Chapter 452: Original Preservation Model

Neria released the second filament with more difficulty than the first. The red structure had grown around one of her roots, forming a kind of knot that tightened whenever she tried to undo it. Ester stopped the procedure twice to adjust the needles and check that circulation in her arms and back remained stable.

"Don’t pull," she instructed. "If it’s attached to a nerve, you could injure yourself trying to tear it out."

"I know where my root ends," Neria replied. "The problem is that it tries to follow when I move it."

Ester observed the knot through her skin and brought the small wooden sphere Aurelia had left on the table closer. The two lines recorded on its surface remained distinct. One represented Liora’s structure; the other represented the parts of Neria that still corresponded to the state preserved by Eir.

"Can you identify which of these paths is yours?" Ester asked.

Neria looked at the sphere and nodded.

"Then don’t try to remove the filament. Move your root out of it, slowly. I want to see whether the artificial part can follow it without receiving power from the machine."

Liora held her sister’s hand and watched the movement beneath her skin. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then a thin root emerged from the area near Neria’s shoulder blade and slowly moved away from the red filament, which remained attached to the cylinder’s metal connection.

The validation indicator dropped again.

Aria looked up from the panel.

"The new records have stopped coming in. There’s still an active connection, but the amount of information is decreasing."

"How much is left?" Damon asked.

Ester examined Neria’s back before answering.

"Two larger filaments and a few superficial connections. I’m not going to rush just because that panel is flashing."

"I didn’t ask you to rush."

"You were thinking about it."

"Is that a crime now?"

"Depends on what you’re planning to do."

Damon left his answer for later and turned his attention back to Serik. The man remained kneeling near the table, his arms bound with straps, while Varos watched the circular device implanted in his neck. The filaments beneath his skin had lost some of their glow but were still active.

"Can you command Level Zero from here?" Damon asked.

Serik looked at him.

"The procedures have been initiated. They don’t require constant supervision."

"That’s not what I asked."

"Some stages can be adjusted remotely."

"Even with your arms tied?"

Serik didn’t answer.

Varos approached and examined the implant. "He needs to touch the device to execute full commands, but he can send simple signals without using his hands."

Damon looked at Ester.

"Can you interrupt his communication the way you did with Varos?"

"Maybe. But the structure is larger and seems to occupy a different area of the neck."

Serik raised his head.

"If you interfere with the implant’s function without knowing its connections, you could cause irreversible damage."

"That’s the first useful thing you’ve said about it," Ester replied. "So you’re going to stay still while I examine it."

Serik tried to pull away when she approached, but Varos held his shoulders. Ester didn’t insert any needles. First, she assessed the circulation around the metal device and searched for the point where the filaments converged.

Damon left the three of them working and went over to Aria and Aurelia.

"Did you manage to separate the records?"

"We identified the difference between the ancient archives and the data extracted from Neria," Aria replied. "But we can’t simply delete the modern portion. Results from legitimate treatments are mixed in with the experiments performed on her."

"Then we preserve everything until we can analyze it."

Aurelia nodded. "As evidence, yes. The important thing is to prevent the structure from continuing to use that data to carry out procedures."

Aria pointed at the panel. "There’s a validation stage before reinitialization. The copy sent to Level Zero needs to receive a complete, compatible reference. Without that, the equipment shouldn’t be able to begin the next phase."

"Shouldn’t?" Damon asked.

"Serik might have an older reference stored down there. We don’t know how close he is to executing the protocol using incomplete material."

Aurelia examined the indicators, her expression turning serious.

"Aria, enlarge the preparation line."

The image showed three stages already completed. The fourth was in progress and had an identifier different from those used in the research processes.

RECIPIENT PREPARATION: 24 UNITS.

Damon read the message.

"Recipients?"

Aria searched for the corresponding description, but access was blocked.

Serik followed the conversation and answered before she finished.

"Patients."

Damon turned toward him.

"Twenty-four?"

"Yes."

"What are they being treated for?"

"Degenerative conditions that compromise spiritual circulation and the integrity of their bodies."

"Do they know they’re going to undergo biological reinitialization?"

"They agreed to the treatment."

Damon looked at Varos.

"Do you know about this project?"

"No."

Serik continued, "All of them underwent medical evaluation. None will be subjected to the procedure without recorded consent."

Ester stopped examining the implant.

"Consent to which procedure, exactly?"

"Structural restoration."

"Show me the form they signed."

Serik remained silent.

Damon exhaled.

"We’re starting to see a pattern."

Before the conversation could continue, the partially open corridor door moved. Damon drew his sword, but found Xue Lian on the other side. Xue Mei followed close behind, carrying a small metal piece removed from some equipment.

"We found the route to Level Zero," Xue Lian reported. "There’s a maintenance staircase behind the circulation room. The entrance was locked, but Xue Mei found the release mechanism."

Her daughter placed the piece on the table.

"Not anymore."

Damon examined the object.

"You broke it?"

"I dismantled it."

"Is there a difference?"

"For whoever has to repair it, quite a big one."

Xue Lian pointed toward the corridor.

"We also found two unconscious guards near the access point. There were no signs of a fight. One had a burned authentication mark behind his ear, but he was still breathing."

Ester immediately became alert.

"Did you touch them?"

"No. We left them in positions where they can breathe."

"I’ll examine them before we go down."

Damon looked at Serik.

"Did you try to kill more agents?"

"I haven’t sent any execution orders since you entered the facility."

Varos studied his former superior’s face.

"That doesn’t mean the protocol hasn’t sent any."

Serik didn’t answer.

Ester finished examining the implant and took two needles from her case.

"I found a point that seems to carry commands out of the body. I can block it temporarily, but I can’t guarantee the protocol won’t try to use another connection."

"How long?" Damon asked.

"A few hours, if it works."

Varos nodded. "That’s enough."

Serik looked at him.

"If you damage my circulation, the Order will lose the only complete bearer of the preservation records."

Varos remained serious.

"No. The protocol has already been transferred sixteen times. You taught me yourself that no person was indispensable."

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"That was a good one."

Serik opened his mouth, but Ester inserted the first needle before he could respond. The device in his neck glowed, and small red lines appeared beneath his jaw. She positioned the second needle at a lower point and watched the reaction until the light dimmed.

"Now try sending a command," she said.

Serik didn’t move.

"If you can, I’d rather find out while I’m watching," Ester explained.

The man closed his eyes for a few seconds. One of the indicators on the main panel flashed, but no command appeared.

Aria checked the log.

"Access request denied. The identification arrived incomplete."

Varos took a deep breath.

Ester removed one of her hands from Serik’s neck.

"For now, he’s blocked."

Damon pointed toward the guards who had put down their weapons.

"You four are going with Varos. If any of you have an active mark, Ester needs to examine it before you leave here."

The guard who had received the first needle raised his hand.

"What will happen to the director?"

Varos replied, "He’ll remain detained until we clarify what’s happening on Level Zero."

"Who authorized that?"

"I did."

"But he relieved you of command."

Varos looked at Serik and then at the other guards.

"He also tried to kill one of you through an authentication mark. If you want to wait for his authorization, you can stay here. If you want to prevent that from happening again, help get everyone out of the laboratory."

The guards exchanged glances. One of them gathered the instruments left by the technicians and cleared a path to the door. The others began organizing the researchers’ departure.

Damon returned to the cylinder.

Neria had managed to release the third filament. The last remained attached near the base of her spine, but her nourishment was already separate from the recording circuit. Ester examined the panel and confirmed that the information transfer had stopped.

VALIDATION INTERRUPTED.

INCOMPLETE REFERENCE.

Aria confirmed that the copy sent to Level Zero remained stored but was no longer receiving information from Neria.

"That prevents the next phase from starting automatically," she explained. "It doesn’t prevent someone from trying to execute the procedure manually."

Damon looked at Serik.

"He won’t be trying from here."

"There’s a team on Level Zero," Varos replied. "Researchers, technicians, and guards. Some have independent access to the equipment."

"Then we need to talk to them before someone completes the procedure."

Neria tried to move away from the cylinder. The last filament stretched, and she had to brace a hand against the edge.

Ester held her arm.

"No. That one’s still attached in a delicate area."

Neria looked at Liora.

"We can’t stay here."

"We can," Damon replied. "You don’t need to go down with us."

"My sister doesn’t know Level Zero. I know the records they’re going to try to use."

"Then explain what you know. Aria will write it down."

Neria hesitated. Then she nodded.

Over the next few minutes, she described the reinitialization procedures she’d managed to observe in recent years. According to her, Serik intended to use the archive’s records to open ancient channels in modern organisms. The problem wasn’t opening the channels themselves. The risk arose when the stabilizers fixed the new structure before the body had time to adapt.

"If the organism accepts only part of the alteration, circulation starts depending on pathways that don’t exist yet," she explained. "The first tests failed because of that."

Ester’s expression grew serious.

"How did they fail?"

"Loss of circulation. Organ damage. In some cases, the body remained alive but could no longer sustain its functions without the machines."

Aria finished recording her explanation.

"So an incomplete reference could produce incompatible alterations."

"Yes."

Damon looked at the indicator for the twenty-four recipients.

"We need to stop them from activating the stabilizers on those patients."

Neria pointed to one of the lines in the diagram.

"The recipients are kept in individual chambers. Each chamber has its own lock, but they all receive the reference from the same archive."

"If we interrupt the central distribution, none of them receive the data?"

"Correct. But don’t turn off the chambers’ nourishment systems. Some patients already depend on them."

Ester pointed at Damon.

"Did you hear that?"

"I heard."

"You’re not going to cut the first cable you find."

"I was thinking of the second."

She didn’t smile.

Damon raised his hands.

"It was a joke."

"Pick another time."

Varos called two of the guards over and ordered them to remain with Neria, Liora, and the researchers until a medical team could take over the laboratory. Ester examined the men Xue Lian had found and confirmed they were alive. One would need prolonged treatment because of the injury to his authentication mark, but both could be transported.

When she returned, Damon was already near the maintenance staircase.

"Are you coming with us?" he asked.

"Yes. Neria is stable as long as her nourishment continues. Liora can recognize changes in her roots and let me know if anything happens."

Ester looked at the two sisters.

"Don’t try to remove the last filament on your own."

Neria nodded.

"I won’t."

Liora accompanied Damon to the door.

"If you find another machine connected to my sister..."

"I’ll find out what it does before I break it."

She watched him for a moment.

"Promise?"

Damon looked at Neria, still leaning against the cylinder.

"I promise."

Xue Mei squeezed Liora’s shoulder before following her mother.

The group that descended to Level Zero was reduced to Damon, Ester, Xue Lian, Xue Mei, Aurelia, Aria, and Varos. The maintenance staircase was narrow and had no lighting of its own. Varos knew the route, but stopped on the last landing when he noticed that the lower door was open.

"It shouldn’t be like this."

Damon looked through the opening.

"Did Serik leave this one open too?"

"No. This door should remain locked during any Level Zero procedure."

Xue Lian examined the floor. There were recent shoe prints and a small bloodstain near the doorframe.

"Someone came through here."

Varos recognized a piece of red fabric caught on the hinge.

"Researcher’s uniform."

Damon entered first.

On the other side was a wide corridor with windows overlooking a room much larger than Neria’s laboratory. Twenty-four chambers were arranged in three rows. Some contained unconscious people; others were empty. Transparent tubes connected each chamber to a central structure, and black lines ran across the ceiling toward a wall covered in ancient inscriptions.

Aria approached the glass and counted.

"Eighteen occupied."

Varos frowned.

"There should be twenty-four."

"So six patients are missing?" Xue Mei asked.

"Or six haven’t arrived yet."

A voice answered behind them.

"No. The six have already undergone the procedure."

Everyone turned.

A short-haired woman in a red uniform stood in front of the access door to the main room. She had one hand pressed against her abdomen, and blood was running between her fingers. She carried no weapon. Her identification showed that she belonged to the medical team.

Varos approached.

"Doctor Mereth?"

She recognized him.

"Commander. Serik said you’d been detained."

"He’s lost control of the biological laboratory."

The doctor closed her eyes for a moment.

"Then we don’t have much time."

Damon pointed toward the chambers.

"What happened to the six?"

Mereth looked at the unconscious patients before answering.

"They received the first available reference. The stabilizers were activated before validation was complete."

Ester’s expression grew serious.

"Who authorized it?"

"The central protocol. When I tried to stop it, the system blocked my access. Two guards came to remove me from the room."

"Is that how you were injured?"

"Yes."

Damon examined the wound. The cut didn’t appear deep, but the doctor was losing blood.

Ester immediately approached.

"I’ll treat that. Keep talking."

Mereth pointed toward a door on the opposite side of the room.

"The six are in the observation wing. They’re still alive, but three have already lost their own circulation. The machines are keeping their organs functioning."

Damon looked at Aurelia.

"The incomplete reference."

She nodded.

"We need to check which channels were fixed before attempting any correction."

Mereth heard the word and raised her head.

"Can you correct it?"

"Maybe," Ester replied. "But no one is going to promise that before examining the patients."

The doctor nodded immediately.

"That’s more than Serik told me."

Damon surveyed the room and located the main panel beside the first row of chambers.

"Aria, we need to interrupt the data being sent to the eighteen who haven’t undergone the procedure yet. Varos, do you know anyone on the team who can help?"

"Mereth is responsible for the clinical wing."

"Then she stays with Ester and Aurelia. Xue Lian and Xue Mei, make sure no one closes those doors while we’re working."

Aria approached the panel.

The screen displayed the structural copy received from Neria’s laboratory. Beside it was a second, older reference whose identification was incomplete.

PRIMARY REFERENCE: UNAVAILABLE.

SECONDARY REFERENCE: AUTHORIZED.

Aria frowned.

"Damon."

He approached.

"This secondary reference didn’t come from Neria."

"Where did it come from?"

She opened the origin log.

A structural identifier appeared, followed by a name.

SERIK — ORIGINAL PRESERVATION MODEL.

Damon looked at Varos.

"He wasn’t waiting for the copy to finish."

Varos went still.

Aurelia approached the panel and examined the displayed structure. The secondary reference didn’t correspond to a complete human organism. It was a sequence of alterations instructing the body to produce additional channels while also installing small fixation points near the brain and spine.

"This isn’t just a biological update," she said. "It’s preparing the organisms to receive the protocol."

Aria opened the records of the six patients who had already undergone the procedure. The same sequence appeared in the newly formed structures of all six.

Damon felt his jaw tighten.

"He isn’t just trying to correct their bodies."

Varos studied the image.

"He’s trying to create new bearers."

Mereth, who had just received the first treatment from Ester, looked at the panel.

"Bearers of what?"

Damon didn’t answer immediately. Aria enlarged the secondary reference and found the same red structure Eir had shown them in the seventeen bodies Serik had used over the centuries.

"Of the preservation protocol," she replied. "Not necessarily complete bearers. But people capable of receiving part of it."

Varos ran a hand over his face.

"And the protocol will be able to keep making decisions through them."

Damon looked at the eighteen chambers that were still occupied.

"Then let’s stop him from gaining another eighteen."

Aria placed her hands on the panel and searched for the distribution command. She found three separate circuits: medical nourishment, stabilizer maintenance, and structural reference transmission. She deactivated only the third.

The black lines on the ceiling went dark in sequence.

DISTRIBUTION INTERRUPTED.

The eighteen chambers continued operating.

Mereth checked the patients’ vital signs and exhaled.

"They’re stable."

Damon looked toward the door to the observation wing.

"Now for the other six."

Before they could move, the main panel issued a warning.

CENTRAL PROTOCOL: EXTERNAL ACCESS DETECTED.

INITIATING REFERENCE RECOVERY.

Aria tried to block the command but discovered that it wasn’t being sent from the laboratory above. It came from a structure located behind the ancient wall, in an area that didn’t appear on the facility’s modern plans.

Aurelia examined its origin.

"Serik isn’t sending an order."

"Then who is?" Damon asked.

She pointed toward the ancient inscriptions.

"The original archive."

Varos’s expression grew serious.

"It’s executing the protocol on its own?"

"Not on its own," Aria replied. "Someone left that instruction recorded in it. If the primary copy failed, it was supposed to search for a substitute reference."

Damon looked toward the six patients in the observation wing.

"Then we need to stop it from finding one."

Aria continued analyzing the panel until she located the destination of the new request.

When she read it, her expression changed.

COMPATIBLE REFERENCE DETECTED.

ORIGIN: BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY.

IDENTIFICATION: LIORA.

Damon immediately turned toward the staircase.

The girl had remained beside her sister because everyone believed separating Neria had interrupted the connection to the archive. But Serik had built the facility specifically to recognize a second manifestation of Eir.

The copy didn’t need to be complete for the system to try to reach her.

"Varos, warn the laboratory," Damon ordered. "Tell them to keep Liora away from any machinery."

Varos ran to the emergency communicator.

Damon was already heading back toward the staircase when Neria’s voice came through the device, weak but understandable.

"Don’t let her touch the floor."

Liora spoke immediately afterward.

"Roots are coming."

Damon looked at the ancient wall. The inscriptions had begun to glow, and small red filaments were emerging through the gaps between the blocks.

The archive wasn’t trying to open a door.

It was using the facility’s ancient pathways to reach Liora from beneath the laboratory.

Damon drew his sword.

"Xue Lian, Xue Mei, stay with the patients. Aria, find out how to stop this search. Varos, take Ester and Aurelia to Neria."

Ester looked at him.

"And you?"

Damon entered the narrow passage leading to the ancient structure.

"I’m going to find where that damned archive is hidden."

He had no intention of destroying the entire facility. Now he knew there were patients who depended on it, records that needed to be preserved, and two sisters whom Serik was still trying to turn into tools.

He needed to find the part that was still executing the protocol and separate it from everything else.

Damon advanced down the corridor as the red filaments moved inside the walls, heading in the opposite direction.

They were going toward Liora.

And he was going toward their source.