The **gate groaned open**, releasing a **deep, echoing rumble** that shook the walls of the ruined lab. Cold air, stale and untouched for centuries, rushed out like the breath of something **ancient** waking from slumber.
Manav and Priya **stepped inside**.
And there, sitting on a **rusted throne of broken machinery**, was **Dr. Moraeu**.
She was **alive**.
The woman before them was unlike anything they had expected. Her body was **unnaturally preserved**, not youthful, but eerily timeless. She wore **a long crimson coat**, its fabric torn and frayed at the edges, and her face, pale and angular, held an expression of both **amusement and exhaustion**.
Her **golden eyes** gleamed in the dim light as she studied them.
A slow smile curved her lips.
*"So… someone finally made it."*
Manav's grip on his dagger **tightened**. Priya, however, was frozen in place, her heart hammering.
She **swallowed hard** before speaking.
*"I thought they were just rumors."*
Dr. Moraeu chuckled softly, the sound **brittle** like cracking glass.
*"And yet, here you are."*
Priya took a hesitant step forward.
Priya's throat tightened. "And they said… you could make us immortal."
Moraeu's smile **widened**.
*"That, too, is correct."*
The words **hung in the air**, heavier than the freezing winds outside.
Manav and Priya had climbed mountain** for this moment. Had survived storms, monsters, and living statues—had walked through blood and death, through fear and suffering—**for this.**
And now, it was **real**.
Dr. Moraeu, the legendary scientist of Mars, the supposed **bringer of immortality**, **was alive**.
And she was willing to grant them eternal life.
---
Priya clenched her fists.
*"Then do it."* she said.
*"Not yet."* Moraeu interlaced her fingers, her sharp nails tapping against each other. "I must tell you something first."
Priya hesitated. "What?"
Moraeu leaned forward, the dim light casting **shadows across her sharp features**.
*"You are the first ones to reach Crimson Peak."*
Priya frowned. "Crimson Peak?"
Moraeu's smile **darkened**.
*"You stand atop the grave of my greatest sin."*
The room seemed to **tighten** around them.
Priya's breath grew shallow.
And then Moraeu spoke.
---
*"During the height of Mars' first great era of technological advancement, the world was on the brink of something extraordinary."*
*"Immortality. Genetic perfection. Bioengineering that could defy the natural order itself."*
*"And I was at the center of it all."*
*"My research facility—the **Crimson Nova**—was Mars' greatest beacon of scientific progress."*
*"But ambition… blinded us."*
Moraeu's fingers **dug into the arms of her chair**.
*"We thought we could reshape life itself. Break the limits of flesh. Banish death forever."*
*"At first, the results were… promising. My team and I **eliminated aging** in small test subjects. We repaired genetic decay, halted cellular breakdown, even reversed certain fatal conditions."*
*"But then, we went further."*
*"We didn't just stop death."*
*"We tried to **control** it."*
Manav's hands curled into **tight fists**.
Something **heavy** was coming.
Priya could feel it.
Moraeu's eyes glowed in the dimness.
*"It started with an anomaly. A small miscalculation. A shift in cellular behavior we didn't predict."*
*"And then—"*
*"The first one changed."*
Priya **stiffened**.
*"Changed?"*
Moraeu exhaled.
*"One of our first human subjects… stopped being human."*
A **deep silence** followed.
Then, Moraeu continued.
*"He evolved."*
*"His body twisted, his mind shattered, and his very **existence** became something… else."*
*"And then, it spread."*
Manav's jaw clenched. "What are you saying?"
Moraeu's expression turned **grim**.
*"I am saying that the moment we crossed the final threshold—the moment we believed we had truly conquered mortality—we triggered a chain reaction."*
*"A reaction that tore the **Crimson Nova** off the map."*
*"An explosion that didn't just kill—it **transformed**."*
Priya felt her stomach twist. "Transformed into **what**?"
Moraeu's golden eyes burned.
*"Into creatures unlike anything that had ever walked this world."*
*"Abominations of flesh and rage. Beings that were neither alive nor dead. Things that should have **never existed**."*
A chill **ran down Priya's spine**.
Millions had died in the **Crimson Nova Disaster**. Not just from the explosion, but from **what had escaped**.
And it was **her** fault.
Dr. Moraeu, the **mother of immortality**, was also the mother of **Mars' greatest horror**.
Priya took a step back.
This wasn't just a ruined lab.
This was a **cursed tomb**.
---
For the first time in their entire journey, Priya wanted to **turn back**.
But Manav…
Manav **didn't flinch**.
He **stared** at Moraeu, his eyes **sharp**, his body tense.
And then he said,
*"I don't care."*
Priya's head snapped toward him.
"Manav—"
*"I don't care what happened here,"* he said coldly.
*"I don't care how many people died."*
*"I came here for **immortality**."*
His voice was **steady**.
His resolve was **unshaken**.
Priya's breath caught in her throat.
Moraeu **laughed softly**, her gaze locked onto Manav's.
*"Ah,"* she mused.
*"I was waiting for someone like you."*
Priya's **blood ran cold**.
Manav stepped forward.
*"Give it to us."*
Moraeu tilted her head. "You are willing to bear the cost?"
Manav's expression **hardened**.
*"Whatever the cost, I'll pay it."*
Priya **grabbed his arm**.
"Manav, stop. You heard what she said—"
But Manav didn't even **look at her**.
His eyes were locked onto Moraeu.
The scientist's smile widened.
*"Very well."*
She **rose from her throne**, the dim light flickering against her crimson coat.
*"Then let us begin."*
The **door behind her opened**, revealing a chamber bathed in **red light**.
---