MasukThe approach to Reactor 4 was a walk through hell’s own backyard. The vegetation here wasn't green or red; it was black. Black grass, black moss, black vines strangling the concrete barriers. The Geiger counters were screaming a steady, high-pitched tone that threatened to induce a migraine."Radiation levels critical," Finch's voice crackled over the comms. "We are entering the lethal zone. If your suit breaches, you have about twelve seconds before your DNA unzips like a cheap zipper.""Thanks for the pep talk, Four-Eyes," Ben grumbled.They reached the perimeter fence. It was torn open, the metal twisted outward as if something massive had burst outof the containment zone, not in."Look at this," Jack said, examining the bent steel. "Claw marks. Big ones.""Mutant?" Marcus asked."Bigger," Jack said. "Something that eats mutants for breakfast."They moved through the gap. The Sarcophagus—the massive steel
The radiation alarm on Jack's wrist wasn't just ticking anymore; it was practically beatboxing.Click-click-click-zzzzzt."I hate this song," Ben Carter muttered, his voice echoing inside the fishbowl helmet of his MK-VI 'Survivor' suit. He waddled through the overgrown streets of Pripyat like a heavily armored penguin, his servo-motors whining with every step. "Can't we turn it off? It's messing with my vibe.""Turn it off, and you won't know when your skin starts melting," Catherine said, her voice cool and crisp over the comms. She walked beside Jack, her movements fluid despite the heavy thermal suit. Frost formed on the ground wherever she stepped, a small mercy that seemed to dampen the radioactive dust.They were deep in the city now. Pripyat wasn't just dead; it was preserved, like a bug in amber. Soviet propaganda murals still clung to the crumbling walls—heroic workers gazing at a future that had exploded in 1986. But the air... t
The Black Sea was living up to its name. Through the periscope monitor of the Leviathan, the water was a churning abyss of ink, capped with white foam that looked like teeth gnashing in the darkness."We are crossing the thermocline," the helmsman announced, his voice filtered through the bridge speakers. "Entering Ukrainian territorial waters. Running silent. Active sonar is pinging us, but the stealth coating is holding."Jack stood on the bridge, looking at the tactical map. The coastline of Ukraine was a jagged green line on the display. To the north, a massive red zone pulsed—the Exclusion Zone. Chernobyl."Atmospheric sensors detect heavy ionization," Haley said from the comms station. She was wearing a thick wool sweater she’d found in the ship’s stores, looking like a hacker hobo. "It’s not just radiation, Jack. It’s... weird radiation. The background count is fluctuating in patterns. It looks like... breathing."
The extraction from the Amazon river delta had been a blur of rotor wash, mud, and the metallic taste of adrenaline crashing into exhaustion. Now, the silence of the Leviathan—the Ouroboros faction's flagship submarine—was absolute, a heavy, pressurized quiet that felt less like peace and more like the holding of breath before a scream.Jack Sterling stood in the decontamination airlock, the hiss of sterilization jets spraying a fine, chemical mist over his battered tactical gear. He didn't blink. The harsh white light of the chamber reflected in his eyes, which were currently devoid of the golden Alpha fire, replaced by the dull, leaden weight of a man who had seen too much.In his left hand, the human one, he held the containment canister. Inside, the Ghost Orchid pulsed with a soft, ethereal bioluminescence, a heartbeat of pure white light floating in suspension fluid. It was beautiful. It was the price of admission. It was the only reason they
The apex of the Pyramid was not a room of technology. It was a garden.The roof was a transparent dome, allowing the moonlight to filter in. The floor was covered in lush, bioluminescent grass. Trees with translucent leaves whispered in a breeze that shouldn't exist.And in the center, sitting on a throne made of woven roots, was The Gardener.He was a man, or what was left of one. He was fused to the throne. Vines grew into his legs, his torso, his neck. His skin was pale as alabaster. He wore the tattered remains of a lab coat with the Ouroboros logo.And growing out of his open chest cavity, nestled between his exposed ribs, was the flower.The Ghost Orchid.It was breathtaking. Pure white petals that seemed to be made of light. It pulsed with a soft, calming energy that made Jack’s cursed arm go quiet."Welcome," The Gardener said. His voice was dry, sounding like rustling paper. He didn't move his mouth. The vines around hi
The silence inside the Pyramid was not the silence of an empty room. It was the silence of a held breath.Jack led the way, the red flare sputtering in his left hand, casting long, erratic shadows against the obsidian walls. The air here was cool, dry, and smelled faintly of antiseptic and old copper—a stark contrast to the humid rot of the jungle outside."This isn't a temple," Haley whispered, running her hand along the wall. "Look at the seams."Jack looked closer. The walls weren't carved blocks of stone. They were interlocking plates of a matte-black composite material. Where the plates met, faint blue light pulsed rhythmically, like blood moving through a vein."Bio-architecture," Jack noted. "The Alphas grew this place.""It's a machine," Ben muttered, his voice echoing in his helmet. "A giant, stone-eating, vine-covered machine. I hate it. Can we leave?""Not until we get the flower," Marcus grunted from the rear. He had finall







