Until the last truth

The tunnel sloped downward. Damp pipes ran along the ceiling, dripping water in slow, rhythmic taps. Lara moved carefully behind Kaven, her fingers brushing the rough concrete for balance.

The silence grew heavier the deeper they went.

"Where does this lead?" she finally asked, her voice echoing faintly.

"Maintenance corridor. Should bypass most of the active surveillance zones," he replied, his voice clipped.

"Should?"

"Unless they've rerouted since last month."

She frowned. "You've been here before?"

Again, no answer.

Lara stopped crawling. "Kaven—"

He paused ahead, back still to her. "…This place used to be different."

That wasn't an answer. But it was the closest he'd come to one.

She moved again, slower now, thoughts circling.

The girl—Juliette. Her face.

Lara's face.

Same nose, same jawline, even the slight scar above the brow that only someone with the same history would have.

But dead eyes. Mechanical precision. That thing wasn't her. It wasn't human.

But how did it exist?

And how did he not flinch when he saw her?

They emerged into another corridor — dim, quiet, lined with old server racks flickering with weak blue lights. Kaven moved to the keypad near a sealed door and began entering a long string of numbers.

Lara hovered behind him, something gnawing at her gut.

He wasn't just someone who happened to know the way.

He belonged here.

The door slid open with a soft hiss. Inside, cables snaked across the floor like veins, connecting to a single glowing unit at the center. The pod. Sleek. Secure.

Kaven's expression shifted — not relief, not urgency.

Regret.

Lara stepped forward, but he held out a hand. "Wait."

She stopped.

His fingers hovered above the lock panel, hesitating.

And for the first time since they'd met, he looked… scared.

"Kaven," she whispered, "what's in there?"

He didn't move. "Not what," he said finally. "Who."

Before she could speak, the screen on the pod blinked to life.

And it said one word:

JULIETTE-02

Lara froze.

Behind her, somewhere in the depths of the corridor, a mechanical voice crackled to life.

"Unauthorized access detected. Initiating containment protocol."

Kaven grabbed her wrist. "We're out of time."

The lights began to flicker.

And from above — footsteps. Many. Fast.

And not human.

---

End of Chapter 26