The facility beneath the ice felt different from the listening post, older, rougher, clearly from Freeman's earliest era when their methods were less refined. The corridors were carved from solid rock rather than constructed from metal panels, and frost clung to the walls despite the functioning heating system."This place is ancient," Elina observed, her breath still visible in the cold air. "Look at the construction techniques. This has to be from Freeman's founding years."As they moved deeper into the facility, doors opened automatically for Eren, their mechanisms recognizing his presence just as the listening post had. But these systems felt more primitive, more uncertain in their responses."The technology is different here," Kira noted. "Less sophisticated than what we've seen before.""That's because this is where they learned how to make ghosts," Eren replied, his voice echoing in the narrow corridors. "This is where they figured out what worked and what didn't."They followe

The Ghost Core continued its projection, flooding the chamber with streams of data that made Eren's eyes widen with recognition. Among the flowing coordinates and memory fragments, one image stabilized and held—the same suspended figure they'd seen before, but now with more clarity."Seed 0.0," Eren read from the display. "The original host."The hologram showed an older subject, clearly adult, floating in a sophisticated cryo-chamber. The name field remained frustratingly blurred, but the location data came through with crystal clarity."Vault 6," Kira read aloud. "Desert-based Freeman site, coordinates..." She memorized the numbers as they flashed across the display."That's far from here," Elina said, checking her geographical database. "Deep in the northern wastelands. At least a week's journey, maybe more."Eren stared at the suspended figure, trying to make out details through the distortion of the cryo-fluid. "If he's the first... he'll know everything. About the program, about

The footprints in the snow got deeper as they walked away from the burned place, kira walked in front, making sure they moved fast but quiet, keeping their feet light so they wouldn't leave clear marks."These aren't Freeman boots," Elina said, looking at the best prints. "See the lines? Lighter, not army stuff, but they walk like they know what they're doing.""Yeah, whoever made these knew how to walk here," Kira said back. "No messy marks, no drag lines. Real good at this."Eren kept looking behind them, not just watching for people following but because something felt wrong with the air. "It feels heavy back there. Like something's pushing down on us.""That's just the weather coming in," Elina said, but her voice made it sound like she wasn't sure.They went down into a thin valley that led to the low pass. Then Elina put up her hand real quick, telling them to stop. She pointed ahead to rocks that had "There's something stuck in the snow," she said, getting down next to what lo

"This doesn't feel right," Kira said as they left the cryo room behind. "The cold is getting worse, but not in a normal way."The cold inside the Vault had totally changed now, pushing in like something alive trying to get under their skin. It wasn't the normal chill of ice and rock anymore—it was something else totally, something that seemed to react to them being there.Eren kept looking back over his shoulder, not with fear but with something harder to explain—a mix of holding back and being pulled that he couldn't understand. The pod hadn't opened, but something inside had definitely moved, something that felt like knowing."Do you think he knows we're here?" Elina asked."I think he's been waiting for us," Eren said quiet. "Or waiting for me, specifically."They pushed further through a lower hallway, narrow and ribbed with old wiring that sparked sometimes in the dim light. The place's systems were waking up piece by piece, but not steady, like the base itself couldn't decide wh

The door shut behind them with a cold finality that rang through the room like the closing of a tomb. For a moment, complete quiet wrapped around them, broken only by the soft hum of the place's power systems."The feed is deleting itself," Elina said, backing away from the playback screen as the timestamp flashed once more before disappearing totally. "Whatever security measures were built into this level, they were made to keep its history short.""Someone doesn't want records of who was here," Kira said, though her attention stayed focused on Eren rather than the disappearing data.Since the core room scan, he had moved differently—slower, more focused, less reactive to their conversations and discoveries. There were no visible signs of injury or distress, but something basic had shifted in how he processed the world around them."Are you feeling alright?" she asked quiet.Eren knelt near the broken pod and traced his fingers along the floor grooves that had once held it stable. Hi