[1207] And [1208]

The south tunnel was eerily silent.

Not the peaceful kind of silence—but the kind that settles only after something terrible has happened. A heavy, suffocating stillness… the kind that follows screams abruptly cut off, and leaves behind only the grim realization:

There was no one left to make noise.

Klaus stood still, gazing down the corridor lined with corpses. They lay like toppled dominoes, one after another, limbs twisted and soaked in blood. Crimson pooled and flowed toward him in sluggish rivers, dark and thick under the flickering lights.

Everyone who had tried to flee through the south tunnel had met him.

And died.

It was almost poetic—the path they believed would lead to salvation had, instead, become their tomb.

He hadn't even used anything extravagant.

No destructive skills.

No need for space-time.

No reason to call on Poseidon or Shiva—what would've been the point?

They were just mundane people and ordinary Awakeneds.

He used only [Is & Is Not].

A subtle manipulation of perception—twisting reality until they believed there was hope. That perhaps, just beyond the tunnel's end, the sun might rise again.

Klaus had given them hope… just enough to push them forward. Then quietly dismantled that hope, piece by piece.

They died chasing a light that never existed—like the devil deceiving his victims with promises and false comfort.

He sighed, unmoving for a moment, letting the silence settle back around him. Then he stepped forward, boots tapping softly on blood-slicked stone.

It was time to investigate the real mystery of this place.

Without a sound, he vanished from the corridor.

Through Key of Light, he scanned the base's interior and opened door of light, stepping into a silent, not so sterile laboratory.

The stench of antiseptic and iron hit first.

His face remained composed—cold and unreadable—despite the horror his Divine Eyes captured.

To the left, glass tubes lined the wall. But what floated inside wasn't just human.

There were animals. Grown men and women. Even infants…

Whatever this place had once been, it had long since moved past studying the effects of radiation.

Klaus frowned, his boots leaving faint red marks as he moved through the blood-smeared lab. The cleanup had likely been scheduled—if not for the attack.

He paused by a desk, rifling through documents with sharp precision. His amethyst eyes scanned the pages, devouring information.

"So that's where it is…" he murmured.

His voice was quiet—thoughtful and curious.

With practiced ease, he retrieved a sheaf of papers and began to read.

Though his body remained still, his mind moved with frightening speed—forty pages absorbed in under a few minutes.

Not just read, but analyzed and understood in full.

But what he found made his lips tighten.

His heart didn't beat faster. His breath didn't falter.

And yet…

Something in his expression darkened.

"Bloody hell... This is as magnificent as it is disgusting."

Klaus shook his head in disbelief and took a seat, waiting for the others.

Not that he'd have to wait long—Driver and Isaac would arrive soon, with Cassie as well.

But...

"Before that..."

He murmured, eyeing the creatures in the tubes.

Almost all of them were dead—failed experiments.

Perhaps their bodies would've been destroyed or tossed into the river if the Ascendancy hadn't arrived.

He didn't know.

But what he did know was that Amelia's vision was madness. Brilliant… but still foolish.

The roots of her experiment's success was fundamentally flawed.

He did say he would wait, but his curiosity got the better of him.

So, he stood up, walked over to the tubes, and began observing them.

"Dead, dead, dead, dead... Tsk, tsk... Failure after failure, huh? That must've been frustrating. Whoever was in charge of this project has my sympathy."

He muttered with a wry smile—

But then his smile froze.

His expression twisted into disbelief, eyes widening.

Without hesitation, he opened the tubes.

The liquid spilled out, flowing across the floor—he hadn't followed any procedure. He'd opened it manually.

"What the fuck... What in actual fuck..."

His voice was strained, and just a little hopeful.

Despite his usual indifference, he truly wished those people had survived.

It wasn't like they'd done anything to him—so why would he want to see them suffer?

And indeed, that small spark of hope that had nearly gone out...

It ignited into a blazing fire as he pulled two children from the tube.

Their bodies hadn't yet mutated, and with Hemera's help, they could still be healed—fully, completely—freed from the grip of radiation.

They were no older than fourteen or fifteen.

He didn't know their exact age, but...

His violet eyes began to glow with greater intensity, faint cracks spiderwebbing outward from his pupils.

"Essence? Soul… essence?"

They are leaking soul essence...

They were Awakened. So young, yet...

Well, he couldn't exactly act surprised. After all, he had Awakened even younger.

Still—he and Mordret had faced their first Nightmare far too early, mostly because Asterion had dragged them into the Dream Realm... and that realm had planted the seed of corruption deep within their souls.

Which meant...

Yeah. These children had most likely been forced to Awaken the same way.

A girl and a boy...

Their appearance was—if he were honest—striking.

The girl had seaweed-colored hair, a strange mix of dark green and light blue like sea. Her skin was pale, which wasn't surprising considering she'd been locked in a tube.

The boy, on the other hand, had storm-gray hair and skin just as pale as hers—for the same obvious reason.

Klaus didn't know their eye colors yet, since they were still asleep.

But now, he was curious. Not just because of their peculiar appearance—no, there was something else.

He had suspicions.

He'd seen a faint hint of purple in their hair.

Sighing, he pulled a couple of blankets from his enchanted bag slung over his back.

He also took out clothes—but they'd be too big. After all, they were his. And they were just children.

He looked at the tubes, eyeing them with a hint of curiosity.

"Test Subject [1207] and [1208]?"

He rolled his eyes.

Of course—they wouldn't use their real names. There were several reasons for that.

Scientists, while often inhuman in their practicality, were still human.

If they called their subjects by name, it might trigger guilt… and guilt could interfere with their work.

Assigning numbers helped them stay focused—kept them from forming attachments.

Another reason?

Some simply didn't give a damn.

When a new test subject arrived, they'd just assign a number. Investigating each person's name was too much trouble for those who didn't care.

While thinking about all that, he remembered something else—his subordinates were late.

He groaned, checked the message Driver had sent him, and sighed.

Diego had destroyed everything in his path, and now they were clearing debris.

"Bloody hell, brother… You can't just… Nah, forget it. It's not like he'll listen anyway."

A faint smile tugged at Klaus's lips as he sent a message back to Driver.

Then a thought struck him.

Wait… how the hell was Driver even getting a signal down here?

They were deep underground. There was no civilization nearby. This was a radioactive dead zone—everything here inevitably died.

What signal anyway?

Europe was abandoned. The entire continent was practically empty.

How's that even possible?

It didn't make sense.

But then again… nothing ever made sense when Driver was the one messing with tech.

He shrugged. He wasn't exactly a tech specialist.

Sure, he knew a lot, but he never focused on it. Driver always handled that side of things anyway.

"Now... What do I do about you two, huh?"

He blinked twice in surprise.

They were... awake?

Well, that was good.

But also bad.

He rubbed his temple. Great—now he had to make sure two half-naked kids didn't panic at the sight of a grown man in a creepy dome helmet.

Why aren't you two even a little freaked out? Where's the blanket-clutching terror?! Come on, kids—basic survival instinct, please?

That's how I get molested too! Have some awareness! Some wariness!

...Okay, that was a little too far.

Jokes aside, though…

Why so calm?

He tilted his head thoughtfully.

Then he took a seat beside them, digging into his bag.

Children like sweets, right?

Well, sucks for you, kiddos.

All I've got are canned cucumbers that are stupidly salty. And peppers.

At least there's iced tea. And whiskey... Uhmm...

"Here... eat some. And drink, too."

He watched as they hesitantly picked at the food.

The girl took a single bite first, then nodded at the boy.

Looked like they'd been awake for a while.

Klaus hadn't noticed—he'd been too focused on the tubes.

After ten minutes, they had devoured everything. If Klaus hadn't told them to eat slowly, they might have died from refeeding syndrome.

Refeeding syndrome is a potentially fatal shift in fluids and electrolytes that occurs when someone who has been starving or severely malnourished suddenly consumes a large amount of food—especially carbohydrates.

Even though they had Awakened physiques, Klaus didn't want to take any risks. Refeeding must be done gradually and under medical supervision.

Well, that's the case for mundane humans. Klaus had run tests on Awakened individuals before and knew that, even without medical supervision, their stomachs could usually handle food safely.

"Now... what do I do with them?"

Klaus didn't know. He had come here to investigate Yggdrasil, eliminate his enemies, and loot everything of value from the base… Babysitting hadn't exactly been part of the plan.

He smiled at them—something between goofy and awkward—but froze when he saw their expressionless faces.

Ah, right… I'm still wearing the helmet.

Grimacing at his own stupidity, he removed the dome-shaped headgear that had been shielding him from the discomfort of radiation.

"Okay... let's get out of here, hmm?" he said casually, stepping away from the tubes. He glanced over his shoulder a few times, checking if they were following him.

Eventually, he sighed and hesitantly reached back to grab their hands. No use tiring his neck from constant peeking.

After a few minutes of walking through dim, sterile corridors, Klaus paused and looked to his left. Another lab. Another hallway. This one, however, housed different types of experiments.

Curiosity got the better of him.

He phased through the locked door effortlessly—because of course it was locked—and opened it from the inside, waving the children in.

He hesitated.

Was this really a good idea? Probably not.

But leaving them outside wasn't smart either. Some enemies might still be hiding in the ruins, alive and waiting. The chances were slim, sure—but he wasn't about to take that risk.

Is this a sign to gamble?

Damn you, Isaac...

The children looked around curiously, their eyes wide—like they had never seen anything outside the cold walls of their department. Probably because they hadn't. Locked away in that lab, only taken out for examinations... Something about that thought broke a little piece of Klaus's heart.

Many people complain about freedom. They say they're in chains, forced to live under sovereigns, laws, and the terrors of Nightmare Spell...

But looking at these children, Klaus couldn't help but gently pat their heads, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

They couldn't even choose whether to live or die.