[Timeline: 12:30 AM - After the Prometheus Laboratory Incident]
[Flashback: 2 hours earlier, simultaneous awakening in four cities]


While Evelyn and Odin were facing a crisis at the Prometheus Laboratory, in other corners of the country, three other "gods" were also discovering their respective truths...

[Retrospect: 2 hours earlier - Los Angeles Coast]
[Poseidon's Discovery]

I infiltrated the underwater facility. In the control room at a depth of 450 feet, I found the complete experimental records.


Emily Andrews. My sister.
Experiment start date: The day after I signed the agreement.
Experiment purpose: Testing the tolerance of genetically related female adolescents to customized pantheon serum.

Experiment results: Organ failure, brain death, experiment failed.
Disposal method: Body used for anatomical research, remaining samples preserved in cryogenic storage.

I killed my sister. Not by disease, not by accident. It was the agreement I signed that killed her. I thought I was saving her, but I was actually handing her over to butchers.

[Flashback: Same Moment - Underground New York Archives]
[Hades' Awakening]

17 "Witness Cleanup" reports laid out before me. Each file showed the same pattern: targets were test subjects or related witnesses, threat level was possession of confidential information, executor was me, result was mission accomplished.

Sophia Reynolds, 8 years old. True identity: daughter of a lab janitor, accidentally witnessed the serum experiment.

I hadn't killed terrorists. I killed a little girl who wanted to tell her mom that "the uncles are hurting children." 17 innocent lives, all died by my hand.

[Flashback: 1 Hour Earlier - Minnesota Farm]
[Thor's Truth]

I found my mother. She was "placed" in an elderly care center called "Golden Sunset." On the surface it's a high-end nursing home, but in reality it's Genesis Group's "important witness isolation facility."

"Eric! Why didn't you tell me you were still alive?! Do you know what these three years have been like for me?!"

She told me that people from Genesis Group came to "visit" her every month, reminding her to keep the secret. It wasn't that she didn't know I was alive; she was forced to pretend not to know.

"They said if I told anyone, you would really die. So I... so I had to pretend to believe that you were already..."

[Now: 12:30 AM - Kaleidoscope Command Center]
[Perspective: Typhon - Evelyn Thorne]

"Miss, chain awakening event detected." Sebastian's voice pulled my drifting mind back to reality. "Besides your expected Odin, the other three first-generation superhumans have also simultaneously entered awakening state."

Perfect. My breakthrough has triggered the collapse of the entire system. But now, Odin and I must first deal with the immediate crisis...

Silence.

A deathly silence, with only the faint, hollow hissing sound coming from the ventilation ducts in the ceiling. The neurotoxin that I once regarded as the countdown to death had stopped releasing at some unknown point. The entire trap, as if having completed its mission of "bringing us together," quietly exited the stage, leaving the two of us to face the mess in this room and a shared, unspeakable memory.

I forcibly analyzed the current situation from a detached perspective:
[Physical Status Analysis]
- Physical damage: Moderate, within acceptable range
- Mental state: System restructuring in progress
- Plan integrity: 87.3% → 12.7% ↓Severe deviation
- Unexpected variable: Odin's individual independent consciousness awakening level exceeds expectations

On my skin, Odin's iron-like body heat still lingered, along with the purple-blue bruises left by his brutal strength. Every inch of my body screamed in pain, but at this moment, none of that compared to the ruins within my heart.

He knelt before me, the man who moments ago had been like a savage beast, now resembling a child who had done something wrong, head bowed, golden strands of hair falling down to hide the expression on his face. That godlike radiance about him had completely dimmed, leaving only an awkward, mortal air.

It was I who broke the silence.

I struggled to get up, ignoring my body's protests, and began silently gathering the shreds of my stealth suit that had become nothing more than rags, trying to cover my body. My movements were slow and mechanical, like a puppet whose soul had been extracted. I didn't look at him, nor did I even think about what to do next. My brain, that kaleidoscope I had always prided myself on for its constant high-speed functioning, had crashed for the first time.

"I'm sorry."

His voice reached me, hoarse, dry, with a slight tremor that even he himself hadn't noticed.

I stopped moving and looked up, for the first time in a conscious state, gazing directly at him from such close proximity without any calculation. In his golden eyes, there was no longer the usual defiance and playfulness, only a bottomless storm mixed with regret and self-loathing.

"Excuse me?" I almost laughed out loud, but in the end I only twitched the corner of my mouth, forming a smile uglier than crying. "Mr. Odin, are you apologizing for almost killing me just now, or... for something else?"

He was choked by my words, his lips trembled a few times, but he couldn't make an answer.

"It's okay," I stood up, using a relatively intact piece of composite material to barely cover myself, my tone returning to its usual cold detachment. "I got what I wanted. Your deepest physiological data, the complete record of your power going out of control... these things are worth far more than the purity of this body of mine. From a business perspective, this is a profitable deal."

I spoke so calmly, as if stating a business report. But I knew that every word I uttered was like torturing my nerves with razor blades. I had to use this method to rebuild that impenetrable armor called "Evelyn Thorne" for myself.

My words clearly wounded him. He jerked his head up, and in those golden eyes, flames of pain ignited. "That's not what I meant! I..."

"Whatever you meant doesn't matter anymore," I interrupted him. "What matters is that we're both trapped here now. Instead of discussing facts that can't be changed, we should figure out how to get out."

Just then, the laboratory broadcast sounded again, but this time it wasn't the cold electronic voice—instead, it was a familiar voice full of smugness and arrogance—Adam Drake.

"Good evening, Miss Thorne, and... my most brilliant creation, Odin." Drake's voice came from all directions, carrying the boastfulness of a victor. "I never imagined you would engage in such 'intimate' communication in this manner. This footage, if made public, would surely open a whole new product line for the corporation's 'adult entertainment' division, wouldn't it?"

Odin's body instantly tensed, a surge of killing intent rising from him. "Drake!"

"What are you saying? This is one-way, I can't hear you! Don't get excited, my child," Drake chuckled lightly. "I just wanted to tell you both that the game is over. Miss Thorne, you're very clever, but your cleverness is ultimately just the petty intelligence of a mortal. And you, Odin... you are my most perfect creation, but occasionally, you need some small 'adjustments.' Enjoy your final moments together. In one hour, I'll bring more neurotoxin."

The broadcast cut off.

Despair washed over them like a tide.