The darkness wasn't silent.
It throbbed.
A deep, rhythmic pulse vibrated through the walls, slow at first, then steadily growing stronger, like something massive stirring after years of stillness.
Seren tightened her grip on Ash's arm.
"Kai, light anything please."
Kai fumbled with his pack, muttering panicked curses until a small emergency flashlight flickered to life. Its weak beam cut through the darkness, revealing fragments of the room but not enough to feel safe.
Model Zero didn't move.
It stood perfectly still, eyes glowing faintly like embers in the dark.
Ash felt that same pull inside him. Not the gentle tug from before, but something sharper, colder. Like a string connecting him to the thing waking beneath them.
"What is that?" Ash whispered.
Model Zero turned to him slowly.
"The origin."
Kai's flashlight shook in his hand. "Origin of what exactly?"
"The project," the copy answered.
"The first experiment. The one they locked away because it was too unstable to control."
Seren swallowed hard. "So we're standing above something that shouldn't exist."
"Yes," Model Zero said.
"And it knows Ash is here."
Seren stiffened. "How? Why him?"
The copy stepped closer, voice low.
"Because Ash carries the half that made the project human. The origin recognizes him as… kin."
Ash's breath stuttered.
"I'm connected to that thing?"
Before Model Zero could answer, the ground beneath them trembled violently.
Seren stumbled; Kai caught her with his free hand, flashlight jerking wildly.
A metallic screech echoed up from the deep levels. Long, drawn out, and unnatural, as if something ancient was dragging itself awake.
"Ash," the copy said, turning toward him with sudden urgency, "you must come with me. If I am separated from you now, the origin will sense the division. It will try to reclaim what it believes is missing."
Seren immediately blocked the copy's path.
"No. He isn't going anywhere with you."
Model Zero didn't glare or threaten.
It simply stared at her with quiet patience.
"Ash will lose control if the origin reaches him first."
Ash's heart hammered.
"What do you mean, lose control?"
Model Zero's glowing eyes fixed on him.
"You'll understand when it touches your mind. You're already feeling it."
Ash froze.
Because he was feeling something,
a faint pressure at the back of his skull, like knocks on a locked door.
Kai pointed the flashlight at Ash's face and paled.
"Your eyes Ash, your eyes are flickering."
Seren whipped around and cupped his face gently.
"Ash, look at me. Focus. Stay with me."
Ash tried, but the pressure was growing sharper, faster.
He felt dizzy.
His vision darkened at the edges.
His heartbeat synced with the pulse vibrating through the floor,
thump. thump. thump.
"Ash," Model Zero said firmly, "stand beside me. Now."
"No!" Seren cried, pulling Ash back.
Kai lifted the flashlight like a weapon. "Back off, copy!"
Model Zero's face darkened. Not with anger, but with something close to fear.
"Ash, if you stay away from me, the origin will enter your mind first. And once it does, you won't be able to push it out."
Seren held him tighter.
"Don't listen. You're not going anywhere with it."
Ash wanted to answer but the pressure inside him spiked suddenly, violently.
His knees buckled.
Seren caught him. "Ash!"
He clutched his head with both hands.
The room spun.
Voices, broken, distant, echoed inside his mind.
Come back…
come back…
the core… is incomplete…
Kai backed against the wall. "This is bad, this is really bad! ".
Model Zero stepped forward, urgency sharp in its voice.
"Ash, look at me."
Ash lifted his head, barely able to breathe.
"Ash… you must not let the origin enter you first," the copy said, kneeling in front of him.
"Stand beside me. I can shield the connection. But only if you choose to."
Seren trembled with fear, tears brimming.
"Ash, please… please don't go."
Kai whispered, "This is going to tear us apart."
Another tremor shook the hallway,
stronger this time.
Dust rained down.
A deep, rumbling roar echoed from the depths, ancient and hungry.
Ash felt something inside his mind begin to crack.
Seren's hands held him.
Kai's shaking light hovered.
Model Zero's glowing eyes waited.
"Ash," it whispered,
"choose, before it chooses for you."