The underground elevator kept descending.
Lower.
Lower.
Lower.
Cold red emergency lights flickered across the steel walls while warning sirens echoed endlessly through the massive shaft.
WARNING.
FACILITY BREACH DETECTED.
Kabir's heartbeat felt unstable.
Nobody spoke.
Not even Maya.
Because the deeper they went…
the more the air itself felt wrong.
Heavy.
Dead.
Beside the elevator wall, Eren sat silently with his head lowered.
Snow still melted slowly from his black armor.
But something about him had changed after meeting Eve.
He looked…
smaller somehow.
Quieter.
Like the monster inside him had finally become tired.
Maya glanced toward him carefully.
Then toward Arman.
Arman stood near the elevator door holding his bleeding side silently.
His expression remained cold.
But his eyes weren't.
Not anymore.
That scared him.
Because Maya's warmth was changing him.
And deep inside—
HADES hated that.
WARNING.
EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY DETECTED.
The red message glitched violently inside Arman's vision.
He ignored it.
Kabir finally broke the silence.
"So…"
His dry voice echoed softly.
"Anyone wanna explain why every underground lab we enter somehow gets worse?"
Nobody answered.
Elias quietly stared at the floor numbers.
-97.
-103.
-118.
His face darkened.
"We're close."
Maya frowned.
"Close to what?"
Elias stayed silent for several seconds.
Then answered quietly—
"The place where Orion buried its sins."
Silence.
Even the elevator suddenly felt colder.
DING.
The elevator finally stopped.
LEVEL ZERO ACCESSED.
The massive steel doors slowly opened.
CRRRRRRKKKK…
And everyone froze.
Darkness.
An endless underground city hidden beneath the mountains.
Gigantic metal corridors stretched into the shadows.
Broken laboratory chambers lined both sides endlessly.
Glass tubes.
Blood stains.
Rust.
Children's handprints.
Maya's breathing stopped.
"Oh God…"
Kabir stared in horror.
"What… is this place…?"
Elias answered softly—
"The birthplace of HADES."
Far away inside the darkness—
Something screamed.
Not human.
Not animal.
Something broken.
Maya instinctively grabbed Arman's hand.
Without thinking—
he held hers back.
That tiny moment made her chest ache.
Because for the first time…
Arman held someone's hand like he was afraid to lose them.
Eren suddenly stopped walking.
His visor flickered violently.
FLASH.
A child crying inside a glass tank.
FLASH.
Electric restraints.
FLASH.
A scientist whispering—
"Prototype 001 aggression unstable."
Eren grabbed his head painfully.
"...too loud…"
Kabir immediately moved toward him.
"Hey—hey, breathe—"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
BOOOOM!!
A shockwave exploded from Eren's armor.
The corridor lights shattered instantly.
Maya stumbled backward.
Kabir hit the wall hard.
Arman immediately stepped forward.
"EREN!"
But Eren looked terrified now.
Not violent.
Terrified.
His mechanical voice trembled.
"...they're screaming again…"
Silence.
Then everyone heard it.
Soft voices.
Children.
Crying somewhere deep underground.
Maya's face turned pale.
"No…"
Elias slowly looked toward the dark corridor ahead.
"They kept the survivors alive…"
Kabir whispered—
"Survivors…?"
Then suddenly—
A weak tiny voice echoed through the darkness.
"...help…"
Everyone froze.
A small figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
A little girl.
Barefoot.
Wearing a torn hospital gown.
Her shaved head was covered in surgical scars.
And around her neck—
a HADES control collar blinked weakly.
Maya's eyes filled instantly.
"She's just a child…"
The girl stared at Arman silently.
Then suddenly—
she smiled weakly.
"Big brother…"
Arman froze.
His heartbeat stopped.
FLASH!
A tiny hand grabbing his sleeve.
"Don't leave me…"
FLASH END.
Arman staggered backward.
"No…"
The little girl tilted her head innocently.
"You came back…"
Then suddenly—
dozens of tiny footsteps echoed through the darkness.
One by one—
children emerged from the shadows.
Boys.
Girls.
Small bodies covered in scars.
Mechanical implants fused into flesh.
Dead empty eyes.
Kabir looked horrified.
"Oh my God…"
Maya couldn't breathe anymore.
Because none of them looked angry.
None of them looked violent.
They just looked broken.
One small boy quietly walked toward Eren.
Unlike everyone else—
he wasn't afraid.
He gently touched Eren's massive armored hand.
Then whispered softly—
"Does it still hurt…?"
Eren froze completely.
The child smiled weakly.
"They hurt me too."
Something inside Eren shattered.
He immediately turned away.
But his shoulders were shaking violently.
He was crying.
Kabir looked like he might throw up.
"This isn't science…"
His voice cracked.
"This is hell…"
Then—
CLAP.
CLAP.
CLAP.
Slow applause echoed through the corridor.
Everyone instantly turned.
A tall man stepped from the shadows calmly.
Elegant black coat.
Silver hair.
Cold eyes.
Director Vale.
The monster behind Orion.
Behind him stood armed soldiers pointing rifles everywhere.
Vale smiled calmly.
"Beautiful, aren't they?"
Arman's entire body went tense.
Kabir's eyes filled with rage.
"You sick bastard…"
But Vale ignored him completely.
His eyes remained locked only on Arman.
"Subject 002."
His smile deepened slightly.
"My greatest success."
Maya immediately stepped in front of Arman protectively.
"Don't touch him."
Vale actually laughed softly.
"Touch him?"
His cold eyes narrowed.
"My dear…"
"He was never yours to begin with."
Silence.
Arman's breathing became unstable.
WARNING.
HADES CORE REACTING.
Vale slowly walked closer.
"These children…"
He gestured calmly around the dark underground facility.
"Humanity abandoned them."
His voice remained horrifyingly gentle.
"So I gave them purpose."
Kabir exploded.
"YOU TURNED THEM INTO MONSTERS!"
Vale looked almost disappointed.
"No."
Then he smiled.
"I turned them into survivors."
Eren suddenly stepped forward.
His visor glowed red again.
"...liar…"
Vale's expression changed slightly.
For the first time—
he looked interested.
"Prototype 001…"
Then he smiled wider.
"Amazing."
"You're becoming emotional."
Eren's fists trembled violently.
"You hurt them…"
Vale calmly adjusted his gloves.
"Yes."
"Pain creates evolution."
Maya looked disgusted.
"You're insane."
Vale looked toward her quietly.
"No."
"I'm realistic."
Then his eyes slowly returned toward Arman.
"And Subject 002 is proof."
Suddenly—
every child around them grabbed their heads simultaneously.
SCREEEEEECH!!
A horrible frequency screamed through the facility.
The children started crying in pain.
Blood leaked from their noses.
Maya panicked.
"What's happening?!"
Elias' face darkened instantly.
"He activated the control signal."
Vale smiled calmly.
"Obedience protocol."
Then—
all the children slowly lifted their heads together.
Their empty eyes turned glowing red.
Kabir whispered—
"No…"
The little girl holding Arman's sleeve smiled sadly.
Then softly said—
"Sorry, big brother…"
WARNING.
KILL MODE ACTIVATED.
And suddenly—
the entire underground facility exploded into chaos.