Episode 96
The morning sunlight spilled through the half-shuttered windows of the safe house. A soft breeze fluttered the curtains, brushing across Aria's cheek as she slowly opened her eyes. For the first time in days, her body didn't ache with poison or fear. But her heart remained heavy.
Raian sat at the edge of her bed, back straight, fingers laced together. He didn't notice she was awake until she touched his hand.
"Hey," she whispered.
He turned instantly, expression softening with a rare tenderness. "Hey."
She studied him. The dark circles under his eyes. The tension in his jaw. "You haven't slept."
"I didn't want to," he said. "Not until I saw you smile again."
A faint one touched her lips. "I'm okay now."
"No," he said, brushing hair from her face. "You're alive. That's different from okay."
Her throat tightened. "You risked everything for me."
"I'll keep risking it," he said firmly. "Until there's nothing left to threaten us."
A knock on the door interrupted them. It was Ayan.
Raian stood. "What is it?"
Ayan hesitated. "We need to talk. Alone."
Raian turned back to Aria. "Rest. I'll be back."
---
Command Room
The table was filled with printed files, surveillance captures, and confidential dossiers.
Ishaan stood at the screen, replaying the satellite footage of Malik's coastal base.
Ayan crossed his arms. "We analyzed the heat signatures from last night. There's activity underground. Something big. Bigger than we've seen."
Lina stepped in, voice low. "They've begun live testing on a new subject."
Raian narrowed his eyes. "Another bioweapon?"
"No. A person," Lina said. "Someone enhanced. Augmented. Not natural."
Raian frowned. "Do we know who?"
Ishaan stepped forward, his face grim. "Subject 03. Male. Approximately twenty-five. High cellular regeneration. Near-complete compatibility with the Seraph Serum."
Raian's eyes widened.
"That's impossible," he whispered. "That serum killed everyone it touched."
"Except this one," Lina said. "And there's something else."
She laid down a photo.
It was a blurry image, captured through the mist of Malik's chamber. A young man with silver veins beneath his skin, eyes closed in a cryogenic pod.
Raian stared at it.
It was like looking into a mirror.
Ishaan said it aloud. "He looks like you."
Raian turned to them. "That's because he is me."
Silence fell.
Ayan's voice was barely audible. "You're saying... he's your clone?"
"No," Raian said slowly. "He's my brother."
---
Flashback – 17 years ago
The rain pelted the rooftops as a young Raian crouched in the hallway of the estate, listening to his father scream behind closed doors.
"You said both subjects would survive!"
"They weren't meant to be raised together," a man's voice responded. "The other was harvested for experimentation."
The door slammed open. A scientist stumbled out, bleeding from the nose. Raian's father emerged, furious.
"He was my son!"
Raian, only eight, watched from the shadows.
That was the first time he heard the name: Subject 03.
---
Back to present
Ayan sat down slowly. "So Malik... has your brother?"
"He never died," Raian said hollowly. "They told me he didn't survive birth. But now it makes sense. Why the foundation had missing records. Why I always felt... incomplete."
Lina's hands trembled slightly as she flipped through the data. "He's not just alive. He's being weaponized."
Raian looked toward the door—toward Aria's room.
"They'll come for her again. And this time, it won't be to test my limits."
Ishaan met his gaze. "What do we do?"
Raian didn't blink. "We move her. Tonight."
---
That night – Hidden roads near Mount Seoraksan
The black SUV moved quietly through winding roads, flanked by two armored bikes.
Raian drove, Aria beside him, still weak but alert. Ayan and Lina followed close in the second car, covering their tracks.
"Where are we going?" Aria asked softly.
"To the only place Malik doesn't know," Raian said. "My mother's land. It's off-grid, untraceable. No comms. No surveillance."
Aria leaned her head against the window. "Is it safe?"
He glanced at her. "With me, always."
She reached out and held his hand.
---
Meanwhile – Malik's facility
The chamber hissed again. This time, the man inside stirred.
Blue veins faded as his skin returned to a more human shade. He opened his eyes—silver and sharp.
Malik stood beside him. "Do you know who you are?"
The young man sat up slowly, voice like a low echo. "No."
Malik smiled.
"You are the future. You are perfection. You are Ashen."
The name echoed through the room.
Ashen blinked slowly. "What... do you want from me?"
Malik stepped forward. "To kill a man."
He held up a photo—Raian's.
"Your brother."