14:59
The countdown kept moving.
Every second was a reminder.
The facility was collapsing.
The past was burning.
And everyone was waiting for Artyom to decide what came next.
Artyom looked at Subject Prime.
"You said I'm the reason it failed."
Prime stepped closer.
"Yes."
His eyes moved around the room.
"To them, the perfect creation was someone who could control everything."
A pause.
"But they made one mistake."
Artyom's voice was quiet.
"What mistake?"
Prime looked directly at him.
"They gave you a will."
Silence.
For years, Artyom had been told his blood made him valuable.
His rarity made him dangerous.
His existence made him useful.
But never—
Never that he was powerful because he could choose.
The facility shook again.
The ceiling cracked.
Dust fell around them.
Ω-2 looked at the countdown.
"We don't have time."
Prime walked toward the central console.
"There is one way."
Everyone tensed.
"What?" Artyom asked.
Prime placed his hand on the system.
"The core needs a successor signature."
A pause.
"Someone to replace the original command."
Artyom understood.
"No."
Prime looked at him.
"You already know."
The system wanted a ruler.
A replacement.
A new person sitting in the same cage.
Artyom stepped back.
"That's what they wanted."
Prime's expression didn't change.
"It's also what keeps everyone alive."
The hardest choices were always the ones where every answer hurt.
Suddenly, the speakers activated.
Elias Voss.
"You finally understand."
His voice was calm.
Almost satisfied.
Everyone looked up.
Elias continued:
"Every empire needs a center."
A pause.
"Every system needs a leader."
Artyom's eyes narrowed.
"And if I refuse?"
A moment of silence.
"Then everything ends."
Viktor stepped forward.
"Stop listening to him."
Elias laughed softly.
"Volkov heir."
A pause.
"You still believe strength means protecting others."
Viktor's voice was cold.
"No."
"It means giving them the choice you never had."
For a second—
Even Elias was silent.
Then the countdown changed.
10:00
The entire facility started shutting down.
Dmitri's voice came through the communicator.
"Artyom!"
A pause.
"The core is failing faster."
Nikola added:
"We found the evacuation route."
Mikhail:
"Not everyone can reach it in time."
The message was clear.
Somebody had to stay.
Artyom looked at the console.
At the system.
At the thing that had controlled so many lives.
Then he smiled slightly.
Not happily.
Like someone who finally understood something.
"I'm not becoming the successor."
Everyone froze.
Artyom placed his hand on the console.
"I'm ending the position."
The system reacted.
ERROR
UNAUTHORIZED DECISION
Artyom's voice became stronger.
"You built a world where people were only useful if they had a purpose."
A pause.
"But people aren't projects."
The screens flickered.
OVERRIDE ATTEMPT
Prime stared.
"You can't destroy it."
Artyom looked at him.
"No."
A pause.
"I can change it."
The facility shook violently.
And then—
A new option appeared.
Not created by Elias.
Not created by the system.
Created by Artyom.
PROJECT ORIGIN
STATUS: RELEASE
The doors of every chamber opened.
All over the facility—
The subjects woke.
And for the first time…
They were not being activated.
They were being freed.