The sky was dark, but the room's interior was calm. Dan slept deeply in the armchair next to Stella's bed, his arm covered in bandages, expression more serene than usual. Yet, inside him, the past did not rest.
His dream began with the metallic sound of a door being slammed open. White light. Cold. And the familiar pain that ran through his body like an invisible lightning. The muffled screams of other children, the cold eyes of the scientists, the smell of blood and disinfectant. Everything came back.
"Subject 14 — high resistance to mutation 3."
"He does not cry."
"Adjust the pressure level. Let's see if he still endures."
Dan saw his younger self—thin, dirty, curled in a corner of the cell. His eyes held no light. They were empty. As if his soul had slipped away through the first scar. He remembered the sensation of trying to sleep while listening to the machines on the other side of the walls. Pretending to be dead to avoid another test. Running… running with his body burning, through labs in flames.
And then he saw her.
Mei Nuhay.
She appeared like a comet amidst destruction. Her presence scorched the floor, and the scientists fell like leaves. Her eyes met his. For a moment, Dan felt warmth. Not pain. Human warmth. It was the first time in years he felt… something.
She extended her hand.
— If you can run, run with me.
And he ran.
In the hospital, Dan shifted in his sleep, forehead lightly sweating. He was still dreaming, but now, with the sensation of being saved. Again.
In the bed beside him, Tekio also slept. His eyes moved under his closed eyelids, his mind wandering through a place where the sky was golden, but the ground cracked. He stood in a field of strange energy, and before him, a woman.
Short white hair. Eyes intensely "■□■□". A cloak made of lightning dissolved behind her.
— Tekio…
Her voice was soft yet powerful. He tried to move, but his body was immobile. She approached.
— You're growing fast… faster than I imagined. But you must be careful. The energy you awakened carries more than just power. It carries stories. Scars.
He looked into her eyes. He felt he knew that face. Even without fully processing it, something about her called to him deeply, almost ancestrally.
— Who… who are you?
She smiled, tinged with melancholy.
— I am…
But before she could finish, a chilling presence cut through the scene. Everything trembled. The golden sky shattered like glass, and behind Tekio, a shadow crawled.
He turned. A faceless figure. Its eyes were worms of smoke, and its voice came like muffled thunder.
— She will not save you.
The world collapsed. Tekio awoke, breathing heavily, heart hammering. He sat up slowly, sweat running down his neck. He looked at his hands. Still shaking.
— Who was she? — he whispered. — And… what was that?
Meanwhile, Stella had been awake for a few minutes. Sitting at the edge of the bed, she gazed at her hands illuminated by the sunrise. For the first time, she did not feel fear. She did not feel her powers might hurt anyone.
For the first time… she liked what she saw.
"The light… it obeys me now."
She clenched her hand into a fist, focusing a small spark of light there. It spun between her fingers, soft as a breeze. She felt satisfaction, yes—but also hunger. Hunger for more. For evolution.
"If I want to protect others… I need to learn to use this properly."
"No more hesitation. No more fear."
Tekio entered the room soon after, still pale from the dream. Dan was already waking, rubbing his eyes with a tired expression. They exchanged glances. For a moment, no one spoke. But Stella was the first to smile.
— Slept well?
Dan snorted.
— Had a not-so-fun tour through my childhood.
— Strange dreams? — Tekio asked, disguising his unease.
— Too real. — Dan replied.
Tekio just nodded. They understood each other in silence.
— And you, Stella? — he asked.
She smiled, the soft light in her eyes.
— For the first time… I slept like someone who can control what they carry.
They looked at each other. Words weren't necessary. Each of them was changing. And even with their scars, the path ahead was clear:
They were together.
---
The night advanced in silence, but the world no longer rested.
Beneath the earth and outside of time, entities moved. A silent gathering took place in a hall surrounded by dark roots and pulsating walls. Black flames flickered in bone torches, illuminating figures lurking in the shadows.
Hazau kept his body hunched, eyes wide and hungry, murmuring to himself like an abandoned child. He tore pieces from an old map and laughed. His deformed fingers left black marks on the wood around him. "They will open the doors for me… all of them…"
Beside him, Doctor Isha adjusted his thick glass mask. Stained with ancient blood, and beneath his dark leather coat, metallic chains writhed as if alive. In his hands, a book of crossed-out names. "It's time to revisit sins, don't you think?"
Further ahead, Jouki remained standing, leaning against the wall, her silhouette cut by scarlet light. The eyepatch glimmered faintly—a seal, a prison—on the verge of being broken. "I'm tired of waiting. Let me unleash hell."
And then he entered: Kaze. Hair blowing even without wind, a smug smile on his face. He twirled a small dagger between his fingers. "Do as you wish, but leave the strong for me. I've missed having fun."
At the center of the room, seated on a throne of dried roots and petrified flesh, Karmore said nothing. Her half-closed eyes shone like two fissures of a dead star. She simply watched… hungry.
---
Elsewhere, under the pale light of a morning yet unborn, Mei Nuhay stared at the horizon with a distant gaze. She felt something approaching—ancient and malicious. She had no name for it… only a weight in her heart.
Mei felt a vibration coming from her phone. The vibration brought with it a faithful companion.
— Mei… — a calm, serene voice said — I found what you've been looking for.
Mei's eyes ignited with hope and restrained anger.
Nick continued:
— The Monarchs. They are closer than you imagine.
The wind blew strongly behind her, carrying the scent of ashes. Fate had already been sealed.
And no one noticed that, from that moment… the world was beginning to fall.
---
To Be Continue...