The battlefield had become silent.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Stella stood in the center of the ruined valley, the glowing Heart Crystal hanging around her neck.
Its white light illuminated the shattered battlefield.
Omega stared at it.
For the first time since its arrival, the creature looked uneasy.
Lucien noticed immediately.
"What is wrong?" he asked.
Omega didn't answer.
Its eyes remained fixed on the crystal.
The strange symbols inside it continued rotating slowly.
As though something hidden within had finally awakened.
Raven stepped beside Stella.
"What did you see?"
Stella looked toward him.
"My mother."
Everyone froze.
Even Subject 13 looked surprised.
Stella slowly explained everything.
The Founder.
Her father.
Project Evolution.
And the revelation that Omega was only a prototype.
When she finished, silence filled the valley.
Lucien's face had gone pale.
"Impossible."
Subject 13 frowned.
"What aren't you telling us?"
Lucien clenched his fists.
For the first time, confidence disappeared from his face.
"Those records were destroyed."
Raven narrowed his eyes.
"What records?"
Lucien hesitated.
Omega suddenly spoke.
"The Genesis Project."
The name echoed through the battlefield.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Stella looked confused.
"What is Genesis?"
Omega slowly spread its wings.
A strange sadness appeared in its eyes.
"It was the first attempt."
The Heart Crystal glowed brighter.
As if reacting.
Subject 13 looked between them.
"First attempt at what?"
Omega stared at the crimson sky.
"Creating a god."
Silence.
Nobody knew what to say.
The words sounded insane.
Yet something about Omega's voice made Stella believe it.
Lucien lowered his head.
"We were never supposed to talk about that."
The First Agent suddenly emerged from the destroyed forest.
His clothes were torn.
Blood covered parts of his body.
But he was alive.
And angry.
"Then maybe it's time someone did."
Everyone turned toward him.
The First Agent's eyes burned with hatred.
"The Founder wasn't trying to create soldiers."
He pointed toward Omega.
"He wasn't trying to create weapons."
Then he pointed toward Stella.
"He wasn't trying to create Blood Agents."
Stella's heart pounded.
"Then what was he trying to create?"
The First Agent looked toward the distant mountains.
His expression darkened.
"A replacement for humanity."
Thunder echoed far away.
The crimson sky darkened further.
The atmosphere suddenly felt colder.
More dangerous.
Omega closed its eyes.
As if remembering something painful.
"The Founder believes humans are flawed."
Nobody spoke.
Omega continued.
"He believes emotions create suffering."
"That's ridiculous," Subject 13 said.
Omega looked at her.
"To him, pain is proof."
The creature raised a hand.
Images suddenly appeared in the air.
Wars.
Disasters.
People hurting one another.
Death.
Loss.
Hatred.
The world at its worst.
"The Founder believes humanity must evolve."
The images shifted.
Blood Agents.
Experiments.
Omega.
Stella.
The Founder had spent decades trying to force that evolution.
Raven clenched his fists.
"He created monsters."
Omega looked directly at him.
"No."
Its voice became quiet.
"He created victims."
Silence.
For the first time, Stella saw something unexpected in Omega.
Regret.
The creature wasn't proud.
It was broken.
Just like Raven.
Just like Subject 13.
Just like her.
Before anyone could speak—
BOOOOOOM!
The ground shook violently.
Everyone lost balance.
Cracks spread across the battlefield.
The mountains in the distance began trembling.
The Heart Crystal suddenly blazed with light.
Stella grabbed it.
"What now?"
The First Agent's eyes widened.
"No..."
A second explosion erupted.
Much larger.
A giant shockwave rolled across the horizon.
Entire sections of forest collapsed.
Birds fled into the sky.
Something was coming.
Something massive.
Far beyond the mountains.
Omega slowly turned.
Its expression became serious.
"He's awake."
Stella frowned.
"Who?"
No one answered.
Then a deep roar echoed across the world.
Not a roar of anger.
Not a roar of rage.
A roar of awakening.
The sound shook the earth itself.
Every Blood Agent on the battlefield felt it.
The First Agent froze.
Raven froze.
Subject 13 froze.
Even Omega looked concerned.
The roar came again.
Closer.
Louder.
Older.
Then the Heart Crystal projected a single image into the sky.
A giant facility hidden beneath the mountains.
Ancient.
Forgotten.
Sealed.
At its center was a gigantic chamber.
And inside that chamber
something enormous was opening its eyes.
The image vanished.
Lucien stumbled backward.
"No..."
The First Agent looked horrified.
"The Genesis Project."
Stella's heartbeat accelerated.
The name again.
"What is Genesis?"
The First Agent finally answered.
His voice barely above a whisper.
"The first successful creation."
The ground trembled again.
Crimson lightning split the sky.
Omega stared toward the mountains.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared in its eyes.
"It wasn't supposed to wake up."
Stella looked at everyone.
Nobody looked hopeful.
Nobody looked confident.
They looked terrified.
And that terrified her.
Because if Omega was afraid
then whatever had awakened beyond the mountains might be even worse.
Far away, hidden within the ancient facility, a giant metallic door slowly opened.
A shadow stepped forward.
Ancient eyes glowed in the darkness.
And a deep voice echoed through the chamber:
"Locate Subject Stella."
The eyes burned brighter.
"Bring her to me."