Chapter 54: The Message from the Past

The siege dragged on into the night.

The once magnificent Royal Library was now a ruin. Ancient books were shredded by bullets, and the marble floor was littered with shell casings.

"Ammo check!" Jackson shouted over the noise of gunfire.

"One magazine left!" Luke yelled back, wiping blood from a cut on his forehead.

"I'm out!" Sebastian coughed. The old soldier was leaning against a fallen bookshelf, clutching his leg. A piece of shrapnel had reopened his old wound. He was pale.

"Sebastian, go down!" Jackson ordered, firing two shots to suppress the mercenaries. "Get to the medic kit!"

"No," Sebastian gritted his teeth, pulling out his knife. "I was the Captain of the Guard. I don't retreat. I die at my post."

Jackson looked at the loyal old man and felt a surge of respect and sorrow. They couldn't hold this position forever. The enemy was setting up a drilling machine at the main door.

---

Meanwhile, deep underground.

The sounds of explosions were muffled, like distant thunder. But the ground shook violently every few minutes.

"Mom, look at this," Alex whispered.

He wasn't hacking the door anymore. He was hacking the Cryo-Pod's memory bank.

"I found a hidden file," Alex pointed to the screen. "It was recorded 20 years ago. Right before she was frozen."

Serenity leaned in. "Play it."

Alex hit Play.

On the screen, a video window opened. It was grainy, but the face was clear. It was Margaret Sterling. She looked terrified, wearing a lab coat, speaking hurriedly into the camera.

"If you are watching this... it means I failed."

Margaret’s voice trembled from the speakers.

"My name is Margaret. I am the lead scientist of Project Omega. My husband thinks we are curing cancer. But his brother... Arthur... he has other plans."

Serenity gasped. "Arthur?"

The woman in the video looked behind her, as if someone was chasing her.

"We found something in the Montbert mines. An element. It doesn't just heal cells... it stops aging. It conquers death. But the cost... the radiation drives people mad."

"Arthur exposed himself to it. He is changing. He wants to sell this as a weapon. He wants to become a god."

"I have to stop him. I am going to upload my consciousness into the core and lock the facility from the inside. I will use my own body as the key. No one can open the Vault without my DNA."

"Arthur thinks he killed me. But I am just sleeping. Waiting for someone to save us..."

The video cut to static.

Serenity covered her mouth. "Oh my god. It’s not about politics. It’s about immortality."

Arthur wasn't just a greedy businessman. He was a madman infected by some ancient element, seeking to live forever. And Jackson's mother was the human lock keeping him out.

BOOM!

A massive explosion rocked the ceiling above them. Dust rained down on the pod.

"They blew the library doors!" Alex shouted, hugging his laptop. "They are coming down the stairs!"

Serenity grabbed the pistol Jackson gave her. She looked at the sleeping woman, then at her son.

The truth was out. And now, the madman was coming to collect his key.

"Alex, hide behind the pod," Serenity clicked the safety off. Her hands stopped shaking.

"No one touches her," Serenity whispered, standing in front of the tank. "Over my dead body."