Providence Facility – Queen Maud Land, Antarctica
The descent into Providence was like stepping into a forgotten myth. Damien, Nora, Elijah, and Kiyomi were lowered through a narrow shaft, icy vapor clinging to their suits. Their breath fogged instantly, the silence below deafening, broken only by the hum of their equipment and distant groans of shifting glaciers above.
The facility had been abandoned for over a decade, yet power flickered through the walls. Bio-luminescent conduits pulsed like veins across the structure, guided by a forgotten AI still executing dormant commands.
Nora's gloved fingers brushed the metal as they entered the main corridor. "This place... it was never a lab. It was a containment vault."
Elijah aimed his rifle into the shadows. "For what?"
She tapped her scanner. "Not what. Who."
They approached a steel bulkhead. Embedded in the panel was a retinal scanner fused with Seraphim-code encryption—one that recognized only three specific genomes. Nora, her mother, and Aiko.
The system blinked green.
The door hissed open.
---
In Providence – Inner Core Vault
Inside, dozens of stasis pods lined the chamber, each bearing names... many erased, others replaced. Nora moved between them, eyes scanning until she stopped before one that made her heart pound.
Aiko Grey.
The pod was partially defrosted. Her vitals were unstable.
"She's alive," Nora whispered. "But someone's tampered with her neural alignment."
Suddenly, overhead lights flared red. A distorted voice echoed through the chamber.
"Welcome home, children."
Archer Grey's voice.
He appeared on a terminal screen beside the pods, calm as always. "I knew you'd come."
Damien's jaw clenched. "You're a coward, Archer. Hiding behind ice and ghosts."
"Not hiding," Archer said. "Observing. You've come far, but Providence is not what you think. It's where the Seraphim Code was born."
He shifted his gaze to Nora. "And where your mother became its first vessel."
---
Providence – Restricted Chamber Z
Evelyn, restrained and awake, was confined behind a transparent barrier. Her pulse was strong, but her memories frayed. Nora rushed forward, hands against the cold glass.
"Mom?"
Evelyn stirred. Her eyes locked onto Nora, recognition flickering. "You… You mustn't awaken them. It's a trap."
"What trap?" Damien demanded.
"The others. The failed ones. They were never meant to survive, but Archer used me… used my DNA… to perfect them. He wanted gods in human skin."
A sudden tremor shook the facility.
From the deep levels below, backup systems engaged—ventilation fans spun, machinery roared, and a hiss rose from the lower levels.
The failed prototypes were awakening.
In Providence – Emergency Quarantine Bay
"Protocol Omega has been activated," the system announced. "Biogenic anomalies detected. Initiating purge in 15 minutes."
"We're not leaving Aiko or Evelyn behind," Damien said, voice sharp.
Kiyomi nodded, pulling out explosive charges. "Then we move fast."
Nora approached the mainframe, hacking through Archer's layers of encryption. Every code she cracked brought memories flooding back—childhood flashes, procedures she didn't understand then, now horrifyingly clear.
She had been a backup vessel. Not just Evelyn's daughter. A template.
Finally, she overrode the lockdown.
Evelyn's chamber hissed open, and Nora caught her mother as she stumbled forward.
"Don't let the code fall into his hands," Evelyn gasped. "Or it won't just be this continent that burns."
Location; Providence – Escape Hangar
The prototypes were chasing now—half-formed humans with serpentine veins and soulless eyes, enhanced but unstable.
Gunfire echoed through the icy tunnels as the team fought toward the extraction pad.
Aiko, weak but conscious, held Nora's hand. "You came for me…"
Nora smiled through tears. "Always."
Damien triggered the last charge behind them. The ceiling began to collapse, the cryo-vault imploding in blue fire.
As the escape ship lifted off, Providence disappeared beneath an avalanche of ice and steel.
Location; Airborne – En Route to Tavara
They sat in silence, the hum of the engines lulling their adrenaline-soaked hearts.
Evelyn, wrapped in thermal gear, reached out to Elijah beside her. "You look just like your uncle."
Elijah blinked. "My uncle?"
Evelyn's lips curled faintly. "Dominic. Damien's twin."
Damien froze.
He'd never told anyone.
Nora's eyes widened. "He died in Cairo... or so we thought."
Evelyn shook her head. "He didn't die. He disappeared. And now... he's with Archer."