The mastermind

The laboratory fell silent.
Even the alarms stopped.
Only the mechanical voice echoed through the facility.
"Director authorization confirmed."
Every monitor displayed the same symbol.
A black phoenix.
Its wings slowly spread across the screens before fading into a live video feed.
A man appeared.
His hair was silver, neatly combed back despite his age. His posture was straight, his expression calm, almost fatherly.
He looked into the camera with a gentle smile.
"Good evening."
His voice was soft.
Too soft.
"My name is **Dr. Kenji Arakawa**."
Hayato frowned.
"I've never heard that name."
Eiji's face turned pale.
"You weren't supposed to."
Dr. Arakawa folded his hands.
"Subject One."
His eyes shifted toward Eiji through the camera.
"You've disappointed me."
Eiji remained silent.
"You allowed emotion to influence your judgment."
For the first time in years, Eiji lowered his head.
"...Yes, Director."
Shiromi noticed.
The man standing before her—the one who had terrified her for years—
Was terrified of someone else.
Dr. Arakawa's attention turned toward Shiromi.
"And Subject Four..."
He smiled warmly.
"You've exceeded every expectation."
Shiromi glared at the screen.
"You murdered my family."
"No."
He answered without hesitation.
"I merely approved a necessary decision."
Those words ignited every ounce of anger inside her.
She stepped toward the monitor.
"They had names!"
"They weren't experiments!"
"They were my mother... my father... my little brother!"
For the first time...
Dr. Arakawa's smile faded.
"I know."
He paused.
"I attended your birthday."
Shiromi froze.
"...What?"
He nodded.
"When you turned six."
He began listing details only someone who had truly been there could know.
"The strawberry cake."
"The blue ribbon your mother tied in your hair."
"The wooden toy your brother refused to share."
Tears formed in Shiromi's eyes.
"How..."
"I watched over every subject personally."
The realization made her stomach twist.
He hadn't simply ordered the experiment.
He had been part of her childhood.
Hayato stepped forward.
"You monster."
Dr. Arakawa looked at him.
"I prefer 'scientist.'"
"You destroyed hundreds of lives."
"I saved humanity's future."
"No," Hayato replied.
"You sacrificed children for your own dream."
Dr. Arakawa sighed.
"I expected that answer."
Without warning, every containment pod in the laboratory lit up.
Blue liquid drained from enormous glass chambers.
One by one...
They opened.
Adults.
Teenagers.
Children.
All wearing identical white uniforms.
Some looked confused.
Others looked frightened.
One woman slowly opened her eyes.
Eiji's expression completely changed.
"...No..."
He stumbled backward.
"It can't be..."
Shiromi looked at him.
"You know her?"
His voice cracked for the first time.
"...My sister."
Silence.
Hayato stared.
"You told me she died."
"I believed she had."
The woman looked around the room in confusion.
She hadn't aged much.
As if time itself had stopped.
Dr. Arakawa smiled once more.
"Project H never discarded successful subjects."
"We preserved them."
Eiji's fists trembled violently.
"You lied to me."
"I motivated you."
"You told me she was dead!"
"I told you what you needed to hear."
For the first time since becoming Subject One...
Eiji lost control.
He roared.
Not in anger.
In grief.

Shiromi looked at Hayato.

Everything made sense now.
Project H wasn't about creating stronger humans.
It was about controlling them.
Taking away the people they loved.
Breaking them.
Then giving them only one thing to believe in.
The Project.
Dr. Arakawa clasped his hands behind his back.
"Now..."
"Let us begin the final experiment."
The video feed cut to black.
A massive blast door at the end of the laboratory slowly opened.
Darkness waited beyond it.
Then...
Heavy footsteps.
Not one.
Not two.
Many.