CHAPTER 356: CHAPTER 356

The door creaked open as Liam stepped inside, followed closely by Dickson and the girls. The air of the house was still, stale, carrying that faint scent of dust and memories that hadn’t been touched in months.

It was just as he had left it. After the repairs, he hadn’t really returned—he didn’t want to. This place carried too much of his father’s shadow. Every corner, every piece of furniture reminded him of a past he couldn’t escape since he watched that video.

The others spread out slowly, their eyes moving across the room.

Ann’s face tightened almost instantly. The further they went inside, the more unsettled she looked. She had been here before, but standing inside the house again—inside the space where Liam’s father had carried out his work—made her skin crawl. She brushed her arms with her palms, almost as if trying to wipe away invisible chills. Seo Yeon wasn’t much better; her eyes darted nervously from wall to wall, lips pressed tight. The air itself felt wrong to her.

Vanessa and Kelly, on the other hand, were quiet but curious. Their eyes moved slowly, scanning every detail, every odd device, every strange paper and scribble left behind. For them it was less horror and more fascination—like stepping into a crime scene frozen in time.

And then there was Dickson. His eyes were wide with wonder, practically sparkling. He couldn’t stand still. His footsteps echoed as he moved from one wall to the next, leaning close to examine old charts, dusty instruments, and strange containers with cracked glass. He laughed under his breath, muttering things to himself as if he were in a toy shop.

"Damn," he finally said loud enough for everyone to hear, shaking his head with a grin. "Your father was wild, dawg. He was in some real dark shit."

Liam glanced at him, unimpressed, before rolling his eyes. He didn’t bother answering. The truth was, Dickson’s words echoed exactly what had gone through his own mind the first time he had stepped into this room. But he wasn’t in the mood to indulge him.

Instead, he walked forward, steady and silent, toward the far end of the office. His boots tapped softly against the wooden floor as he approached the metal table, the one that had started everything. He pulled the chair back and sat down, just like last time.

Everyone else was still too distracted by the office, too caught up in their own thoughts and reactions, to even notice him sit.

Liam leaned back slightly, his eyes moving across the space one last time, before his right hand slid beneath the table. His fingers searched, found the small smooth circle, and pressed.

Click.

The hum started instantly.

"Wait... what’s that?" Kelly asked, spinning around.

Before anyone could answer, the ground in the middle of the room rumbled. A faint seam glowed as the circular hatch began to spiral open, the floor splitting apart piece by piece until a black hole yawned in the center.

"Holy—" Dickson yelped as he stumbled back, nearly falling in. He had to jump to the side, arms flailing, just to save himself from tumbling straight into the opening.

"What the actual fuck, bro?!" he shouted, his face twisted with a mix of fear and anger. "You could’ve given a warning!"

But Liam didn’t even look at him. He rose from the chair calmly, moved to one of the shelves, and grabbed a heavy-duty flashlight. The beam cut through the darkness as he tested it once, then turned to face the group.

"Let’s go," he said simply.

Ann’s head snapped toward him, her voice trembling as she pointed down at the spiraling stairs hidden in the darkness. "Wait—down there?!!"

But before her disbelief could even settle in, a loud laugh broke through the room.

"Hah!" Dickson grinned wide, brushing the dust off his shirt as if nothing had happened a second ago. His anger vanished just as quickly as it came, replaced by reckless excitement. "I have to be the first person to get powers!"

And with that, he sprinted forward.

"Dickson, wait—!" Vanessa started, but it was too late.

He jumped into the stairway without hesitation, his laugh echoing down into the darkness as his voice trailed away. "Hahahahaha!"

The others just stood there, silent for a beat, staring at the hole in the ground where he had disappeared.

Liam exhaled slowly through his nose, tightening his grip on the flashlight. Only he knew exactly what awaited them down there.

He descended the staircase slowly, the heavy air pressing down on him with every step. The deeper he went, the colder it became, a damp chill crawling over his skin like unseen fingers. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had been here before, he would have back down. The concrete walls were cracked, the faint scent of rust and dried blood lingering in the stagnant air. His boots hit the last step, and he immediately spotted Dickson standing in the center, phone raised high, the flashlight beam bouncing off the walls.

For once, Dickson wasn’t talking. His usual smirk was gone, replaced by wide-eyed shock. He was frozen, his phone trembling slightly in his grip. The light swept over the walls, revealing smeared stains, broken glass scattered across the floor, and strange medical instruments that looked like they belonged in some underground torture chamber rather than a laboratory.

"What the fuck..." Dickson muttered under his breath.

The girls arrived one by one, their footsteps hesitant. Ann stepped off the last stair, and the moment her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she froze. Seo Yeon was right behind her, and the color drained from her face. They both stared at the walls, their bodies stiff as if the shadows themselves were alive and reaching for them.

Kelly’s expression hardened, her usual confidence dimmed by the unsettling atmosphere. Even Vanessa, who tried to look calm, couldn’t hide the surprise in her eyes as she scanned the ruined lab.

Liam didn’t waste words. He moved past them toward the breaker box mounted on the far wall. With a heavy pull, he flipped the switch. A low hum filled the underground chamber, the emergency power flickering to life. Dim orange lights buzzed overhead, weak but enough to push back the thick shadows.

That was when the full horror of the room became clear.

The walls were stained with blood, streaks running down like something—or someone—had been dragged across them. Rusted chains hung from the ceiling, broken at different lengths, and one corner held a medical bed bolted to the floor. Its straps were torn, frayed, and dark with old blood. The metal frame was corroded, and the stench of dried iron lingered around it.

Ann covered her mouth instantly, her stomach twisting. Seo Yeon backed away, her eyes wide as if she was staring at ghosts. Kelly didn’t move at first, her gaze locked on the rusted bed, while Vanessa’s brows furrowed, unsettled but also curious.

Dickson broke the silence, spinning in a circle as the light from his phone scanned everything. "Bro... this is not just creepy. This is some serial killer shit. What the hell was your dad doing here?"

Liam didn’t answer. His face was calm, but inside, the weight of the memories pressed down on him. He had been here before, and the images of what happened that night—the explosion, the chaos—flashed across his mind.

Then everyone noticed it.

At the center of the room stood something massive, towering, draped under a thick dusty cloth. The tarp stretched down to the floor, its once-white surface turned gray with years of neglect. Even covered, the sheer size of it drew every gaze. The object was tall, easily six feet, its width dominating the center space like a monument.

Liam stepped forward, ignoring the unease of the others. He reached out, grabbed the edge of the tarp, and yanked it away in one smooth motion. Dust filled the air, rising in a choking cloud that made Ann cough and Seo Yeon turn her face away.

It was still as dusty as last time.

When the haze cleared, the device stood revealed.

It looked otherworldly. A massive vertical ring, metallic yet alive, stood anchored to a crystalline base. The surface of the ring shimmered, its black-and-silver material flickering as though reality itself glitched around its edges. Strange coils rotated slowly, orbiting the ring without any visible support, suspended by forces no one could see. At the center was a hollow space, framed by hundreds of delicate filaments, like a giant iris frozen mid-blink. Even dormant, the core seemed to pulse faintly, giving off the illusion of a heartbeat.

The room fell silent. None of them spoke for a long moment.

Dickson broke first, walking in circles around the machine, his jaw slack, eyes wide. "Holy... fucking... shit." His voice was quiet at first, then louder. "This... this is insane. This is what did it, isn’t it?" He turned sharply to Liam, his finger pointing at the massive structure. "This is what gave all of you powers?"

Liam stood still, his eyes fixed on the device. His expression didn’t change, but his silence carried weight. Finally, he spoke, his voice low. "Yes. That’s the machine. It gave Lilith her powers. It gave Lana hers too."

Dickson’s breath hitched with excitement, his hands trembling. He stared at the machine as if it were a holy relic, his mind already racing. "Then that means... I’m next. This thing—this is gonna change everything for me if it gives me your type system too"

But Liam’s voice cut his excitement in half. "Don’t get ahead of yourself." He turned to look at him, his face unreadable. "I don’t know about me. I didn’t use this."

Dickson blinked, confused. "What do you mean? Then how did you—"

"I had an accident." Liam’s tone was flat, as if he didn’t want to dig into the memory. "I thought I was going to die. I blacked out, woke up later, and the system was just... there. In my room. No machine. No explanation."

It clicked in Dickson’s head now, Lilith did tell him everything when Ann stabbed him a while ago.

Dickson’s excitement flickered, but only for a second before his grin returned. "Doesn’t matter. This thing worked for them, it’ll work for me too." He slapped the side of the machine, dust shaking loose. "This right here is my ticket."

The girls didn’t share his enthusiasm. Ann stepped closer to Liam, her eyes scanning the bloodstains on the walls again before landing on the machine. "Liam... are you sure this thing is safe?"

Liam didn’t answer immediately. He looked at the device, its surface shimmering faintly.

"Safe?.... I’m not even sure it works"