The oppressive silence that followed the voice’s chilling declaration hung in the air like a thick fog. Evan’s senses were heightened, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling with anticipation. Every muscle in his body screamed for action, but he held himself in check, waiting for the inevitable. The figures emerging from the shadows were not human—at least not entirely. They were tall, cloaked in dark, tattered robes that made them look almost spectral, with eyes that glowed faintly beneath their hoods. But there was no mistaking it. The same coldness that radiated from the body in the tank seemed to emanate from them as well.
Kara’s fingers tightened around her rifle, her knuckles white. The tension in the room was palpable, and Evan knew that whatever lay ahead would change everything. They were no longer simply fighting for survival against zombies or rogue factions. They were facing something far more dangerous—something rooted in the very heart of the Genesis System.
The leader of the group stepped forward, its presence commanding attention. Unlike the others, this figure didn’t wear a hood to conceal its face. Instead, it was a man—if one could still call him that—pale and gaunt, his skin stretched taut over a skeletal frame. His eyes were sunken, the faint blue glow of artificial augmentation pulsing within them. He looked more machine than human, and the cold smile on his lips only deepened the sense of dread in the air.
“So, the prodigal child arrives,” the man said, his voice smooth and eerily calm. His words were laced with an almost playful malice. “Evan Barn, the one who would destroy everything.”
Evan didn’t flinch. He knew that, whatever this man was, he wouldn’t let fear control him. His grip on his sword tightened. “I’m not here to destroy anything. I’m here to stop you.”
The figure’s lips twitched upward, a mocking smile curling at the corners of his mouth. “You think you have the power to stop us? You are nothing more than a cog in a machine, Evan. A product of the Genesis System—just like the rest of them.”
Before Evan could respond, Kara stepped forward, her rifle raised. “What the hell are you talking about? What is the Genesis System really for?”
The man tilted his head slightly, as if amused by her question. “Ah, the woman who understands nothing. The Genesis System is not simply a tool for survival—it is the key to evolution, to humanity’s next step. It is our salvation and our damnation. And you, Evan, are the last piece of the puzzle.”
Evan’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want from me?”
The man’s eyes flashed with something—anger, frustration, or maybe even something darker. He raised his hand and pointed to the tank. “Look at that. That is the beginning of the future. A human body augmented, transformed, perfected by the Genesis System. We have spent decades building it, refining it, and now, thanks to you, we are on the verge of completing our work.”
Evan’s gaze flicked to the tank, the grotesque form suspended inside. The pale, lifeless body was a twisted mockery of humanity, but the machinery connected to it was the real source of the power—the Genesis System itself. The revelation was staggering, and yet Evan didn’t feel the same fear he had before. Instead, something else churned within him—a sense of determination, of purpose. He didn’t know what these people were truly after, but he knew he couldn’t let them continue.
“We won’t let you complete it,” Evan said, his voice steady, though his heart pounded with the weight of the moment. “We’ll stop you.”
The man laughed softly, a sound devoid of humor. “You still don’t understand, do you? You can’t stop what’s already in motion. The Genesis System is not something you can control. It was never meant for you.”
With a swift motion, the man raised his hand, and suddenly, the room around them seemed to shift. The walls seemed to grow taller, darker, and the hum of machines grew louder. The light around them dimmed, casting the room in a sickly glow. A low rumble vibrated the floor, and Evan felt the pressure in the air intensify, as though the very environment was fighting against them.
“What’s happening?” Kara demanded, her voice tight with panic. “Why is the room changing?”
“It’s a containment field,” the man explained, his tone calm as if he were discussing a minor inconvenience. “A fail-safe. You see, we cannot afford any interruptions now. You’ve seen too much. But don’t worry, your demise will serve a higher purpose.”
Before anyone could react, the ground beneath their feet trembled violently. The floor cracked, and from the cracks, tendrils of dark energy began to rise, lashing out like living creatures. Evan barely had time to react before one of them shot toward him, its tendrils sparking with energy.
Genesis System – Level Up Detected
The sudden burst of energy filled Evan’s mind with blinding light. The voice of the Genesis System rang out, reverberating through his thoughts, its power undeniable. “Level Up: Evolutionary Pathway Activated. New Ability Acquired: Temporal Shield.”
The moment the system’s voice faded, Evan felt the surge of energy course through his body. His muscles tightened, and his reflexes sharpened to an almost supernatural level. Time seemed to slow around him as he ducked and dodged the tendrils, his sword slashing through them effortlessly. Each move felt deliberate, calculated, almost as if the System was guiding his actions.
He struck the first tendril, cleaving it in half with a single, fluid motion. The energy dissipated, leaving only a faint residue of heat in the air. He moved on to the next one, his blade cutting through the darkness with ease. But as each tendril fell, more seemed to appear, rising from the cracks in the ground.
Evan’s mind raced. The Genesis System had granted him something new—something powerful. But was it enough to defeat whatever the man and his followers had planned?
The man, who had been observing them silently, raised his hand again. This time, the energy in the room intensified. The tendrils grew thicker, more numerous, and the room seemed to close in on them. The very air felt heavy with malevolent energy, but Evan stood firm, his grip tight on his sword.
“I don’t know who you are,” Evan said, his voice cutting through the chaos. “But I won’t let you take control of this world.”
The man sneered. “You think you can stop us? You’re just one man. A product of our own creation.”
Evan’s eyes burned with determination. He could feel the Genesis System within him, its power coursing through his veins. It wasn’t just a tool—it was part of him now, and he would use it to break their hold on the world. He wouldn’t let them turn it into a weapon, not if he could help it.
With a final, decisive move, Evan leaped into the fray, his sword blazing through the air with deadly precision. The tendrils lashed out, but he was faster now—stronger. The Temporal Shield ability granted him an edge he had never felt before. Time itself seemed to bend in his favor, each motion of his body precise and calculated.
He cut through the dark tendrils like they were nothing, his sword glowing with an ethereal light. The man’s followers, who had remained silent up until now, hesitated. Their leader’s cold, calculating gaze flicked between Evan and the growing chaos around them. For a moment, doubt flickered in his eyes.
Evan didn’t wait for an invitation. With a roar, he pushed forward, using every ounce of strength and skill he had learned since he first arrived in this hellish world. The Genesis System surged inside him, and with a final, explosive slash, he cleaved through the last of the tendrils, sending the room into a blinding flash of light.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
The world seemed to hold its breath as the energy faded, and Evan stood in the center of the chaos, breathing heavily, but victorious. He looked at the man, whose face had twisted into a grimace of rage and disbelief.
“This isn’t over,” the man hissed, his voice trembling with fury. “You may have won this battle, but the war is far from over.”
Evan’s gaze hardened. “I’ll stop you, no matter what it takes.”
The man’s eyes narrowed, and for the first time, Evan saw fear there—a fleeting, dangerous fear. “We shall see.”
With that, the man and his followers vanished into the shadows, leaving Evan and his team standing in the wreckage of the lab. But even as the room returned to silence, Evan knew this was only the beginning. The true battle had only just begun.
The air in the lab seemed to hum with the echoes of their confrontation. The oppressive energy that had once suffocated the room had vanished, but the weight of what had transpired lingered. Evan stood still, his sword still raised, though now it felt more like a burden than a weapon. The Genesis System within him had granted him an edge—an advantage—but even now, he could feel the growing sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. This victory, hard-fought as it was, had only uncovered a deeper mystery.
Kara, who had been at his side, lowered her rifle but didn’t relax. She kept scanning the darkened corners of the room, her eyes sharp and wary. It was clear that she too understood the significance of what they’d just faced.
"That was too close," Kara muttered under her breath, eyes darting toward the area where the mysterious man and his followers had vanished. "What do we even do now?"
Evan didn’t answer immediately. His mind was still racing. The words the man had spoken—the mention of Evan as the “last piece of the puzzle”—repeated in his mind. The Genesis System, it seemed, was not just a tool for survival. It was something far more insidious. The mention of evolution, salvation, and damnation… Evan couldn’t shake the feeling that they had only scratched the surface of a much larger conspiracy.
Turning his attention to the tank, Evan narrowed his eyes. The body suspended within the containment field was unsettling, its pale skin shimmering faintly in the dim light. The eerie silence around the tank suggested that whatever it held was more than just a mere experiment—it was a weapon, or worse, the beginning of a new form of life. But the Genesis System wasn’t just about creating life—it was about controlling it. The thought sent a chill through Evan’s spine.
"We need to gather intel," Evan said finally, his voice firm. He could feel the weight of the responsibility pressing down on him. "There's too much we don't know. We have to learn what this Genesis System really is—and how it ties into all of this."
Kara gave him a sharp nod, though her expression remained tense. "But how? We’ve barely survived this. We don’t even know who that guy was, or what they want with you."
"We don’t have answers yet," Evan said, his gaze lingering on the tank. "But we will. We need to find out more about this place. Whatever the Genesis System is doing, it’s not just about creating super-soldiers. It’s about something much bigger. And if they’re willing to go to these lengths to stop us, we need to figure out why."
A soft beeping interrupted their conversation. Kara glanced at her wrist-mounted comm device, which was flashing with an incoming signal.
"It's from Alex," she said, reaching for the comm. She pressed a button, and Alex’s voice crackled through the device.
"Evan, Kara, are you okay?" Alex's voice was strained, a mix of concern and urgency. "We’ve got a problem. The perimeter is compromised. The entire area’s crawling with zombies—and I think something else is out there. We need to regroup, now."
Evan’s heart skipped a beat. The last thing they needed right now was another wave of zombies, especially not with the unknown threat still looming over them. But they had no choice. Alex was right—there was no time to waste.
"We’re on our way," Evan replied, his voice steady. "But we need to make one stop first."
The lab was a maze of dimly lit corridors, but Evan moved with purpose, his sword still gripped tightly in his hand. The Genesis System had left its mark on him, but there was no time to process its implications. The threat of the zombies, combined with the looming presence of the mysterious man and his followers, demanded immediate attention.
They made their way through the lab, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the empty halls. Every corner was a potential danger, every shadow hiding an unseen threat. Evan’s mind was focused, his instincts honed by the trials he had already faced in this brutal world. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down—not now, not when they were this close to uncovering the truth.
When they finally reached the storage room they were looking for, Kara immediately set to work. She pulled out a small hacking device from her belt and plugged it into the security terminal. The device hummed as it began to break through the encryption, and after a tense moment, the screen flickered to life.
“Got it,” Kara said, her eyes scanning the screen. “This is the lab’s central data core. Let’s see what secrets you’ve been hiding.”
Evan moved closer, his eyes scanning the display as Kara navigated through the files. The screen was filled with lines of code and data logs, but Kara quickly honed in on the files marked “Genesis Experiment,” “Subject Data,” and “Project Evolution.”
“These are the records we need,” Kara muttered, pulling up the first file. The data was jumbled at first, but she managed to parse through it.
“It looks like they’ve been conducting experiments for years,” Kara said, frowning as she scrolled through the information. “The Genesis System is more advanced than we thought. It’s not just about survival—it’s about manipulating genetics, enhancing physical and mental abilities beyond natural human limits.”
Evan’s mind whirred as he processed the information. He had known the Genesis System was dangerous, but this was beyond anything he had anticipated. These weren’t just survival experiments—they were trying to fundamentally alter what it meant to be human. The implications were staggering.
Kara clicked on another file, and this time, a detailed log popped up. It was dated several months ago, and it detailed the creation of the very specimen Evan had seen in the tank.
“This is it,” Kara said, her voice filled with disbelief. “This is the project’s first successful test subject. They’ve been experimenting on people—taking normal humans and augmenting them with the Genesis System. They’re turning them into something else entirely.”
Evan’s eyes locked onto the file. The name of the subject was listed: Subject X-01. It was clear from the data that the transformation wasn’t complete. The subject had been partially enhanced—physically, mentally—but something had gone wrong. The log detailed issues with neural synchronization, failed attempts to merge human and Genesis System data, and multiple instances of violent outbursts.
“These experiments are a disaster waiting to happen,” Kara said, shaking her head in disbelief. “They’re playing with forces they don’t understand.”
Evan felt a surge of anger rise within him. The man they had encountered, the one who had called him the “prodigal child,” had been right about one thing—Evan was the key to all of this. But he wasn’t going to let the Genesis System be twisted into a weapon. He wouldn’t allow these monsters to use it for their own twisted ends.
“There’s more,” Kara said, scrolling down further. “The final file is the one labeled Genesis Protocol. This is where things get really disturbing.”
Evan leaned in closer. The file that appeared on the screen was heavily encrypted, but Kara quickly bypassed the security and opened it.
“What is this?” Evan murmured, reading the contents of the file. The Genesis Protocol was a plan—no, an order—for the mass activation of the Genesis System across the entire world. It wasn’t just a small-scale project; it was meant to be a global takeover.
The file outlined the creation of “Evolved” humans—beings capable of controlling the Genesis System and reshaping the world in their image. The ultimate goal was to create a new class of humans, one that was entirely separate from the rest of the population. These “Evolved” individuals would hold absolute power, controlling the future of humanity through genetic manipulation.
“It’s happening,” Evan whispered, his voice filled with realization. “They’re trying to create a new race of beings—superhumans who will dominate the world.”
Kara’s eyes widened as the weight of the situation settled in. “We have to stop them. If this gets out of control, there will be no world left to save.”
Evan turned away from the terminal, his mind racing. The pieces were finally falling into place. The Genesis System wasn’t just a tool for survival—it was the means of humanity’s evolution—or its destruction. If the people behind this experiment succeeded, they would reshape the world into something unrecognizable. And Evan, whether he liked it or not, was at the center of it all.
“We’re going to stop this,” Evan said, his voice hardening with resolve. “We’ll stop them, no matter the cost.”
As the door to the storage room slid open, Evan felt the weight of his words settle in. They weren’t just fighting for their lives anymore. They were fighting for the future of humanity itself. And with the Genesis System on his side, Evan knew that this war was only just beginning.