Location:; Avalora Station – Subterranean Labs, Iron Cliffs, Tavara
The Iron Cliffs loomed like jagged teeth biting into the sky, shrouded in fog and centuries of mystery. Beneath them, long-buried within the earth's crust, was Avalora Station—an abandoned research facility once hailed as the crown jewel of Tavara's scientific revolution.
Now, it echoed only with silence and secrets.
Damien and Nora descended a hidden shaft, protected by biometric seals that hadn't been touched in years. The metal doors groaned open, revealing a hallway lined with flickering lights and shattered glass.
"Everything about this place feels wrong," Nora muttered, adjusting the light on her tactical visor.
"It was decommissioned after a containment breach," Damien said. "But that was just a cover. This is where your father worked with Aveline. Where Genesis was born."
Nora clenched her jaw. "Then it's where this ends."
They pushed deeper into the facility, past labs sealed by rusted doors and terminals powered by backup cores. Every step crackled underfoot with fragments of old tech and forgotten hopes.
But as they rounded a corner, the atmosphere changed.
The air was warmer, charged with energy. The lights pulsed in a strange rhythm—like the heartbeat of something still alive.
A voice suddenly echoed through the corridor.
"You're late."
Damien spun, gun drawn. Nora's breath caught.
Emerging from the shadows was a man with a silver beard and tired eyes—Dr. Elias Rowe.
"Dad…" Nora whispered, her voice barely audible.
Elias smiled gently, stepping forward. "You found me."
Nora ran to him, arms wrapping tightly around his frame as years of pain and longing poured out in silence. Damien stood back, eyes narrowed with cautious relief.
"I've been watching you," Elias said softly. "You've grown into everything I hoped you'd become."
"We thought you were dead," she choked. "Why didn't you come back?"
He pulled away slightly, eyes heavy. "Because returning meant putting you in greater danger. The Genesis code isn't just a project—it's the blueprint of human potential. If it falls into the wrong hands…"
"We know," Damien cut in. "Aveline wants to reengineer human genetics and reset society. And Kade is playing a game even deeper."
Elias nodded grimly. "That's why I stayed hidden. The key is still inside me—literally. The neural map is encoded in my mind. But it's degrading. Time is running out."
A loud boom shook the corridor, followed by the hiss of gas being released from the vents.
"They're here," Damien growled.
Nora turned sharply. "Seal the lab. We can't let them take him."
Elias activated a manual override on a nearby panel. Thick steel doors slammed shut just as silhouettes appeared on the far end of the hallway.
Trapped… but for now, safe.
Inside the inner lab, Elias tapped into the mainframe, fingers flying over the console.
"I stored a failsafe," he said. "Something even Aveline doesn't know about. A way to permanently lock the Genesis code. But I'll need both keys and…" He paused. "I'll need to transfer the last piece from my mind. That process… could kill me."
Nora shook her head instantly. "No. We find another way."
"There is no other way, Nora," Elias said quietly. "This is what I've prepared for."
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the outer doors. Sparks rained from the ceiling. A countdown appeared on the central console.
"Intrusion detected. Core destabilization imminent."
Damien's jaw clenched. "They've overloaded the security grid. We've got ten minutes—maybe less—before this whole facility collapses."
Nora turned to her father. "Then transfer it now. We'll protect you until it's done."
Elias nodded and strapped into the neural sync device. Nora and Damien positioned themselves at the entrance, weapons drawn.
The machine buzzed to life, lines of code streaming across the walls like digital veins. Elias groaned as the transfer began, his body jolting with every burst of data.
Footsteps thundered outside.
A dozen masked mercenaries breached the inner hallway, and behind them—Aveline.
Clad in tactical armor, she stepped forward, her gaze burning with fury. "Step aside, Nora. You're protecting a relic. The future is mine."
Nora's eyes blazed. "You lost that future the day you betrayed my father."
Gunfire erupted.
Damien and Nora moved like shadows—precise, lethal, unyielding. The mercenaries fell one by one, but more kept pouring in.
Elias screamed as the final transfer surged through him, the lights dimming as the system completed its sequence.
Nora glanced back. "Dad?!"
Elias collapsed, unconscious but breathing.
The keys—both hers and Damien's—glowed as the console accepted the final data. The failsafe engaged.
Aveline let out a furious scream. "You fools! You've destroyed centuries of progress!"
Damien fired a pulse grenade, forcing her to retreat. He hoisted Elias over his shoulder. "Time to go!"
They fled through a collapsing corridor as the self-destruct engaged. Steel rained from the ceiling. Fire chased their heels.
They burst from the emergency hatch just as the mountain roared behind them, Avalora Station imploding into itself, burying the truth forever.