Chapter 70 – The Shadows of Project E.V.E.R.

The air outside the Nexus was cold—unnaturally so. The victory over Seraphina hung in the atmosphere like the scent of ozone after lightning, sharp and fleeting. It wasn’t over.

Evryn stood on the precipice of something darker.

Dr. Vale’s message repeated in her mind:

“Seraphina wasn’t the only project. The next phase begins now.”

And with those words, hope cracked—letting something else crawl through.

Ivy wrapped a thermal cloak around Evryn’s shoulders. “You okay?”

“No,” Evryn admitted, watching the scorched remains of the Nexus flicker behind them.

Kira joined them, blood crusted on her brow. “The transmission—who was that?”

“Dr. Vale,” Evryn replied. “I don’t know him. But he knew me.”

Jaxon tossed a burnt-out plasma cell onto the ground. “Then we find him. And we end whatever 'Project E.V.E.R.' is.”

But Ivy looked pale. “I’ve… heard of it. In old encrypted Exodus files, buried beneath AI encryption.”

Evryn’s heart skipped.

“What does it mean?”

Ivy hesitated. “Enhanced Variant for Evolutionary Replication. E.V.E.R. was supposed to be the final evolution of synthetic-human design. A hybrid race that could replace both us and the machines.”

“And Seraphina wasn’t it?”

“She was the trial.”

Back in their temporary safehouse in the ruins of Castra City, Ivy connected her portable mainframe and ran an extraction code Evryn had seen her use once before—when unlocking Seraphina’s kill switch.

Lines of data screamed across the screen. Red alerts. System warnings.

Then… a file decrypted.

[CLASSIFIED: PROJECT E.V.E.R.]

It contained fragmented video logs, prototype schematics, and one phrase that made Evryn’s blood run cold.

“Subject Zero: Evryn Caelus.”

The room went silent.

Kira whispered, “You’re not just part of the resistance, are you?”

Evryn stared at the screen in disbelief. “What the hell is this?”

Ivy clicked a file. A pixelated recording flickered to life.

The screen showed a sterile lab. A much younger Evryn strapped to a medical bed, unconscious.

Dr. Vale stood beside her, narrating to a camera.

“Subject Zero displays exceptional genetic compatibility with neural-AI synthesis. Emotional response centers are remarkably intact. If fusion with synthetic DNA is successful, she will become our first true hybrid—half-organic, half-code.”

The video shook. A violent explosion in the background. Red lights. Sirens.

“Evacuation initiated. Project E.V.E.R. is being relocated to Facility Delta under blackout.”

The screen went dark.

Evryn sat down, legs weak beneath her. “I was… created?”

Ivy shook her head. “You were changed, not created. That’s different.”

“But how do I know what’s real?” Evryn’s voice cracked. “My memories? My emotions? Are they mine?”

Silence.

The next morning, Kira woke to find Evryn gone.

She’d taken her weapons, a communicator, and a stealth runner bike.

Jaxon slammed a fist into a wall. “She’s going after Vale.”

“She’s unraveling,” Ivy murmured. “She thinks she’s just another machine.”

“No,” Kira said. “She’s going to find answers. And we’re going to find her.”

But before they could leave, a transmission intercepted their system.

This time, it wasn’t Vale.

It was Seraphina.

Or… a fragment of her.

“Evryn is nearing the edge of the veil. And beyond it… there are worse things than me.”

Jaxon stared at the static-filled image. “How is she still alive?”

“She’s not,” Ivy replied. “But her echoes survived. And they’re watching.”

Evryn followed the signal coordinates embedded in Vale’s last message.

It led her to the North Wastes—where Facility Delta lay buried beneath snow and deception.

She passed through old checkpoints, scanned abandoned drones, and eventually found a glass-covered hatch buried beneath rubble. The entrance to the place she was reborn… or perhaps, first made.

She descended alone.

Facility Delta was silent. But as her boots hit the frost-covered floors, a voice rang out.

“Welcome home… Subject Zero.”

Evryn moved carefully, scanning every hallway. The facility was a frozen tomb—yet the power was still active. Lights flickered to life as she moved, illuminating rows of broken capsules, long-abandoned terminals, and hollow cries echoing through the vents.

Then she found it.

A chamber labeled: E.V.E.R. Core.

Inside were six suspended tanks.

Five were shattered.

The sixth still glowed.

Inside floated a girl who looked just like Evryn—except her hair was silver, and her eyes glowed violet.

The nameplate read: E.V.E.R. SUBJECT 01 – ELAIA.

Suddenly, Vale’s voice boomed through the speakers.

“Now you understand. You were the prototype, Evryn. But Elaia is the final form.”

The tank hissed.

Elaia’s eyes opened.

Before Evryn could react, the doors slammed shut behind her.

Gas hissed.

Her knees buckled. Everything blurred.

She collapsed.

Above her, Vale’s hologram smirked.

“You wanted truth? Then watch as your perfect successor is born. And your purpose? Fulfilled.”

Blackness consumed her.

And as Evryn lost consciousness, the final thing she heard was Elaia’s whisper—

“I’ve been waiting for you, sister.