The corridors beneath the ruins of the Icebound Sanctuary groaned as Aria and Kael moved deeper into its hollowed chambers. Time had left its mark here—ice cracked, steel rusted, and shadows stretched longer than they should have. Still, they pressed forward. This was where it all began.
Kael's breath fogged the air. "We were born here. Not in the way people are born… but made."
Aria's fingers grazed the wall. She remembered nothing of this place, yet her pulse quickened as if her body did.
Behind them, Nyra and Xander guarded their rear. The Sanctuary's layout was a labyrinth, and its traps were as active as the memories Kael buried deep.
"Do you hear that?" Aria paused, a faint sound vibrating in the silence.
A low hum. Mechanical.
They turned a corner—and froze.
In the center of a frostbitten chamber stood a massive pod. Inside floated a girl. Pale, unmoving… but alive.
Kael clenched his jaw. "Subject A-22."
Aria's knees buckled.
Her.