The alarms screamed through the metallic corridors of the underwater fortress, red light slicing through the darkness like a heartbeat. Mehmood's fingers flew across the console, sweat dripping down his face as lines of alien code scrolled faster than human eyes could follow.
Farzana crouched beside him, reloading her weapon. "How much longer?"
Mehmood didn't look up. "This system isn't just firewalls. It's alive. It's changing as I attack."
Rehman's voice echoed from across the room as he fired another round at advancing Phantoms. "Then you better start winning that argument with your computer before we're all history!"
The sound of bullets and sparks filled the air. Farhat, crouched behind a metal pillar, tossed a flash charge, blinding two Phantoms long enough for Shoki to take them down with precise headshots.
"Area's holding!" Shoki called. "But not for long!"
Mehmood's laptop pinged—a deep, mechanical chime. A hidden panel opened on the main terminal, revealing a new symbol: a spiraling pattern of circles, glowing faint blue.
Farzana's eyes widened. "That's the same mark Dad used in his early encryption research."
"It's him," Mehmood said quietly. "He left a backdoor."
He entered a series of commands only someone trained by Jamshed could know. The terminal flickered, and the world around them seemed to dissolve into digital light. The alarms faded. The walls melted into streams of data.
Suddenly, Mehmood wasn't in the fortress anymore.
He stood in a white void—endless, silent, and calm. A single figure appeared before him, facing away.
"Dad?" Mehmood said softly.
Jamshed Khan turned, his expression blank but his eyes flickering with faint light. "You shouldn't have come, Mehmood."
Mehmood took a hesitant step forward. "Jeeral said you were dead."
"In a way, I am," Jamshed replied. His voice echoed with static. "My consciousness is trapped inside Project Seraph. Jeeral is using me—my memories, my codes—to evolve his system."
Mehmood clenched his fists. "We can free you."
Jamshed shook his head. "No. You don't understand. Project Seraph wasn't designed as a weapon. It was designed to connect human thought with machine logic. To make perfect decisions without emotion. But Jeeral… he twisted it. He made himself the bridge."
"Then we'll destroy it," Mehmood said.
"You can't," Jamshed replied. "Destroying Seraph means destroying me—and the only map to stop Jeeral forever."
Mehmood hesitated, his breath shaking. "There has to be another way."
Jamshed's voice softened. "Listen to me. There's a hidden sequence—code buried deep within Seraph's structure. I left it there for you. It's called The Father Code. If you run it, you'll shut down Jeeral's network for good. But it will erase me too."
The words hit Mehmood like a punch to the chest. "No."
"It's the only way," Jamshed said quietly. "I built Jeeral. It's my burden to end him. You have to carry it out."
Mehmood's throat tightened. "You knew this would happen. You planned for it."
Jamshed gave a faint, proud smile. "That's what fathers do."
The white void began to crack, light pouring through the fractures. Jeeral's distorted voice echoed all around them. "You think you can take him from me, boy? He's mine now. My mind, my power, my evolution!"
Jamshed's image began to flicker. "Go, Mehmood! Run the code!"
Mehmood shouted, "I love you, Dad."
Jamshed's final words came through fading static. "Then prove it."
The world shattered back into chaos. Mehmood gasped, eyes snapping open. He was back in the fortress chamber, alarms blaring again. Farzana was shouting, but her voice was distant.
Rehman fired another burst. "What happened? You blanked out for a full minute!"
Mehmood's voice was firm now, calm with resolve. "I found him. And I know how to end this."
Farooq looked at his brother, sweat and grime on his face. "And Jeeral?"
Mehmood turned toward the monolith, typing the sequence into the core. "He's about to learn what it means to be human."
The fortress shuddered as the code began to run. Lights flickered. The holographic face of Jeeral appeared once more, furious yet controlled.
"What have you done?" he hissed.
Mehmood's eyes met his. "I'm giving you a soul—and then I'm taking it away."
The floor trembled as waves of data surged through the walls, the entire fortress beginning to collapse from within.
Rehman shouted, "Time to go!"
But Mehmood stayed focused on the screen, fingers still typing. "Not until he's gone for good."