The words remained on the screen.
SUBJECT PRIME: THE ORIGINAL
No one spoke.
Because every person in that room understood the same thing.
They had been chasing the wrong mystery.
---
Artyom stared at the feed.
The young man on the screen looked calm.
Too calm.
Like he had been waiting years for this exact moment.
---
"Original?" Artyom finally said.
His voice was cold.
"What does that mean?"
---
The man on the screen smiled faintly.
"It means they started with me."
A pause.
"And built the rest from my design."
---
Ω-1 stepped back.
Their face changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
"You…"
The man looked at them.
"Still alive."
The words sounded almost like disappointment.
---
Viktor moved closer to Artyom.
"Who are you?"
The man's eyes shifted to him.
And for the first time, his expression changed.
Interest.
"You're the Alpha."
A pause.
"The one they were trying to match."
---
The room became tense.
---
Dmitri continued searching the files.
"I'm finding records."
His fingers stopped.
"There's a genetic reference."
Everyone looked at him.
---
Dmitri's voice lowered.
"Subject Prime was created from multiple elite bloodlines."
Roman's expression darkened.
"Which ones?"
---
Dmitri looked up.
"Volkov."
A pause.
"Sokolov."
Another pause.
"Morozov."
---
Silence.
---
Artyom felt something twist inside.
Not surprise.
Not anymore.
Just exhaustion.
Another secret.
Another piece of his existence turned into a weapon.
---
"You're saying we're connected."
The man on the screen answered.
"No."
A pause.
"We're related."
---
The room froze.
---
Viktor's eyes sharpened.
"Explain."
---
The man leaned closer to the camera.
"Artyom Sokolov was never the first attempt."
A pause.
"He was the first success."
---
The words hit differently.
---
Artyom's hands tightened.
"Then why me?"
---
The man looked directly at him.
"Because you had something I never had."
---
Silence.
---
"A choice."
---
For a moment, nobody moved.
---
Then Roman spoke.
"You're lying."
The man smiled slightly.
"Are you sure?"
A pause.
"After everything you hid?"
---
Roman went silent.
Because he knew.
---
Valentin looked away.
Sergei's expression remained unreadable.
And Artyom saw it.
The smallest hesitation.
---
They were all afraid of this person.
Not because of power.
Because of knowledge.
---
Suddenly—
The facility alarms changed.
Not warning.
Recognition.
---
SUBJECT PRIME ACCESS ACCEPTED
REMOTE CONTROL ENABLED
---
Dmitri's face went pale.
"He's taking over the facility."
---
Nikola looked toward the exits.
"Can he lock us in?"
Dmitri answered:
"He already has."
---
The doors slammed shut.
The lights turned white.
The old machines awakened.
---
Ω-2 stepped back.
"No…"
Everyone looked at them.
---
For the first time—
Ω-2 looked genuinely afraid.
---
Artyom noticed.
"What?"
Ω-2 whispered:
"He's not here to kill us."
---
A pause.
---
"He's here to finish us."
---
The screen flickered.
Subject Prime spoke again.
---
"Artyom."
His voice softened.
Almost like a warning.
"You think you escaped the project."
A pause.
"You didn't."
---
The entire facility shook.
---
"You became the final phase."
---