Germa's Fall, Void Control

His fingers lightly tapped the tabletop, each tap accompanied by a barely perceptible ripple of purple energy. At the center of the round table, an ancient device slowly rotated, projecting holographic images of seven keys, three of which were already marked "Activated."

"Soon," the old man murmured. "Soon, this world will return to its true master..."

A piercing alarm echoed through Germa Kingdom's underground laboratory. Red warning lights flashed relentlessly, illuminating the chaos. Bartholomew Kuma stood at the center of the laboratory, his figure especially imposing amid the smoke and dust. The shockwave from moments ago had destroyed most of the surrounding defenses, leaving shattered consoles and broken glass scattered across the floor.

"Target secured," Kuma calmly said into the communicator, tightly gripping the Stability Key he had just removed. The ancient key emitted a faint golden glow in his hand, standing in stark contrast to the chaotic surroundings.

Meanwhile, Revolutionary Army soldiers busied themselves rescuing the test subjects imprisoned in transparent containers. One unconscious resident after another was carefully transferred onto stretchers for evacuation. But the situation was far from optimistic—many had already developed irreversible mutations. Purple-black patterns crawled across their skin, and some had even begun growing inhuman organs and limbs.

"The situation is worse than we imagined," a Revolutionary Army medical specialist reported to Kuma with a grim expression. "About one-third of the test subjects can no longer return to normal. Their DNA has been completely rewritten."

Kuma's gaze swept over the test subjects struggling in agony, and an uncontrollable rage rose within him. Yet he had no time to dwell on it. The entire laboratory began to shake, and the metal supports let out ominous groans.

"We must evacuate immediately," Kuma ordered. "Take everyone who can move. The lightly equipped men each carry one more person."