a datapad, displaying the fragments she had painstakingly recovered: encrypted communications, redacted financial ledgers, a single, grainy image of Atlas and Seraphina being led away, not heroically charging into a rift, but restrained, their faces etched with horror. "Your parents weren't killed saving the world," she explained, her voice carefully neutral, allowing her emotional resonance to carry the weight of her conviction. "They were betrayed. By their own government. By Elias Crowe. Harvested for their powers, not honored for them."
The datapad trembled in Mark's hand. The implications were staggering, horrifying. His entire existence, a lie. His parents' sacrifice, a brutal deception. The world he sought to destroy was far more corrupt than he had ever imagined. The cold ember of his rage flared into a roaring inferno, but this time, it was focused, razor-sharp.
Lira continued, "Dr. Voss is still alive. She's not just behind Project Genesis. She's recreating the 'god project,' using the remnants of your parents' abilities. She's building an army of Awakened, far beyond anything the Vanguard could control, using techniques she perfected on you."
The truth, stark and brutal, settled over Mark. The immediate, chaotic vengeance he had been pursuing transformed into a methodical, terrifying campaign. He was no longer just the Immortal Demon; he was a revolutionary, a truth-seeker, tearing down the gilded façade of a world built on lies and stolen power. Lira, seeing the cold, righteous fury in his eyes, knew she had made her choice. She would stand by him, guiding his rage, hoping to salvage what little humanity remained in both of them.