The first explosion shook the entire facility.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The lights flickered between darkness and emergency red.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Viktor spoke.
"Everyone, positions."
The Volkov siblings reacted instantly.
Mikhail moved toward the entrance.
Dmitri grabbed the nearest terminal.
Nikola disappeared into the shadows.
Yelena watched the cameras.
One glance was enough.
"They're surrounding us."
Roman's expression stayed calm.
"How many?"
Yelena looked at the numbers.
"Enough."
Artyom stood still.
Not frozen.
Thinking.
Because for years, people had come after him for his blood.
His name.
His value.
But this time—
They were coming because he had taken their control away.
Andrei looked at the sealed doors.
"They won't negotiate."
Sergei glanced at him.
"You know them."
Andrei's expression darkened.
"Better than anyone."
Artyom looked between them.
"You worked with them."
It wasn't a question.
Andrei didn't deny it.
"Yes."
A pause.
"Before I realized what they were becoming."
Sergei gave a cold laugh.
"Everyone says that after they lose control."
The tension between them was sharp.
Old.
Personal.
Then—
The main door opened.
Not forced.
Not broken.
Opened.
A man walked in.
No armor.
No weapon.
Just a black coat and calm eyes.
Everyone prepared.
But he didn't attack.
He simply looked around.
At the subjects.
At the families.
At Artyom.
"Interesting."
His gaze settled on him.
"So this is the result."
Viktor stepped forward.
"Name."
The man smiled slightly.
"Dr. Elias Voss."
The name meant nothing to Artyom.
But the reaction around him did.
Valentin went pale.
Roman's eyes sharpened.
Andrei looked like he had seen a ghost.
Artyom noticed.
"Who is he?"
No one answered.
Finally—
Andrei spoke.
"The founder."
Silence.
"The first person behind the Origin Project."
Artyom stared.
"You."
Elias looked at him.
"Not exactly."
A pause.
"I created the idea."
His eyes moved around the room.
"They created the empire."
Dmitri quietly scanned him.
"No external security?"
Elias smiled.
"You're checking if I came alone."
A pause.
"I didn't."
The lights went out.
When they returned—
More figures stood behind him.
Not soldiers.
Not normal guards.
Subjects.
Ω-1 stepped back.
"No…"
Artyom looked.
There were more.
Many more.
Elias watched their reaction.
"The project wasn't destroyed."
A pause.
"You only destroyed one facility."
His gaze returned to Artyom.
"The real project was always bigger."
The room became colder.
Subject Prime stepped forward.
For the first time, anger appeared on his face.
"You lied."
Elias looked at him.
"You were never meant to understand."
Prime's expression hardened.
Artyom realized something.
Even Prime—
The one who seemed untouchable—
Was just another person who had been used.
Viktor noticed too.
"Your mistake was thinking they were tools."
Elias looked at him.
"No."
A faint smile.
"My mistake was creating people who could choose."
The words surprised everyone.
Because he sounded almost proud.
Then he looked at Artyom.
"And that is why you are the greatest failure."
The room went silent.
Artyom's eyes narrowed.
"Failure?"
Elias nodded.
"Because you proved my theory wrong."
A pause.
"You became something the project could never create."
"Free."
Before Artyom could respond—
The entire facility shook.
A warning appeared.
CORE DESTABILIZATION
COLLAPSE IN 30 MINUTES
Dmitri looked at the screen.
"They activated the self-destruct."
Everyone turned to Elias.
But he was already walking away.
Artyom stepped forward.
"Where are you going?"
Elias looked back.
"To see if the final experiment survives."