The facility was silent.
Too silent.
After the revelation of Subject Prime, nobody trusted the silence anymore.
Not the machines.
Not the walls.
Not even the air.
Artyom stared at the screen where Subject Prime had disappeared.
A thousand questions filled his mind.
But one kept returning.
Why me?
Viktor stood beside him.
"You're thinking too much."
Artyom glanced at him.
"That's your solution?"
"No."
Viktor's eyes remained on the dark screen.
"My solution is finding who is behind this and ending it."
A small pause.
Then Artyom asked quietly:
"And if the answer is someone we know?"
Viktor didn't answer immediately.
Because they both knew.
The list of suspects was getting smaller.
And more dangerous.
Dmitri suddenly spoke.
"I found something."
Everyone turned.
His screen displayed a hidden file.
Not from the Origin Project.
From years before it.
PROJECT FOUNDATION
PURPOSE: CREATE A SUCCESSOR BEYOND BLOODLINES
Roman's expression changed.
Barely.
But Valentin noticed.
"You knew about this too."
Roman stayed silent.
That silence was enough.
Mikhail stepped forward.
"Everyone in this family has been keeping secrets?"
Yelena's voice was sharp.
"Apparently."
She looked at Roman.
"Even you."
The room became tense.
The Volkov family had survived wars.
Betrayals.
Assassinations.
But this was different.
This was inside their own walls.
Artyom looked at Roman.
"What was I created to replace?"
Roman's gaze moved to him.
Not cold.
Not cruel.
Just tired.
"The old system."
Everyone froze.
Roman continued:
"Bloodlines have ruled for generations."
A pause.
"Volkov. Sokolov. Morozov."
His eyes hardened.
"But every empire eventually collapses."
Artyom frowned.
"So they wanted a new one."
Roman nodded.
"One person who could unite every bloodline."
Silence.
Viktor looked at Artyom.
"And they chose you."
Before Artyom could answer—
The facility shook violently.
The lights went red.
Dmitri looked at the system.
His face changed.
"Someone activated the core."
Nikola immediately asked:
"Where?"
Dmitri looked down.
"Below us."
Another message appeared on every screen.
FINAL PHASE: INITIATED
SUCCESSOR SELECTION BEGINNING
Ω-2 stepped back.
"No."
Artyom looked at them.
"What?"
Ω-2's expression turned pale.
"The system is going to choose."
A pause.
"Not between subjects."
The machines around them began powering up.
"Between empires."
The doors opened beneath them.
A hidden staircase appeared.
Leading deeper.
Valentin's voice was quiet.
"The last level."
Andrei's voice suddenly came through the speakers.
Everyone froze.
"Artyom."
The voice was different.
Urgent.
Afraid.
"You need to leave."
Artyom stepped closer to the speaker.
"You knew this would happen."
A pause.
Then Andrei answered:
"Yes."
The entire room went still.
"I knew the day you entered that facility…"
A crack of static.
"…the project would wake up."
Artyom's expression hardened.
"Why didn't you stop me?"
Silence.
Long enough to hurt.
Then Andrei said:
"Because only you could destroy it."
The line went dead.
The staircase below opened wider.
Darkness waiting.
Viktor looked at Artyom.
"Ready?"
Artyom stared into the unknown.
At the truth waiting below.
"No."
A pause.
"But I'm going."
And he stepped down.