“Sasha!” With one hand on the terminal, Slava was scouring the systems, his eyes darting hysterically all over the place. “I’m doing my best!” Slava's other hand moved to the side and as the door opened behind him, he opened fire into the chaotic hallway. As two stunned bodies fell to the ground, the door closed back up, slicing them in half. “Then do better!” He could see her blurry outline out of the corner of his eye. She'd started with her sniper, changing her position every so often. But now she was welding her pistols, waltzing between the different levels of the balconies.

“Alright, on my signal, get to the elevator” Slava's eyes dashed around as his weapon morphed in his hand. “I'll follow your lead.” As she answered, the door behind him shook, it was at its limits. For the first time, he looked away from the terminals and his vision cleared up.

Raising his weapon to the window in front of him, he pulled the trigger. A thin line escaped the weapon's muzzle, slowly travelling to the window's surface. Vibration spread and, with a distinct sound, cracks followed.

“Go now!” he told Sasha, jumping through it. As he did, he saw Sasha and with his weapon morphing back to its original form, he began shooting the armored guards aiming for his friend. Seeing her do the same, he smiled.

“How long is this elevator going to take?” Sasha asked, seemingly worried. They were running out of juice. “Don't worry about it, I've got a plan,” he said, looking up. Answering his call, a row of lasers appeared, around them, connecting the floor to the ceiling. Looking at this, Sasha let out a sigh of relief, but before she could catch her breath, they vanished, leaving a confused look on Slava's face.

“Stand down, drop your weapons and reveal yourselves! You're surrounded! The security codes were reset!” Access was lost… that was fast. Feeling Sasha's gaze, he looked to the side, and that's when something new appeared in his vision. Smirking, he glanced back at the reactor. Jack always managed to surprise him.

“Did you really think we didn't plan for this?” at his words, the room turned red, warning lights appearing around the now phasing reactor. “You'll let us go or… well, do I really need to spell it out?” Confident in his bluff, he briefly revealed his hazy figure. The leading soldier took a step back, part of the formation closing up on him. After a tense staredown, he came back.

“Let them go,” he said begrudgingly as the elevator opened up. “But sir…” a young one retorted. “Are you disobeying the order, soldier?” To his chilling words, the man shut up, watching as the two unidentified criminals stepped into the city's most restricted area.

“That was odd,” Sasha suddenly said, her outline now slightly visible where she was leaning against the wall. “It was faster than expected.” He assumed that they would at least get to the countdown. But they were here and all that was left was to wait.

“So now that we're here, are you going to tell me what we're doing here?” What followed was silence, a long awkward silence. “Do you remember Project Rebirth?” She eventually asked. He blankly stared. “No? Arissa? The scythe?” Oh yeah, back when Serena and Arissa first met, she'd briefly mentioned it. “Serena…” she continued with a sigh. “No, I remember now,” he interrupted. “Good, then this will be easier. While you were gone, we tried reconstructing the log entries, and we were able to triangulate the locations where they were recorded… We also decoded a few more words: 'blood-related', 'bloodline', and… ‘sisters’.” Her voice carried the weight of her words, it felt like she was talking to herself. Almost as if she was confessing a sin. “Slava the more time passes the more I question myself and my past. I think I might've had…” suddenly halting her words, she groaned, her weak outline grabbing onto her head.

“Hey, what's wrong?” He rushed to her, their outlines rippling against each other. “It's nothing,” she muttered, lightly pushing him away. He was about to retort when the doors opened. As soon as they did, she immediately rushed out.

Following the sound of the door closing behind them, the room gradually lit up. It was clearly a lab, but for what? While they walked down the center of the room, empty glass cylinders gradually brightened on both sides. They were numbered, serialized and abandoned. At the end of it stood a complex contraption, seemingly meant to bind someone. It exuded an ominous aura, giving him a feeling of loss. He felt drained just from looking at it.

“No… Impossible…” He’d been so mesmerized that he hadn’t noticed Sasha rushing toward it, blankly staring at their surroundings. “They are gone… No… I have to check.” Her transparency was completely gone. He couldn’t stop her. He rushed after her, but before he could say a word, her hand touched the main console. With a grunt she fell to her knees, the contraption lighting up, something seeping into her suit. When he arrived behind her he reached out when a voice interrupted him.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Recognizing the source of the voice, Slava instantly turned around, the transparent layer of his white suit peeling off, golden chains moving to take its place. “She's no longer here,” the man continued, stepping out from the darkness. Looking back at Sasha, he met her blank, hollow gaze, the light blueish-grey glow emanating through her bandana piercing through him. Seeing her in this state lit his eyes ablaze with fury. He didn't know what was going on, but he would sure as hell find out. The chains around his body slowly disappeared, materializing in the air around him, all pointing at an unguarded Mayhem standing in the corner.

He should've known something like this would happen. There was no way it would be this easy. He’d failed to feel the domain of the intruder’s suit, one of the downsides of cutting off his own from his environment. But all of that didn't matter anymore. Now that they knew that they were here, the plan had failed, and his number one priority was to get out.

“Whoa, I'm not looking for a fight,” Mayhem said, throwing his hands up in the air. “I just want to talk. Besides, I couldn't stop you even if I wanted to.” That much was true, which is why he was even more on edge. “To think my luck was this bad.” Hearing this, his shoulders slumped a little. He tried calling for Crow, but somehow it didn’t reach. He was there, but unresponsive. Slava could already imagine him gritting his teeth. They’d agreed that he would not come unless mortal danger befell either one of them, but for him to not even respond… Mayhem was definitely not lying. The others were probably in a similar situation to his.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be fine, she’s just having a long overdue talk with her father.” The words made him freeze as he slowly lowered his guard. He had no more than 15 minutes, 15 minutes to find a way out. He could see right through them, they were stalling, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t retrieve some information. With his connection to his domain properly reestablished, his brain went into overdrive.

First, he needed to find a way to get Sasha out of this state, he didn't know what moving her would do. She would be in no state to utilize her sigil's strength, so that was off the table. Crow wasn't responding, the space here seemed isolated, so he wouldn't be able to contact anyone on the outside. Jack also wouldn't work…

“You’re much more peculiar than I thought…” Everything slowed back down and a new voice echoed throughout the room, although he couldn’t identify its source, he recognized it. “If you cared so much for her, then why did you abandon her for two months?” He clenched his fists. Something was wrong. Suvorova, the traitor… where was she? “Why did you refuse Aria's proposal? You could've helped Henosis, but you didn't…” she suddenly went silent. Slava didn't look to be listening. No matter how much he looked or felt around, he couldn't pinpoint her location.

“Oh, am I distracting you? I’m sorry, this should help clear things up.” With the sound of echoing fingers snapping, countless figures appeared before Slava. They were too many to count and as their outlines blurred, they merged into one. That’s when he was hit with a realization: She wasn’t here, she was in the network. Running through multiple diagnosis checks, his eyes widened. Her trace was everywhere, over everything, all the systems, all the algorithms, her sigil, her domain…

“Why are you not saying anything? Is it that shocking? As he said, we’re here to have a conversation.” 11, a variable he hadn’t accounted for had appeared. “Alright, what do you want?” He finally asked, crossing his arms. “Oh my, so you do speak!” The Major’s voice echoed sarcastically. “Shut up Marina, this isn’t the time for this,” Mayhem chimed in, he looked to be taking this way more seriously than her. “First we need to speak of the key.” Hearing a ringing sound coming from behind him, he turned his head. Above Sasha now floated an arrow. “Stop fucking around, you’ll get me killed.” He had to keep it together… control… breathe…

“What?” She asked, seemingly offended. “It’s her purpose, it’s what she was made for.” She stopped, turning towards the unresponsive Slava. “He should know better than anyone what this means.” As she spun around him, he could feel her anger, her hate. “Don’t you want to save your country? Avenge the family you’ve lost?” She whispered through his suit, her hollow body appearing next to him. He wanted nothing to do with that place that had abandoned his family.

“We all have our reasons.” Slava was trying his best to keep his composure. “Sometimes sacrifices are necessary.” His eyes unconsciously followed Suvorova who reappeared next to the talking Mayhem, and that’s when he froze. His face was no longer covered. Familiar features, dark hair flowing down his face, obscuring what looked like a scar that covered half of it. What caught his eyes the most were his eyes, deep brown eyes carrying a subtle red tint. It was his first time seeing his face and… This was impossible… a clone? No, his features were too different, a brother… “As you can see, the temple didn’t treat me too kindly,” he bitterly smiled. This explained a lot about Kolya’s origins and his failed quest to reconnect with his past but now wasn’t the time.

Wait… his head was uncovered, he was breathing… oxygen, airflow, escape vent… But he couldn’t feel the flow of air. An isolated space? Shit! 6. Think! Slava, think! Were they really cornered? Did he really have no other choice but to go through that damned elevator?

“He’s not listening, this isn’t working.” Despite his brain filtering the rest of the conversation, those clear and sharp words stung the back of his neck. “What have you done?” He asked with a trembling voice. “Oh, I’m done with this rebellious child… for now.” He didn’t even need to turn around to know who this was. The supposedly dead father, Lord Expance. “However, you… Vyacheslav… a glorious name…” He’d suspected it, but it was finally confirmed. Clear, concise and filled with intent. A man with his fingers all over society, hiding in plain sight, playing with his words, and influencing others’ thoughts, Black Hydra.

“You know?” His translucent figure walked in front of him. “You remind me of my younger self.” An imposing man, neatly dressed, hands behind his back, turning around to face him. “Unwavering determination, striding toward an unattainable goal.” Deep, bottomless brown eyes, short neatly combed black hair. It would’ve been impossible to discern him from any normal person if it wasn’t for the two people lightly bowing their heads behind him. This was her father, they looked nothing alike. She was like an anchor, always pulling him back down to his feet. 3, he was running out of time, what would she do in his place?

“Why do you keep staring at her? Do you not trust me?” He interrupted his thoughts. “Well, I couldn’t blame you.” It was irritating, he was reading him like an open book, without seeing his face, without hearing his voice, almost as if he was reading his mind.

“In the beginning, I thought she would grow to be a mindless puppet, an empty shell, like all the others.” He walked to his daughter’s side, crouching down to caress her cheek, genuine care in his gaze. “But fortunately, or not, she began developing feelings… and a conscience.” He gradually stood back up. “It couldn’t be helped, I knew she would one day meet her fate, but I still decided to give her the best life I could give.” 1, fuck! Serena, Destiny, Chaos! No, Sasha!

“Unfortunately, that fate is rapidly approaching, the previous host is reaching its expiration date. I'm sure you already know, but Chaos is coming, and it’s not the only one, this is our last chance.” What would she do here? What would she do? “I hope you can understand, the fate of humanity rests on this.” Haha, that’s right, she wouldn’t care, she would turn the whole world upside down if she had to. He just had to do the same, as he always did push himself to his limits.

He and Mayhem were the only ones that were actually in this room, was it time to test his actual reaction time? He should give them a taste of their own medicine. Drain them like they did his ‘kind’, as he did to the Necrosis suit back then, but better. Smiling, he rushed through the hollow Lord.

Before anyone could react he was in front of Mayhem, hands behind his back, his chains restraining the black armor which had burst into flames. “No! What are you doing?” Suvorova exclaimed, her voice growing distant. “Stop. STOP!” Her screams were almost unnoticeable as his vision grew shrouded in darkness.

Liquid… His feet grew familiarly wet. He knew exactly where he was. Looking up, he was met with a familiar set of purple eyes, however, this time, they weren’t staring at him but behind him. They were restlessly scouring, as if looking for something that wasn’t there. At the sight of this scene, Slava started sinking, this wasn’t something he wanted to interrupt. If it was letting him through, he wouldn’t complain, he had something he needed to do.

He sank and the surroundings darkened. Upon reaching total darkness, a sea of star-like dots revealed themselves around him. Reaching out, he grabbed the closest one. His hand went through it, the small sphere dissipating. Clenching his teeth, Slava focussed, the misty cloud surrounding his hand gradually congregating into a string. He knew exactly what he was about to do. Something Henosis could never know, something that Sasha could never know.

“Argh!” Tugging on the gamma thread, he felt the weight of what felt like a thousand stars bearing down on him. It was painful yet refreshing, he was overflowing. He focused even harder, feeling every inch of the thread and the stars connected to it. They were dimming, being extinguished one after the other; 100, 10 000, 1 000 000 lives.

His screams were overshadowing the major's. His hand was on Mayhem's chest, and he was struggling to keep it there, not because of the numerous machines and devices trying to pull him away, but because of the sheer weight of the flow that he was trying to take in. This conduit might've been the best, but it was still far from direct contact.

0, the newly arrived Heroes rushed out from the elevator shaft, destroying the elevator in the process. They didn't hesitate, not wasting any time and rushing towards their shackled comrade. However, with every step they made, the distance seemed to grow, not because of the space distorting, but because they were getting slower.

The Deceleration didn't stop, only accelerating with every moment that passed, until they finally stopped. The world stopped, leaving no one but Slava to take a step. A step back he took, letting go of a now floating Mayhem. His hands were shaking, his suit struggling to follow his movements, leaving most of his body exposed, shattered fragments floating around him. He fell to his knees, the floor cracking under his weight. It was overwhelming, all of this momentum writhing inside him like a storm, threatening to rip his body to shreds.

Was this the end? Could he really not control it? “Of course not.” To which? “Both,” he felt our touch reach his shoulder, under the scrutinizing purple gaze. It couldn't be helped, they would notice, but it was his choice to make, and we had to respect it. The first thing he felt was a warmth seeping into him like a soothing wave, reminding him of home. Then a chilling coldness calmed him down, clearing out the path towards his goal: Sasha.

If he couldn't keep it, if it wanted to get out so badly, then he would use it. It took him some time, but he eventually stood up, taking one step towards his goal, then another and another. For what felt like ages, walked and walked until he finally reached Sasha. Crouching down, he took the time to feel her soft sleeping face, carefully moving a few flocks of hair away from it. When he was done, he gently picked her up.

He could see and feel all kinds of things that he didn't understand. He could see different flows drifting inside the Heroes' bodies, feel the halted movement of their thoughts… But he didn't linger, focussing on his goal, on getting her out of here. He knew that if he tried to understand, he would only get lost, losing himself and her in the process. He didn't have much time, his body was falling apart, how ironic.

Upon reaching the elevator shaft, he smiled, walking into it. Still, to think that just by walking, his understanding was broadening. He walked past the gap at his feet, onto the wall. When he did, the doorway twisted behind him, blocking the way out.

He walked at a constant speed without stopping, his glowing white figure growing smaller and smaller until he was but a tiny star at the end of the tunnel.