Sakuya, listening from across the room, made a new entry in his notebook:

  Hypothesis: Hikari Aizawa is not just Subject Zero. She is the control variable in a rger experiment—ARK versus Prometheus.

  Observation: ARK seeks to excise emotion. Prometheus (via Caine) seeks to accelerate evolution through any means necessary.

  Conflict: Two philosophies of human advancement. We are the battlefield.

  Implication: Hikari is not just a rebel. She is a weapon. One side’s weapon against the other.

  Question: Which side is she on?

  Or… is she on her own side?

  He closed the notebook, his analytical mind reaching a disturbing conclusion:

  We’re not just test subjects. We’re pawns in a war between ideologies.

  And the winner gets to redefine humanity.

  The loser… gets recycled.