The air inside the facility felt colder than before.
Not just because of the controlled room temperature.
But because of Arman Virelli's final words.
"This is about survival."
The phrase hung between them like a threat not yet fully understood.
Ethan stood tall before the man.
His gaze unwavering.
"Don't try to twist the story."
His voice was low.
Yet sharp.
Arman was not offended.
Instead, he looked like a professor facing a stubborn student.
"I'm not twisting anything."
He stepped closer to the large screen.
Tapped it gently.
Energy graphs began to move.
"Helios is the solution."
Daniel frowned.
"A solution for what?"
Arman looked at each of them one by one.
"For what is coming."
Leonard Graves crossed his arms.
"A very vague statement."
Arman smiled slightly.
"Vague for those who haven't seen the data."
Ethan stepped closer.
"If you want us to believe you…"
he paused for a moment.
"…stop talking like a scientist and start talking like a human being."
A moment of silence.
Then.
Arman laughed softly.
"Very well."
He took a deep breath.
"Ten years ago…"
he began.
"…we discovered an energy anomaly."
Daniel focused immediately.
"What kind of anomaly?"
Arman replied,
"Fluctuations that couldn't be explained by natural sources."
He zoomed in on the graph on the screen.
"Energy growing exponentially… with no clear source."
Leonard spoke softly,
"And you think it's a threat."
Arman nodded.
"Not just a threat."
He looked at them sharply.
"It's a sign."
Ethan frowned.
"A sign of what?"
Arman answered without hesitation,
"That the world's energy system… will collapse."
The room fell silent again.
Daniel shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
Arman shrugged.
"We thought the same at first."
He continued,
"But data never lies."
Leonard said casually,
"People who read the data can be wrong."
Arman smiled slightly.
"True."
He looked at Leonard.
"But not in this case."
Ethan said coldly,
"And my mother?"
Arman fell silent for a moment.
His smile faded slightly.
"She was the first to understand the pattern."
Silence settled deeper.
Daniel glanced at Ethan.
Ethan remained silent.
Arman continued,
"Elena Ward realized this wasn't just a fluctuation…"
he paused.
"…it was the beginning of something bigger."
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"Like what?"
Arman spoke softly,
"Global change."
Daniel let out a small laugh.
"This is starting to sound like a conspiracy theory."
Arman did not react.
He only said,
"You're free to think whatever you want."
Ethan stepped forward.
"Then why was she killed?"
The question cut through the air.
Straight.
No frills.
Arman stared at him for a long time.
Finally he answered,
"Because she wanted to stop Helios."
Daniel was shocked.
"Wait… what?"
Arman nodded.
"Your mother believed Helios was too dangerous."
Leonard spoke softly,
"Dangerous in what way?"
Arman explained,
"To stabilize the anomaly, we had to create an energy source far more powerful than anything that has ever existed."
He pointed at the screen.
"Energy that could control the fluctuations."
Daniel whispered,
"Or accelerate them…"
Arman looked at him.
"There are always risks."
Ethan said coldly,
"And my mother disagreed."
Arman nodded.
"She wanted to stop the project before it was too late."
Silence.
Then Ethan asked again.
"So you killed her."
Arman shook his head slowly.
"I never gave the order."
Leonard smiled slightly.
"But you knew it would happen."
Arman did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Daniel ran a hand over his face.
"So all of this…"
he gestured around.
"…was built on blood."
Arman spoke softly,
"All great changes have always been like that."
Ethan clenched his fists.
"You call this change."
He stepped closer.
"I call it murder."
Arman stared at him without fear.
"You can hate me."
He continued,
"But that won't stop what's coming."
Leonard said casually,
"And what's coming… is big enough to justify all of this?"
Arman answered without hesitation,
"Yes."
Silence fell again.
But this time
it was heavy.
Daniel finally said,
"Proof."
Arman nodded.
"Good."
He walked to the side of the room.
Pressed a panel.
Another door slowly opened.
"If you want to understand…"
he turned around.
"…follow me."
Leonard smiled slightly.
"My favorite part."
Daniel looked at Ethan.
"This could be a trap."
Ethan did not hesitate.
"We're already inside."
He walked forward.
Leonard followed.
Daniel sighed and went along.
They entered the next room.
And stopped.
In the center of the room
a large structure stood.
Like a reactor core.
Blue light pulsed inside it.
Energy.
Alive.
Unstable.
Daniel whispered,
"Oh my God…"
Leonard narrowed his eyes.
"Now this is interesting."
Ethan stared at the structure.
Something inside him felt uneasy.
As if his body recognized the danger before his mind did.
Arman stood beside them.
"This is Helios."
His voice was soft.
Almost like pride.
"The first successful version."
Daniel said,
"That… doesn't look stable."
Arman nodded.
"Because it isn't yet."
Ethan looked at him.
"And you want to scale this up?"
Arman replied,
"I have to."
Leonard asked,
"Or the world will end?"
Arman did not smile this time.
"Yes."
Silence filled the room.
But before anyone could say anything.
An alarm suddenly went off.
Red lights flashed on.
Daniel turned quickly.
"What is that?"
Arman looked at the panel on the wall.
His expression changed for the first time.
Serious.
"It seems…"
he paused.
"…we're not alone."
Footsteps could be heard outside.
Many of them.
Fast.
Leonard smiled slightly.
"And I think the party is complete."
Ethan turned toward the door.
His eyes narrowed.
One thing was now clear.
Whatever they found here
they would not leave this place easily.
And perhaps…
not all of them would get out alive.
The alarm continued to roar, echoing off the room's metal walls like a heartbeat forced to beat too fast.
The red lights flashed relentlessly.
The blue glow from the Helios core pulsed stronger, as if responding to the chaos that was beginning to unfold.
Daniel moved immediately to the nearest panel.
"This isn't standard security," he said quickly. "It's emergency protocol."
Leonard Graves shifted his position slightly, his eyes still watching the door.
"How much time do we have?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Don't know… but alarms like this usually mean one of two things."
He turned quickly.
"Evacuation… or elimination."
A brief silence.
Then Leonard smiled slightly.
"I hope it's the first."
Ethan did not take his eyes off the door.
The footsteps outside grew clearer.
Many.
Fast.
Too organized for ordinary guards.
Arman Virelli stared at the screen on the side of the room.
His fingers moved quickly.
"They've breached the perimeter."
Daniel frowned.
"They?"
Arman answered shortly,
"Special forces."
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"From who?"
Arman did not answer immediately.
But his expression was answer enough.
Ethan spoke softly,
"Richard."
Arman finally nodded.
"He won't let this leak."
Daniel turned sharply.
"He'll destroy this place?"
Arman said lowly,
"If necessary."
The alarm grew louder.
The main door at the end of the room shook.
Someone was trying to open it from the outside.
Leonard raised his weapon immediately.
"Alright."
He took a slow breath.
"We have two options."
Daniel looked at him.
"Run or fight?"
Leonard smiled.
"Always those two."
Ethan said firmly,
"We can't leave this here."
He pointed at the Helios core.
"If this is destroyed…"
Daniel continued,
"…all evidence is gone."
Arman said quickly,
"More than that."
He looked at Ethan.
"If the core isn't stabilized, the explosion could destroy the entire area."
Victor was not there.
Daniel hoped the man was truly far away from here.
Leonard said casually,
"So we can't run… and we can't let them in."
He nodded slightly.
"Lovely options."
CRASH!
The main door shook harder.
The metal began to crack.
Daniel said quickly,
"I can lock this door… but not for long."
Ethan looked at Arman.
"How long do you need to stabilize the core?"
Arman answered without hesitation,
"Ten minutes."
Leonard let out a short laugh.
"We might not even have five."
Ethan said firmly,
"We'll make time."
Daniel moved immediately to the door panel.
His hands worked quickly.
"If this fails, they'll be in here in seconds."
Leonard stood by the door.
Ready.
Ethan stood in the center of the room.
His eyes shifted from the door… to the Helios core… then back to Arman.
"Start."
Arman did not waste time.
He moved immediately to the main console.
His hands danced across the screen.
The graphs began to change.
The energy inside the core pulsed faster.
Wilder.
Daniel shouted,
"I've locked the door!"
The light above the door turned solid red.
But the cracks in the metal remained.
Leonard whispered,
"They won't stop."
BANG!
A shot rang out from outside.
A bullet hit the door.
Daniel turned.
"That's not just a strike team…"
Ethan answered coldly,
"They're here to make sure no one gets out."
Leonard smiled slightly.
"Including us."
BANG! BANG!
The shooting continued.
The door began to dent.
The metal would not hold much longer.
Daniel shouted toward Arman,
"How much longer?!"
Arman did not turn around.
"Eight minutes!"
Leonard let out a long sigh.
"Feels like forever."
Ethan spoke softly,
"We hold them off."
Time felt like it was moving slowly.
Every second stretched out.
Every gunshot sounded closer.
Daniel returned to Ethan's side.
"I have a bad idea."
Leonard smiled.
"Those are usually the best ones."
Daniel pointed to the electrical panel on the side of the room.
"If we shut down part of the system…"
he paused.
"…we can slow them down."
Ethan asked,
"What's the risk?"
Daniel answered quickly,
"The core system could become unstable."
All eyes turned immediately to Arman.
Arman remained focused.
But he said,
"Do it if you have to."
Leonard let out a small laugh.
"I'm starting to like this scientist."
CRASH!
The door cracked wider.
A small gap began to open.
Shadows of people could be seen outside.
Ethan said firmly,
"Do it."
Daniel ran to the electrical panel.
His hands moved quickly.
Several switches were turned off.
The lights in the room dimmed.
The Helios core pulsed stronger.
Wilder.
Arman shouted,
"Don't turn off too many!"
Daniel replied,
"I know!"
BANG!
A bullet pierced the gap in the door.
Leonard fired back immediately.
Shots from inside and outside exchanged fire.
Total chaos.
Ethan stood in the middle of it all.
Yet his mind was clear.
One goal.
Hold on.
Wait.
Survive.
Daniel shouted,
"Five minutes left!"
Leonard nodded.
"We can do this."
But even he knew
it was no guarantee.
The door finally.
BURST OPEN.
The metal collapsed inward.
Several armed men rushed in immediately.
Their movements were fast.
Trained.
Deadly.
Leonard fired without hesitation.
One fell.
The others scattered.
Daniel took cover behind a console.
Ethan moved forward.
Every step measured.
Every movement efficient.
Fighting broke out inside the room.
Amidst the red light.
Beneath the blue pulse of Helios.
Arman stayed at his console.
Focused.
Without looking back.
"Two minutes left!" he shouted.
Leonard fired again.
"We're running out of time!"
Ethan stood in front of Arman now.
The final shield.
His eyes cold.
The enemy's footsteps grew closer.
But he did not back down.
Not this time.
Not for this.
Because for the first time
all the answers were right in front of them.
And he would not let everything be lost again.
No matter what happened
tonight would determine everything.