The staircase seemed endless.
Each step carried them deeper into the facility.
Deeper into a truth nobody wanted to find.
Artyom walked ahead.
Not because he wasn't afraid.
Because he was tired of running from answers.
Behind him—
Viktor.
Roman.
Valentin.
The Volkov siblings.
Ω-1, Ω-2, and Ω-3.
All following the same path.
All connected to the same secret.
At the bottom, the final door waited.
No lock.
No security.
Just a symbol carved into the metal.
A circle.
Split into three parts.
Dmitri studied it.
"Three bloodlines."
Volkov.
Sokolov.
Morozov.
Artyom touched the symbol.
The door opened instantly.
Inside—
There was no laboratory.
No machines.
No restraints.
Only a room.
A throne-like chair at the center.
And a wall covered in photographs.
Artyom stepped closer.
His breath stopped.
Photos.
Not of experiments.
Of him.
Growing up.
A child.
A teenager.
Every year.
Every moment.
Someone had been watching him his entire life.
Viktor's expression darkened.
"How long?"
No one answered.
Then a voice came from the room.
Not through speakers.
A real voice.
"You finally came."
Everyone turned.
A woman stood in the shadows.
Older.
Calm.
Holding a file.
Valentin froze.
"No…"
The woman looked at him.
"Hello, Valentin."
The room went silent.
Artyom looked between them.
"You know her."
Valentin's face had lost its usual calm.
"Yes."
A pause.
"She was part of the original project."
Roman's eyes narrowed.
"Impossible."
The woman smiled slightly.
"Everyone thought I was gone."
She looked at Artyom.
"But I was waiting for him."
Artyom's voice became cold.
"For what?"
She opened the file.
Inside was one page.
A single title.
SUCCESSOR PROTOCOL
"The project was never about creating an experiment."
She looked at him.
"It was about finding someone capable of carrying every empire's future."
Artyom laughed quietly.
Not happily.
"So another person gets to decide my life?"
The woman shook her head.
"No."
A pause.
"That's why you were chosen."
Everyone stared.
"Because you were the only one who could refuse."
Silence.
Viktor watched Artyom carefully.
Because he understood.
The facility didn't choose the strongest.
It chose the person who could break the cycle.
The woman continued.
"Subject Prime was powerful."
She looked toward the others.
"Ω-1 survived."
"Ω-2 adapted."
"Ω-3 endured."
Her eyes returned to Artyom.
"But you…"
"You chose."
Suddenly—
The room lights changed.
A final file appeared.
SUCCESSOR CONFIRMED
Then—
A second line appeared.
THREAT DETECTED
Dmitri frowned.
"Threat?"
The entire facility shook.
The woman's expression changed.
For the first time—
Fear.
"No."
Artyom looked at her.
"What?"
Her voice dropped.
"He found us."
A sound echoed from the corridor.
Slow footsteps.
Approaching.
Everyone prepared.
But Viktor noticed something.
The woman wasn't looking at the door.
She was looking at Artyom.
Like she knew exactly who was coming.
The door opened.
A familiar voice spoke.
"Artyom."
A pause.
"You really thought I would let you inherit everything?"
Sergei Sokolov stepped inside.
But this time—
He wasn't alone.
Behind him stood Subject Prime.