We advanced through the corridors as fast as our Power Armours allowed. The aureate compound was still pulsing inside the ducts, vibrating in rhythm with the core — my “second heart.” The sensation mixed adrenaline with a living, almost organic discomfort that was impossible to ignore.

  At the end of the medical wing, there was a passage leading to the exterior section of Sector 1. The lighting failed at irregular intervals, plunging parts of the corridor into flashes of total darkness. With every flicker, it was impossible not to imagine something moving just ahead.

  During the route, I noticed Lívia stop abruptly. She crouched and picked something up from the floor. When she stood, her body trembled as if the armor had suddenly become too heavy.

  I approached.

  — Sergeant? What’s going on?

  She slowly raised her hand. Between her fingers was a civilian identification bracelet. The name engraved in the microchip was unmistakable.

  — Captain… this is my brother’s. He… he must be nearby.

  Her voice broke at the end.

  The entire team exchanged glances. We searched for any sign of life: footprints, fresh blood, drag marks… but there was only silence.

  Lívia shut off her visor without warning and shouted through the corridors:

  — Gabriel! GABRIEL!!

  Before she could continue, I forcefully covered her mouth.

  — Are you crazy? Seal your helmet now!

  She shoved my hand away as if I were the enemy.

  — Captain, to hell with the mission! He’s my brother! MY only family! I need to find him, do you understand?! I need to!

  The pain in her voice struck everyone. And for a moment, the weight of the situation fell over us like a shadow.

  Without waiting for a response, she turned her back and ran down the corridors, the armor slamming against the metal floor with every step.

  — Julios! — I ordered. — Go after her. Control the situation. Confirm the brother’s condition and return immediately. We’ll need everyone if we want to stop that thing.

  The sergeant nodded.

  — Yes, sir!

  The two of them disappeared down the corridor, leaving only the echo of their footsteps fading away.

  Now there were five of us.

  We continued our route toward the external area of Sector 1. With every meter, the air seemed heavier, hotter, as if the creature outside was influencing everything, contaminating the environment with its presence.

  And then we heard it.

  Distant roars. Metal being twisted. Projectiles impacting something immense.

  The walls vibrated with the next explosion. The ground shook. The sound pierced my chest like an erratic heartbeat.

  My heart raced.Or maybe it was just the armor’s core responding to the threat.

  The time had come.It was time to show what we were capable of.

  — JúLIOS SILVALívia, wait.

  — I already told you I don’t need help!

  — You know things don’t work like that.

  The corridor was too silent, except for our own breathing trapped inside the helmets.The tension made the air feel dense.

  — How long until your brother’s room? — I asked.

  — We’re close — she replied, but her voice was already breaking.

  — Alright. Let’s finish this quickly. We need to go back.

  — There… it’s right there. Let’s go.

  — Lívia, wait!

  She stopped on reflex, irritated.

  — What now?

  — Look at the floor.The scratches… four parallel marks here, and two larger ones further ahead.This doesn’t look like something a person would do.— What the hell caused this?

  — I don’t know… — she murmured. — Just keep moving.

  We went on.

  And then we turned the corner.

  I expected destruction, maybe blood.But not that.

  The creature was a living nightmare — nearly 2.5 meters tall, too tall to seem human, yet still carrying traces of a woman.

  It held a mutilated man in its arms, like a mother trying to cradle her child.Pieces of him slipped through its twisted fingers.

  The creature’s abdomen was split open vertically, ribs turned outward like claws.Its organs pulsed outside the body, exposed, gleaming beneath a thin layer of carmine mucus.

  And from inside it…… something else emerged.

  A smaller, deformed being, a “fetus” stretched far beyond what should exist.Its long arms reached the floor.Its twisted legs scraped the ground with every movement, tearing the “mother” creature’s abdomen further open with each slow step.

  The entire scene looked like a profane birth frozen in time.

  Lívia stopped.Her weapon lowered a few centimeters in her hand.

  Her body trembled.She raised a hand to her mouth, stifling a brutal sob.

  And then, almost voiceless, she let it slip:

  — Gabriel… Lana… Lucas…

  Her breathing shattered.I felt my stomach twist inside the armor.

  Because those names…… were not random.

  It was him.The man torn apart in the creature’s arms… was her brother.

  And worse — the “mother” creature and the twisted fetus were her sister-in-law and her nephew.

  My entire body went cold.

  So that was it.That was what infected people were becoming.

  A fate far worse than death.

  — Lívia… — I tried to touch her shoulder.

  She didn’t react.She seemed petrified, as if the world around her had vanished.

  And that’s when it happened.

  The weapon slipped from her hand and fell to the floor.

  The metallic sound echoed through the corridor.

  The creature slowly raised its head… and looked directly at Lívia.

  There was a strange moment — almost human.The creature tilted its face, empty eyes fixed on her, as if… it recognized her.

  A sound came from its throat: ???α? ?? ?o?α? ?o? αi∨í?

  A growl mixed with a distorted cry, a lament that should not come from any living being.

  — No…

  Lívia whispered, her voice broken.

  The creature brought its deformed hands to its head, as if fighting something inside itself.It screamed — a scream that shook the walls, filled with pain.

  It was as if two wills were trapped inside the same body.

  For a second, the “mother” seemed to resist.

  But then…

  Its eyes turned red like the crimson firmament.It froze.

  Something stronger took control.

  With brutal force, it hurled the husband’s body against the wall like worthless trash.

  And then it charged.

  It charged with blind fury.It charged ignoring everything.

  Lívia couldn’t even move.She was in shock, overtaken by a primal terror, frozen.

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  — LíVIA! — I shouted, grabbing her arm and yanking hard.

  She stumbled, nearly fell, but I dragged her down the corridor.

  Behind us, the creature tore at the floor, slammed into the walls, knocking everything over as it tried to reach us.

  The sound of its footsteps was disturbing…

  It didn’t tire.It didn’t stop.It only chased.

  And every time I looked back…

  … it was closer.

  I didn’t want to engage that creature — not in that condition.I had no idea how many others might be hidden, nor how fast new mutations were happening.And above all, not with Lívia like that.

  She was in deep shock, nearly catatonic, stumbling as I dragged her by the arm. Her eyes were still locked on the impossible image of her brother… her sister-in-law… her nephew… fused into that abomination.

  — Lívia, snap out of it! — I hissed through clenched teeth, trying not to give away our position. — If you freeze now, we die!

  She didn’t respond.Her face was gray, almost lifeless. Tears streamed endlessly, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  Behind us, the creature slammed the ground and walls with those disproportionate arms, shattering lights, carving a path like a living locomotive.It wasn’t just chasing us.It was enraged.

  And when it screamed… I thought I could hear the name “Lívia” lost within the sounds.

  — Shit… — I picked up the pace, practically carrying her.

  — It’s calling me.Lívia said, her face pale and horrified.

  — Don’t be stupid, you’re hearing things.

  I tried to convince myself it was just in our heads. But…I’m not sure I believed it.

  We turned another corridor. The lights flickered, the generator failing. Oxygen tanks, overturned stretchers, blood on the floor… it was an endless nightmare.

  If I stopped…If I tried to face it while protecting Lívia…We’d be torn apart.

  And if Lívia didn’t come back to herself…We wouldn’t even run fast enough.

  It was getting closer.

  And I realized, in that moment, that this wasn’t just about running.

  I would have to choose:save Lívia… or die with her.

  I tried to rip those thoughts from my head.I knew it was just fear — fear and tension crushing my nerves to the brink.

  I needed a way out.Any way.

  That’s when I saw it:The elevator, its doors open, as if calling to me.

  — Lívia, come on! — I pulled her arm and ran. My footsteps echoed like gunshots in the empty corridor. I felt the hot air on my back, every scream of the creature vibrating in my chest.

  We reached the elevator doors.Almost there.

  But Lívia… froze.

  She murmured disconnected words, as if her mind were trapped between two worlds. When she turned to me, her face was soaked with tears, but she… smiled. A broken, shattered, desperate smile.

  — Lívia? — I tried to pull her. — Come on, please!

  The creature turned into the corridor behind us.It saw us.It smelled us.

  I drew my weapon — pure reflex.But Lívia placed her hand on it, pushing the barrel down.Then she shoved me hard into the elevator.

  — No! LíVIA!

  She pressed the button.The glass in the lights exploded around us as the creature roared and lunged forward.

  The doors closed at the last second.All I saw was a grotesque flash of the creature rushing toward us and—

  BOOOOM.

  The ground shook.The air vibrated.A wave of heat swept through the elevator.

  She…She had activated the self-destruct system.

  Lívia had sacrificed herself.

  And I…I couldn’t do anything.

  I removed my helmet. Hot air hit my face.I wiped away sweat, tears, blood.My fingers trembled.

  The elevator began to descend.

  And then… everything went dark.

  A violent power failure.The elevator dropped.

  Sector 1… Sector 2… Sector 3… Sector 4…

  The impact threw me against the wall.Emergency lights flickered on in a weak red glow, barely alive.

  — Sector 4? — I murmured, trying to stand. — How?

  I had no idea where I was.The facility map showed no access to that sector…

  The doors crackled, groaning as if they would open on their own.

  When they finally parted, they revealed a narrow, suffocating corridor, lit only by pulsating lamps.The floor was too clean.The walls… intact.

  And at the far end, alone in the silence, stood a single metal door.

  — LUNA HELEN

  Erik had awakened.

  My heart raced so fast I almost forgot to breathe.For a moment, I feared seeing crimson veins pulsing, spreading… but no.They were faint, like thin lines beneath the skin.He looked… normal.

  Erik blinked a few times, his eyes focusing on me with a soft, familiar glint.Then he smiled — a genuine smile, though tired.

  When he tried to speak, his voice came out dry, hoarse, as if his throat were full of dust.

  — Hi… cough… cough… Do you happen to have… some water?

  That shattered what little courage I had left.I threw myself at him, hugged him tightly, collapsing. Tears poured freely.

  — Are you… are you okay?? — my voice faltered as I held his face between my hands.I ran my fingers over his skin, searching for marks, wounds, signs of mutation.But aside from those faint veins… nothing.

  He chuckled softly, confused, not fully grasping the situation.

  — Yeah, I think so… — he looked around, raising an eyebrow.— But why am I tied to a chair? Where are we?— Oh… and I’m really thirsty.

  His tone was light, like he’d just woken up from a nap.

  But something in the shine of his eyes…Something in the way he breathed…Didn’t let me fully relax.

  I tried to explain everything superficially.I feared that too many details might awaken something inside him, rekindle memories or sensations we didn’t yet know were safe.So I chose not to risk it.

  — Erick Halen

  “…I understand…”

  At least, that’s what I wanted to say.But the truth was, it was too much information all at once, crushing my head like an invisible weight. I stood there, completely still, trying to process what she was saying — trying to turn it into something that made sense.

  In the end, the only thing I managed to say was:

  — I’m sorry… You went through all of this because of me.

  I should cry.I should feel guilt, despair, relief… anything.But my chest was empty.

  It wasn’t just confusion — it was as if an icy fog had risen from within me, numbing every emotion before I could even reach it. As if someone had turned a dial inside my mind and reduced everything to suffocating silence.

  It was disturbing.It was cold.And in a way I didn’t want to admit, it felt like I was drifting away from my own humanity, centimeter by centimeter.

  — Luna HelenYou idiot… did you forget I’m three years older than you?You’re still a minor — still my responsibility.

  I tried to smile, but my eyes could barely hold back the tears.

  — Well… putting that aside. Like I said, I have no idea where we are, but I’ll try to find something for you to drink.

  — Hey, aren’t you forgetting something? Hey… I’m still tied up…

  — And for your own good, hahaha.

  — LUNAAA!

  I turned around laughing as I started searching for supplies. I would give anything for one of those chocolate bars I brought. I tapped my own head and muttered:“Come on, Luna… this is not the time to dream about chocolate.”

  I entered one of the rooms and began rummaging through rusty cabinets and crates. Then I heard the sound of a door opening — coming from exactly where Erick was.

  “No way he got himself loose…”

  I ran back, and when I reached the doorway, I stopped instantly. My body froze.

  There was something there.

  It looked like a robot — just over two meters tall, a gray metallic shell.It stood before Erick, pointing some kind of weapon directly at his chest. The voice came out metallic, deep, nearly emotionless:

  — Identify: what is this location… why are you tied up?

  The sound of my footsteps made it turn immediately.

  The weapon raised toward me.My breath vanished.

  I raised my hands.— W-wait… I can explain.

  — You? You are that girl… the survivor of the incident with Unit 7. What are you doing here?

  I tried to explain as much as I could, only hiding things about Erick. But maybe it didn’t matter — I didn’t know how much he knew about me.

  — So you went through all that hell, with him injured and unable to walk… and ended up here completely out of nowhere?

  — Y-yes, sir.

  He took a deep breath.— Girl… I can’t tell whether you’re very lucky or not, but congratulations on surviving.

  — Thank you, I guess…

  — Well then, why is he tied to that chair?— Well… it was the easiest way to bring him down here. Like I said, he was injured.— And why didn’t you untie him when you got down here?

  — Because I was afraid he’d fall while I was searching for supplies.

  Júlios crossed his arms, assessing the situation with a short sigh.

  — Right, right… I understand. And what have you found out about this place?

  — Not much. We just arrived… a few minutes before you.

  I mean… sir.

  — Understood. Why don’t you untie the boy.

  — Alright.

  — Finally! Come on, Luna, untie me already, hahaha.

  — Okay, idiot, I’m doing it…

  I hope it’s okay to untie him… I don’t have any way left to make him pass out again if something goes wrong.

  The “robot” — I mean, the man beneath the armor — opened his visor. His face appeared: a Black man, tired expression, short gray-streaked beard, and a small scar on his left lip. He looked exhausted, with dried blood on his forehead, as if he’d taken a hard hit.

  I untied Erik.He thanked me with a weak smile. He looked “normal”… just quieter and more introspective than usual. But after everything that had happened, I couldn’t blame him.

  We moved through the facility, walking side by side. I avoided straying from him — fear followed me like a silent shadow.

  Soldier Julios — that was his name — walked just behind us. He was a kind man, but few of words. He said he needed to find a way back, because he had to help the rest of his platoon fight that thing. I still get chills when I remember it.

  I don’t know how humans could fight that.

  Maybe it had something to do with that armor. Something about it was strange, as if it were alive. That golden liquid was what impressed me the most.

  ---

  — JúLIOS SILVA

  While escorting the youths, I could only think about Lívia.Her smile.Her final sacrifice.And how badly I had failed to protect her.

  I would not let that happen again.

  We needed to return to the surface, no matter the cost.

  It was the third room we entered and found nothing but papers, diagrams, scientific notes — things that made no sense to me.

  But when we were heading to the fourth room, I felt something.

  A sensation came from the armor.

  I followed that sensation to the door. The two youths had already entered when the girl called me urgently.

  When I looked inside, I froze.

  There were dozens of tubes filled with the same golden liquid that powered the Power Armour cores.And in the center… a preservation tank nearly three meters tall.

  Inside it…A man.

  Brown skin, marked by tattoos covering most of his body. Tall, slender, long hair floating in the liquid. Several tubes drew the golden liquid directly from him.

  The core vibrated in response.

  What the hell were they doing down here?

  ---

  — Luna Helen

  I was the first to see the… Being… The Man.

  He was around 1.95 meters tall.

  Young, brown-skinned, long hair floating slowly inside the tank. His body was lean but defined, covered in black tattoos as dark as a starless night sky.

  Even in that state, he emanated an overwhelming presence.

  And a suffocating oppression, as if his mere existence were pressing me into the ground.

  I realized I was staring too long. Only when my face grew hot did I notice he was completely naked. I turned away quickly, embarrassed — and ran straight into Erik.

  He was pale.Trembling.Gasping as if he couldn’t breathe.

  I immediately stepped in front of him and covered his eyes.

  Whatever that being was…Erik’s body was reacting.It wasn’t just fear.It was something deeper, primal — fight or flight.

  After I dragged Erik out of the room, he finally began to catch his breath. The tremors slowly ceased, as if the air around him had stopped weighing him down.

  — Are you okay? — I asked, still holding his shoulder just in case.

  — Y-yeah… — He wiped his forehead, trying to laugh, but his voice came out unstable. — Something about him affected me. I can’t really explain it… but it’s gone now. You don’t need to worry.

  I watched him for a few seconds. He seemed normal — just breathless — but that “can’t explain it” kept hammering in my head.

  — Alright… — I sighed. — If anything happens, anything at all, you tell me, okay?

  He raised a thumb, forcing a smile.

  — Sure, sure, boss. Hahaha…

  — Idiot… — I murmured, despite the relief.

  The corridor was silent, except for the distant echo of the facility’s old machines.