The abandoned research facility of the Soviet alternate zone sprawled across the horizon, its rusted metal walls and cracked concrete floors echoing faint mechanical whirs. Red warning lights flickered sporadically along the corridors, casting distorted shadows on the broken equipment scattered around. The scent of antiseptic mixed with burnt circuits lingered in the cold air.

Passing through a half-collapsed hallway, the central chamber came into view. Pipes ran along the walls, leaking steam that hissed with every tremor. In the middle of the room, two identical figures stood motionless, their metallic eyes reflecting the faint red light. Their white lab coats, torn and scorched, fluttered slightly in the draft.

The Twins — pale, with hair the color of silver, and eyes glowing faintly crimson. Their movements were synchronized yet unnervingly human, each gesture mirrored perfectly by the other. One held a strange device humming softly; the other’s fingers traced patterns in the air, scanning the surroundings.

“…”