Ashes of Our Flame
by RapwizzyDebaron
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Episode 94: "The Beacon Within"
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Kara didn't sleep.
The revelation that she was the core of the Sanctuary Protocol—the living key to the rebirth of the Lazarus nightmare—echoed in her skull like war drums.
She sat on the edge of the metal cot in Shade's underground base, staring at her hands. Were they still hers… or just part of Vane's design?
Adrian found her there, wrapped in silence.
"Kara," he said gently. "You're still you."
She didn't look at him. "What if I'm not? What if I'm just another one of his monsters waiting to activate?"
Adrian kneeled in front of her, his voice firm. "You've fought your programming every step of the way. You chose to destroy Lazarus. You protected us. That's not a machine. That's someone brave enough to fight fate."
She met his gaze. "But what if fate fights back?"
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In the operations room, Shade displayed a hologram—a map of faint red dots pulsing slowly around the globe.
"Each one of these is a sleeper. Some don't know what they are. Some do, and they're waiting. If Kara's code is triggered… they'll all awaken."
Zero studied the map. "We're talking hundreds."
"Thousands," Shade corrected grimly. "Vane planned for his own death. That's what Sanctuary is—a fallback army."
Tessa crossed her arms. "So how do we stop it?"
Shade looked toward Kara. "By going where it all began. The Forge."
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They boarded a stealth aircraft that night.
Destination: The Forge—a hidden complex buried beneath a dormant volcano in the Arctic Circle. According to Shade, it was the true birthplace of Lazarus. The place where Kara was made.
It wasn't just a lab.
It was a temple.
And it still pulsed with forgotten energy.
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The storm hit as they approached the coordinates. Blinding snow, shrieking winds, near-zero visibility.
Kara's heartbeat matched the turbulence.
She could feel something calling her. A presence. Not Elias Vane—but something older.
The moment they touched down, she stumbled, clutching her chest.
Adrian caught her. "Kara!"
She gasped, breath shallow. "It's… it's waking up."
Inside her.
All around her.
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The Forge was carved into the mountain like a forgotten god's tomb. Glowing veins of tech pulsed through the stone walls, reacting to Kara's presence as they passed.
Doors opened for her.
Lights blinked awake.
"She's syncing," Shade said in awe. "The system remembers her."
Tessa had her gun drawn. "Then we better hurry before the rest of the sleepers get the memo."
As they descended into the heart of the Forge, Kara saw a chamber ahead. A massive sphere floated in the center, suspended by magnetic fields.
"The Core," Zero whispered. "That's the source of the Sanctuary signal."
Kara stepped forward—and the floor lit up beneath her.
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A voice filled the chamber.
Soft. Familiar.
"Welcome home, Subject K-001."
Kara froze. "That voice…"
Adrian drew his weapon. "Vane?"
"No," Kara whispered. "It's… my voice."
A projection formed—a younger version of Kara, maybe twelve years old, standing barefoot in a white lab gown.
The hologram smiled.
"I've been waiting for you to wake up."
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The others stood back as Kara approached her younger self. The child-version's eyes shimmered with knowledge no child should carry.
"I was the first you," it said. "The prototype. The one they modeled the rest on. They gave you my memories to make you more stable."
Kara trembled. "Why are you still here?"
The child Kara's smile faded. "Because the trigger isn't a code. It's a choice. And you haven't made it yet."
"Made what?"
"To lead them… or to end them."
The chamber shook.
Sirens blared.
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Shade spun toward the console. "Signal spike! Someone's activating the Sanctuary failsafe remotely!"
Zero's eyes widened. "How? We destroyed the network!"
"The network isn't digital," the child Kara said. "It's biological. It lives in us."
Kara's hand instinctively went to her chest. The crystal around her neck pulsed violently—then shattered.
"No!" Adrian shouted, rushing forward.
But it was too late.
Kara's eyes began to glow.
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To be continued…
🔥 When the past breathes through you, can you still own your future?
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The end of one world may be the ignition of another.