Deep within the gene repository, in a secluded room, an emaciated old man excitedly caresses the shelves before him.
The shelves house his treasured creations, pulsating and writhing slowly within specially formulated cultivation fluid.
My first child... "Eve" has successfully ventured out into the world. Soon, it will be your turn.
Once you're born, follow Eve's path. It will generously share everything it has acquired with you, and together you can evolve into a new form of humanity...
Why has the evolution process begun ahead of schedule?
The old man's hands freeze at the sound of the Ascendant's voice. He turns around immediately.
Ephialtes, why have you returned early?
And you didn't bring back that human you wanted... This body of yours is quite new too. Don't tell me your previous vessel was destroyed? You look like you've had a rough journey.
Answer my question first. Why are you in such a hurry?
I didn't bring back Gray Raven's Commandant. Whose genes did you use as a catalyst?
The Ascendant steps closer, filling the entire room with an overwhelming pressure.
...Ha... Hahaha...
The old man shows no fear. Instead, he bursts into uncontrollable laughter.
You couldn't tell? I used my own embryo! The complete and pure "me," without a trace of genetic impurity from anyone else—I am their creator!
The old man laughs uncontrollably, clearly delighted with his own accomplishments.
Did you know? While you were gone, I piled even more embryos into the "Hollow." Even I've lost count of how many there are now. If they all hatch... the power on this island alone would be enough to terrify those swine outside... Hahaha!
...
In another corner of the room, the faces of two people who have been "eavesdropping" on this conversation pale in response.
Haniff holds his breath, frantically signaling with his eyes to you.
If all the embryos there hatch as well, if "Eve" assimilates all of them...
Suddenly, the tracking device hidden in their pocket begins to vibrate slightly.
Looking down, they see a blinking red dot moving closer to their location.
Returning to the conversation between the Ascendant and the old man—after listening to the old man's words, the Ascendant furrows their brow and closes their eyes.
...I've severely underestimated how delusional you are.
...Huh?
Your madness has created some serious errors—the current state of "Eve" is not what I envisioned, and your preparation of more embryos in the "Hollow" is completely misguided.
The Ascendant has no desire to waste words on a madman. After dismissing Haynes' methods, he turns to leave, but Haynes suddenly shouts.
I am NOT a madman—!
The old man becomes agitated.
Ephialtes, is this how you reject me?!
Don't you want to witness the culmination of this evolution?
We were once collaborators with aligned goals, but now it seems the time has come for us to part ways.
What you seek is not pure evolution. You don't care at all whether human civilization evolves or not.
You delude yourself as the exiled king of Zambra, merely seeking to build a realm that worships you. You don't want to improve anything, you only want to prove yourself right.
...But there's still time. If we can bring that person back, this evolution can still return to its proper course.
What's the point of evolving this "human civilization" that's nothing but filth and excrement? Your approach is the one that's completely wrong!
The old man shouts his objection.
Ascendant, you know exactly where that new body of yours came from!
All this time, I've been the one maintaining that pile of junk you call a body! If I wanted to, I could destroy what's left of your body at any moment!
It's pointless for you to rage and destroy other frames. Even this one standing before you is but a marionette created using the Punishing Virus. As for me personally... I won't be speaking with you face-to-face again.
Our cooperation is over, Hay...
The Ascendant doesn't finish his sentence, instead turning to look at another corner of the room.
Hiding there like little insects... Did you hear the answers you were looking for?
The Ascendant expected the two eavesdroppers to rush out immediately, but the corner remains completely silent.
...
The two eavesdroppers had certainly heard the Ascendant expose them, but neither of them moved.
Even the sound of sweat dripping to the floor seems deafening in the silence.
It's not that the two of you don't want to move—they don't dare to move. The "Eve" they had been searching for has found them instead, and is now pressed against your back.
Just moments ago, you noticed the red dot on your tracking device rapidly overlapping with your own position—turning around slowly, the two of you found that twisted face of unfinished evolution looming right behind your heads.
Don't move... it's too close...
To the surprise of both individuals, Eve simultaneously raises its "hand," mirroring your movement by reaching toward its own empty "waist."
What the hell... is this thing doing...
The ring of wounds around your ankle still throbs with pain, the moment when it "tasted" you still vivid in your mind.
Come on out! Since you've chosen to deliver yourselves right to me—!
The Ascendant waiting outside has run out of patience, swinging their blade to slice through the shelving unit concealing the two eavesdroppers!
You react swiftly, unleashing a barrage of bullets at the two exposed figures while rolling out from the cabinet with Haniff in tow. They dash through the door amid the haze of gunsmoke.
"Eve," for reasons unknown, never attacks you. As the situation erupts into chaos, it lets out a piercing shriek and also dashes outside.
Wait for me a second! Don't leave any of these "children" for him either!
With those words, Haniff raises his gun and systematically destroys every shelf in sight, including all the vials and containers whose contents he doesn't recognize.
You—
So long, old man! See you never!
Haniff gestures with his gun as he leaves the frail old man with his theatrical goodbye, then quickly follows you, vanishing into the cover of smoke from a smoke grenade.
Has that Hetero-Creature gone mad? Was that "Eve"?
The two of you sprint after "Eve," following the damp trail it left on the ground. While you carry Vera on your back, you try desperately to make sense of the situation but come up with nothing.
But beyond that, even more problems loom before you.
Yes, I heard every word! That Ascendant has multiple bodies, that old man has many more "children," and there are more embryos—more Hetero-Creature reserves inside that so-called "Hollow"!
More importantly, that Ascendant clearly still wants to hunt you down!
Sounds like the situation is a hundred times worse than we imagined!
Talk about terrible luck... A bizarre Hetero-Creature ahead of us, and a relentless Ascendant behind us...
I am nervous! I've never faced anything like this before—my life is hanging by a thread here!
The reason I'm not paralyzed with fear is because I believe "what's meant to happen can't be avoided"!
For someone like me who's been forced to wade through the muck for so long, I've got to believe in something or I'd be finished.
However, there's another part to my creed...
Haniff whips his head around instantly, his gaze trailing like a shooting star.
Click, bullet chambered, sights auto-locked.
"What's meant to happen" may be unavoidable... but beating those bad things back into the dirt is something I CAN do!
Get down!!
Enhanced bullets erupt from the gun barrel in a flash of fire, striking precisely at the faces of several Hetero-Creatures that suddenly appear at the front. They leave behind nothing but revolting splatters of gore.
Hetero-Creatures again! I knew it... Looks like the situation is worse than we expected... a hundred and twenty times worse!
Haniff's shot comes so suddenly that you barely have time to react, stumbling forward and tumbling to the ground with Vera in a controlled roll to break your fall.
...
The Mind Beacon stirs slightly as a faint response emerges from Vera's dormant M.I.N.D.—the frame data synchronization speed seems to have crossed a threshold, suddenly accelerating.
What stage is Vera's data transfer at? There are too many Hetero-Creatures! We need her strength!
The data synchronization progress pauses briefly at 90%, then visibly accelerates.
That's absolutely fantastic!
You have no time to investigate what exactly happened in Vera's M.I.N.D., and just as you grit your teeth to stand up, the Mind Beacon suddenly feels a surge of warmth—
It's like a surge of flames rushing forward, completely reversing from "the Mind Beacon guiding the data forward" to "the data dragging the Mind Beacon along in a wild sprint."
Furthermore, through the Mind Beacon's probing, fragments of Vera's memory data occasionally flash blurrily before your eyes...
What shocks you, yet leaves no time for deeper contemplation, is that these fragments repeatedly flash with an incredibly familiar figure—like looking in a mirror, because that person is yourself.
As long as the Ascendant doesn't catch up too quickly, we still have a chance once we deal with these Hetero-Creatures! Check which one is "Eve"! I suspect it's hiding in there!
A dull pain resurfaces inside your skull, prompting you to cover an old scar on your head—no one knows the exact origin of this scar, and even you only know it was acquired sometime before graduation.
Hey! What's wrong with you? You can't fall apart in a place like this!
But before Haniff can finish his words, the familiar gray-haired Ascendant appears around the corner.
I have no intention of killing you...
Are you even listening to yourself?! These Hetero-Creatures are running wild!
...[player name], this is the last time I'll invite you peacefully.
While that old man and I shared some common goals, as you just heard, he had already used other human genetic samples to catalyze evolution before I could act.
They're still evolving, but most are imperfect, having deviated from the intended path...
What's this supposed to be? Infighting among you "villains"?
'You struggle to your feet in pain, setting Vera aside to directly face the Ascendant—meanwhile, the Mind Beacon continues "reading" fragments of Vera's memory data, making the current events seem intertwined with another story altogether.
It's utterly chaotic, yet both sides are sharing a visceral experience.
[player name], I need you to catalyze this "evolution" onto the correct path.
The Ascendant stands at a distance, extending an inviting hand toward you, once again uttering those words.
But you aren't the only one frantically thinking of a plan—Haniff seems to have an idea too, quickly moving closer to you to whisper.
Did you hear that? I wanted to tell you this when we were outside... To the Punishing, you're just food, a catalyst, fertilizer, anything but a person. Don't go with the Ascendant.
I have an idea... how about we put on another act?
Even a simple trick is worth trying, because I'm certain of one thing... you're important to the Ascendant!
The situation takes a sudden turn—what was an ally's gun now presses against your temple, as Haniff's hand clamps around your throat.
Haniff, to everyone's shock, calls out to the Ascendant.
What a shame, I'm not this Commandant's lackey! Quite the opposite—I'm from Kurono, and I'm very interested in this one myself.
Haniff tears open his collar, brazenly displaying the Kurono insignia before the Ascendant.
Ascendant, if you've been watching Babylonia long enough, you must know I'm telling the truth, right? Kurono is also very eager to engineer a "Chief, " with their body, genes, memories... they're all valuable to Kurono.
Besides that, I also firmly believe in one principle: in extremely dangerous situations, if Gray Raven's Commandant can't be obtained, then destroying them is the next-best solution.
...I don't hold grudges, Gray Raven's Commandant. But you nearly strangled me in front of the entire Aurora Squadron back then, and now I'm returning the favor.
...
Down, my children.
The Hetero-Creatures, despite their restless instincts, prostrate themselves on the ground under the Ascendant's imposing presence.
All except one—it trembles violently under the Ascendant's command, yet stubbornly remains standing.
It has no eyes, yet you feel its gaze focusing intently on you.
Haniff slowly backs away with you as his hostage, creating what he deems a safer distance.
Good, Ascendant. Now make these frenzied Hetero-Creatures back off immediately, or neither of us will get what we want.
The Ascendant silently observes Haniff's movements without responding—yet you feel an uncanny tension, as if your heart is being gripped and forced to pump.
[player name]... we'll retreat to safety soon...
Haniff's gaze shifts to your face—you immediately understand his intentions and try to stop him.
AAARGH!!!
But it's already too late—the Ascendant condenses surging Punishing energy into a cone, instantly blasting away Haniff's gun-wielding left forearm.
Flesh, blood, and bone vaporize into the air, leaving only a horrifying void where his arm once was and a thick shower of crimson splattering in all directions.
...AAAARGHHHHH—!!!
The crawling Hetero-Creatures hiss excitedly, lifting their heads to lick the red mist hanging in the air.
Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, Haniff lets go of his weapon and collapses to his knees. Across from him, the Ascendant remains unmoved as a mountain, as if they've just finished savoring a good joke.
Did you think you could use this as a distraction to escape with Gray Raven's Commandant? You're just like Haynes, full of nothing but cheap tricks.
And I know one truth very well: before absolute power, any strategy is meaningless.
The Ascendant completely withdraws their inviting gesture, turning instead to target you and Vera, who lies slumped against the wall.
You dive in front of Vera, and simultaneously—another blast shoots forth, piercing through the tendon in your lower leg.
Arterial blood spurts from the wound, instantly soaking through the pant leg.
Following emergency first aid protocols ingrained in memory, you clamp down on the leg wound to stem the bleeding.
The situation is rapidly deteriorating. Behind you, the more severely wounded victim moans in agony, while the throbbing Mind Beacon feeds back the synchronization progress of Vera lying before you.
94%...
Ahh...
Haniff remains trapped in agony while the threat of both the Ascendant and Hetero-Creatures continues to close in. Your body is drenched in cold sweat, yet the pain paradoxically brings clarity to your thoughts.
Not far from you, Eve stands behind the Ascendant, mimicking your leg-gripping motion like a monkey. Her entire body trembles as she pretends to experience the same excruciating pain.
Other Hetero-Creatures begin to tremble as well—some gradually breaking free from the Ascendant's control and, like Eve, grotesquely mimicking your movements in a manner both ridiculous and sickening.
The Ascendant moves closer.
I apologize, but I must restrict your movement...
Click—you swiftly grab the gun that was thrown to the ground earlier.
It's useless... Quick! Just run!!
He's right. That thing is useless against me.
Your gaze darts back and forth between the Ascendant and the Hetero-Creatures beside him—suddenly, a desperate idea forms.
Instead of attacking the Ascendant, you point the gun at yourselves.
...
...Hsssk... You're insane...
Are you really threatening me with suicide?
The Ascendant seems somewhat disappointed by your reaction.
Meanwhile, the Hetero-Creatures diligently mimic you, pointing their sharp "appendages" at their own heads, a truly ironic gesture.
A gray scrap of fabric from your pant leg still clings to Eve's "mouth."
Your gun is still pointed at yourself. Don't get distracted.
You should value yourself more. After all, you're destined to become their host, the source of their evolution... Your leg hurts, doesn't it?
No need to finish it. You can already guess the ending. I won't waste words, put the gun down.
Despite the agonizing pain tormenting everyone present, you tilt your head slightly, pressing the heated gun barrel directly against your temple, leaving a circular brand on your skin.
At the same time, the mimicry-prone Hetero-Creatures, following Eve's lead, all gently tilt their heads in unison.
I repeat for the second time—put down the gun. I won't say it a third time, or I'll take your forearm too.
You suddenly start pulling Vera and Haniff back as you retreat, then you aim the gun directly at the Ascendant!
You're not running... Are you insane? You're completely mad!!
I told you this won't work on him! Get out of the way!
Clutching his severed arm, Haniff once again attempts to rush in front of you and Vera.
Bang!
Everything unfolds like a slow-motion sequence: Haniff lunges forward, attempting once more to shield others from the attack provoked by the Ascendant's anger.
Meanwhile, the bullet that is seen as "absolutely useless" by everyone is stubbornly fired from the chamber anyway.
It tears through the air thick with Punishing energy and the stench of blood, hurtling toward the Ascendant who shows nothing but contempt for it.
Useless!
Blood still pours from your leg, yet you remain standing, roaring at the Ascendant ferociously as if you've never truly felt alive until this moment.
The useless bullet halts in front of the Ascendant, torn to shreds by Punishing energy.
—But Eve, who had been standing right beside the Ascendant, suddenly erupts into a blur of motion.
Hearing your supporting sound, it twists with increasing [excitement], enduring the oppressive force and the growls in its throat as it instantly drives its sharp "hand" into the bullet's intended target—piercing through the Ascendant's chest cavity.
Mother<//Father>...
！！！
The sluggish flow of time ends here as, in an instant, the tables are turned.
With Eve restraining the Ascendant, temporarily holding it in place, you seize this moment of respite to yank Haniff—who has only one and a half arms left—off the ground.
But you...
The flames of rebellion remain, still burning fiercely—you viciously unload your remaining bullets toward the Ascendant.
In the next moment, it's no longer just Eve as all the Hetero-Creatures assimilated by Eve riot together, surging upward like tides of vicious crimson, engulfing the Ascendant with terrifying speed.
Even knowing these Hetero-Creatures are all following the guidance of Eve, witnessing this horrific scene still evokes complicated emotions.
Have they gone mad?
If they're not crazy, why are they attacking the Ascendant? Who taught them that, you?
You wipe some sweat from your forehead and, amid the tearing sounds of the Hetero-Creatures' "pack hunt," quickly remove the exoskeleton from your legs and hand it to Haniff along with your emergency medical supplies.
...What do you mean? What about you?!
You glance back and, sure enough, Eve has already lifted itself from the Ascendant's remains, tilting its head to "look" in your direction.
You know something's wrong with Vera! If she doesn't wake up, you're just waiting to die!
I know what you're thinking—even if you fail to eliminate Eve, you'll buy me time to destroy the embryos in the "Hollow"... Then... these Hetero-Creature forces... won't become overwhelmingly powerful...
But you're the one who should be the hero who makes it to the end! Why...
Even knowing that this is their best option right now, Haniff still needs to ask.
He stares at you with reddened eyes, knowing full well how many disasters you've lived through, how many times you've been the only hero to emerge from catastrophe. What he can't understand is why you would so readily pass the torch to him for this new challenge.
But I'm the one who... I've always been waiting as a "shadow"...
You slap Haniff's face hard, forcing him to stay conscious despite the excruciating pain from his severed arm.
When ants clump together to cross over water, someone must choose to become the outer shell.
Forced to take a deep breath, Haniff looks one last time at your injured leg before grabbing and putting on the exoskeleton.
...I really... hate being a hero.
...Ha, even now you see right through me...!
I repeat—if something happens to you and Vera, I'll take over and continue the mission!
Haniff grits his teeth as he repeats the words.
I will destroy the remaining embryos in the "Hollow," and absolutely prevent this disaster from spreading any further!
