The safehouse reeked of mildew and old sweat. Flickering bulbs buzzed overhead, casting sickly shadows on the peeling walls. Evan sat hunched over the table, steam curling from the black coffee in front of him. His fingers drummed against the ceramic. He hadn't slept. Not since Lennox dropped the name.
"Project Ascendant is active," the bastard had said. "And one survived."
Evan wasn't the same man who'd once begged to be freed from that place. He was worse now. He understood the dark. Could command it, even. But there were things even he feared — and Ascendants were one of them.
Lennox leaned against the far wall, still breathing hard from their earlier run-in with a drone patrol. His coat was torn at the sleeve, blood soaking through the fabric. But he didn't complain.
"Three nights from now," Lennox said, "they're moving the Ascendant from Site Theta to an undisclosed holding unit."
"Why move it?"
"Because it's unstable," he replied. "Whatever the hell they put inside it… it's rejecting the host."
Evan's jaw tightened. He'd seen rejection before — when the human soul tried to scream no to the Other Side and got torn apart for it. He still heard those screams sometimes, just before dawn.
"You said you'd tell me who's behind it."
Lennox lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and blew the smoke toward the ceiling.
"I don't know all of them. But the main sponsor? Dr. Emory Veldt."
Evan stiffened.
That name wasn't new.
In another life, back when Evan still had parents and a dog and thought science was supposed to save people — Veldt had been a household name. A biotech prodigy. A public darling.
Until she disappeared. Until Latchkey swallowed her whole.
"She was the one who started it," Lennox said. "Back then, it was just theory. Pulling echoes of the supernatural into this world. Now? She's perfecting it. And she's using the Ascendant as proof of concept."
Evan pushed the coffee aside and stood.
"We end it. Burn it to the ground."
"You think I haven't tried?" Lennox barked. "This isn't the same game anymore. She has support. Military-grade security. Contracts with the UN. And that Ascendant? It's not just a vessel. It's a message. Proof that humans can become gods if they're willing to suffer."
Evan turned to the wall, where a dusty corkboard held scattered newspaper clippings and red thread. Photos. Notes. Faces.
One photo was circled in red.
A young woman, face pale, eyes glassy, body contorted unnaturally.
The test subject who survived.
He didn't recognize her.
But something in her expression twisted in his gut — like she wasn't looking at the camera, but through it. Through time. Through him.
"What's her name?" Evan asked.
Lennox looked away. "Her file was sealed. All I know is the project calls her Model Zero."
Evan felt it like a thunderclap. Zero.
The first. The prototype. The catalyst.
He didn't realize he was gripping the edge of the table until it cracked under his fingers.
"She's not the only one," Lennox added quietly. "They're working on more. They think they can scale the process. Build a new breed."
Evan turned, fire in his eyes.
"Then we end the bloodline before it spreads."
Lennox nodded grimly. "I can get us into Site Theta. One of the tunnels is still open. But if we go in, we don't come back the same."
"We never do."
They set the plan.
Infiltrate Site Theta.
Find Model Zero.
Expose Veldt's twisted research.
And if possible — end it all.
As night swallowed the city, Evan and Lennox vanished into the underbelly — into sewers and forgotten rails and air that tasted like ash and memory.
They walked in silence, weapons strapped tight, magic humming low in their veins.
Hours passed.
Finally, they arrived.
Site Theta wasn't just underground.
It was beneath underground.
A buried monolith — steel walls, black glass, and veins of mana-infused wiring that pulsed like arteries. It looked like it didn't belong to this world at all.
Inside, everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Then came the whisper.
Low. Feminine.
"You shouldn't have come."
Evan spun.
But no one was there.
Lennox's eyes widened. "She's awake."
Another whisper. This time closer.
"You were part of the system, Evan. You bled for it. Died for it. Now you return like a shadow that forgot it had a shape."
Evan's heart pounded.
"How does she know my name?"
Lennox's voice trembled. "Because she's not just a host anymore. She's merged."
The lights flickered.
Metal groaned.
From the corridor ahead, a figure stepped out.
Barefoot. Blood trailing behind her. Eyes glowing like dying stars.
Model Zero.
She looked human.
But only at first glance.
Up close, her skin shimmered like glass stretched too thin. Veins black with corrupted mana. Mouth twitching in unnatural patterns — like someone else was trying to speak through her.
"Hello, Evan," she said.
He raised his blade.
She smiled.
"I've been waiting."
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