The facility was no longer dead.
It was breathing.
Lights flickered across the underground levels. Old machines roared back to life. Screens that had been dark for years began displaying numbers, names, and warnings.
SYSTEM RESTORED.
CONTAINMENT FAILURE POSSIBLE.
Nobody moved.
Not because they were frozen.
Because everyone understood the same thing.
They weren't alone anymore.
Dmitri watched the readings climb.
"This is impossible."
Mikhail glanced at him.
"You said that three times today."
Dmitri ignored him.
"The power source should have been destroyed years ago."
Nikola looked toward the ceiling.
"Which means someone maintained it."
Ω-2's voice came through the speakers.
"Not someone."
A pause.
"Something."
The first chamber unlocked.
Steam filled the room.
Everyone prepared.
Weapons raised.
Positions taken.
The glass slowly cleared.
Inside—
A person.
Alive.
Sleeping.
Connected to the old system.
Artyom stared.
Another subject.
Another life.
Another person who had never seen the world outside these walls.
"Wake them up?" Yelena asked.
Roman's eyes stayed cold.
"No."
A pause.
"Find out what they are first."
But the facility had already decided.
The chamber opened.
The figure stepped out.
Confused.
Disoriented.
Looking around like they had woken from a dream.
Their eyes landed on Artyom.
And froze.
"Ω-0."
The voice was barely above a whisper.
Artyom felt the same strange pull again.
Recognition.
Not memory.
Something deeper.
"How do you know me?" Artyom asked.
The figure stared.
"Because you were the one they protected."
Silence.
Viktor's expression hardened.
"What does that mean?"
The figure looked at him.
Then smiled faintly.
"They chose him."
Artyom's gaze sharpened.
"Chose me for what?"
The figure didn't answer.
Instead—
They looked at Viktor.
"You don't know either."
The room went quiet.
Because that was the one thing nobody wanted confirmed.
Suddenly—
Another alarm.
Different from before.
Dmitri looked at the screen.
His face changed.
"We have a breach."
Nikola turned.
"From outside?"
Dmitri shook his head.
"No."
A pause.
"From below."
The floor vibrated.
A deep sound echoed through the facility.
Not a machine.
Not an alarm.
A movement.
Ω-1 stepped back.
Fear returned instantly.
"No…"
Artyom looked at them.
"What is it?"
Ω-1's voice dropped.
"The first one."
Everyone went still.
The lights went out.
Completely.
For five seconds—
Nothing.
Then one emergency light turned on.
At the far end of the corridor.
A figure stood there.
Watching.
Older.
Calmer.
Different.
Not confused like Ω-1.
Not arrogant like Ω-2.
Just empty.
Ω-2's expression finally changed.
For the first time—
Fear.
"No."
The figure tilted their head.
And spoke:
"Still running."
Artyom stared.
"Who are you?"
The answer came quietly.
"Ω-3."
A pause.
"The first failure."
The corridor became silent.
Ω-3 looked at Artyom.
Not Viktor.
Not Roman.
Not anyone else.
Only him.
"You're the one they replaced me with."
Artyom's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
Ω-3 stepped closer.
And the words that followed changed everything.
"They didn't create you to save us."
A pause.
"They created you because I failed."
The facility shook again.
Harder.
And somewhere deep below—
Another system activated.
ORIGIN PROJECT: FINAL PHASE INITIALIZIN