Location: Subterranean Labyrinth – Lucien's Secret Wing
Nora crashed through a series of metal grates before hitting solid ground, her body aching. Darkness enveloped her, broken only by faint red emergency lights. She coughed, struggling to stand. The walls around her were unlike any other part of the facility—black glass and pulsing veins of light humming with energy.
"This isn't just a lower level," she muttered, steadying herself. "It's a goddamn mind trap."
Above, Lucien's voice echoed from hidden speakers.
"Welcome to the Mind Hollow, Nora. Designed to extract and unravel memories. Let's see how long you hold onto your sanity."
The walls shimmered.
And suddenly—
She was seven again.
Standing in a room where her parents argued, unaware of her presence.
"You're endangering her by hiding the truth," her father growled.
"She's just a child!" her mother snapped.
Nora stepped back, heart racing. This wasn't real.
"Focus," she whispered. "This is a projection."
She forced her eyes shut and took a deep breath.
When she opened them again, the illusion dissolved. But the corridor ahead changed—now lined with doors, each labeled with memories she never dared to revisit.
One read: Damien – The Goodbye That Never Happened.
Another: Vesper's Disappearance.
She clenched her fists. "I'm not your puppet, Lucien."
---
Location: Sublevel Combat Corridor
Vesper leaned heavily on Damien, her body trembling from the battle with Cyra. Her shirt was torn, revealing bruises and cuts. Yet her grip on Damien's hand was steady.
"I don't have much time," she rasped.
"We're getting you out of here."
She shook her head. "Lucien's still got Nora. And there's something… else. He was building a new prototype—more advanced than Cyra."
Damien's jaw tightened. "Project Specter?"
Vesper nodded. "It's not just tech. He fused artificial consciousness with... fragments of real minds. Including mine."
Damien froze. "You mean he cloned—"
"No," she said. "He sliced parts of me—memories, instincts—and fed them into Specter's neural core. If we don't stop it... it'll become me, without the humanity."
The lights flickered. An explosion shook the ground above.
"We're out of time," Damien said. "Kane's holding the extraction point. We find Nora, destroy Specter, and end Lucien."
Vesper smirked despite the pain. "And here I thought you'd never commit to a full plan."
---
Location: Mind Hollow – Depth Sector
Nora stepped through the memory doors, resisting each pull.
One room showed Damien holding her broken body in an alternate future.
Another showed Vesper dying in her arms.
Each one crafted by Lucien to weaken her resolve.
But the deeper she walked, the clearer her mind became. She remembered her training. Her inner strength.
Then—
She found the real door.
Cold steel. Locked with biometric encryption.
She pressed her hand on the panel.
It opened.
Inside stood a sleek chamber housing a glass pod.
And within it—a tall humanoid figure. Pale, genderless, with shifting eyes that mirrored hers.
Lucien's voice returned.
"Meet Specter."
The pod hissed open.
The creature stepped forward.
And smiled.
"Hello, Nora. I remember everything you fear."