Location: Genesis Core – Time-Locked Memory Field
The light faded.
You opened your eyes… but the world wasn't real.
Not anymore.
This was a memory—twisted by Genesis energy, corrupted by grief.
The walls shimmered like reflections in a broken mirror. Fragments of your past looped in the air: Ada's laugh, Lia's first steps, your old team… and in the middle of it all—
Her.
Seris.
Not as she was now.
As she used to be.
---
She stood barefoot in a field of ruined flowers, younger, softer. Her smile wasn't cruel. It was warm. Familiar.
"I waited for you," she said quietly. "When the mission failed… when Echo took me… when you didn't come."
You stepped forward, heart racing. "I didn't know. They told us you were—"
"Dead?" she interrupted. "I was. But they brought me back. Zeyren brought me back."
Her form shifted—sorrow blooming into rage.
"But he didn't bring me. He built this—" she gestured to herself, to the pulsing crystal "—out of pain. Your pain. Your guilt."
Your chest tightened.
Seris had been your teammate. Someone close. Someone you trusted. Maybe even—
She stepped closer, and you finally saw it:
Your old dog tags.
Hanging from her neck.
"I loved you," she whispered. "But you buried me with the rest."
---
Present Day – Echo's Heart
The memory shattered.
You were back in the core.
Seris stood in full control now, dark Genesis energy writhing around her body like a living cloak.
"This place was built to break people," she said coldly. "Now I'll use it to break the world."
You raised your weapon again.
"Not while I'm still breathing."
She tilted her head, almost sadly.
"Then let's see if you've learned how to bleed for real."