Chapter 12: The Weight Of The Past

A metallic noise echoed through the conduit.

They were not alone anymore.

Mayu and Akira exchanged a glance.

No need to speak: they had to move immediately.

Akira gently pulled at the grille in front of them. It detached silently, and he jumped smoothly into the room below.

Mayu followed right behind, landing quietly beside him.

They hid behind a control console, their hearts beating in unison.

Heavy footsteps approached.

She could already feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, a sensation that was strangely familiar to her.

— How many? she whispered.

Akira glanced quickly.

— Three. Armed.

She took a furtive look.

Their equipment was military.

The men advanced with calculated precision, their rifles held firmly, scanning every corner.

They did not resemble the simple guards from the mafia dens they had infiltrated before.

These men knew how to fight.

A blurry memory struck her.

— Subject 07, stay in position.

A dark room, flashing red lights.

A man in tactical gear faced her, a rifle aimed at her.

She was younger, dressed in simple training attire. Unarmed.

— Combat protocol activation.

The man pulled the trigger.

Her body moved on its own.

A fluid, instinctive motion.

She dodged. Her foot struck violently against her opponent's throat before he could react.

He collapsed.

Another attacker surged.

Mayu pivoted, grabbed his arm, and broke his neck with a precise motion.

She felt that same sensation in the present.

That same anticipation.

This primal need to survive.

She took a deep breath, returning to reality.

The footsteps drew closer.

Akira counted mentally.

Three… Two… One…

Then they sprang into action.

Akira was the first to move.

He leaped from behind the console, knife in hand.

Before the first soldier could comprehend what was happening, he felt a hand grip his helmet.

A silver flash glimmered under the artificial light.

Akira plunged his knife beneath the helmet, precisely in the space between the nape and the armor.

The guard made no sound, his body collapsing heavily to the ground.

The other two reacted instantly, raising their rifles.

But Mayu was already on them.

She surged like a shadow, executing a perfectly calculated move.

She leapt into the air, her body twirling with supernatural fluidity.

A memory returned to her.

— Subject 07, predator mode activation.

A fight in a white room.

A barrage of bullets fired at close range.

Her body dodging each shot, as if it already knew where they would strike.

Her foot hit violently against the wrist of the second soldier.

A loud crack.

His rifle fell to the ground.

Mayu gave no respite.

Her body reacted on its own, remembering a training she couldn't even recall having received.

She grabbed her own knife and plunged it into the joint of his bulletproof vest.

A precise impact, between the ribs.

The soldier gasped, his legs trembling, before collapsing.

The third soldier finally reacted.

He turned toward her and fired without hesitation.

But before his brain could process the information, her body moved.

A sidestep.

A backward roll.

The sound of bullets ricocheting off the metal rang in her ears.

But none hit her.

She looked up.

The soldier was readjusting his weapon.

That fraction of a second of hesitation…

It was too late for him.

Akira surged behind him with lightning speed.

A blade pierced the jugular.

The last soldier collapsed in a pool of blood.

Mayu slowly straightened, her breath still rapid.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked down at her trembling hands.

What was this?

These movements…

They weren't hers.

She hadn't consciously learned them.

Her body had moved on its own.

She closed her eyes for a second.

Other memories returned to her.

Shadows in white coats.

Voices whispering numbers.

A cold liquid surrounding her, preventing her from breathing.

She opened her eyes again, locking gazes with Akira.

— Are you okay? he asked, watching her closely.

She nodded, even though she wasn't sure about the answer.

She wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

She herself didn't understand what she felt.

Akira turned his gaze toward the tanks.

— This is what they made you.

These words struck her like a punch.

Yes.

This was what they had done to her.

But she refused to be just that.

She looked up at the experiments floating in the tanks.

Others like her.

Broken lives before they even began.

A cold shiver ran through her.

She forced herself to take a deep breath.

Then she clenched her fists.

She would not back down.

She was alive.

And she would put an end to all of this.

She shot a cold glance at Akira.

— We continue.

He smiled.

— I was starting to wonder if you would back down.

She shot him a murderous look.

— In your dreams.

They began to move, delving deeper into the darkness of the laboratory.

What they were about to discover...

might change their fate forever.