Aftermath

What followed was brutal. Efficient.

For nearly an hour, Kiera and Vael took turns inflicting unspeakable pain on Kael.

You'd think they'd hesitate. That, after everything they endured in the lab, they'd be against torture.

But no.

They barely considered Kael human anymore.

So, they had no trouble amputating his arm, skinning patches of flesh, and doing far worse.

And yet—they didn't kill him.

Why?

They simply didn't feel like it.

They were tired. Worn from constant battle.

Finishing the job felt like a chore.

So instead, they left him broken.

A hollow, mangled shell of what once was a proud—if cautious—awakened.

When it was over, they let him go.

Kael had barely enough strength to stay upright.

Even breathing hurt.

But somehow, he walked.

Step by step, limping, bloodied, and gasping, he made it back to the others.

The two leaders, Lucia and Drako, were still in the middle of a heated argument.

But when Kael appeared, they froze.

He didn't say a word.

Lucia looked him up and down, eyes sharp—then raised an eyebrow in quiet question.

Drako just stared.

No words. No reaction.

But the unawakened?

They reacted.

Faces twisted in horror, in confusion—

—and in fear.

Some were worried.

Others?

They finally understood.

This wasn't just a group with power.

This was a group capable of monsters.

Vael and Kiera appeared behind him moments later.

Not a drop of blood stained their clothes.

Expressions? Calm. Serene.

As if this had just been any other day.

The rebels didn't need to be told to leave anymore.

They didn't argue.

If Kael couldn't even fight back…

They knew they'd be swatted away like flies.

Only difference? They wouldn't be left alive.

And so, they turned and walked, taking with them a bit more than half the provisions and supplies.

Just like that, a group of rebels—bonds forged over years of shared battles—was split apart in less than a week.

Ash, who had been silently watching the argument unfold from a safe spot, finally stepped forward.

"Why'd you torture him?" she asked, tone flat, more curious than judgmental.

"He deserved it," Kiera replied. "The woman who died at the start of the mountain climb? He killed her."

Ash stared at the departing group's shrinking form in the distance and nodded.

Understanding.

The remaining group — now just Vael, Kiera, Ash, Lucia, and Drako — settled down for the night.

Vael set up his and Kiera's tent while his partner prepared food.

Lucia and Drako had their own, but that was it. The fleeing rebels had taken most of the tents, being the majority.

So, Ash — who used to sleep with the unawakened — now had to sleep with Vael and Kiera, who had a larger tent.

They ate in comfortable silence, then went to sleep.

During the night, however, Vael suddenly startled awake, panting.

Through their mental link, Kiera felt his panic and woke up instantly.

"What's up?" she asked quietly, careful not to wake Ash.

Vael exhaled sharply, trying to steady himself. "Read my mind," he said.

She did.

What she saw was a memory.

Vael — months younger, thinner, colder — had just escaped the lab. The metal walls stood behind him, fading into the dark. He was outside… but alone.

She wasn't there.

Before the regression, she realized.

Vael looked drained. His eyes were empty. He wasn't bleeding, but something about him still looked broken.

The memory shifted. Two months had passed.

He was heading south, like in this life. But he was on his own. Filthy, injured, barely standing.

He stumbled across a village buried deep in the woods. A few scattered houses, farmland that hadn't been tended in weeks.

The people there didn't welcome him, but they didn't push him out either. He offered help, and they let him stay. In exchange for a quiet place to sleep, he worked: guarding their perimeter, gathering firewood, chasing away weak beasts.

Nights were cold. He slept in a barn, on dry hay, always with his rapier in hand.

Then came an attack.

Mutated beasts. Not many — but enough. He killed them all.

When it was over, he left again.

Didn't say a word. Just packed his things and vanished into the forest.

The memory ended.

Kiera blinked, pulling herself back to the present.

Vael was staring at the ceiling of the tent, his breathing steady now.

She didn't speak, and neither did he.

There was nothing to say.

The forest outside was still.

They would talk about it in the morning.

For now, it was time to sleep.

As slumber pulled him under once more, Vael distinctly heard Ash muttering in her sleep.

"Burn to ashes… peasants."