Every contingency.
Every grave.
The bunker trembles again beneath our boots.
Somewhere deep below us, Ascension Core is waking up.
And Director Wu is still sitting on top of it.
Hannah stands frozen beside me staring at the countdown timer flashing across the terminal screen.
00:29:14
White numbers.
Cold numbers.
Death numbers.
The little girl clings tightly to Hannah’s side now.
Not letting go.
Not wanting to.
And something about that nearly destroys me.
Because Hannah’s doing the exact opposite of what Wu created her to become.
She’s comforting them.
Protecting them.
Teaching them trust.
Wu notices too.
His voice slides through the speakers again.
“You continue proving my point.”
I swear to God—
I’m going to rip his throat out with my bare hands.
“You formed attachment despite conditioning.”
A pause.
“Remarkable adaptation.”
Hannah finally looks upward.
And there’s no fear left in her now.
Only hatred.
“You tortured children.”
