The shot didn't kill the heart.
It woke it.
The bullet tore through the pulsating core, and the entire hydro plant answered with a convulsion. Water rose from the channels like something breathing for the first time in decades. The black veins on the turbines glowed, spreading across the walls, across the floor—toward Leon.
"Bad idea," Ada shouted.
"Yeah, I'm noticing!"
The caretaker laughed through the chaos."Requiem recognizes its own, Mr. Kennedy."
Leon froze. "What did you say?"
The veins reached his boots and stopped—hesitated—then crawled around him instead of through him.
Ada saw it.
Her face changed.
"You knew," she whispered to the caretaker. "You used him as a key."
The man bowed slightly. "Exposure in Raccoon City. Dormant traces. Perfect candidate."
Leon felt suddenly cold.
Memories flashed—hospitals, injections, decontamination rooms, all the things the government had sworn were "precautions."
"You're telling me," Leon said slowly, "I've been carrying this thing… for years?"
"Not carrying," the caretaker corrected. "Preparing."
The turbines screamed.
From the water rose a new form—taller than the others, shaped almost like a man trying to remember being human. Its head turned toward Leon with disturbing familiarity.
It felt like looking in a mirror made of nightmares.
Ada stepped between them."Leon, don't listen to him. You're not their weapon."
The creature took a step forward.
Leon's hands were shaking.
For the first time in his life, he wasn't sure if it was fear—or recognition.
"Then why doesn't it attack me?" he asked.
Ada had no answer.
The caretaker smiled gently."Because Requiem doesn't see you as prey."
He pointed.
"It sees you as tomorrow."