---
The Approach
The cold night air bit at Sebastian's exposed skin as he crouched low behind a rocky outcrop, gazing down at the facility below. It sprawled across the valley floor, a heavily fortified compound reinforced with steel barriers and watchtowers. Bright floodlights swept the perimeter, illuminating the thick concrete walls lined with security cameras and automated turrets.
It was a fortress.
A fortress they had to break into.
Sebastian tapped the side of his earpiece. "Chloe, talk to me."
Her voice crackled through his comms. "You've got a three-minute window before the next patrol circles back. Cameras are looped, but I can't hold them forever. Move fast."
He turned to his team. Marcus adjusted his rifle, his eyes scanning for threats. Claudia smirked, rolling her shoulders, while Dominic remained unreadable as always.
Sebastian exhaled. "We move now."
---
Silent Execution
Sticking to the shadows, they crept toward the facility's outer perimeter. A dozen guards patrolled the area—normal humans, not Ascended. That meant they had a chance to take them down quietly.
Sebastian motioned to Claudia and Marcus. "Left flank. Dominic, you're with me."
They split up, moving like ghosts in the dark.
Claudia darted forward, her knife flashing as she slit a guard's throat before he could react. Marcus grabbed another, yanking him behind a container and snapping his neck in one clean motion.
On the right side, Sebastian and Dominic moved in sync. A guard turned the corner—too late. Sebastian's knife drove into his ribs, his body lowered gently to the ground. Dominic caught another guard from behind, silencing him with a swift, brutal chokehold.
Within seconds, the perimeter was clear.
Sebastian pressed a finger to his earpiece. "Chloe, status?"
"Cameras still looped, but you've got maybe ten minutes before they figure it out. Get inside."
The team slipped through a side entrance, vanishing into the shadows of the facility.
---
Inside the Lab
The air inside was unnaturally cold, filled with the sterile scent of chemicals and steel. Dim overhead lights flickered as they moved through the corridor, their footsteps barely making a sound against the metallic floor.
Marcus frowned. "This place is too quiet."
Sebastian scanned their surroundings. "Alaric wouldn't leave this place unguarded. Stay sharp."
They reached a security checkpoint, a reinforced steel door blocking their path. Chloe's voice came through again. "Hold on… bypassing the lock… Okay, you're in."
The door hissed open.
They stepped into a vast chamber lined with reinforced glass tanks. Inside, thick black liquid pulsed with an eerie glow. The room was filled with lab equipment—consoles, syringes, datapads—all dedicated to Project Ascension.
Sebastian moved to a terminal and yanked out a data drive. "We take what we can. Dominic, set the charges."
Dominic knelt, planting explosives along the processing units. Claudia stood near the entrance, watching their backs.
Then—
A low growl.
The entire team froze.
From deeper inside the lab, something moved.
A shadow detached from the far wall, stepping into the dim light.
And then they saw it.
---
The Prime Subject
At first, it looked human. But as it moved closer, the truth became terrifyingly clear.
Its frame was massive—easily seven feet tall, its muscles grotesquely enhanced. Thick veins pulsed beneath its skin, glowing faintly with the same energy as the black liquid in the tanks. Its head tilted unnaturally, eyes glowing red.
But it was its presence that made the air feel heavier, as if the very atmosphere recoiled from it.
Marcus exhaled. "What the fuck is that?"
Sebastian tightened his grip on his weapon. "Something we weren't supposed to see."
The creature's head snapped toward them, its lips pulling back in something almost like a grin—except its teeth were jagged, too sharp, too wrong.
It lunged.
Sebastian barely had time to react before it was on them.
---
Chaos Unleashed
Marcus fired first—three rounds to center mass. The bullets hit, but the creature barely flinched.
It moved fast.
Before Marcus could react, the Prime Subject slammed into him, sending him flying across the room. He crashed into a console, groaning as sparks rained down around him.
"Marcus!" Claudia shouted, raising her rifle.
Sebastian was already moving, rolling to the side as the creature swiped at him with inhuman speed. Its claws shredded through steel where he had been standing a second ago.
Dominic lunged forward, a combat knife flashing in his hand. He drove the blade into the creature's side—but it barely seemed to notice. With terrifying strength, it backhanded him across the room.
Sebastian aimed for the head and fired.
The creature snapped its gaze toward him, and for the first time, he saw something truly horrifying.
It was grinning.
Like it enjoyed this.
And then it charged.