The rain faded behind them.
Not because it stopped—
Because Adam no longer heard it.
Everything had narrowed.
Target.
Distance.
Entry points.
The facility stood silent .
"No alarms," Adam said.
The woman beside him nodded.
"They don't need them anymore."
A pause.
"They're expecting you."
Adam's eyes didn't leave the structure.
"Good."
They didn't use the main entrance.
Too obvious.
Too controlled.
Instead, the woman led him toward a service access buried along the lower perimeter—half hidden, half forgotten.
She placed her hand against the panel.
Nothing happened.
Then—
A flicker.
The system hesitated.
Adam felt it.
"…it recognizes you."
The woman didn't answer.
"Not me," she said quietly.
A beat.
"Something I left behind."
The door unlocked.
Inside—
Silence.
Too clean.
Too empty.
Adam stepped forward.
Every sense sharpened.
Every instinct screaming—
Wrong.
"They cleared it," he said.
"Yes."
The woman's voice was calm.
"Because they want you to reach her."
Adam stopped.
Then turned slightly.
"Why?"
She met his gaze.
"Because they need to see what you'll become."
A sound.
Soft.
Almost nothing.
Adam moved before it finished.
A drone dropped from the ceiling—
Too slow.
Adam's hand shot up—
Caught it mid-air—
Crushed it.
Metal collapsed like paper in his grip.
He froze.
Not because of the attack.
Because of what he just did.
The woman noticed.
"…that's new."
Adam stared at his hand.
No hesitation.
No effort.
"…yeah."
More movement.
This time—
Faster.
Figures stepped out from the shadows.
Not wolves.
Not vampires.
Something else.
Their eyes were empty.
Controlled.
"Prototypes," the woman said.
"Failed attempts."
They rushed him.
All at once.
Adam didn't step back.
Didn't defend.
He moved forward.
Faster than before.
Faster than thought.
The first one swung—
Adam vanished from its line of sight.
Reappeared behind it—
A single strike—
It dropped.
Second—
Third—
He didn't fight them.
He erased them.
Clean.
Precise.
Efficient.
Like his body already knew how.
Then—
Everything stopped.
Adam stood still.
Breathing.
Listening.
Feeling.
"…this isn't just strength," he said.
The woman didn't reply.
She was watching him differently now.
"Your body is adapting," she said.
A pause.
"Evolving."
Lights flickered.
The system reacted.
Not Defense.
Recognition.
SUBJECT A — RESPONSE LEVEL INCREASED
Adam's eyes narrowed.
"They're watching."
"Always."
A door opened ahead.
Slowly.
Inviting.
Adam didn't wait.
He walked forward.
No hesitation.
Far below—
Lia's chamber.
Her body floated slightly above the ground now.
Unnatural.
Controlled.
"Synchronization at 63%."
Her fingers twitched.
Then—
Stilled.
Back in the corridor—
Adam stopped suddenly.
The woman noticed.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer.
His head tilted slightly.
Listening.
But not with his ears.
"…I can feel her."
A beat.
"Closer."
The woman's expression changed.
"That's not possible."
Adam started walking again.
"No."
His voice dropped.
Cold.
"It is."
The deeper they went—
The less the facility resisted.
Doors opened.
Systems yielded.
Like something inside recognized him.
Accepted him.
Then—
They reached it.
The final door.
Different.
Sealed.
Alive.
The woman stepped forward—
Then stopped.
"…this is as far as I go."
Adam didn't look at her.
"Why?"
A pause.
"Because what's behind that door…"
She hesitated.
"…won't see me as an ally."
Silence.
Then—
Adam stepped forward.
Alone.
His hand touched the door.
For a second—
Nothing.
Then—
It opened.
Not for her.
For him.
Inside—
White.
Endless.
And in the center—
Lia.
Adam took one step forward.
"…I found you."
Her eyes opened.
Slowly.
Glowing.
Not the same.
"Synchronization at 71%."
She smiled.
But it wasn't her.
"Adam…"
A pause.
Her voice shifted.
Layered.
"…you came."
Adam didn't move.
Didn't react.
But something inside him—
Snapped.