The world above was painted in shadows and ash.
Kai and Elira moved cautiously through the ruins of downtown Asvalen. The early light filtered through the crimson-tinted sky, casting long, wavering shapes across the fractured pavement. Somewhere far off, a tower collapsed with a distant rumble, sending a flock of mutated crows screaming into the air.
They didn't talk much.
Not because of mistrust—though that still lingered—but because sound carried.
And in this world, silence wasn't absence.It was bait.
Elira led them past burned-out vehicles and twisted lamp posts that had once illuminated bustling streets. Now, vines and moss consumed everything, growing out of cracks like nature's version of scar tissue. She stopped suddenly beside a toppled newspaper dispenser. Inside, the last headline remained barely legible beneath the dust:
"World Health Authority Denies Bio-Weapon Outbreak Rumors—'Just a Flu'"
Kai stared at it for a long time, jaw tightening.
"How far is the lab?" he asked finally.
"About two klicks east," Elira said. "Underground, beneath the old university. We called it the Maw."
He arched an eyebrow. "That's… comforting."
"It wasn't meant to be. We thought it was hell long before the sky turned red."
They resumed walking.
Ten minutes later, they reached the outer wall of the Asvalen University Research District. What used to be a place of innovation and prestige now looked like a war zone. A security gate hung off its hinges. Graffiti painted in dried blood smeared across the outer walls.
One read:"IT'S INSIDE US."
Another, more cryptic:"CRIMSON ISN'T THE END. IT'S THE BEGINNING."
"Who wrote these?" Kai asked.
"Some of the first survivors," Elira replied. "Before they went mad."
They ducked through a broken window into what had once been a reception hall. Dust spiraled in the beams of sunlight cutting through the cracks in the ceiling. Desks overturned. Blood smears. Bullet holes.
The silence inside was deafening.
Kai's boots crunched over broken glass as they moved deeper, toward a secured stairwell at the end of the corridor. A biometric scanner blinked dimly beside the steel door.
"I don't suppose you have clearance," Kai muttered.
Elira stepped forward, lifted her necklace, and pressed the silver pendant against the scanner. The red stone embedded in its center lit up faintly.
Beep. Beep.Access granted.
Kai stared at her.
She shrugged. "My mother was the chief geneticist here. She hid this key in plain sight."
The door hissed open, revealing a descending staircase shrouded in pitch black.
Kai clicked on his flashlight and followed her down.
The air changed.
It grew colder. Heavier. Each step downward was like walking into a tomb.
And yet, everything felt… preserved. Intact. As if the infection above had only kissed the surface and left this place untouched.
When they reached the base level, a steel corridor stretched out before them, perfectly clean. White walls. Seamless doors. No signs of struggle.
Too quiet.
"This is wrong," Kai said.
Elira nodded, visibly tense. "The Maw always felt like it was waiting."
They passed by rooms labeled with names Kai didn't recognize: CRIMSON PROTOCOL - OBSERVATION ROOM A, NEURAL INTERFACE TESTING, REVENANT HOST SIMULATION.
And then they stopped.
A door stood at the far end of the corridor, sealed shut with a retinal scanner and three layers of manual locks. Above it, in faded paint, were the words:
"PROJECT: CRIMSON"
Elira inhaled sharply. "This is it."
Kai stepped closer. His neural implant pulsed.
[MATCHED ACCESS KEY DETECTED: MERCER, K.][RELEASING PRIMARY LOCKS…]
With a low whine, the locks disengaged. The door slid open.
Inside was a single terminal room. No bodies. No blood. Just a central console glowing dimly and a high-backed chair facing an enormous screen.
Elira walked toward the console, brushing dust off the keys.
Kai approached the chair. It was turned away, facing the wall.
"Don't," Elira warned.
Too late.
Kai reached forward and spun it around.
A figure sat in the chair. Desiccated. Dressed in a pristine white lab coat. The flesh had withered, but the eyes… the eyes were open.
And glowing faint red.
Suddenly, the console came to life. A video began playing automatically on the large monitor.
VIDEO FILE 011 — "CRIMSON PROTOCOL: FINAL STATEMENT"
The screen displayed a woman—mid-forties, sharp features, eyes the same deep gray as Elira's.
Elira stepped forward, stunned.
"…Mom?"
The woman on-screen began speaking:
"If you're seeing this, then I have failed. The Crimson Protocol was never meant to be activated. It was designed as a failsafe in case the infection evolved beyond genetic containment.
"We believed the Revenant soldiers could counter it. We were wrong. They weren't immune. They were hosts.
"Project Revenant wasn't a cure. It was a bridge. Between us… and them."
Kai's blood ran cold.
The video continued:
"The virus isn't just biological. It's psionic. Alive. It adapts to thought. To emotion. The more fear, the more hate, the faster it learns. We didn't infect the world. The world infected us.
"The Crimson Glow? It's not a side effect. It's a signal."
Elira's hand covered her mouth.
"My daughter, if you ever find this… run. Find the remnants. There's still one place left untouched. Atlas Station. Find Kai Mercer. He—"
The screen shattered into static.
Silence.
Kai stepped back, heart hammering.
"Your mother…" he started.
"She knew," Elira whispered. "She knew all along."
But the silence didn't last.
A low hum filled the room, followed by a metallic click from behind.
The lab doors slammed shut.
The corpse in the chair twitched.
Kai raised his gun.
The figure's mouth moved.
Then it spoke—in Kai's own voice.
"Hello, Kai."