**19:45 PM -- Above the Western Desert Sky**
The rotors of the VTOL Night Raven slice through the evening air. Inside the aircraft's hull, Death Squad prepares, locked and loaded.
The last rays of sunlight vanish beyond the horizon, leaving only the cold, silent shadows of an endless desert stretching into nothing.
Alice lifts her head toward the sky.
"It's too quiet here... like everything's waiting for something."
Omi clenches her fist.
"I need to know... who the hell I really am."
Warren checks the map again.
"Ten minutes to target coordinates. But something's off... temperature's rising at that point when it should be cooling down at night."
Death remains silent. Says nothing.
**20:00 PM -- Center Coordinates of "Nightmare"**
Night Raven touches down in a dry crater resembling a volcanic basin.
The sand beneath trembles faintly.
At the center stands a stone pillar tall as a three-story building, towering and proud, with energy rings spinning around its base.
Suddenly, Lux's voice cuts through their comms.
> "Welcome... to your own nightmare."
"The blood of the past will merge with the future I create... and you, Death... will be the key to unlock the gates of a new hell."
Alice orders everyone to spread out.
But before the team can move, screams erupt from behind—one of their operatives is torn in half by a new model BLOOD TYPE-X.
Its eyes are void of light, yet it moves with perfect killer instinct.
Death locks eyes with it briefly.
No words.
Only the "shing" of a pure black katana being drawn.
**20:03 PM -- First Battle**
BLOOD TYPE-X lunges at Death.
Blade meets claws, the clash of metal reverberating through the crater.
The fight unfolds like shadows chasing shadows—too fast for normal eyes to follow.
Warren provides covering fire from the side.
Alice uses EMP to temporarily slow the BLOOD TYPE-X's neural systems.
Omi uses her embedded tech to briefly hack its control systems.
Death seizes the moment, striking with full force—a "slash" echoes across the battlefield.
Black blood sprays out... but it's still not dead.
> "These things... they're not just biological. They have nano-repair systems too!" —Omi
Death narrows his eyes. "Then I'll have to kill it faster than it can 'regenerate.'"
**20:10 PM -- Energy Rings Begin Activation**
The rings around the stone pillar start glowing blood-red.
The ground shakes in rhythm.
Warren shouts:
"It's not just a base... this is an 'altar to awaken what sleeps'!"
Alice rushes to control a nearby panel.
But a voice sounds in Omi's head... not from Lux, but from "something" embedded in her DNA code.
> "Go home... you shouldn't be here... before 'that thing' realizes you're still alive."
Omi collapses to the ground.
Death rushes to catch her.
"What did you see?"
Omi gasps for breath.
"In the memories... there's something else Lux is hiding... beneath that stone layer—not a weapon, but the first founder of BLOOD LOTUS... who isn't dead yet."
**20:15 PM -- Truth Beneath the Stone**
Massive machinery begins to move, fires beneath the stone pillar blaze bright, energy rings vibrate at accelerated levels.
Alice screams, "Death! Warren! We have to stop it before the system completes!"
Suddenly... the stone floor at the center begins to split apart, revealing stone stairs descending into pitch darkness below.
Death speaks coldly: "We go down—before this nightmare fully awakens."
**20:20 PM -- Below the Base**
They walk through ancient passages that don't look like human construction.
The walls are covered with patterns resembling DNA mixed with strange machinery.
At the center of the chamber—a massive crystal altar. Inside it, a human figure sleeps, wearing a partial metal mask that reveals a face resembling "Death."
Omi gasps. "He... looks exactly like you..."
Warren's suit systems start alerting:
"His vital signs are still active... but the energy levels aren't normal human. It's... 'origin' level."
Lux cuts into their comms again.
> "You found him... the man who gave birth to BLOOD LOTUS and myself—the prototype of everything."
"But he won't wake... until you decide... whether to 'kill' or 'inherit.'"
**20:25 PM -- Death's Choice**
Death stares at the figure, then turns to look at each of his teammates.
"If I kill him—everything BLOOD LOTUS created will crumble along with its roots."
"But if I choose to inherit... I might become the same thing he is."
Omi struggles to speak: "But you're... not like him, Death... you protect people, you don't control them."
Alice walks over and grabs his shoulder. "You don't have to be the 'end' or the 'beginning' of it... but you are a 'new choice' that never existed before."
**20:30 PM -- End of the Nightmare**
Death raises the pure black katana, walks to the crystal altar... and drives the blade into the man's heart.
The sound of shattering echoes throughout the base—the crystal dissolves into particles of light.
Energy from the rings shoots skyward like piercing the nightmare into the heavens.
The remaining BLOOD TYPE-X units collapse, drained of controlling power.
Lux screams through the system:
> "No... you shouldn't reject perfect genetics...!"
"You're not a choice... you're a mistake!!"
Death speaks slowly: "But mistakes... are the only thing humans can still control themselves."
**20:35 PM -- Above the Desert Sky**
Night Raven soars again with the surviving team.
Alice looks out the window, seeing the crater in the middle of the desert collapse into flat ground.
"We shut it down... but the war's just beginning."
Death closes his eyes, murmuring to himself:
"This isn't the end... but it's choosing not to walk in the shadow of the past anymore."
# "Scars and Healing"
**One year after the nightmare in the desert**
Gentle wind blows through a small wooden house amid lush forest.
Leaves sway with the breeze like they're comforting everything that was once broken.
In the living room, Death sits hugging his knees, gazing out the window. His once-hardened face has softened slightly.
His sister sits knitting a scarf for Alice, who sits beside her without words,
but warmth flows through the air.
Alice smiles softly and speaks up:
"Thank you for taking me in... this place really feels like home."
Death's sister glances over with gentle eyes.
"No one has to be alone anymore... we're the same family."
Death turns to look at both of them.
"Whatever came before... we'll walk forward together."
All three fall quiet for a moment before Death stands up.
"But the war isn't over... and this time we won't let anyone else lose what matters."
His voice is soft but filled with conviction...