Chapter 32 - Raven Code (Part 2)

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Crow Island – Sublevel Gamma

The lower decks were colder, quieter—haunted. Unlike the clean labs above, this place felt buried, like the remnants of something Serena didn’t want seen.

Aria moved ahead of the team, guided by the echo of her mother’s archived memories. The walls hummed with hidden servers, processing stolen consciousness like whispering ghosts.

Then they found the vault.

S.LANE – PRIMARY CONTAINMENT.

A retinal scanner blinked. No guards. No warnings.

Just a voice.

> “Hello, Aria.”

Serena stood inside, waiting—unchanged, as if time had never touched her.

---

Scene – The Confrontation

“Is this what you wanted?” Aria asked, voice steel-wrapped.

“To see you understand,” Serena said calmly. “Tier Zero built a cage. Evelyn built a key. I built the alternative.”

“You’re experimenting on kids.”

“I’m saving them. Giving them what we were denied—freedom, strength, control. No more pawns. No more victims.”

Aria stepped forward. “You cloned our bloodline. You used us.”

Serena didn’t flinch. “Because it’s the only way we win.”

“Against who?”

Serena smiled faintly. “Everyone.”

---

Scene – Truth in the Blood

Serena opened a second file on the vault wall. A projection spun to life: Evelyn’s original Echo protocol… alongside a newer one.

Project Raven.

It wasn’t just based on Aria.

It was merged with her.

“You’re not just the daughter,” Serena said. “You’re the origin and the reset. Tier Zero made one mistake.”

Aria backed away, breath shallow.

Serena’s eyes gleamed. “They let you live.”

---

Scene – Crosshairs

Kade and the others burst in. Serena raised her hands—not to fight, but to trigger the failsafe.

“I won’t let you destroy this,” she warned.

“You already did,” Aria said, reaching for her wrist comm.

Nova hacked the room's systems. “Disabling Raven protocol. Injecting neural burn.”

Serena lunged—but Aria stopped her, pinning her to the floor.

“I’m not Echo anymore,” Aria whispered.

“I’m the end of you.”

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Final Scene – The Island Burns

Explosions rippled through the lower decks. They escaped just in time—Aria dragging Serena, unconscious, through smoke and fire.

From the evacuation drone, she looked down at Crow Island as it crumbled.

Not just a lab.

Not just a legacy.

But a war she refused to pass on.

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Code Name: Echo  Onde histórias criam vida. Descubra agora