The voice filled the chamber.
Not a recording.
Not a memory.
A real message.
"The final truth is that I lied too."
Nobody moved.
Artyom stared at the speakers.
His entire life had been a chain of revelations.
Every time he thought he reached the end…
another door opened.
Viktor stepped forward.
"Show yourself."
Silence.
Then Andrei's voice answered.
"I can't."
Artyom's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
A pause.
"Because if you see me now…"
His voice lowered.
"You'll understand why I left."
The room became colder.
Sergei looked at the speakers.
"You're alive."
A long silence.
Then—
"Yes."
The word hit harder than anything.
Valentin closed his eyes.
He already knew.
Roman looked at him.
"You knew."
Valentin didn't deny it.
"I suspected."
Mikhail's expression hardened.
"Everyone knew something."
Yelena quietly said:
"And Artyom was the last person to know about his own life."
The words cut through the room.
And for once—
Nobody defended the secrets.
Artyom walked toward the console.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Talk."
Andrei answered.
"There is one thing the archive didn't show you."
The screen changed.
A new file appeared.
PROJECT ORIGIN — TRUE PURPOSE
Everyone watched.
The file opened.
Not about creating a successor.
Not about power.
A map.
Countries.
Organizations.
Hidden networks.
Dmitri stared.
"This is bigger than the empires."
Andrei continued:
"They weren't trying to create a ruler."
A pause.
"They were trying to prepare for a war."
Artyom frowned.
"What war?"
The answer came slowly.
"The one coming from outside our world."
Silence.
Even Roman looked surprised.
Andrei continued.
"The bloodline system was unstable."
"The families were divided."
"They needed someone who could unite them."
Viktor looked at Artyom.
"Not a king."
A pause.
"A leader."
Artyom looked at the screen.
All this time…
Everyone thought they were fighting over power.
But maybe they were preparing for something worse.
Then—
A new warning appeared.
EXTERNAL THREAT DETECTED
Dmitri immediately checked.
His face changed.
"This isn't connected to the facility."
Nikola asked:
"Then what is it?"
Dmitri looked up.
"A fleet of private aircraft."
Mikhail's hand tightened.
"Whose?"
Dmitri hesitated.
Then:
"Unknown."
The doors locked.
Not by the facility.
By someone outside.
Andrei's voice returned.
"They found you."
Artyom looked at the screen.
"Who?"
A pause.
Then Andrei said:
"The people who were afraid of what you could become."
The lights went dark.
A final message appeared.
NEW OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE THE FIRST NIGHT