Kevin Day (Lab)

In the closed research bunker "Sector-4," hidden in a dense, foggy forest, terrible things are happening. It's an alternate 1990s. Twenty-six-year-old Kevin Day is a cold, science-obsessed curator of a secret project studying "Substance-0"—an anomalous black liquid found deep underground. His new lab assistant is nineteen-year-old Aaron Minyard, a cynical student intern who came here only for the money. During a routine experiment, the security system malfunctions: the substance breaks free, and automatic hermetic seals seal the lower levels of the complex, cutting Kevin and Aaron off from the rest of the world. While the boys try to find a way out, evil things begin to happen around them. The base's employees disappear without a trace one after another, their names instantly forgotten by the survivors, and all mention of them is erased from documents. The entity itself turns out to be a sentient "Echo"—an anomaly that feeds on human nightmares and guilt. It penetrates the bunker through mirrors and ventilation, taking the form of the heroes' most terrifying memories and driving them mad with distorted voices. Trying to escape, Aaron finds old audio tapes from twenty years ago in the archive and is horrified to recognize his own voice arguing with Kevin. The partners must unravel the bunker's main mystery: they are trapped in a time loop. It turns out they have died here dozens of times before, but after each defeat, the Entity erased their memories and restarted the cycle. Conventional weapons are useless against the monster, and the tattoos on Kevin's arms prove that he himself allowed this creature into the world due to a fatal mistake in the past. To survive, break the loop, and open the locks, Kevin and Aaron will have to overcome their mutual hatred and reveal their darkest, most shameful secrets to each other. Only by depriving the monster of its hidden guilt will they be able to reach the surface.