The abandoned research facility stood at the edge of Berlin like a forgotten memory.
Broken windows.
Rust-stained walls.
And silence thick enough to make every step sound louder than it should.
Rain tapped against the cracked glass panels as Adrian, Elara, and Luca moved through the shadowed corridor.
Their footsteps echoed across the empty hall.
Elara glanced around.
"This place feels wrong."
Luca's voice was low.
"Places like this always do."
Adrian walked ahead of them, eyes scanning every corner.
Nothing here was random.
Not the signal.
Not the location.
And definitely not the timing.
He stopped in front of a heavy metal door.
The Olympus signal on his tracker blinked rapidly.
"Behind this," he said quietly.
Elara stepped closer.
"Are you sure?"
Adrian nodded once.
"Yes."
Luca pulled a small device from his pocket and attached it to the door panel.
A soft beep sounded.
Then the lock clicked.
The door opened slowly.
Inside was a large underground laboratory.
Dust covered the equipment.
Old monitors flickered weakly as emergency power hummed somewhere deep in the walls.
But something else stood in the center of the room.
A computer terminal.
And on the screen—
a single message.
Adrian froze.
Elara stepped forward.
"What does it say?"
Adrian didn't answer.
His eyes were locked on the screen.
The message slowly typed itself.
WELCOME BACK, AERES.
Elara felt her stomach tighten.
"Someone knew you'd come."
Luca moved closer to the terminal.
"This system isn't abandoned."
He tapped a few keys.
The monitors around the room suddenly turned on.
Dozens of screens lit up.
Security cameras.
Data streams.
Old Olympus code.
Elara looked around in shock.
"This place is still active."
Adrian's voice was colder than the room.
"No."
He stared at the monitors.
"It was reactivated."
Suddenly—
a voice echoed through the laboratory speakers.
Smooth.
Calm.
And familiar.
"Hello, Adrian."
Elara's head snapped toward the speakers.
"Who is that?"
Adrian didn't move.
His hands slowly curled into fists.
"I thought you were dead."
The voice chuckled softly.
"Death is such a flexible concept."
Luca whispered,
"Adrian…"
But Adrian already knew.
He stepped closer to the terminal.
"Show yourself."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the largest screen in the room flickered.
Static filled the display.
And slowly—
a face appeared.
A man in his late thirties.
Sharp eyes.
Dark hair.
And a faint scar across his jaw.
Elara watched Adrian carefully.
She had never seen his expression change like this before.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Something deeper.
Recognition.
The man on the screen smiled.
"It's been a long time, Aeres."
Elara whispered,
"That's him?"
Adrian nodded once.
"Yes."
The man leaned back in his chair somewhere far away.
"You look older."
Adrian's voice hardened.
"You were buried."
"Symbolically."
"You died in the Olympus explosion."
The man laughed quietly.
"That's what we wanted everyone to believe."
Elara stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The man's eyes shifted to her.
"Ah."
He studied her with interest.
"Elara Voss."
Elara's heart skipped.
"You know me?"
"I know everything about the woman who changed Aeres."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Don't talk about her."
The man raised his hands casually.
"Relax."
His smile returned.
"I'm not your enemy."
Luca muttered under his breath,
"That's exactly what an enemy says."
The man ignored him.
Instead he leaned closer to the camera.
"You're wondering why I called you here."
Adrian didn't blink.
"You activated the Olympus signal."
"Yes."
"Why."
The man's eyes glowed with quiet excitement.
"Because Olympus is waking up again."
Elara frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Adrian's voice dropped.
"It means someone is rebuilding it."
The man clapped slowly.
"Still the smartest man in the room."
Elara felt a chill run through her spine.
"You're rebuilding Olympus?"
The man shook his head.
"No."
He smiled.
"I finished it."
Silence filled the laboratory.
Adrian's gaze turned deadly.
"Olympus was never meant to be finished."
The man tilted his head.
"That's where we disagreed five years ago."
Elara whispered,
"You two created Olympus together…"
Adrian answered quietly.
"Yes."
The man continued.
"But Adrian got scared."
Adrian's voice snapped.
"I stopped it because it was dangerous."
The man laughed again.
"Dangerous?"
He leaned closer to the camera.
"Olympus isn't dangerous."
His voice lowered.
"It's power."
Every screen in the laboratory suddenly filled with data streams.
Satellite networks.
Military databases.
Financial systems.
Elara's eyes widened.
"Oh my god…"
Luca whispered,
"He's connected Olympus to everything."
The man nodded proudly.
"The entire world's infrastructure."
Adrian's voice turned icy.
"You've lost your mind."
"No."
The man smiled.
"I've perfected our creation."
Elara looked at Adrian.
"What exactly is Olympus?"
Adrian hesitated.
Then he answered.
"A system capable of controlling global digital infrastructure."
Elara stared at the screens in horror.
"You mean…"
"Yes," Adrian said quietly.
"Satellites. Power grids. Banking networks. Defense systems."
Luca exhaled slowly.
"He built a digital god."
The man on the screen laughed softly.
"That's a dramatic way to put it."
He folded his hands.
"But accurate."
Adrian stepped closer to the monitor.
"You activated the signal to lure me here."
"Of course."
"Why."
The man's smile faded slightly.
"Because Olympus still needs one thing."
Adrian already knew the answer.
"The master key."
The man nodded.
"And only you have it."
Elara looked between them.
"So this entire trap…"
Adrian finished her sentence.
"…was to force me to complete Olympus."
The man leaned back again.
"Yes."
Adrian's eyes turned darker than the storm outside.
"I will destroy it before that happens."
The man's expression changed.
Not fear.
Excitement.
"That's the part I've been waiting for."
Elara frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The man's smile slowly returned.
"Because while you were talking…"
All the screens suddenly went black.
The lights flickered.
Luca grabbed his communicator.
"What just happened?"
Then Adrian's tablet beeped.
A new message appeared.
Adrian read it.
And his expression changed instantly.
Elara felt her pulse race.
"What is it?"
Adrian's voice dropped to a whisper.
"He's already inside."
Luca frowned.
"Inside what?"
Adrian looked up at the dark screens.
"Every system."
Outside—
Berlin's city lights suddenly flickered.
One by one.
Across the entire skyline.
And somewhere in the darkness—
Olympus had just awakened.