A Glimpse Into the Past

I've been without wifi for a few weeks now. Sorry for the lack of chapters. I'm working on getting the problem dealt with. Right now I'm at a friend's house.

As Visha crouched beside a patch of glistening, thorn-covered vines, her notebook resting on her knee, she didn't miss a single word of the Crimson Lions' hushed conversation. Their voices, faint to others, were clear to her sharp ears—an effect of her Perception stat, now well beyond 50. The miasma distorted most sounds, but to her, the words cut through the air like glass: "experiments," "survivors," "unhinged." Her pen paused mid-sketch, and she glanced up slightly, her pale-green eyes flickering with faint amusement.

"They're curious little lions, aren't they?" Visha murmured, her voice low and almost melodic, as though she were commenting on the weather. She rose to her full height, brushing off her hands, and looked back at Dabria, who was humming to herself as she examined a cluster of dark, bell-shaped flowers.

Dabria twirled a strand of her raven-black hair between her fingers, her eyes sparkling with a sinister joy. "Oh, you heard them too?" she cooed, her voice carrying an edge of mockery. "Poor dears, sitting there trying to piece together our tragic little backstory." She turned, her dark eyes locking onto Visha's. "Do you think we should give them the full tale, darling? Or let them stew in their own assumptions?"

Visha's lips curled into a faint smirk. "Let them stew. It's more amusing that way. But…" Her voice softened, her gaze growing distant. "They're not entirely wrong, are they? About the past. About what we endured."

Dabria's playful expression faltered, replaced by a flicker of something darker. She moved closer to Visha, her steps light and almost soundless. "They weren't there, Visha. They don't know what it was like. What they did to us." Her voice dropped to a whisper, cold and sharp. "What they took from us."

Visha nodded, her smirk fading. "They have no idea." She looked down at her notebook, her fingers brushing over its worn cover. "Do you remember… the day they separated us?"

Dabria froze, her eyes widening slightly. The memory hit her like a wave, and she felt the air in her lungs turn heavy. "How could I forget?" she whispered. "It was the day I awakened."

Flashback: The Day of Separation

The sterile white walls of the facility glowed under the harsh fluorescent lights, their brightness almost painful against the endless void of monotony. The air was cold, metallic, and filled with the faint hum of machines and the occasional crackle of an intercom. Rows of observation windows lined the halls, behind which scientists moved with mechanical precision, their faces obscured by masks and goggles.

In one of the smaller, windowless rooms, two girls sat side by side on the cold metal floor. Visha, then only twelve, was thin and pale, her silver hair tied back in a high ponytail that trailed down her back. Her golden eyes stared at the door with quiet intensity, her posture stiff and unyielding. Beside her was Dabria, younger by a year, her raven-black hair cropped shorter at the time. She fidgeted with a threadbare piece of cloth she had salvaged from one of the old uniforms discarded by the facility staff.

They weren't supposed to talk. The cameras embedded in the ceiling watched their every move, and punishments for breaking the rules were severe. But silence had never been Dabria's strong suit.

"Do you think they'll pick someone else today?" she whispered, her voice trembling despite her attempt to sound brave.

Vee didn't look at Dabria, her gaze fixed on the cold, sterile metal door ahead. Her voice was steady, though a quiet bitterness laced her words. "No. It'll be one of us. It's always us. Ever since they took E and B after they awakened their powers. E's conquer power and B's war power were too much for them to stay here. Now it's just us."

Dabria's small hands trembled in her lap as she clutched the threadbare cloth she carried everywhere. Her voice came out as a shaky whisper. "E and B… they didn't even get to say goodbye." She glanced at Vee, her dark eyes wide with fear. "Do you think they're still alive? Or… did the experiments—"

"They're alive." Vee's voice was sharp, cutting through Dabria's doubt like a blade. She turned slightly, her golden eyes glowing with quiet intensity. "E and B were strong. Stronger than the others. That's why they were moved to separate facilities. They didn't die, Dee. They're out there somewhere."

Dabria swallowed hard, her hands tightening around the cloth. "E always said he'd come back for us," she murmured. "Do you think he meant it?"

Vee hesitated, her eyes softening for a brief moment before the cold mask of apathy returned. "E… wanted to protect us, but he couldn't. None of us could protect each other, not in this place. They took him, and they took B, because they couldn't control them anymore. If we survive long enough, maybe we'll see them again. But we can't depend on anyone else, Dee. It's just us now."

The silence that followed was suffocating, broken only by the faint hum of machinery in the walls. Dabria shifted uncomfortably, her small frame trembling under the weight of Visha's words. "Do you ever wonder what their powers felt like?" she asked, her voice barely audible. "When they awakened?"

Vee's expression didn't change, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes—curiosity, perhaps, or the faintest trace of envy. "Conquest and war," she said softly, her voice almost distant. "E could dominate anything with his voice and presence. He didn't even need to fight. People just… obeyed him. And B… he could incite bloodlust in anyone, make them angrier, wrathful. Crave bloodshed. The scientists called them perfect weapons. Too perfect to stay here."

Dabria shuddered at the thought, her mind racing with memories of the boys who had once been their allies in survival. "Do you think… if we awaken, they'll take us too?" she asked.

Vee's jaw tightened, her hands curling into fists. "Maybe. Or maybe they'll just kill us. If they can't control us, they'll do whatever it takes to protect their precious experiments." Her gaze returned to the door, cold and unyielding. "But if they take you, Dee… I'll find you. I swear it."

Dabria managed a small, trembling smile, though her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "And if they take you… I'll find you too, Wifey."

Vee didn't reply, but her fists unclenched slightly, the tension in her shoulders easing just enough for Dabria to notice. They didn't speak again, but the unspoken bond between them hung heavily in the air, a quiet promise forged in the fires of their shared hell.

Outside the room, in the stark corridors of the facility, the names "Erich Dominic Cairo" and "Boris Marcel Haemon" were etched into forgotten records. Their powers—Conquer and War—were considered unparalleled, and their absence left a void in the ranks of the experiments. For Visha and Dabria, their departure was a painful reminder of what awaited those who survived too long.

And now, as the cold metal door slid open, the guards entered, ready to take another. Visha braced herself, but the guards' eyes fell on Dabria.

"D4514. Come with us."

Dabria's small hand shot out, clutching Visha's sleeve. Her voice was a trembling whisper. "Not me. Please… not me."

Visha's jaw tightened, her voice low and calm. "You'll survive, Dee. You always do."

Her words were a promise and a curse, echoing in her mind long after Dabria was dragged away, her desperate cries silenced by the unyielding walls. Vee remained alone, the weight of their shared losses pressing down on her like the sterile air of the facility.

And somewhere far away, in another lab, Erich and Boris fought battles of their own, unaware that their absence had left a scar that would never fully heal.

Dabria was strapped to a cold metal table, the sterile smell of antiseptic and chemicals filling her nose. A scientist loomed over her, his face obscured by a mask. She remembered the faint whirring of machinery, the sharp prick of needles as they injected her with something that burned like liquid fire. Her screams echoed through the sterile chamber, but no one flinched. No one cared.

As the serum coursed through her veins, she felt her body convulse, the pain unlike anything she had ever known. It wasn't just physical—it felt as though something deep within her was being awakened, torn open, and unleashed. Her skin grew colder, her vision blurred, and her heart felt like it would stop. And then… it happened.

The first scientist leaned too close, his hand brushing against her exposed arm. His body jerked violently, his face contorting in horror as black veins spread from the point of contact, crawling across his skin like wildfire. He gasped, his eyes wide with terror, before collapsing lifelessly to the floor.

The others froze, their faces pale behind their masks. One of them whispered, "It worked. Her touch—she can kill with a touch."

Dabria's screams faded into silence, replaced by cold, shallow breaths. Her vision cleared, and she stared at the dead man's face, her young mind unable to process what she had done. The scientists exchanged hurried words, their excitement barely contained.

"She's ready," one of them said. "Transfer her to Facility Theta immediately."

Back in the holding room, Visha was dragged from her corner by the guards, brought to the observation window where she could see Dee being wheeled down a corridor on a stretcher, her small frame shrouded in cold mist.

Visha pressed her palm against the glass, her voice low and steady. "Dee…"

Their eyes met for the briefest of moments before the door slammed shut, and she was gone.

Back in the Present

Dabria's voice broke the heavy silence between them. "They took me away that day because I was dangerous. And you… you stayed because they knew you would become worse." Her dark eyes glimmered with a mix of sadness and pride as she looked at Visha. "And you did, didn't you?"

Visha's lips twitched into a faint smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I suppose I did. We were their weapons, Dabria. They made us into monsters, and when we turned on them, they paid the price."

Dabria laughed softly, though the sound was hollow. "And now here we are. Two monsters, walking through a goddess's poisoned garden. It's almost poetic, isn't it?"

Visha nodded, her gaze distant. "It is. But this time, no one's dragging us anywhere." She glanced toward the Crimson Lions, her smirk returning. "Let them talk. Let them wonder. They could never understand."

"No," Dabria agreed, her grin widening. "They couldn't. And they won't."