The path to Sector Zero wasn't a trail.
It was a warning.
Every tree leaned inward, their branches arching like ribs around a spine of overgrown soil. The deeper they walked, the colder the air became, as if the forest itself recognized Ash and whispered his name through the leaves.
Silva wiped sweat from her forehead despite the falling temperature.
"This stretch wasn't like this the last time I came."
Palo glanced around uneasily, keeping Ash close.
"What changed?"
The Founder answered without stopping.
"Him."
Ash's steps faltered.
"Me?"
"The locks waking up," the Founder said.
"Sector Zero is reacting. It was built to track your core, even before you had a name."
Palo tightened his grip on Ash's arm.
"Let's stay together. Don't wander."
Ash nodded.
But the link made staying calm difficult.
Every time fear rose in him, Palo felt it.
Every time Palo tensed, Ash's chest squeezed painfully.
The feedback loop simmered just beneath the surface.
Silva slowed, crouching near a patch of disturbed soil.
"Footprints," she whispered.
"Not Hunter boots. Something heavier."
The copy knelt beside her, frowning.
"System drones?"
"No." Silva pointed at the shape.
"Something shaped like them… but not standard."
Ash's skin prickled.
"Modified?"
The Founder didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
They all knew.
Someone else had been tampering with the system.
Someone who wanted Sector Zero open.
Palo leaned closer to Ash.
"Are you okay?"
Ash swallowed hard.
"Yes. Just…"
His voice trailed off.
The ground beneath his feet vibrated faintly
not enough for the others to notice,
but enough for the locks inside him to stir.
A soft hum pulsed through his ribs like a heartbeat that wasn't his.
Silva noticed his shoulders tense.
"Ash? What do you feel?"
He breathed shakily.
"It's… calling me."
The copy's face darkened.
"So Sector Zero is awake."
They continued forward until the trees abruptly parted, revealing a massive circular clearing. At the center stood a rusted steel hatch sunk into the earth, nearly the size of a house.
No handle.
No keypad.
No door seams.
Just a flat, unbroken surface of blackened metal, scarred , but still humming faintly.
Palo stared, confused.
"That's a door?"
Silva nodded.
"The original entrance. It only responds to one thing."
Ash felt the pull intensify, dragging him a step forward without his permission.
"Me," he whispered.
He didn't want to move closer.
But the door did.
It reacted to his presence,
lines of faint silver beginning to trace across the metal surface, forming curves and symbols that mirrored the ones inside him.
The Founder stepped back immediately.
"Everyone behind Ash. Do NOT touch him."
Palo hesitated.
"But..."
Silva grabbed his sleeve.
"Palo. The link won't protect you from the unlocking protocol. Move."
Reluctantly, Palo shifted behind Ash, one hand still hovering near him like he could catch him from behind if anything happened.
Ash took a breath.
The silver lines on the hatch glowed brighter.
Then the symbol on his wrist,
the one he didn't choose,
flared with the same light.
Ash gasped as pain lanced through his armbrief but sharp enough to make his knees buckle.
Palo lunged forward.
"Ash!"
Silva yanked him back.
"DON'T touch him!"
The lock's pulse spread from Ash's wrist into the metal, and the entire clearing shook with a low, metallic groan.
The hatch split down the center for the first time in years.
Air hissed out.. cold, stale, chemical.
Palo's voice trembled.
"What's down there?"
The copy's eyes were grim.
"Everything he wasn't supposed to know."
The Founder looked at Ash with a fear he didn't hide this time.
"Ash… once we enter, you might see things that hurt. Things about your creation. Things about your mother."
Ash's breath caught.
"My… mother?"
Silva stepped forward, placing a hand near his shoulder...close, but not touching him.
"You might find answers. But the truth won't be kind."
Palo moved to Ash's side again, their shoulders almost touching despite the danger.
"I'm with you," he whispered.
"No matter what we find."
Ash's heart throbbed painfully.
Through the link, Palo felt it too.
The hatch finished opening with a deafening clang, revealing a staircase descending into darkness.
Sector Zero.
The place Ash came from.
The place that wanted him back.
Ash inhaled, trembling.
"Let's go."
And with Palo's steadying presence behind him, he stepped into the darkness,
toward the truth he feared
and the past that finally opened its eyes.