[Day 70 Post-Awakening | LE: 1,512/10,000 | Time Remaining: 30 Days]
SCENE 1: MIRA'S FUNERAL
[0800 Hours | Safe House Rooftop]
We burned her body.
Resistance tradition. No graves. No markers.
Just ash and memory.
Aria spoke first.
"Mira Chen. Codename: Ghost. Killed more Helix assets than anyone in this room." Her voice was steady. "She didn't believe in speeches. So I'll keep this short."
She poured gasoline on the pyre.
"You were a pain in the ass, Mira. Stubborn. Paranoid. Right about almost everything."
She lit the match.
"I'll miss you."
The flames rose.
Kiera stepped forward.
Didn't speak. Just placed a knife on the pyre—one of Mira's throwing blades.
"For the road," she muttered.
Selene was next.
She held a small data chip.
"Mira's personal logs. Encrypted. She made me promise to delete them if she died." Selene's hands shook. "But I'm keeping them. Because someone should remember who she really was."
She pocketed the chip.
Didn't say anything else.
I was last.
Stood before the fire. Watched Mira's body turn to smoke.
And I had nothing.
No words. No eulogy.
Just the memory of her last smile.
"Liar."
I turned to the others.
"Mira died because I hesitated. Because I showed mercy to someone who betrayed us." My voice was raw. "I won't make that mistake again."
Aria's eyes narrowed. "Ethan—"
"No." I looked at her. At all of them. "Voss is coming back. And next time, I won't let anyone else die for my choices."
Selene touched my arm. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying... when Voss returns, I'm ending this. Permanently."
[Ethan's Resolve: HARDENING]
[Humanity Meter: 68% → 61% (Mira's death has shifted his moral compass)]
[Foreshadowing: Ethan is moving toward "necessary evil" territory]
SCENE 2: VOSS'S TRANSMISSION — THE OFFER
[1200 Hours | Command Center]
The screen flickered to life.
Dr. Marcus Voss.
He sat in a sterile lab—white walls, surgical lights, cold.
"Mr. Cross. I assume you've recovered from our... disagreement."
I didn't answer.
Just stared.
He smiled.
"I want to clarify something. I don't hate you, Ethan. In fact, I admire you. You've done what I spent twenty years trying to do: create a sustainable Primordial ecosystem."
"Get to the point, Voss."
"The point is this: you're dying. Thirty days left. And when you die, your Primordials will collapse. Without a Sovereign, they'll revert to feral aggression. Kill each other. Kill innocents."
He leaned forward.
"But I can save them."
Selene stepped into frame.
"Don't listen to him, Ethan—"
Voss's eyes flicked to her. "Selene. Still wasting your remaining months on a lost cause?"
"He's not—"
"He IS." Voss's voice hardened. "And so are you. Verdant Syndrome. Stage 3. You have six months. Maybe less."
He pulled up a holographic scan—Selene's body, riddled with green veins.
"But I have the cure. Gene therapy. Experimental, but effective. I can save you, daughter."
Selene's face went white.
"...What's the cost?"
"Come home. Bring Ethan's research. And I'll cure you both."
I stepped forward.
"You're lying."
"Am I?" Voss pulled up another screen—Ethan's brain scan. "Your cerebral cortex is 64% lignified. In thirty days, you'll be a vegetable. But my neural shunts can halt the process. Keep you functional. Human."
He met my eyes.
"I'm offering you life, Ethan. For you. For Selene. For your Primordials."
"In exchange for what?"
"Your loyalty. Your expertise. And your Network."
Aria drew her knife.
"He's baiting you, Ethan. Don't—"
"I'm offering a partnership." Voss's voice was calm. "Together, we could reshape humanity. Primordials as the foundation of a new ecosystem. Guided by rational minds. Not emotional attachments."
He stood.
"You have twenty-four hours to decide. After that, I'll assume your answer is 'no.' And I'll take what I need by force."
The screen went dark.
[DECISION POINT UNLOCKED: Accept Voss's Offer?]
[Consequence Tree:]
YES: Ethan gains cure, but loses autonomy. Primordials become Helix assets. Selene lives, but enslaved.NO: Ethan continues dying. Voss attacks with full force. Casualties guaranteed.
[Selene is SILENT | Aria is FURIOUS | Kiera is CALCULATING]
SCENE 3: THE TEAM FRACTURES — DEBATE
[1400 Hours | War Room]
"We're not even considering this, right?" Aria slammed her fist on the table. "Voss is a psychopath. He'll dissect you the moment you're useful."
"He's also the only one offering a solution," Kiera said quietly. "Ethan's got thirty days. We've got no cure. No backup plan. Just... hope."
"Hope kept us alive this long!"
"Hope doesn't regrow brain matter, Aria."
Selene stood.
"Stop. Both of you."
She looked at me.
"Ethan. If you take this deal... I'll support you. Even if it means going back to him."
"Selene—"
"But you need to know something." Her voice cracked. "My father doesn't make partnerships. He makes experiments. If you go to him, you'll never leave."
Lira's voice came through the Network.
"Sovereign. The Primordials have debated this. We offer a third option."
I closed my eyes. Focused on her signal.
"Speak."
"We... dissolve the Network. Permanently. Sever the connection. You die human. We survive as independent organisms."
My eyes snapped open.
"What?"
"Thorn proposed it. If the Network dies with you, we are free. We can evolve beyond your design. Become... something new."
"Lira, that's—"
"LOGICAL." Her voice was hard. "You taught us to survive, Sovereign. This is survival."
I stood.
Walked to the window.
Stared out at the ruined city.
"So my choices are: sell myself to Voss, die and doom you all, or... let you abandon me."
Silence.
Then Aria: "There's a fourth option."
I turned.
She was smiling. Sharp. Dangerous.
"We kill Voss. Take his cure. By force."
Kiera laughed.
"That's insane. Voss has an army—"
"So do we." Aria looked at me. "You've got thirteen Primordials. I've got Resistance contacts. Kiera's got black-market access. We hit Helix's central lab, extract the cure, and burn the rest."
"That's a suicide mission—"
"So is doing nothing."
I looked at each of them.
Aria. Fierce. Ready to burn the world.
Kiera. Calculating. Already planning infiltration routes.
Selene. Torn. Terrified. But present.
And through the Network—
Lira. Thorn. Ember. All watching.
Waiting for my choice.
I closed my eyes.
Took a breath.
And made the only decision I could.
"We raid Helix. We take the cure. And we make Voss regret ever threatening my family."
[DECISION LOCKED: OPTION 4 — Assault Helix Central Lab]
[Consequence: HIGH-RISK | Casualties likely | Success NOT guaranteed]
[Team Morale: +40% (unified purpose)]
[Aria Loyalty: +20% | Kiera Respect: +15% | Selene Fear: +30%]
[LE Cost (Preparation): -78 → LE: 1,434/10,000]
[Time to Operation: 48 hours]
SCENE 4: SELENE'S PRIVATE CONFESSION
[2200 Hours | Selene's Lab]
I found her staring at her own medical scans.
Green veins. Creeping through lungs, liver, heart.
Stage 3 Verdant Syndrome.
She didn't notice me at first.
"How long have you known?" I asked.
She jumped. Turned.
"Ethan. I—"
"How long, Selene?"
Her shoulders sagged.
"Three weeks. Since the Shanghai raid. My immune system started rejecting human tissue. It's accelerating."
"And you didn't tell me."
"You were dying faster. What was I supposed to do? Add to your guilt?"
I walked to her.
Took the scanner from her hands.
Looked at the scan.
She had six months.
I had thirty days.
We were both running out of time.
"If we don't get the cure," I said quietly, "you're coming with me. I'm not leaving you behind."
"Ethan—"
"I mean it." I cupped her face. "If I die, you're not spending your last months alone in a Helix lab. You're spending them with people who love you."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You can't save everyone, Ethan."
"Watch me."
She kissed me.
Soft. Desperate. Like it might be the last time.
And when we broke apart, she whispered:
"Promise me something."
"Anything."
"If this raid fails... if my father captures us... don't let him turn me into an experiment. End it. Quickly."
I stared.
"Selene—"
"Promise me."
I held her gaze.
Violet eyes. Terrified. Resolute.
"...I promise."
[Selene Voss: DEATH PACT established | Foreshadowing: Raid will force Ethan to choose]
[Romance: DEEPENED (desperation + mortality = emotional intensity)]
SCENE 5: VOSS'S MASTERSTROKE — THE REVEAL
[Day 71 | 0600 Hours | Encrypted Helix Transmission — INTERCEPTED]
Kiera burst into my room.
"Ethan—wake up. Now."
I sat up. "What—"
"Voss just sent a global broadcast. Every Resistance cell. Every Primordial research site. Every government."
She pulled up a screen.
Dr. Marcus Voss's face filled the display.
Behind him: a Primordial.
But not like mine.
This one was human-shaped. Armored in layered bark. Eyes glowing blue.
No mouth. No soul.
Pure weapon.
Voss spoke:
"To all who oppose Helix Corporation: witness the future."
The Primordial raised its hand.
A LE blast erupted—disintegrating a steel wall in the background.
"This is Primordial Unit Omega. Designed without the... flaws... of biological Sovereigns. No emotions. No hesitation. No mercy."
He smiled.
"We have twenty-four of them. And in seventy-two hours, we will deploy them to every major city. Resistance cells will be eliminated. Rogue Primordials will be harvested."
He looked directly into the camera.
"Ethan Cross. You wanted to prove Primordials could be family. I'll prove they can beWEAPONS*."*
The transmission ended.
Silence.
Then Aria: "...We're fucked."
Kiera nodded. "Completely."
I stood.
Looked at them both.
"Then we hit him now. Before he deploys them."
"Ethan, we need more time—"
"We DON'T HAVE TIME!" I slammed my fist on the table—bark splintering wood. "If those things go active, millions die. We move. Today."
Selene entered.
"I know where they're being held. Helix Sub-Level Vault. Shanghai Central."
"How do you—"
"My father used to take me there. As a child. He wanted me to see his 'greatest work.'" Her face was pale. "I can get us in."
I looked at the team.
Aria. Kiera. Selene.
And through the Network—my Primordials.
Battered. Traumatized. But ready.
"Gear up. We leave in one hour."
[FINAL MISSION TRIGGERED: "OMEGA PROTOCOL"]
[Objective: Infiltrate Helix Vault | Destroy Omega Units | Extract Cure | SURVIVE]
[Probability of Success: 22%]
[LE: 1,434/10,000 | Time Remaining: 29 Days]