THE PRICE OF VICTORY

"Doctor Iris," he said, breaking the silence. "I must warn you. What you'll see in 'Eden' is unlike anything you know. It's not a city. It's a machine. A machine that grinds people up and turns them into cogs."

"I know," she replied. "My mother wrote about it. She said a sanctuary without freedom becomes a prison."

"Your mother was right. But she didn't tell you everything. She didn't say that Lena created not just a control system. She created a religion. People in 'Eden' believe Lena is their savior. They're ready to die for her. They look at her as a goddess."

Iris turned to him.

"Are you ready to die for freedom?"

Corvus smirked, but there was no mirth in it.

"I've already died for it," he said. "I survived. But I don't know if I can survive again."

They fell silent. The vehicle continued forward, and the wastelands gave way to ruins, growing older and more abandoned. Iris stared out the window and thought about Cain, about Gora, about Charlie-all who died so she could be here. She had no right to let them down.

"We'll stop in an hour," she said. "Contact with Elias. Then we continue."

The squad nodded. They knew a long road lay ahead. But they were ready to go all the way-for her, for freedom, for everyone waiting for their return.

The vehicle stopped on a hilltop, and Iris got out to look around. Endless wasteland stretched around her-gray plains crossed by cracks where water once flowed. Tank carcasses jutted from the ground like rusty teeth of an extinct beast. Building skeletons reached for the sky like the fingers of a drowned man, and the wind howled through their empty windows. In the distance, a ridge of hills was visible, beyond which, she knew, lay "Eden." It was close, but the path was long.

Iris took a deep breath. The air was dry and bitter, with a taste of ash. She stared at the horizon and thought of how many times she'd seen such landscapes in her nightmares-wastelands she wandered alone, without purpose, without hope. But now she had a purpose. She knew where she was going.

"Doctor," Marc said, approaching her. "We need to keep moving. It's dangerous here. 'Eden's' patrols sometimes come into these areas. They look for refugees."

"I know," she replied. "Just one more minute."

She stepped aside and sat on a piece of concrete that was once part of a wall. She closed her eyes and let the memories wash over her.

Cain. She saw him so clearly-his smile, his warm eyes, his hands holding her when she cried. He was her anchor, her rock. He always knew what to say when she was struggling. He was the one who believed in her, even when she didn't believe in herself. And he died in her arms, shielding her from bullets meant for her. His last words were: "You'll make it. I believe in you."

Iris opened her eyes and looked at her hands. They were the same as then-thin, trembling slightly. She remembered holding him as he died, feeling his blood on her fingers, begging him not to leave. She didn't save him. But she could save others. She could save everyone still alive.

Gora. He was different-stern, sharp, but just. He taught her to shoot, taught her not to be afraid. He said: "Fear is not the enemy. The enemy is when you let fear control you." Gora died covering their retreat in Marcus's tower. He just vanished into the smoke and fire, and she never saw his body. She remembered his last words: "Run. I'll hold them off." She ran, and he stayed. She never forgave herself for that.

Charlie. He was the youngest, almost a boy, with naive eyes and faith that they would build a new world. He died on the first day of the assault, a stray bullet, a meaningless death. But she remembered his laughter, his jokes, his hope. He said: "When this is over, we'll build a city without war. Where people live in peace." He didn't live to see it.

Iris wiped the tears streaming down her face. She allowed herself this moment of weakness, because she knew in a minute she would have to be strong again. She couldn't afford to cry in front of the squad. She had to be their leader, their anchor.

"I won't let you down," she whispered. "I promise. Your deaths won't be in vain."

She stood and returned to the vehicle. The squad was waiting. Corvus looked at her with understanding-he too had lost everyone he loved and knew what pain was.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes," Iris replied. "Everything's fine. Let's move on."

The vehicle started, and they continued their journey through the wastelands. Iris watched the landscape change through the window-ruins grew older, the desert more lifeless. It felt like she was driving through time, through a history already written and unchangeable.

She pulled the locket from her pocket and clutched it. It was warm from her touch, as if her mother truly could hear her.

"Mom," she whispered. "Help me. Give me strength."

She closed her eyes and imagined her mother's face-warm, loving, with a slight smile. She remembered her mother teaching her to read, telling her about stars and a world without war. She remembered their last conversation, when her mother said: "I have to go. I have to stop them. But I'll leave you the key." She didn't know then that the key was the diary. Now she knew.

She put the locket away and looked ahead. There, on the horizon, the outlines of an abandoned village were already visible-a place they had to pass through.

"We're approaching the village," Corvus said, pointing ahead. "We need to be careful. There could be 'Eden' patrols."

"We'll stop at the edge," Iris said. "Scout it out. If anyone's there, we need to know what kind of place it is."

The vehicle slowed, and within ten minutes, they stood at the village entrance. Iris got out and looked around. The houses were old, abandoned, with collapsed roofs and broken windows. On the wall of each was carved the symbol of the tree with intertwined roots.

"They were here," she said. "'Eden.'"

She entered the village and walked down the main street. Everywhere was the same symbol-on walls, on doors, even on the well in the center of the square. It wasn't just a sign. It was a mark. An ideology spreading like a virus, seizing everything in its path.

"This isn't just a village," she said to Corvus as he approached. "It's a warning. They want us to know that 'Eden' is already here. That it's near."

"Many villages fell like this," Corvus replied. "They just came and said: 'Join or die.' Some joined. The rest died. Most chose life."

Iris stared at the symbols, and she felt anger rising within her. Lena hadn't just created a control system. She had created a cult. A cult that destroyed everything that didn't submit.

"We must keep moving," she said. "The sooner we reach 'Eden,' the sooner I can stop this. For them. For all who have already fallen."

They returned to the vehicle and continued on their way.

The squad approached a village marked on maps as "Tikhaya." But there was no silence here-only the wind howling through empty houses and the creak of unoiled hinges as doors swung to and fro. The place seemed dead, but Iris felt that people had been here. And not long ago.

Iris stepped out of the vehicle and looked around. The village was completely abandoned, but it felt as if life had been bustling here only days before. On every house was carved the symbol of the tree with intertwined roots. Neat, almost artistic-as if it had been burned with love, with faith. On the well, on benches, on doors, even on a piece of old cloth fluttering on a clothesline-everywhere was that sign.

"'Eden' was here," Corvus said, approaching her. "Can you feel it?"

"What?" Iris asked.

"The atmosphere. Something evil was here. They didn't just pass through-they took over. They left their mark, like a beast marking its territory."

Iris walked down the main street. She saw that the houses weren't destroyed-they were abandoned. People had left on their own. They had taken their belongings, closed the doors, even placed flowers on windowsills. As if they had left not in panic, but in order, willingly, with hope for a better life.

"They left voluntarily," she said. "They accepted 'Eden.'"

"Or they were given no choice," Corvus replied. "When you're hungry, sick, watching your children die, you'll accept any savior. Even the devil in white robes."

Iris approached one of the houses and looked inside. It was empty, but a plate of uneaten food stood on the table. Next to it lay a book, open in the middle. Everything looked as if the people had simply stood up and left, not finishing their meal, not finishing their tea. A child's jacket hung on a chair-small, pink, with an embroidered flower. Iris picked it up and felt tears rising.

"They weren't in a hurry," she said. "They didn't flee. They left calmly, believing they were going to paradise."

"Because they believed they were going to paradise," Corvus said. "'Eden' promised them paradise. No hunger, no war, no pain. They thought they were being saved. They thought they'd found salvation."

"And instead, they walked into a prison."

Corvus nodded.

"I was there. I know. 'Eden' is a machine that grinds people up. First, they give you food, shelter, protection. Then they take your freedom. Then your soul. You become part of the system, a cog in the machine. And you don't even notice, because you're fed and safe."

Iris walked to the well and looked down. The water was warm and murky, but she felt there was something strange about it-a taste that shouldn't be in clean water. She knew 'Eden' used drugs to control its population. Her mother had written about it in the diary: "They add chemicals to the water. It suppresses the will. Makes people obedient. We must stop this."

"They add something to the water," she said. "Drugs that weaken the will. My mother wrote about it."

"You're right," Corvus said. "They use chemicals to make people obey. It's part of their control system. They don't want people to think for themselves. They want people to believe."

Iris stepped away from the well and looked up at the sky. It was still gray, but on the eastern horizon, a faint blue glow appeared-perhaps a reflection from 'Eden's' domes. She knew they were close. Very close.

"We need to be careful," she told the squad. "If 'Eden' is this close, we might encounter patrols. They know someone is coming."

"We're ready," one of the soldiers said, gripping his weapon.

"I don't want to shoot first," Iris replied. "We don't know who they are. Maybe we can persuade them. Maybe they haven't lost themselves entirely yet."

Corvus smirked, but there was no joy in it.

"Persuade them? Those who believe in 'Eden' don't get persuaded. It's like trying to persuade a stone to flow. They believe Lena is their savior. They'd die for her."

"We'll try," Iris said firmly. "I don't want to kill people who are just misguided."

She headed for the village exit, but at that moment, she heard a strange sound-footsteps. Many footsteps. She stopped and raised her hand, signaling the squad to freeze. They waited, holding their breath.

From behind the houses, people emerged. They stepped out of the shadows slowly, one by one, like ghosts. All of them had empty, glowing eyes, and their movements were mechanical, like puppets jerked by strings. They were armed-not with modern weapons, but crude clubs and knives, but there were many. About thirty of them, surrounding the squad from all sides.

"They've surrounded us," one of the soldiers whispered.

"Don't shoot," Iris said. "I forbid it. Don't give them a reason."

She stepped forward, placing herself between the squad and the crowd. She raised her hands, showing she was unarmed.

"We are not enemies," she said loudly, so all could hear. "We are going to 'Eden.' We want to speak with your leader. We want to understand."

The people with empty eyes didn't answer. They just stood and stared at her, like statues, like wax figures. Iris felt their gazes, cold and lifeless, and knew they were not people-they were puppets controlled by someone else. Someone sitting in the heart of 'Eden,' pulling strings.

Then one of them stepped forward-a woman with long gray hair and empty eyes. She approached Iris and stared directly at her, and there was nothing human in that gaze.

"You shall not pass," she said monotonously. "'Eden' protects us."

"We don't want to harm you," Iris replied. "We just want to talk. We want to understand what you've built and why you believe in it."

"'Eden' gives us purpose," the woman said. "We were nobody. Now we are part of something greater. We are part of a family."

Iris looked at her and thought of her mother's words: "A sanctuary can become a prison. But if a person doesn't know they're in a prison, they'll call it paradise." She saw it firsthand. These people were in prison, but they didn't know it. They thought they were free.

"I understand," Iris said. "But I need to see your city. I need to understand what you've built. I need to see it with my own eyes."

The woman stared at her for a long time. Then she nodded.

"We will take you to the leader," she said. "But if you betray, you will die. 'Eden' does not forgive traitors."

Iris nodded.

"I agree. I will not betray."

The woman turned and walked to the village exit. The people with empty eyes parted, creating a corridor, and Iris and her squad passed through them. She felt their breath, their stares, and knew they were just part of a vast machine grinding people up. But she also knew that machine could be stopped.

They walked through the wastelands for about an hour, and Iris felt the sun beating down mercilessly, scorching her skin. The landscape around was still dead, but now there was something different in the air-tension, like before a storm. The people with empty eyes moved ahead and to the sides, surrounding them in a tight ring, and Iris knew that if they wanted to attack, the squad would have no chance.

She felt their gazes on her, cold and lifeless, and knew they were not people-they were puppets, their strings pulled by someone in the heart of 'Eden.' She saw it in their movements-too synchronized, too mechanical. In their eyes-empty, like the dead.

"This is strange," Corvus said, stepping closer. "They should have attacked by now. In 'Eden,' they don't take prisoners. They either kill or take you to the city. They don't lead strangers to the leader. It's not their tactic."

"Maybe they want to show me to Lena," Iris replied, not taking her eyes off the crowd. "Maybe they've been ordered to bring me alive. Maybe Lena wants to see me personally."

"Or they want to lure us into a trap. This could be a test. Lena wants to see how we react."

Iris didn't answer. She knew it was possible, but she had no choice. She had to enter 'Eden' at any cost. She had to meet Lena. She had to find 'Protocol 7.'

They passed through a gorge where walls rose high and almost sheer on both sides, and Iris felt the air thicken. It was cool, but she sensed danger, like an animal sensing a predator.

Suddenly, the squad stopped. The people with empty eyes closed the circle, and from behind the rocks, others emerged-armed, shouting, with burning eyes. An ambush. Iris saw their faces-as empty as the others, but with aggression, bloodlust.

"Stop!" Iris shouted, raising her hands. "We are not enemies! We just want to talk! We don't want to fight!"

But they didn't listen. They couldn't hear her. They were machines, following orders. The first attacker lunged at her with a knife, and Iris dodged at the last moment, feeling the blade slice her shirt. She pushed him away, but he got up and came at her again. The others began attacking too.

"Don't shoot!" Iris shouted. "I forbid it! They're not to blame!"

She dodged blows, pushed attackers away, trying not to hurt them. She didn't want to kill them-they were victims, like everyone else. But there were too many. She saw the soldiers trying to defend themselves, but not shooting-following her orders. Corvus fought off three attackers, Vera dodged blows, Marc and Dan covered each other's backs.

"Doctor, we can't keep this up!" Corvus shouted, fending off an attacker. "They'll kill us!"

"Hold on!" Iris replied. "Don't kill! They're not to blame! They're being controlled!"

She saw one of the soldiers fall, and Iris rushed to him, shoving the attacker aside. She shielded the soldier and looked into the attacker's face-a young man, maybe twenty, with empty eyes and a childlike face. He looked like a child who had lost himself.

"You don't want this," she said, looking him in the eye. "You don't want to kill. I know. You just want to live. You want to be free."

He paused for a moment, and something like awareness flickered in his eyes. But then it was gone, and he raised his knife again.

"We all want to live," he said monotonously. "'Eden' gives us life."

Just then, one of the attackers stopped. The woman with gray hair and empty eyes-the one who had spoken in the village-approached her and looked directly into her eyes. There was something strange in her gaze, something Iris couldn't understand.

"You're not like the others," she said. "You don't kill. You protect. You don't want to hurt us."

"I don't kill my own," Iris replied, breathing heavily. "Even if they don't know they're my own. Even if they think I'm their enemy."

The woman stared at her for a long time. Then she raised her hand. All the attackers froze, as if on command.

"We will take you to the leader," the woman said. "But if you betray, you will die. 'Eden' does not forgive traitors."

Iris nodded.

"I agree. I will not betray."

She walked to the soldiers lying on the ground and helped them up. They were beaten, but alive. She looked at her hands-they were trembling. She hadn't killed anyone. She had kept her soul.

They continued on, and Iris felt she had passed a test. She could have killed-but she didn't. She had proven she was different. And now she had a chance.

They walked through the wastelands until evening, when the sun began to set, painting the sky in blood-red hues. The woman with gray hair walked beside Iris, and they talked-Iris asking questions, the woman answering in short, clipped phrases.

"Were you human?" Iris asked, looking at her.

"I was nobody," the woman replied. "I lived in a small village on the edge of the wastelands. People died there from hunger, disease, despair. I lost my husband, three children, my parents. I was alone, without purpose, without hope. I wanted to die. I stood on the edge of a cliff and looked down."

"What happened then?"

"They came. People of 'Eden.' They gave me food, water, clothes. They said: 'You will no longer suffer. We will give you purpose. We will give you a new life.' I agreed. And now I am part of something greater. I am part of a family."

"Do you know this is a prison?" Iris asked. "Do you know they took your freedom?"

"Freedom?" the woman smirked, something bitter, almost human in it. "What is freedom? Hunger? Fear? Death? 'Eden' gave me everything I had lost. I don't want to go back. I don't want to be nobody again."

Iris recalled her mother's words: "A sanctuary can become a prison. But if a person doesn't know they're in a prison, they'll call it paradise." She understood that her mother was right. These people weren't evil. They were broken. And 'Eden' gave them the illusion of salvation.

"Do you know what 'Protocol 7' is?" she asked.

The woman frowned, and a shadow of fear flickered in her eyes.

"We don't speak of the 'Protocol.' It's forbidden. But I've heard it could destroy 'Eden.' It could destroy everything we've built."

"That's why I'm here," Iris said. "I want to stop 'Eden.' I want to free you all."

The woman said nothing. She just walked on, and Iris understood: she didn't know the truth. She didn't know the 'Protocol' was the key to her freedom.

"We were nobody," the woman said after a while. "'Eden' gave us purpose. It gave us meaning. I don't want to lose that."

"'Eden' gave you an illusion," Iris said. "But I will give you reality. I will give you freedom."

They walked on, and Iris felt resolve growing within her. She had to find 'Protocol 7.' She had to destroy 'Eden.' She had to free these people.

When the sun had fully set, they saw lights ahead. A system of domes, glowing blue, rose over the wastelands like an artificial mountain, like an ancient city of legend. Iris looked at it and felt a mix of fear and hope inside her.

"It's there," she said. "'Eden.'"

"Yes," the woman replied. "This is your paradise or your grave. It depends on what you choose."

Iris clenched her fists.

"I choose freedom. I choose life."

She walked forward, towards the domes, and within her burned a fire that could destroy everything in its path. She knew: this was only the beginning. Ahead lay battle.

Iris stood at the border of the domes and looked at 'Eden.' It was unlike anything she'd ever seen-a system of shimmering domes rising over the wastelands like an artificial mountain. Inside the domes was green-real greenery she hadn't seen in months. Trees, flowers, grass, water-clean, clear, flowing through channels. People walked the streets, unafraid of patrols, not hungry, not dying. It looked like paradise, like a dream come true.

Iris stepped forward and touched the dome. It was warm, like a living thing, and she felt energy pulsing inside it-energy that powered this perfect world. She saw inside the domes, lights shining, people smiling, children playing in playgrounds. It looked like a painting from the old world, the one she'd read about in books.

"This is the future," the gray-haired woman said, standing beside her. "Or a prison. It's up to you."

Iris looked at the greenery, feeling two voices warring within her. One said: "Stay. Here you have everything you need. Food, water, protection. No hunger, no war. You can be happy." The other whispered: "This is a prison. You know it. You can't stay. You have to destroy it. You have to free them."

"Mom," she whispered. "What do I do?"

In answer, there was only the wind howling over the wastelands, and a voice inside her growing louder, sweeping away all doubt.

"I know what to do," she said.

She turned and looked at the squad. Corvus stood beside her, ready to follow her to the end. Vera held her weapon at the ready. Marc and Dan looked at her with expectation. They believed in her. They were following her into the heart of the enemy.

"We're going inside," she said. "We'll find 'Protocol 7.' We'll find Lena. We'll destroy 'Eden.' We'll free everyone."

Corvus nodded.

"We're ready."

Iris turned to the domes and stepped forward. She touched the dome's surface, and it opened before her, like a door to a new world. She stepped inside, and the domes closed behind her.

She stood on the streets of 'Eden.' The air was fresh, clean. Flowers grew around her, leaves glittering in the light. People passed by, smiling, and she saw they didn't know they were in a prison. She saw they were happy.

"You made the right choice," the woman said. "Welcome to 'Eden.'"

Iris clutched her mother's diary in her pocket and looked ahead. She knew this battle was just beginning. She knew she had to find Lena. She knew she had to destroy 'Protocol 7.' But she also knew she wasn't alone. She believed she could save these people.

"Thank you," she said. "I'm ready."

She walked forward, into the heart of the city, and within her burned a fire that could destroy everything in its path. She knew: this was only the beginning. But she wouldn't stop until she freed everyone.

The General stood over a map spread on a rough wooden table, staring at the red-marked positions he planned to capture within the next two days. The map was old, worn, with faded lines, but the General knew every street, every house, every basement of this city. He had served here for twenty years, defended it from enemies, built its defenses, watched it crumble and rebuild. And now he had to defend it from the most dangerous enemy-from a weak leader unable to make hard decisions. From a man who believed in peace when the world wanted war. From a man who turned out to be a clone, created by the very Marcus Vos they all hated.