Tump, tump...
Tump, tump...
...
...
Tump...
The footsteps ceased as soon as they reached the kitchen doorframe. There was Alice... leaning on the table, hunched over, with her forehead pressed against the cold marble. Her Seraphim rested sideways under the trembling palm of her hand.
In front of her bowed head, the family portrait. She recited something in a deliberate and soft murmur, even though her voice threatened to fail from the pain of her wounds. Her voice held on, but her body could no longer do the same.
— ... Dad... Mom... with every passing day, I miss you more. But I will continue... for the last wish you left behind. Forgive me, once again, for my selfishness, but... I ask that you heal my wounds and don't give up on me.
She dragged the scabbard of the katana up to her forehead, pressing it against her skin. More murmurs... her teeth ground together as she squeezed the metal with a force that turned her fingers white.
"I can't afford to soften up..."
A tear shed as soon as she finished. She straightened up in the chair with a long sigh and wiped the damp trail with the back of her hands.
— ... How long have you been there?
Alice asked without looking away. The boy, previously leaning against the doorframe, pulled away and crossed his trembling arms over his chest.
— Ahem... I just arri...
— Don't lie.
...
— I think... about five minutes...
he admitted, lowering his head to hide his expression.
She finally turned to face him. Her eyes stopped for a moment on his figure. Her gaze hardened, but not immediately. For a second — just one — there was something there. Shame? Fear?
It vanished.
— If you try to use this against me for whatever blackmail... I break our pact... and I kill you.
— !!!
Arthur's eyes widened. His arms uncrossed as he took a step back, his lips parted in disbelief and indignation.
— Are you serious? Do you really think I would blackmail you?
...
— Is that what you think of me?
His voice was trembling, weighed down by the heat rising through his trachea.
— What...? You're getting it all wrong. It seems you forgot that this is a pact, not a playground. I still don't know you entirely. And apparently, you like to take risks for nothing by going to talk to that aberration...
He exploded.
— Oh, sure! As if I were the one to blame for everything! It was YOU who tried to sell me... it was YOU who proposed this pact in the first place! It was you who came with all that talk about being on my side, you who spent money on me! And it was I who stained my hands with blood trying to save your life, and I who collaborated with a damn cruel torture!
Arthur was snapping, his voice rising in eruption. His nervous index finger pointing in Alice's direction, as if he wanted to pierce through her.
— But thank you for that, it's always good to remember your true face. You welcomed me so well that I almost thought we were forming some real bond of trust. But, apparently, in this world it's all a game of interests.
Arthur continued staring at Alice, waiting for any response... from the most cruel possible to a simple, short apology.
But...
— If you need affection to stay alive, that's your problem. It was a mistake. It won't happen again, don't confuse this with proximity.
She paused, swallowing hard.
— ... I will make sure to make it clear, every day, the reason we are with each other. Nothing beyond that...
Her hands squeezed her thigh as her lips closed into a thin line. She turned her face away.
"Alice, my love! Daddy loves you so much! We Valmeks are lucky to have a little angel like you."
...
"Alice... dear. I know you lost your daddy and your mommy. But... if you accept the proposal, I can provide those bonds once again. Just... add."
...
— Anyway... even though I hate to admit it, we are still necessary to each other. Except you won't be so useful if you just wait for me to hold the target for you to finish. You need to learn how to hit, or it's not a mutual union... it'll just end up being me carrying a sack of cement.
Rising from the table, her hands touched the Seraphim with the delicacy of a feather, but with the firmness of iron. Her expression exuded a mixture of pain and mask... almost like a flower trying not to express pain for having its stem cut.
— E-hey, what are you doing?
— Someone needs to teach you... and if you have no one in this world, I will be that someone. Just don't misinterpret it.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
— Alice, seriously... you are not well. Listen here, I don't want to hurt you. Go back and sit down, your wounds need to heal!
He took five steps back, stumbling over his own heel. His eyes alternated between the katana and the girl's wounded abdomen.
— Alic...
CLAC! VRAAASH!
The boy was interrupted by a thrown plate. He dodged by instinct, watching the ceramic collide against the living room wall.
— Alice, I said I don't want to hurt you!
But the girl didn't listen. She advanced, her speed surprising for someone covered in deep cuts. Arthur was startled by the jolt, followed by a punch that he instinctively blocked with his forearm, throwing the attacker's arm upward. He breathed, thinking she would stop... but it didn't happen.
She continued walking calmly toward him, one hand holding the sheathed Seraphim while using the other to attack Arthur relentlessly. Arthur kept retreating, shouting words into Alice's deaf ears.
He circled the table, trying to stay on the opposite side of her, hoping she would have a disadvantage. But...
TUM! VUUSH! PLAFT!
The distance was shortened with a jump over the table, followed by a hard slap with the back of her hand, enough to make a crack.
— Pathetic. Are you only good for running and complaining? What is it, are you waiting for someone to come up behind me and hold me so you can knock me out?
Alice spat barbs while Arthur massaged his cheek and retreated.
— The problem is right there: You think too much... only to make no decision at all. Come on, come at me... or do you really think you have any chance of hurting me? Tks... Don't lose touch with reality.
The boy was cornered. Fleeing from Alice in a fight was the same as running in the opposite direction of a pole... but with you tied to it. He raised his head again to face her, only to be put back in his repressed position by a kick to his ribcage, expelling the air from his lungs before the pain even arrived.
— Get up, I'm not finished yet! Do you think I'm going to go easy because you're someone who woke up with no memories? Poor thing. I don't give handouts, boy!
Her eyes scanned Arthur's prostrate figure. Her own eyes narrowed... a mixture of disdain and something... something worthy of pity. She detested this position of teaching... this position of being a babysitter. Yes... this dynamic reminded her of something. Cruel, isn't it?
— Maybe... maybe that's why they abandoned you there. What kind of sane person would want someone who is being hunted by a lunatic organization while he can't even stand on his own feet? A complete vegetable... and that's why they left you planted there.
— !!!
Arthur stopped. Stared at Alice into the depths of her soul. He felt his own flesh becoming a specter before those words. Alice knew she had hit a blind spot in the boy... perhaps it would make their relationship even more strained. But...
Her gaze trembled for an instant.
"I can't falter now... he needs to understand that if he wants to survive... he needs to learn to defend himself and not trust anyone. I don't want to have to bury another one..."
— What is it, huh? Cat got your tongue?
The girl took a few more steps toward Arthur's prostrate figure. Looking down at him... waiting for any response. Her own sudden movements had brought back the pain of the wounds across her body... but she couldn't give in, not now.
...
"Who would have thought a human could be almost a perfect replica... Doctor Melaine doesn't play around on the job."
...
"IN EVERY VEIN OF MY BODY WHERE MY BLOOD FLOWS... I WILL ALWAYS HATE YO—"
The voices returned once more. The mist, this time, denser than before. Silence... was all he wanted now. The emptiness.
— ... I... I've had enough... I've had enough... I've had enough of knowing nothing... I've had enough of this mist that doesn't dissipate. I... am tired of these voices.
His voice was a low whisper as he bowed his head.
— Already? What about that conversation we had earlier? Didn't you want answers? You don't have conviction, Arthur. It's no use having a fixed purpose... if you don't take the first step toward it, kid. After all... do you really know what you want?
Alice closed her eyes, shaking her head. One of the things she detested most in this world... was the victimhood of someone without conviction in what they really want. Carrying a being moved only by orders and secondary decisions ends up... oscillating her own principles. It would be hard to keep carrying this boy on her back... but she had to continue, after all... she made a pact. Breaking that would be...
Schluuuup...
— uh?
Suddenly... the space where they were fell into complete silence... almost deafening. As if they had been isolated in an anechoic chamber.
— Wh... what? The temperature dropped suddenly... did you feel that?
Alice looked around, searching for any sign of anything that would explain this, perhaps even an anomaly attack. But... then she turned her gaze forward, and there Arthur was... standing still, looking directly at her. He had stood up, without making even the slightest noise.
... And then, she realized.
— Arthur...?
— Khhh... Khhh...
There was no response... only a sound emitted from his nose... as if he were trying to inhale, but with difficulty. But... with every successful inhalation... the surrounding space became less and less successful at receiving sound. Heartbeats... bloodstream... breathing... only that could be heard in that moment.
But... if only it were just that. Alice started to feel short of breath... she tried to breathe... but nothing satisfied the oxygen that was depleting in her lungs.
So, she put her hand to her nose and mouth... and held her breath.
"Damn... this is bad. Did he awaken the anomaly? But... he isn't even doing anything."
— Arthur!
Alice spent her remaining oxygen on a shout, hoping it would reach the boy... but without success. He was in a complete daydream... absorbed within the thick mist that covers his eyes and plugs his senses.
"shit... shit... shit... the air is running out"
— Arthur! Wake up! Get out of this trance! Ghh—!
The girl put her hands to her ears, feeling a growing pressure. Furthermore... her veins seemed to be affected by the pressure, directly affecting her blood circulation. Her body was at its limit from whatever phenomenon Arthur was causing.
"I'm already starting to see things... I need to find a way to knock him out..."
She took slow steps toward him... stumbling over the false visions in front of her. The oxygen almost entirely depleted... it was a matter of time until pulmonary failure.
— — —
Glub… Glub…
— Doctor... three days have already passed since the birth. The progenitor... she...
— Died?
...
— Yes... she died.
...
— It was to be expected... there were ninety-nine births in a six-month interval.
— Yes, Doctor. It's incredible how Humans Upper has such resources that accelerate the basic biological process for their ends.
Toc, toc, toc...
— Don't be mistaken... they only gave the seed... I did the sowing.
Silence.
— Doesn't that worry you, Doctor? In these three days... Experiment 100° has shown no sign other than a short breath after the conclusion of the birth.
— ... Perhaps he was born too premature due to the physical exhaustion of his progenitor. Haaa... if that's truly it, it was the closest we came to a perfect replica... but one that left before we could see the real potential.
Toc, toc, toc...
Tik.
— I believe that, by changing the standard procedure for experiments, an error was to be expected. Even though he is Experiment 100°, it was the first time we tried the approach of injecting the graft while the fetus was still forming in the egg.
— Yes... it's part of science, isn't it? Error after error... but for a first attempt, it's not bad. The problem wasn't the method, it was the origin. After all, it's not just any body that can support the lineage of the ██████. I ask that you contact the manager to secure a more suitable patient.
Glub… Glub…
— ... Come on, don't disappoint your creator. Come on, boy... my expectations for you are still standing... I just need you to breathe... just a sign of sustained life without needing this incubator or these cables.
... ...
— Haaaa... yeah, apparently it wasn't this time. We'll try another experiment with the graft in a few months, for now... let's focus on the other ninety-nine children generated and perform base experiments.
Fshh..
— Reports on the anomaly with the greatest potential.
— According to the team's analysis, Doctor, the biggest success so far is Experiment 50°. Highest rate of adaptability to the environment, reacts well to general stimuli... but, for now, no manifestation of a possible anomaly. Other than some characteristic properties of his blood.
— ... Tks... if the luck we have in generating common anomalies were for our project with the graft, we'd be set. Haaa... anyway, did they officially name the experiment in the files?
— Yes, as you wished, we listed his name as █████████.
A sigh escapes.
— Great, that's all for today. Don't forget to send the report on a new pregnant woman to the manager, and inform them that Experiment 100° has gone down the drai...
Tup!
— Haa… glub… haa…
— H-he reacted! He is breathing, Doctor... this is...
— Magnificent. I knew it... I knew you would listen to me, dear.
The woman in the white coat approached the incubator once more.
— Aaahhh yes... I have quite a purpose for you, my dear. I want to see you crawl... creep, grow, and evolve. But for that... we need the first step...
...
... Wake up.