The corridor they entered felt different from before.
Narrower.
Longer.
Its walls were no longer clean like other parts of the facility. Wires protruded from several sides, some exposed, some frayed, revealing an internal structure that looked half-finished.
Daniel glanced at the device in his hand.
"Coordinates are ahead. About fifty meters more."
Leonard Graves let out a slow sigh.
"The deeper we go, the worse this place gets."
Richard Blackwood did not slow his pace.
"Focus."
His tone was enough to end the conversation.
They moved more carefully.
Every corner was checked.
Every shadow was observed.
No sound could be heard except their footsteps.
Yet the atmosphere did not feel empty.
There was something.
A subtle pressure.
As if being watched.
Daniel felt it.
He looked left and right.
"Do you feel that?"
Leonard replied without looking back,
"If you mean the unease, since five minutes ago."
Richard stopped suddenly.
Hand raised.
A signal.
Everyone froze immediately.
Ahead
the corridor ended at a metal door.
Not large.
But different.
Its surface was covered in scratches.
As if it had once been forced open… or shut.
Daniel approached slowly.
"This isn't part of the main system…"
He traced the door's surface.
"More like… an emergency access."
Leonard narrowed his eyes.
"A hiding place?"
Richard did not answer.
He only said,
"Open it."
Daniel swallowed.
His hands moved quickly over the small panel beside the door.
A few seconds passed.
The indicator light flickered.
Then.
Click.
The door opened slowly.
Cold air flowed out from inside.
Sharper.
More silent.
The room beyond was small.
Unlike the previous rooms.
Narrower.
Darker.
But what left them speechless
was not its size.
But what was in the middle of it.
A child.
Sitting on the floor.
Their body was thin.
Clothed simply.
But around them
were wires.
Many wires.
Connected to the walls.
To the floor.
To devices not fully recognizable.
Daniel froze.
"That…"
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"So this is the source of the signal?"
Richard stepped inside.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The child did not move.
But their head was slightly bowed.
As if aware of their arrival.
Daniel took a step closer.
"Are they… alive?"
Before anyone could answer
the child spoke.
Their voice was soft.
Almost a whisper.
"Don't… come closer."
Everyone stopped.
Leonard smiled faintly.
"They can talk. That's progress."
Richard remained silent.
His eyes sharp.
Observing every detail.
The child slowly lifted their head.
Their eyes opened.
And in an instant
the room felt different.
Their gaze was not like that of a normal child.
Deeper.
Sharper.
As if seeing something behind them.
Daniel stepped back half a pace.
"What…"
The child looked straight at Daniel.
"You… brought him."
Silence fell.
Leonard crossed his arms.
"Him?"
The child did not answer.
But their eyes shifted.
Toward the corridor.
As if seeing something that was not there.
Richard finally spoke,
"What do you mean?"
The child was silent for a moment.
"The one in the light."
Daniel tensed.
Ethan.
Leonard let out a slow sigh.
"So they can sense him."
Richard stepped closer.
But still kept a safe distance.
"Who are you?"
The child did not answer immediately.
Their gaze returned to the floor.
As if thinking.
"Or perhaps… remembering."
A few seconds passed.
Then.
"I don't have a name anymore."
The answer was simple.
Yet cold.
Daniel frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The child lifted their hand slightly.
The wires moved with it.
As if part of their body.
"They took it."
Leonard sighed.
"Of course they took something."
Richard stayed focused.
"Who are 'they'?"
The child was silent.
But their expression shifted.
A little.
As if there was something they did not want to name.
But finally.
"The ones who made the light."
Silence.
Daniel swallowed.
"Helios…"
The child did not nod.
But did not deny it either.
Richard continued,
"Are you connected to this system?"
The child answered softly,
"Not like him."
They lifted their head.
Their gaze sharp.
"He chose to enter."
Daniel spoke immediately,
"And you?"
The child was silent.
A few seconds passed.
Then.
"I did not."
The silence felt heavier.
Leonard rubbed his chin.
"So you're… a failed experiment?"
The child looked at him.
Not angry.
But not pleased.
"I'm still alive."
Leonard raised his hands slightly.
"Fair enough. Point conceded."
Richard took one more step forward.
"You're the signal we've been tracking."
The child nodded gently.
"I've been trying to hide."
Daniel asked,
"From whom?"
The child answered,
"From them… and from him."
Silence again.
Leonard raised an eyebrow.
"Him?"
The child stared straight ahead.
As if seeing something far away.
"The one who's starting to wake up."
Daniel felt his throat go dry.
"Ethan…?"
The child did not answer immediately.
But their gaze changed.
Softer.
"He's different."
Leonard grinned faintly.
"That much is obvious."
Richard asked,
"Different how?"
The child answered,
"He doesn't want to destroy."
Silence.
Daniel looked at them.
"And the others?"
The child bowed their head.
"The others… don't care."
The words were simple.
Yet enough to shift the mood.
Leonard let out a long sigh.
"Great. We've got more than one problem now."
Richard did not look away.
"Can you help us?"
The child was silent.
The wires around them trembled slightly.
As if responding to something.
"I can see paths you can't."
Daniel spoke at once,
"That's what we need."
But the child shook their head gently.
"But if I leave…"
They paused.
As if searching for words.
"They'll find me."
Leonard crossed his arms.
"Trust me, they already know we're here."
Richard looked at the child.
"If you stay here, you'll be found too."
Silence fell.
The child did not answer immediately.
But their eyes turned back to the corridor.
As if hearing something the others could not yet.
Daniel felt the tension.
"What is it?"
The child whispered,
"They're coming."
Leonard turned immediately.
"I don't hear anything."
But the next moment
the sound came.
Footsteps.
Many of them.
Fast.
Close.
Richard raised his weapon at once.
"Positions."
Daniel moved back.
Leonard took cover at a corner.
The child remained seated.
But the wires around them began to move faster.
Like awakening nerves.
Their gaze shifted.
No longer afraid.
But alert.
And at the core.
far from them
Ethan felt it all.
The signal.
The child.
And the approaching threat.
The pulse within him changed.
Faster.
Stronger.
As if something larger was moving.
He realized.
This battle
was not just about stopping the network.
But about choosing…
who would control it.