The snowstorm became violent.
Helicopter blades thundered across the mountains like approaching death.
WHOOOOSHHHH!!
Red searchlights tore through the dark forest.
Dozens of Orion aircraft surrounded the entire valley now.
Kabir stared upward in disbelief.
"They brought an entire war unit…"
Elias's expression darkened instantly.
"No."
Pause.
"They brought extermination."
Inside the destroyed cabin—
Arman remained on one knee.
Steam poured from the cracks across HADES armor.
WARNING: CORE INSTABILITY RISING.
His breathing sounded distorted.
Machine.
Human.
Machine.
Human.
Maya knelt beside him carefully.
Her hands trembled while touching the cold metal armor.
"Stay with me…"
For a second—
Arman looked at her silently.
And something dangerous happened inside him again.
The AI system detected emotional dependency.
WARNING: SUBJECT 002 HUMAN ATTACHMENT LEVEL INCREASING.
SUPPRESSION FAILED.
Far away—
Inside the lead helicopter—
Selene Voss watched everything through holographic screens.
Her silver eyes remained cold.
But internally—
She was shaken.
Because Project Ashes had just achieved something impossible.
Emotion and AI synchronization together.
Not conflict.
Fusion.
A perfect adaptive war mind.
And the reason…
Was Maya.
Selene whispered softly—
"So that's the catalyst…"
An Orion commander beside her looked confused.
"Doctor?"
Selene slowly smiled.
"Kill everyone except the girl."
Back on the ground—
Kabir suddenly shouted—
"MISSILES!!"
Three rockets launched from the mountains instantly.
SHHHHHHOOOOOM!!
Elias grabbed Maya violently.
"MOVE!!"
BOOOOOOOOOM!!
The cabin exploded into flames.
Wood and snow blasted across the forest.
Arman's massive body shielded Maya from the explosion completely.
His armored back absorbed most of the impact.
CRAAAAACK!!
More damage spread across HADES armor.
WARNING: EXTERNAL SHELL FAILURE.
Maya screamed—
"Arman!!"
The giant slowly stood again.
But now—
Parts of the armor were breaking apart.
And underneath—
Human skin was visible.
Kabir's eyes widened.
"Oh God…"
Veins glowing white moved beneath Arman's exposed skin like living electricity.
Not fully machine.
Not fully human anymore.
Something else.
Above them—
Orion soldiers descended through cables from helicopters.
At least fifty now.
Black armor.
Thermal rifles.
Execution squads.
One soldier shouted—
"TARGET CONFIRMED!"
"OPEN FIRE!"
DHAK! DHAK! DHAK! DHAK!
The forest erupted into gunfire.
Bullets ripped through trees everywhere.
Elias instantly returned fire.
Two soldiers dropped immediately.
Kabir threw smoke grenades across the snow.
"Fall back toward the cliffs!"
But Arman didn't move.
He kept staring upward at the helicopters.
Something inside his mind was changing again.
Data streams flooded his vision.
Wind speed.
Bullet trajectory.
Enemy heartbeats.
Combat probability.
Thousands of calculations every second.
Then suddenly—
A hidden voice inside the AI spoke calmly.
ASCENSION MODE AVAILABLE.
WARNING: HUMANITY SUPPRESSION MAY BECOME PERMANENT.
Arman's eyes widened slightly.
Because for the first time—
The system was offering him power willingly.
Enough power to destroy everything.
But at a cost.
Maya grabbed his hand desperately.
"Don't leave me again…"
Those words hit harder than the missiles.
Inside the chaos of calculations…
Inside the machine logic…
One human emotion survived.
Her.
Arman slowly looked at Maya.
Then quietly whispered—
"If I lose control…"
Pause.
"Run."
Before Maya could answer—
The mountain exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Everyone turned instantly.
A gigantic armored transport vehicle emerged through the snowstorm.
Twice the size of a tank.
Covered in Orion symbols.
And behind it—
Hundreds of soldiers followed.
Kabir's face lost all color.
"That's not possible…"
Elias whispered one name carefully—
"Cerberus Unit…"
Even Orion soldiers became nervous.
Because Cerberus Unit only appeared during global-level threats.
Which meant—
Orion no longer considered Arman human.
The giant vehicle stopped.
Then slowly—
Its front armor opened.
Heavy footsteps echoed from inside.
THOOM.
THOOM.
THOOM.
A massive figure emerged through the smoke.
Tall.
Armored completely in black metal.
Glowing red visor.
Unlike HADES—
This thing looked built only for execution.
No humanity.
No hesitation.
Pure death.
Maya felt cold fear crawl through her chest.
Kabir whispered weakly—
"No way…"
Elias tightened his grip on his weapon.
"Prototype 001…"
The figure stopped directly across from Arman.
Snow blew violently between them.
Then—
For the first time—
The monster spoke.
Deep.
Mechanical.
Empty.
"Subject 002 detected."
Pause.
"Mission: Terminate replacement."
Arman's eyes slowly widened.
Replacement?
Then suddenly—
Fragments of memory returned.
A child screaming inside a laboratory.
Another boy inside a combat chamber.
Red eyes.
Violence.
Blood everywhere.
And Selene's voice—
"Subject 001 failed emotional stabilization."
Back in the present—
The black armored monster tilted its head slightly toward Arman.
Then coldly said—
"You were chosen over me."
Silence filled the battlefield.
Even the snow felt frozen now.
Because standing before Arman—
Was the first monster Orion ever created.
And unlike Arman—
This one had already lost everything human inside him.
Snow howled violently across the battlefield.
Arman and Prototype 001 stood facing each other in silence.
Two monsters.
Two survivors of Project Ashes.
But only one was allowed to exist.
The red visor of Prototype 001 glowed brighter.
TARGET ANALYSIS COMPLETE.
ELIMINATION APPROVED.
Then—
It vanished.
BOOOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath its feet.
Maya couldn't even see the movement.
Only shockwaves tearing through the snow.
Arman reacted instantly.
KRAAAASH!!
Both monsters collided midair like missiles.
The impact shattered nearby trees completely.
Kabir covered his face from the snow blast.
"What the hell are those things?!"
Prototype 001 punched Arman directly through a frozen boulder.
CRAAAAACK!!
Stone exploded everywhere.
Arman's damaged armor sparked violently.
WARNING: CORE INTEGRITY FALLING.
But before 001 could attack again—
Arman grabbed its arm mid-strike.
White glowing eyes met the red visor.
Then—
Both giants slammed into the forest together.
BOOOOOOM!!
Trees collapsed one after another.
Pure destruction.
Pure rage.
Orion soldiers stopped firing completely now.
Because this battle wasn't human anymore.
It was war between weapons.
Prototype 001 suddenly grabbed Arman's throat.
Its mechanical voice remained emotionless.
"You are defective."
CRACK!!
It smashed Arman into the ground repeatedly.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The earth itself broke apart beneath them.
Maya screamed—
"ARMAN!!"
For a brief second—
Arman's eyes flickered toward her voice.
And that tiny distraction—
Changed everything.
001 immediately activated hidden blades from its arm.
SHINK!!
The blade pierced directly through Arman's side.
Blood splashed across the snow.
Maya froze in horror.
Kabir cursed loudly.
Even Elias looked shaken now.
Prototype 001 leaned closer toward Arman.
"You hesitate."
Pause.
"That is why humans become weak."
Then it twisted the blade deeper.
Arman screamed violently.
But inside the pain—
More memories returned.
The laboratory.
Children crying.
Selene's experiments.
And one memory he had forgotten completely—
A small boy standing beside him inside a glass chamber.
Red eyes.
Silent face.
Prototype 001.
Back then—
They were both children.
Both prisoners.
Both victims.
Young Arman had once asked him softly—
"What's your real name?"
The boy answered quietly—
"I don't have one."
Back in the present—
Arman's breathing became unstable.
Because suddenly—
He understood the truth.
001 wasn't born a monster.
Orion created him that way.
Just like him.
Prototype 001 pulled the blade free coldly.
"End of mission."
It raised its arm cannon toward Arman's head.
Energy gathered instantly.
Maya broke free from Elias and ran forward desperately.
"STOP!!"
Everyone froze.
Even Prototype 001 paused slightly.
Maya stood directly between both monsters.
Tears mixed with snow across her face.
She looked toward 001 fearlessly.
"You think emotions make someone weak?"
Her voice trembled.
"But you're the one still obeying the people who tortured you."
Silence.
The red visor flickered once.
Tiny.
Almost invisible.
Maya slowly looked at Arman.
"Arman chose to protect people."
Then back toward 001.
"But you never got that chance… did you?"
Something changed.
Prototype 001 became completely still.
Because nobody—
Had ever spoken to him like a human before.
Inside his broken system—
Old memories glitched violently.
A child sitting alone in darkness.
Scientists calling him failure.
Selene saying—
"Erase emotional response permanently."
The red visor flickered harder now.
WARNING: MENTAL CONFLICT DETECTED.
Orion commanders immediately panicked through radios.
"Prototype 001 instability rising!"
"Doctor Selene, permission to activate shutdown?!"
Inside the helicopter—
Selene's face darkened instantly.
"No…"
She whispered slowly.
"Not again."
Back on the battlefield—
001 suddenly stepped backward.
Its hand twitched uncontrollably against its helmet.
Like something inside was fighting to escape.
Then—
For the first time—
Its voice changed.
Not mechanical.
Human.
Weak.
Painful.
"…help…"
Everyone froze.
Maya's eyes widened instantly.
Kabir whispered—
"Oh my God…"
Arman slowly forced himself back onto his feet.
Blood dripping into the snow.
White light flickering across his damaged body.
He stared at 001 silently.
Then softly said—
"They did this to both of us."
The storm became quieter somehow.
Like even the world was listening now.
Prototype 001 looked toward Arman slowly.
Confused.
Broken.
Lost.
And at that exact moment—
Selene activated the kill switch.
A horrifying scream exploded from 001 instantly.
AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!
Its body convulsed violently.
Red lightning burst from inside the armor.
WARNING: SELF-DESTRUCTION INITIATED.
Maya's face lost color.
"No…"
Selene's cold voice echoed from helicopter speakers above the battlefield.
"If I cannot control my monsters…"
Pause.
"Then neither of you deserve to live."
Above the mountains—
Every Orion helicopter suddenly armed their missiles.
Target lock detected.
Entire battlefield marked for destruction.
And Arman realized something terrifying—
This was never a retrieval mission.
It was extermination.