Chapter 10: Interrogation

The air reeked of scorched metal and blood.

Lucan stood frozen at the center of the ruined chamber, chest rising and falling in shallow, shaky breaths. Around him—ruin. Sparks jumped from shattered panels, glass crunched beneath shifting rubble, and Vein consoles flickered in broken loops.

His hand was still half-curled.

At his feet, Lyra still laying motionless. Unconscious and barely breathing.

Lucan's eyes stayed locked on the destruction.

A faint chime pulsed behind his eyes.

The Vein interface flickered—glitchy, disoriented, like it was struggling to reboot after a system crash.

[ASTRAL SYNC DEVIATION: CRITICAL]

[EMOTIONAL OVERFLOW BREACH: CONTAINMENT FAILED]

[UNAUTHORIZED RESONANCE TRIGGERED]

[RED OVERRIDE: MANUAL INTERVENTION ADVISED]

[CURRENT FRACTURED STATUS: NORMAL]

Lucan blinked hard, but the words kept flashing in and out, still he has no clue what it means.

Behind him, the chamber doors hissed open.

Boots thundered in—fast, coordinated, controlled. Black-armored responders swept the room with weapons raised, but none of them approached. The ones at the front stopped mid-step when they saw him.

And then, a second figure entered.

Older. Sharp-cut gray coat. Face like someone who hadn't slept properly in years—but who still knew exactly what he was walking into.

His eyes found Lucan instantly.

They didn't flinch.

"Lucan Vale." he said, calm and direct. "Step away from the others."

Lucan turned his head, blinking. "I wasn't—"

"Now."

Lucan looked at Lyra again, his throat tightening. He took one step back. Then another. Then three more. His hands slowly lowered to his sides.

The medics moved in. Straight to the injured. Not one of them approached Lucan.

The man stepped closer—still keeping a measured distance.

"I'm Commander Veyren. Oversight Division."

Lucan said nothing.

Veyren looked around the room—at the damage, at Selene, at the unmistakable signs of Tier-triggered instability.

"You blacked out?" he asked.

Lucan nodded once.

Veyren didn't react. "Officially you're the first Tier-0 in Nirvenn."

He took a breath.

Something in Lucan's gut twisted.

"I know this wasn't your choice." Veyren added. "But you need to come with us. For your safety—and theirs."

Lucan didn't argue.

He didn't ask where.

He simply turned and followed.

As the chamber doors sealed behind him, Lucan glanced back one last time.

Lyra still hadn't moved.

And now, for the first time…Lucan wasn't just afraid of what he'd seen.

He was afraid of himself.

They took him to a big chamber like room.

The walls were white.

Too white.

Lucan sat alone in a sealed, glass-paneled chamber—no windows, no visible door, and no sound except for the faint pulse of air through the vents. His Vein screen had dimmed into a standby glow. His fingers rested in his lap, but he hadn't unclenched them since they brought him in.

Medical nano drones had scanned him twice. He was all in silence.

There were cameras in the corners. He knew that. The red dots hadn't blinked once.

Then the door hissed open—seamless metal folding into itself like paper.

Two people entered.

Commander Veyren.

And another official—a tall woman with a blank ID tag and a watch glowing bright violet.

They didn't sit, as there were no chairs.

Veyren folded his hands behind his back. "Do you know what happened in that room?"

Lucan looked up slowly. "I blacked out." he said. "I saw the footage. My father…"

"Be specific."

"There was a voice in my head. Memories. Fractured stuff. Not mine—maybe mine? I don't know. Something triggered a reaction through the Vein and then—" Lucan paused, face tightening. "Then I woke up… standing on top of Selene."

The violet-badged woman scribbled something into a floating data slate without looking at him.

Veyren didn't move.

"Your emotional state when the footage played?"

"Overwhelmed. Scared. Angry. Not enough to… do that."

"Clearly, it was."

Lucan flinched.

Veyren held his gaze. "We've had Tier-3 and Tier-2 awakeners lose control before. In training. On missions. It's not uncommon."

Lucan nodded slowly.

"They burn out. The Vein kicks in. Injuries are reversed in seconds—regeneration's automatic."

He paused.

"But that's not what happened with the others."

Lucan frowned. "Why not?"

The woman answered this time, tone clinical. "Because whatever hit them didn't leave anything for the system to repair."

Lucan looked up.

"No overload. No internal Vein spike. No signs of cell structure responding to regeneration." She tilted the tablet slightly toward him. "It's like the Vein couldn't even recognize what happened."

Veyren stepped in again. "Some were burned out from the inside. Others… parts of them were missing entirely. Not wounded. Just—removed."

Lucan's voice was low. "But it should've healed them."

The woman tapped her tablet and turned the display toward him. "Here."

On the screen: detailed readouts—vital signs, zone diagnostics, regeneration logs. Most of it looked like gibberish to Lucan, but one section was highlighted in red.

[VEIN RESPONSE: NULL]

[PATTERN UNRECOGNIZED – REGENERATION FAILED]

[NEURAL FEEDBACK: INCONCLUSIVE]

He blinked.

"This is a live capture from the chamber right after the event." the woman said. "There were no burn patterns. No kinetic force markers. Just... blank readings. The system didn't know how to respond."

Lucan leaned in, scanning the frame. The medical logs looked broken—like the Vein tried to register a wound that no longer existed.

"The regeneration protocols didn't even activate." she added. "Because whatever hit them left no trace. As far as The Vein is concerned, parts of those people just… stopped being to exist."

A pause.

"We've only seen this one other time." she said quietly.

Lucan didn't need her to explain.

"…My father."

Veyren nodded.

"You don't just share his blood." the commander said. "You share his signature. Same data and aftermath."

He looked at Lucan, dead serious.

"Same fear."

Lucan closed his eyes.

Maybe coming to the HQ was a wrong choice.

And no one in this building will forget what happened today.

After few simple questions they left him alone.

Time passed, but Lucan didn't know how much.

The chamber lights dimmed slightly, the way they did in holding zones during idle hours. No one else came in. The only sound was the quiet hum of air and the occasional flicker from his Vein watch.

He hadn't moved since Veyren and the woman left.

His mind kept replaying everything they'd said.

Erased.

Not injured.

Something took over.

Same fear.

Lucan leaned back against the wall, shutting his eyes. It didn't help. Behind his eyelids, he still saw flashes—Selene broken on the floor, Lyra's limp form, and his hand… wrapped around her throat.

He didn't feel angry.

He felt hollow.

Lucan opened his eyes, and command the Vein.

"Vein—Status"

Then an interface appeared.

[WARNING: CORE STATE UNSTABLE]

[MEMETIC RESIDUE DETECTED]

[CLASSIFICATION BREACH – CODE RED]

[Attempting Sync Stabilization…]

Lucan sat up.

"What the hell does that mean?"

The room darkened slightly again.

[User Consciousness Drift: 2%]

[Trigger Event Replayed – Locked Node]

[ENTERING FAILSAFE MODE]

Lucan flinched back as his vision blurred.

The walls pulsed for a second—just a second—as if the entire chamber had changed density.

Then he heard something.

Through the system.

A voice. Distant and split.

"You weren't supposed to wake up."

"Not yet."

Lucan's heart pounded. He gritted his teeth.

Who's there?

No answer.

Only static, then the watch rebooted again—back to standby mode.

Everything in the room returned to normal.

He sat there, breathing hard, eyes locked on the watch face.

His fingers trembled, but not from fear.

It just felt like someone—or something—was watching him through the Vein itself.

He was staring at his Vein for few hours.

Then the door hissed open.

This time, it wasn't Veyren. A younger officer stood there—flat expression, clipped voice.

"She's awake."

Lucan's posture stiffened. "Lyra?"

The officer nodded. "She regained consciousness a few minutes ago. Medical scans show stable vitals, mild concussion, some soft tissue damage. But she asked for you."

Lucan rose slowly. "Can I see her?"

The man didn't answer—just stepped aside. "Follow me."

Lucan didn't respond. He just walked.

They moved through two checkpoints and a silent corridor. Every person they passed glanced up. Conversations stopped. A few guards visibly tensed. One even hovered his hand near his holster.

Lucan kept his eyes down.

Finally, they reached a reinforced glass door. Inside, a clean white med-room pulsed with soft blue light. A single bed sat in the center, a monitoring unit hovering nearby.

Lyra was sitting up—bandaged across the temple, a small bruise darkening one cheek. Her jacket was folded beside her, and her usual spark looked… dulled. But her eyes were steady.

When the door opened, she looked up.

Lucan stepped inside.

The door sealed behind him.

She stared for a moment—studying him like she wasn't sure what to expect.

Then she tilted her head.

"You really couldn't go one day without traumatizing half of HQ, huh?"

Lucan froze—then let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You're okay."

"I'm sore." she muttered, adjusting her pillow. "But yeah. Breathing and alive. Beat that I guess."

Lucan stepped closer but didn't sit. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Lyra shrugged faintly. "I know."

Silence passed between them.

She looked away for a second—then back. "But you did."

Lucan's throat tightened.

"And if I didn't wake up, would you still be standing there? Wondering what went wrong?" Her voice wasn't cold. Just tired.

"I never wanted this." Lucan said. "Not the Vein. Not Tier-0. Not… this."

Lyra leaned her head back against the wall, watching him. "None of us choose how deep the abyss goes, Lucan. We just decide what we do when it starts pulling."

Lucan glanced at the glass wall, the guards outside, the silence.

"They think I'm a threat."

"They're not wrong." Lyra said softly. "But they're also scared. Scared of what they don't understand."

Lucan looked back at her. "Do you understand it?"

"No." she said honestly. "But I do know you. And I know you didn't want to hurt me. That's more than I can say about most awakened."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But if something's inside you—something even you can't stop—then we need to figure it out. Fast."

Lucan nodded once, jaw tight. "There was a voice, earlier. It said… 'You weren't supposed to wake up.'"

Lyra's expression didn't change—but she blinked.

"You heard it inside the Vein?"

Lucan nodded. "It felt like it was watching me through the Vein itself."

Lyra didn't speak for a moment.

Then she said, quietly, "Then maybe it wasn't just your awakening that triggered this."

She leaned forward just slightly. "Maybe something else woke up with you."

Lucan stood there all confused and clueless.

[End of Chapter 10]