The message stayed on the screen.
CHOOSE YOUR LEADERS.
Nobody moved.
Because everyone understood the danger.
The old world had always worked the same way.
One throne.
One ruler.
One person holding the power.
Artyom looked at the survivors standing around the chamber.
People who had been created by a system that believed they needed someone above them.
Someone to control them.
He hated that it almost sounded familiar.
Roman broke the silence.
"Every empire needs a leader."
Artyom looked at him.
"Does it?"
Roman's eyes narrowed.
The question wasn't disrespect.
It was a challenge.
Viktor watched quietly.
Because he knew something had changed.
Artyom was no longer the boy who entered the Volkov world trying to survive.
He was questioning the foundation everything was built on.
Dmitri continued reading the system data.
"It isn't asking who is strongest."
Mikhail looked over.
"Then what?"
Dmitri answered:
"Who is capable of carrying responsibility."
A strange silence followed.
Because the system wasn't measuring dominance.
It was measuring something nobody in their world valued enough.
Trust.
Yelena looked at the survivors.
"They don't need a king."
A pause.
"They need someone who won't become another cage."
Everyone looked at her.
She shrugged slightly.
"Don't look so surprised."
Artyom almost smiled.
Almost.
Then—
The floor opened.
A hidden chamber rose from beneath them.
Inside was an old table.
Circular.
No throne.
No seat at the head.
A symbol appeared.
COUNCIL PROTOCOL
Dmitri stared.
"The original design…"
Seraphina's voice returned.
"Yes."
Everyone looked at the screen.
"The throne was never the solution."
A pause.
"The throne was the problem."
The room went silent.
Even Roman.
Seraphina continued:
"The project was corrupted because everyone wanted one person to carry everything."
Her gaze moved to Artyom.
"You were never meant to rule alone."
Suddenly—
The system started displaying names.
Not as subjects.
Not as experiments.
FOUNDING COUNCIL CANDIDATES
Viktor Volkov.
Artyom Sokolov.
Dmitri Volkov.
Yelena Volkov.
Ω-1.
Ω-2.
Ω-3.
Everyone froze.
Mikhail frowned.
"Subjects and heirs together?"
Artyom answered quietly.
"Exactly."
The old world would hate it.
Because it destroyed the line between powerful and powerless.
Then—
A new name appeared.
UNREGISTERED CANDIDATE
The screen glitched.
Everyone prepared.
A figure appeared on the monitor.
Elias Voss.
Alive.
The room changed instantly.
Seraphina's expression hardened.
"You."
Elias smiled.
"Still trying to fix my mistakes?"
Artyom stared.
"You survived."
Elias looked at him.
"No."
A pause.
"I adapted."
The same words.
The same arrogance.
Subject Prime stepped forward.
"You always come back."
Elias looked at him.
"And you always disappoint me."
Prime's expression changed.
Not anger.
Pain.
Viktor noticed.
And understood.
This wasn't just a battle.
It was the final argument between creator and creation.
Elias looked at Artyom.
"You think freedom solves everything."
A pause.
"But people always choose power."
Artyom's eyes hardened.
"Maybe."
A pause.
"But this time they get to choose it themselves."
The system reacted.
COUNCIL FORMATION: ACCEPTED
The lights turned on.
For the first time…
The facility wasn't controlling anyone.
It was waiting.
But Elias smiled.
Because he knew something they didn't.
"You're celebrating too early."
A pause.
"The project had another creator."
Everyone froze.
Elias looked toward Valentin.
"And he knows exactly who."