They found the first preserved body in Room C. It wasn't frozen like the others. Instead, it was… warm. Suspended in a golden fluid, skin flawless, hair drifting gently like seaweed. A boy—no older than Aria when she entered the cryo-facility.
Rhea reached toward the chamber before Kael pulled her back. "Don't touch anything."
"There's no identification," Aria said, skimming through the logs. "No age. No history. Just a codename: Aether."
The system beeped. A faint voice filled the room, distorted and mechanical.
"If you are hearing this, the ICEGARDEN has failed containment. Do not—repeat—do not awaken the seed subjects. Genetic instability is—"
The message cut off.
Kael stepped away from the chamber. "We're leaving. Now."
Aria didn't move. Her eyes were glued to the chamber's vitals. "He's alive. Stable. And he might know why they were doing this."
Rhea tilted her head. "You want to wake him?"
"No," Aria said softly. "I want to talk to him first."