The Core Archive door pulsed like a heartbeat.
Ash stared at the glowing symbol etched in the metal—
the same symbol on his wrist, only older, sharper, carved with purpose.
The Founder stepped forward, voice tight.
"Ash… the First Lock is the foundation of your entire core. It's the one that defines your baseline. Opening it won't be like the others."
Palo glanced at Ash, worry rising in the link like a tightening band.
"What does that mean? Is it dangerous?"
Silva hesitated.
"It's not just dangerous. It's irreversible."
The copy crossed his arms.
"Everything down here is irreversible."
Silva ignored him.
"Ash, if you open the First Lock… you're choosing to override whatever the Project built you to be."
Ash's breath caught.
"Override?"
Palo's eyes widened.
"You mean… he stops being the version they created?"
Silva nodded slowly.
"Yes. He becomes his own version. But the transition might be rough."
The Founder added quietly:
"And the facility will respond to the activation. It may try to stop you."
Palo's hands curled into fists.
"Then we'll stop it."
Ash swallowed, stepping closer to the door.
The symbol flared in recognition.
The lock inside him pulsed.
"Why is this one different?" he whispered.
Silva answered gently:
"Because your mother designed it."
Ash froze.
"My… mother?"
The Founder nodded.
"The First Lock wasn't created by the Project. She built it secretly, encoded it into your core before they noticed."
Silva's eyes softened.
"She left you something inside this lock. A message, a protection… something she hoped you'd find one day."
Ash looked down at his trembling hands.
"She wanted me to open it."
"Eventually," Silva said softly.
"When you were ready."
Palo stepped beside him—close, steady, grounding.
"Are you ready?"
Ash didn't answer with words.
He raised his hand.
His wrist symbol glowed in response.
The facility lights flickered violently—
as if the whole place was waking up in alarm.
The Core Archive door brightened.
The symbol on Ash's skin burned with light—
not pain, but pressure, like something was pushing up through him, trying to break the surface.
His breathing hitched.
Palo reached out (careful not to touch him).
"Ash—hey—don't force yourself. If you're scared, you don't have to—"
But Ash shook his head, voice thin but determined.
"I have to. I need to know the truth."
The symbol on the door began to rotate like a mechanical iris, unlocking layer after layer.
Silva's breath caught.
"It's responding… faster than I expected."
The copy backed away a step.
"That's not a good sign."
The room trembled.
A low alarm hummed through the floor.
The Founder cursed softly.
"The facility is trying to counter the activation!"
Panels along the walls opened automatically—
revealing dormant scanners, monitors, and mechanical limbs sparking with sudden power.
Silva grabbed Palo's arm.
"Keep him steady! If Ash loses focus, the lock could backlash!"
Palo's voice went sharp.
"Ash—listen to me! Breathe. Stay with me."
Ash tried—
but the lock inside him surged like a rising tide.
The room blurred.
Voices warped.
And then—
A voice pierced through the noise.
Soft.
Warm.
Familiar in a way he couldn't explain.
"Ash… my son."
He staggered, gasping.
Palo lunged forward instinctively but stopped just before touching him, tears pricking his eyes from helplessness.
"Ash! What's happening?!"
Ash stared at the door in shock.
"I… I hear her."
Silva froze.
"His mother's message."
The symbol flashed—
And suddenly, an image flickered across the door's surface.
Not clear.
Not whole.
A silhouette of a woman—long hair, gentle posture, blurred by static.
Her voice echoed again.
"If you're seeing this… then they didn't stop you. Then you're alive."
Ash's chest tightened painfully.
Palo felt it through the link, clutching his own chest involuntarily.
Silva covered her mouth.
The Founder bowed his head.
The woman's voice grew stronger.
"Ash, I made the First Lock to protect you. To hide the truth from them… and from you… until you were strong enough to choose your own path."
Ash took a shaking breath.
"Mom…?"
The silhouette flickered.
"You were never meant to be their weapon. Never meant to be controlled."
The walls around them shook harder.
The facility fought the activation.
The lights blared red.
Mechanical limbs started moving.
But Ash couldn't look away.
The image leaned closer, like reaching through the door.
"Ash… if you open this lock… you will become something they cannot predict. Something only you can define."
Palo whispered fiercely:
"Then open it. We'll handle whatever comes."
Ash closed his eyes.
"Okay."
He pressed his palm fully onto the symbol.
A brilliant surge of white-silver light exploded from his wrist into the door.
The chamber roared—
lights bursting, screens shattering, alarms screaming.
The First Lock
clicked
open.
And the door began to rise.
Beyond it—
A cold, glowing chamber pulsed with a light that matched Ash's core exactly.
Silva whispered:
"Oh no…"
The copy stepped back.
The Founder's face went pale.
Palo leaned forward, horror dawning.
Ash stared at what was inside the chamber—
—and felt his heart stop.
Inside the core room…
Another symbol identical to his was pulsing on a massive suspended device.
And beneath it… something was moving.
Someone.