The hydro plant shook like the chest of a dying beast. Sparks flew, water surged, and the floor gave way beneath them.
Leon grabbed Ada's hand."Don't let go."
She smiled, determined."Never."
They ran, leaping over ruptured catwalks, ducking under falling beams, the roar of the collapsing turbines drowning out everything else. Behind them, the caretaker emerged from the shadows, his calm smile gone, replaced by raw fury.
"You think destroying Requiem ends it?" he shouted. "You only forced evolution to speed up!"
Leon's jaw tightened."I think you underestimated us."
The caretaker raised his device, veins on the walls writhing like snakes. The creature from before rose, larger, fused with the infrastructure—Requiem incarnate.
Leon fired, covering Ada as she sprinted toward the extraction point. She planted one last explosive, wires trailing like lightning.
The caretaker's eyes widened."You—"
A roar cut him off. The creature, confused and destabilized, slammed into him. He went down, device shattered, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Go!" Leon yelled.
They leapt onto a maintenance lift, plummeting down a flooded shaft as the plant began its final convulsions. Sparks rained, metal twisted, and the sound of breaking turbines became a deafening roar.
At the last second, Ada pressed her hand against his shoulder."Together?" she asked.
Leon nodded."Together."
The lift crashed into the water below. For a heartbeat, they were submerged in silence. Then they surfaced, gasping, pulling each other toward the river that led out of the city.
Lawrence Falls burned behind them, the night sky lit by fires and collapsing steel. Requiem was gone—or at least, for now.
Leon looked at Ada, soaked and exhausted."You still with me?"
Her red scarf clung to her like a banner of defiance."Always," she whispered.
And for the first time in decades, Leon felt something heavier than fear: hope.