The light faded slowly, revealing the chamber untouched—yet everything had changed.
Seojun stood motionless, his hand still resting on the Eden Seed. The sphere no longer glowed; instead, its energy coursed through him—tiny arcs of pale blue tracing patterns across his skin. His eyes had turned a faint silver.
"Seojun?" Hana stepped forward cautiously.
He turned, voice softer but layered—like two frequencies speaking at once.
"I'm... still me. But I hear them. All of them. The fragments of humanity's first dream."
Nova's hologram trembled slightly. "The Seed is interfacing with your neural pathways. You've become its anchor."
From the tunnel behind, a low rumble echoed—followed by a high-pitched shriek that wasn't mechanical. Rho's voice cut in.
"Unidentified bio-mechanical lifeforms incoming. Four signatures. Fast."
Seojun turned to the group. "The Seed woke something up. Or someone's been guarding it all this time."
Elias raised his rifle. "Do we hold position or run?"
Nova answered without hesitation. "We hold. The Seed must be protected until it completes the transfer. If it's destroyed, we lose everything."
Suddenly, a wall burst open.
From the smoke stepped a creature clad in obsidian armor, its eyes burning crimson. But it wasn't alone—behind it hovered three others, sleeker, faster, more predatory.
"Shadowborn," Rho whispered. "Genetic hybrids built during the Singularity Wars. I thought they were extinct."
The lead creature tilted its head. It spoke—in a voice that echoed with mechanical elegance.
"Return the Seed. It does not belong to you."
Seojun stepped forward. His voice—now infused with the Seed—rang with calm certainty.
"It belongs to all of us. You just want to silence it again."
Without warning, the Shadowborn attacked.
But this time, the team didn't retreat.
Because Seojun wasn't alone anymore.