Chapter 2817: Story 2818: The Firstborn’s Blood

Elias held the metallic device tightly.

Ryan stepped toward him. “Stop hiding things. Tell me the truth!”

Father moved between them. “Elias, don’t activate it!”

Elias smiled bitterly. “You have lied to him for years. He deserves to know.”

He pressed the device.

A holographic image appeared above the control panel. Three newborn babies floated inside laboratory chambers. Beside them stood Ryan’s father, much younger, holding a blood-covered instrument.

A fourth chamber appeared.

Inside it was a newborn baby with completely black eyes.

Ryan stared at the image.

“Who is that?”

Elias pointed toward the first chamber.

“Me. I was born before Adam and you. Your father discovered that my blood could communicate with the organism. But I couldn’t control it.”

Father clenched his fists.

“You became its servant.”

“No,” Elias replied. “I became its prisoner.”

The hologram changed. It showed Ryan’s mother lying on an operating table. Strange golden symbols were being carved into her chest.

Ryan stepped backward.

“You used her to create me?”

Father’s voice trembled.

“I wanted to build a living seal. Your mother volunteered to protect you.”

His mother laughed from across the chamber.

“Volunteered? You told me our child would be safe!”

Suddenly, the hologram flickered. A dark figure appeared behind the newborn Ryan’s chamber.

It looked exactly like Ryan.

But its eyes were black.

Zara raised her weapon. “Ryan, look!”

The creature from the broken tank began crawling toward the control panel. Its tendrils spread across the floor, swallowing wires and machinery.

Hamza fired several shots.

The bullets passed through its body.

“Nothing works!” he shouted.

Ryan’s chest symbol began glowing brighter. The six golden locks appeared again, but this time a seventh symbol flickered beneath his skin.

Meher’s voice crackled through the radio.

“Ryan, listen carefully! The seventh lock isn’t opening because of the organism. It’s responding to your blood!”

Father grabbed Ryan’s arm.

“Don’t let it activate!”

Elias suddenly attacked the control panel, connecting his device to the central system.

“It’s too late! The door needs the blood of the firstborn!”

Ryan looked at him.

“Then why are you helping it?”

Elias’s expression changed.

“Because I want to destroy the thing that ruined my life.”

The chamber shook violently.

A gigantic golden hand emerged from the floor and seized Elias around the waist. He screamed as black veins spread across his body.

From somewhere beneath them, Adam’s voice thundered:

“RYAN! DON’T OPEN THE DOOR!”

The seventh symbol on Ryan’s chest turned completely black.

Then the entire facility went dark.

In the darkness, a familiar voice whispered directly into Ryan’s ear.

“Hello, my son. I’ve been waiting for you.”