The silence hung like thick smoke in the base corridors. Kael walked beside Aria, the steps echoing between cables, metal structures and walls full of old equipment - some clearly modified by technology he did not recognize.
- Where are we going? He asked, observing the underground environment that seemed to deepen more with each curve.
Aria did not respond immediately. It only moved on, until it stopped in front of a heavy door, reinforced with titanium plates and safety locks with energy recognition.
"This is where the truth begins," she said, leaning a hand on the lock. A blue light toured its fingers, releasing access with a subtle click.
The environment on the other side was cold. Old computers linked to physical files. Screens flashing with encrypted data. In the center, an empty containment capsule, cracked inside as if something had tried to escape.
Kael felt the body stiffen.
- What is that?
Aria faced the files projected on the glass screen ahead. With a gesture, she pulled a line of holographic timeline. At the top, the name Heliontech. Below… dates, experiences, codenames, deaths.
"This is where they created you," she said bluntly. - Or rather, it was here that the project "Solaris" started.
Kael blinked.
- Project…?
"They always wanted to control the light." Pure, clean, uninterrupted energy. But the problem is that the strongest light also burns. The first tests were with animals, then… with children. Some disappeared. Others exploded inside. Literally.
She ran her fingers through the crack capsule.
- That was your cell. You were not born with this power, Kael. It was forged in it. Programmed to be a human reactor. A walking sun that they could turn on and off at ease.
His heart beat faster. The memories began to return in blurred flashes. White rooms. Pain. Stupid screams. A serious voice saying, "He is compatible."
- Did they… have you scheduled?
Aria nodded, but looked at him firmly.
- But you escaped. Something inside you broke the code. Fled the control. And since then… you have been shining on your own.
Kael looked at the data. The reports. A name caught his attention: Dr. H. Virellian. Director of the Solaris Project. A hologram of him appeared next to the documents, designed from a personal diary.
"If light can heal, it can also subdue. With proper control, Solaris will be the end of energy freedom - and the beginning of our empire."
Kael felt nausea.
- I was just a gun.
Aria put his hand on his shoulder.
- Maybe you were. But now you have a choice. And they are afraid of it.
For a moment Kael was silent. The light within it reacted, vibrating with intensity - not out of anger, but for purpose.
"Then I'll give them a real reason to fear the light."
He turned off the panel, his eyes burning in gold.