The facility was silent.
Not the unnatural silence from before.
A real one.
No machines.
No alarms.
No voices from hidden systems.
For the first time in years—
The Origin Project was quiet.
Artyom stood in the center of the chamber.
The screen still showed the final message.
ORIGIN PROJECT TERMINATED.
Everyone looked at the same question.
Not what happened.
But who did it.
Dmitri checked the console.
His fingers moved quickly.
Then stopped.
"That's impossible."
Mikhail sighed.
"You really need a new phrase."
Dmitri ignored him.
"The shutdown wasn't forced."
Nikola looked over.
"Meaning?"
Dmitri's eyes narrowed.
"It was authorized."
The room went cold.
Roman's voice lowered.
"By whom?"
A new message appeared.
One word.
MOROZOV
Artyom froze.
No one spoke.
Because they all understood.
Andrei had been watching.
Waiting.
Then the speakers activated.
His voice filled the chamber.
Calm.
Tired.
Familiar.
"Artyom."
Artyom looked up.
"You knew."
A pause.
"Yes."
The answer was simple.
Too simple.
"You knew everything was here."
"Yes."
"You knew they would bring me."
"Yes."
"You knew I would find out."
Silence.
Then—
"Yes."
Artyom's hands tightened.
Anger rose.
Not because Andrei lied.
Because he didn't.
"You planned this."
Andrei's voice softened.
"No."
A pause.
"I prepared for it."
The difference was small.
But important.
Viktor stepped closer to the speaker.
"Show yourself."
No answer.
Then a final door opened.
At the far end of the chamber.
Everyone turned.
Andrei Morozov walked in.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The man from the photographs.
The ghost.
The person who had haunted Artyom's entire life.
Was standing there.
Alive.
Artyom looked at him.
Really looked.
Andrei's eyes were similar to his.
Not identical.
But enough.
"You're older."
Andrei's expression shifted slightly.
"So are you."
A painful silence.
Sergei looked away.
Valentin watched quietly.
Roman said nothing.
Because this wasn't a battle.
Not yet.
Artyom's voice was cold.
"Why did you leave me?"
The question everyone expected.
The question that had waited years.
Andrei didn't answer immediately.
For once—
He looked unsure.
"Because staying would have killed you."
Artyom laughed softly.
No humor in it.
"That's what everyone says."
Andrei accepted the anger.
"I know."
A pause.
"I thought if I removed myself from your life, they would stop seeing you as a connection to me."
Artyom's eyes hardened.
"They still used me."
Andrei looked down.
"I know."
That hurt more than an excuse.
Viktor watched silently.
He understood something.
Andrei wasn't asking forgiveness.
He was admitting failure.
Suddenly—
A sound came from above.
A helicopter.
Multiple vehicles.
Nikola moved instantly.
"We have company."
Dmitri checked the outside feed.
His face changed.
"This isn't Volkov."
Roman's expression darkened.
"Not Sokolov either."
Andrei looked toward the ceiling.
The first real fear appeared in his eyes.
"They found us."
Artyom looked at him.
"Who?"
Andrei answered quietly:
"The people who created the Origin Project."
The lights flickered.
A message appeared.
Not on the old screens.
On every device.
Every phone.
Every system.
PROJECT FAILURE CONFIRMED
BEGINNING RECOVERY
Andrei's face turned serious.
"They're coming for the subjects."
A pause.
"And the person who can control them."
Everyone looked at Artyom.
The door above exploded open.
Footsteps.
Many.
Viktor moved in front of Artyom.
And Artyom realized—
The project was destroyed.
But the war had only started.