Chapter 11 – Echoes Beneath the Academy (Part 2)
The air in the underground lab was heavy – not just with dust, but with memory. Every breath carried the sting of ozone and the faint hum of Rift energy that bled from the machines still half-alive after all these years. Tubes and wires coiled across the walls like veins, pumping faint light into glass pods that lined the room. Some pods were shattered; others flickered weakly, showing shapes that were once human – or close enough to it.
Kairo stepped forward cautiously, the soles of his boots echoing against the metal floor. Reika followed close behind, flashlight trembling slightly as she swept its beam over the room.
But it was Taro who lingered at the threshold. His expression had changed again – his usual grin nowhere to be found. He stared at one of the nearest pods, eyes wide, hands curling into fists at his sides.
Reika noticed. "Taro? You okay?"
He didn't answer. He walked closer, slowly, like he was being pulled by an invisible thread. The light from the pod reflected in his eyes and then he saw it – the faint silhouette of a boy about his age, curled up inside the glass.
The plaque beneath it read:
SUBJECT 09 – TARO KINZOU (TERMINATED)
For a long moment, no one moved.
Then Taro laughed – softly, shakily. "Well…that's new. Guess I've been dead longer than I thought."
Reika's flashlight flickered. "That's…you?"
Taro tilted his head. "Yeah. Or what's left of me, anyway." His voice wavered, caught between disbelief and hysteria. "They called us by numbers, not name. Guess I wasn't special enough to keep one."
Kairo walked closer, his tone but edged with grief. "They didn't kill you, Taro. You escaped."
Taro's grin twisted into something broken. "Escaped? You mean they let me go. I remember now…the alarms, the fire, the others screaming. I thought I saved someone. But maybe…" His breath hitched. "Maybe I just ran."
He turned away, dragging his hands through his hair as his breathing quickened. "I can still hear them, you know? All those other 'Subjects'. We used to whisper plans to each other in the vents. And when it happened – when the lab was burned, I thought it meant freedom. But maybe it just meant I was the only one left to remember."
Reika reached out gently, her voice soft. "Taro, stop. You're not the same kid anymore. You're not – "
"I am him!" Taro snapped suddenly, his voice cracking as he slammed a fist against the glass. It didn't shatter. It just trembled. "I'm what's left of him! And if I forget that, then what was the point of surviving?"
The pod lights flickered, responding to the surge of Rift energy emanating from him. Kairo stepped forward, placing a hand on Taro's shoulder. "You survived because you had to. And now you're here because you chose to be."
For a moment, Taro didn't respond. Then he let out a long, shaky breath and sank to the floor, leaning against the pod. "I don't now if I can keep laughing this off, Kairo. It hurts too much to keep pretending everything's okay."
Reika crouched beside him. "You don't have to pretend anymore."
The three sat in silence for a long time, the hum of the machines the only sound. The stillness was broken only when the ground rumbled faintly beneath them. A faint alarm began to pulse through the room – not loud, but rhythmic, like a heartbeat returning after years of silence.
Kairo looked up sharply. "Something's activating."
Taro wiped his eyes with his sleeve, forcing a grin. "Well, if it's another ghost, I'm not ready for therapy and exorcisms today."
Reika frowned, scanning the lab's central console. "No…it's not a ghost. It's a containment breach. Something else down here woke up."
Before anyone could react, one of the larger pods at the far end began to hiss, steam pouring from its seams. The glass splintered outward with a screech. The lights in the lab turned red as sirens blared through the chamber.
Taro jumped up immediately, back to his usual posture – shaky humour laced with adrenaline. "Okay, that's not good. That's the opposite of good. I'd call it bad, but I don't think English has a word for this level of nope."
A figure emerged from the broken pod – humanoid, but far too tall, its limbs thin and shimmering with Rift-light. Its eyes burned white, and its voice came out in layered tones, like multiple people speaking at once.
"SUBJECT ZERO…REACTIVATED."
Kairo drew his weapon instantly. "Reika! Taro! Fall back!"
But Taro didn't move right away. He stared up at the figure, his pupils dilating. "I know that voice," he whispered. "It's the Head Researcher…Dr. Kareth himself.
The creature turned toward him, its face half-human, half-fractured code. "Taro Kinzou… my greatest failure."
The words struck him harder than any blow could.
Kairo's expression darkened. "You're not real. You're just another phantom – a remnant of what they built here."
The creature smiled. "If I am not real…then neither are you."
And then the lights went out.
Only the glow of Rift energy illuminated the room – from the pods, from the walls…and from Taro's hands. His powers surged uncontrollably, flickering like fire in a storm.
Reika called out, "Taro, stay with us!"
He laughed – a desperate, half-mad sound. "No promises!"
Kairo clenched his teeth, stepping in front of him. "Then I'll keep you grounded."
As the Rift phantom lunged, the three of them moved as one – blades drawn, magic flaring and laughter echoing faintly even through the chaos. The ghosts of St. Kareth's had woken and so had their buried pain.
But this time, they weren't running from it.
They were fighting back.