Chapter 29: Beneath the Silence
The tunnels were narrower here. Colder.
Rhea wiped blood from her cheek as she led the team into the lower sectors of Vira's stronghold. The silence around them was unnatural—too thick, too still, like the facility itself was waiting.
"We're close," Luca said, checking the schematics he'd downloaded from the destroyed console. "Gamma Sublevel. That's where they took Elira."
Nira's fists clenched. "Then that's where we end this."
Jude limped beside her, still recovering but refusing to be left behind. "Let's get her back. Before they turn her into something she's not."
Kael glanced behind them, eyes alert. "I don't like how quiet it is."
He was right to be cautious.
Something watched them.
---
Gamma Sublevel
Elira ran through the sterile white corridors, barefoot and breathless, her pulse echoing louder than the alarms blaring above her.
She had no map.
Only instinct.
Every wall, every light, every turn burned in her memory like scars. This place had been her cage once. She remembered the lullabies the scientists used to play. The way they would smile as they hurt her.
She wouldn't let them touch her again.
As she turned a corner, two guards appeared.
They raised their weapons.
Too late.
Elira thrust out her hand—blue energy surged, freezing their guns midair. With another pulse, they collapsed, unconscious.
She didn't stop running.
Every second mattered now.
---
The Shadows Return
Meanwhile, the rest of the team descended deeper, passing through rooms lined with containment tanks—some broken, some still active.
Inside the tanks floated… failed experiments.
"God," Kael muttered. "They were building an army."
Rhea walked past one tank slowly. Inside, a girl not older than ten lay still, tubes in her arms, wires in her skull.
"She's still breathing," Rhea said quietly.
Nira stopped. "We can't save them all."
"But maybe we can stop this," Jude said. "For good."
Then the lights flickered.
Luca cursed. "They know we're here."
From the far end of the hallway… came footsteps.
Not running.
Walking.
Confident.
Nira turned, her blood freezing.
It was Nyx.
Alive. Unharmed. And smiling.
---
Sister to Sister
Elira stumbled into a dark chamber with circular walls and a cracked dome ceiling. At the center sat a console covered in dust and fingerprints.
She approached slowly, her hand brushing over the controls.
They responded to her touch.
Screens lit up—files unlocked.
PROJECT ECLIPSE
Subject: Nira Ellen
Subject: Elira Saren
Subject: Nyx-001
Names. Pictures. Notes. Memories.
And then she saw it:
> IF ELIRA SAREN AWAKENS, INITIATE PHASE DUALITY.
MERGE HER WITH NYX. ONE MIND. ONE POWER.
Her knees buckled.
They never wanted her to win.
They wanted her to become something else.
"Elira."
She turned.
And there stood Nira—her eyes wide, chest heaving.
Behind her, Jude, Kael, Rhea, Luca.
They had come.
"Elira," Nira said again, falling to her knees, tears brimming.
Elira couldn't breathe.
"I thought—" Nira started.
But Elira threw her arms around her, sobbing.
"I thought I was alone."
"You're never alone," Nira whispered. "Not again."
---
The Truth Burns
They didn't have time to breathe before another figure entered the chamber.
Nyx.
No longer smiling.
Her eyes flickered. Her skin cracked at the edges, barely holding together.
"You broke the loop," she said.
"No," Elira whispered. "You were never meant to be a weapon."
Nyx's face twisted in pain. "They made me forget who I was. And now… I remember everything."
Kael raised his weapon. "Back off—"
But Elira stepped forward.
"She's not the enemy."
Nyx's shoulders trembled. "I don't want to fight you. I want to die."
Nira stepped beside her. "We can find another way."
But before anyone could respond—
The walls shook violently.
Luca shouted, "System overload! Vira triggered a meltdown—this whole place is going to explode!"
---
Race Against Fire
They ran.
Lights burst around them, flames eating through walls. Sirens screamed as the countdown began.
"Five minutes," Luca gasped. "Then this place becomes ash."
Jude supported Kael, and Nira held Elira's hand tightly as they sprinted through the final corridor.
Nyx followed, silent, shadow-like.
They burst into the hangar just as Vira's private ship was powering up.
"Get on!" Rhea shouted.
But behind them—Vira emerged, gun drawn.
"You think you've won?"
she screamed.
Elira turned, stepping between Vira and her sister.
"No. We changed the game."
She raised her hand—and blue light burst forward.
The hangar exploded in color and sound.
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