The moment Elias’s last words faded through the speakers, the entire observation chamber seemed to constrict around Finn like a breathing metallic creature waiting for his surrender, tightening its grip with every throb of energy pulsing through the reinforced floor beneath his feet.Nadia jerked against her restraints, eyes brimming with panic, sensing the direction Elias’s intentions were moving, because every syllable he chose carried a lethal undertone that suggested he had prepared for this confrontation long before Finn even learned the truth about his existence.Henry lifted his head despite the pain crushing his abdomen, his gaze locked on Finn with desperation, silently begging him not to make a choice that would cost his humanity, even though they all knew the decision had already been placed cruelly into motion.Shawn stepped forward, standing beneath the massive hovering screen with a smirk carved into his face, watching Finn with greedy anticipation as if he were witnessi

The instant the neural-link device descended toward Finn’s head, the entire chamber shuddered violently as alarms erupted through the facility, blaring with a pitch so sharp it felt like needles slicing through the air, signaling a breach far more severe than any previous intrusion.Rowan screamed through the comms with unrestrained panic, his voice distorted by static as though even the signal struggled to survive the chaos. “Finn, the facility just overloaded! Multiple security layers collapsed at once. Someone triggered the failsafe, and LUXON is diverting every unit to your location right now!”Elias stiffened on the screen, fury flashing across his expression for the first time, because the orchestrated calm he always carried cracked under the realization that something he had not predicted was unfolding directly under his control.Shawn reacted faster than anyone, spinning around with predatory instinct as the chamber lights flickered violently, casting shadows that twisted acro

The tension inside the Eleventh Lock chamber reached a breaking point as Finn stood frozen only meters away from Shawn, his entire body locked between instinctive violence and absolute restraint, because one wrong movement would end the child’s life in an instant.Shawn’s finger trembled on the trigger, not from fear but from barely contained excitement, the kind born from knowing he held absolute power over another human being’s soul and future.“You see it now, don’t you?” Shawn said slowly, his voice almost gentle, almost intimate. “This is what it feels like to decide who gets to live and who gets erased.”Finn clenched his fists so hard his knuckles burned, forcing himself to speak without raising his voice. “You’re not in control, Shawn. You’re panicking because everything Elias promised you is falling apart.”Shawn laughed sharply, the sound echoing off the reinforced walls. “Wrong. I already lost everything that mattered. This is the only moment that belongs to me.”Without wa

The evacuation corridor shook violently as Finn ran, his boots pounding against the metal floor while emergency sirens howled overhead with relentless, nerve-shredding urgency.The child clung tightly to Finn’s neck, sobbing uncontrollably as smoke and dust filled the air, making every breath burn like fire in Finn’s lungs.Behind them, the Eleventh Lock chamber collapsed inward with a thunderous crash, sealing away Shawn’s fate beneath tons of reinforced alloy and shattered concrete.Finn did not allow himself to wonder whether Shawn survived, because hesitation now would only doom the child trembling in his arms.Rowan’s voice cut through the comms again, hoarse and strained. “Finn, structural integrity across Sector C is failing fast. You have one clear route left.”Finn adjusted his grip on the child, ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder as blood soaked deeper into his torn sleeve with every punishing step.“Send me the route,” Finn replied through clenched teeth, his focus n

The moment Finn crossed the final threshold of the extraction platform, the LUXON facility convulsed with a violence that felt deliberate, as though the structure itself had waited for his escape before deciding to tear itself apart.The floor beneath their feet lurched sideways, metal groaning under unbearable stress, while overhead lighting shattered and rained sparks that hissed violently against the concrete.Nadia slammed into Finn’s side, wrapping an arm around his waist to keep him upright as the shockwave nearly ripped him off his feet.“This isn’t structural failure,” Henry shouted from behind them, his voice strained and raw. “This is a controlled collapse.”Finn’s chest tightened as realization struck, because only one kind of enemy planned destruction this precisely and this theatrically.Before Finn could respond, another detonation thundered from the lower levels, sending a violent pulse through the platform and launching debris into the air like shrapnel.Emergency sire