Somewhere near the Steel Forest
Night draped the land in violet. Crickets hummed under a broken sky.
Lengaza sat by a fire—silent, jaw clenched, eyes staring into the flames like they whispered names only he could hear.
Raya tossed another log in.
"You never talk about it."
"About what?"
"What they did to you before you woke up in the ruins. Before Revenant found you."
Silence. The flames crackled.
"I wasn't supposed to remember," Lengaza finally said. "But I do now."
She looked over. He didn't blink.
"I remember… my sister."
Raya froze.
"You had a sister?"
"They said she was defective. That she didn't adapt to the program. But she was smarter than all of them. She used to call me Lenz… and hum this weird lullaby made of static and sparks."
He leaned forward, eyes glinting.
"Her real name wasn't on any record. But the lab called her Subject Six."
Raya's breath caught.
"The kid in the chamber…"
"She's not a weapon," Lengaza said. "She's a key."
Flashcut – Lab 0-6
Subject Six stared at her own hands as blue light danced along her skin.
Technicians scrambled behind the glass.
"She's stabilizing. Pulse consistent. Core activation successful."
"Upload the directive."
They didn't notice the soft whisper she gave herself.
"Lenz… I remember."
Back at Camp
An explosion suddenly rocked the edge of the forest. Trees bent. Sparks flew.
Lengaza was already on his feet before the fire dimmed.
"We've got company," Raya hissed, pulling her sidearm.
But it wasn't drones.
It was a figure—walking calmly through the smoke, wearing a white coat that shimmered like ash and snow. A man.
"You've come far, Lengaza," the stranger said. "But not far enough."
Lengaza's fists clenched.
"Name."
"Dr. Kai Virell. I designed Subject Six. And I came to give you a warning."
Raya raised her weapon.
"We don't take advice from ghosts."
"Then take it from a brother."
Lengaza stepped back.
"...You're lying."
"You were never Subject Zero," Kai said softly. "You were Subject One. And your memory was erased… by her."
"By Six?"
"By your sister. And now she's remembering too."
Cut to: Subject Six
She stood in the lab, light surrounding her. The glass cracked.
> "Find me, Lenz."
The lab erupted in sirens.
And the hunt truly began.