There was a taste of iron in my mouth, like blood or rust. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the blinding overhead light. My head throbbed. My throat burned. And my body—
Tied.
I was strapped to a cold metal chair. My wrists bound tightly behind me, legs secured to the legs of the chair with some rough fiber straps that bit into my skin. My mouth was gagged with a coarse cloth, tasting like dirt and oil. The edges of panic crept in.
The room… no, the warehouse… was cavernous. A vast industrial space filled with silent towers of old crates and storage containers. Dust danced in the spotlight above me, the only source of light in the suffocating darkness. Everything beyond that was pitch black, the kind of dark that eats sound.
I shivered.
My jacket was gone. I was left in my white crop top and shorts. My skin prickled from the chill in the air. My hair—dark red, chopped into a messy bob—clung to my sweaty forehead.
And suddenly I wasn't seventeen anymore—I was back there.
Back in that place.
"No… no, no…" I mumbled through the gag, the words lost to cotton and fear.
"Am I back in the horrible place again?"
My breath hitched. A lump swelled in my throat. My heart hammered against my chest like it wanted out.
Then—footsteps.
Measured. Heavy. Calm. Coming closer. Echoing off the metal.
The shadows shifted.
Out of the dark stepped a man in a sleek, perfectly tailored suit, black with golden threading woven through the cuffs and lapels like veins of royalty. He leaned on a staff—obsidian black with a bronze handle carved like serpent heads. He had this slow, deliberate walk like he knew he owned the place. Like he owned me.
Behind him stood two men—bodyguards. Towering. Impossibly still. Each one looked like they could snap my bones in half without breaking a sweat.
The suited man stopped just within the spotlight, and tilted his head toward me.
Boss: "So this is the girl?"
His voice was a rasp. Like sandpaper on concrete. It scraped through the air, soft but impossible to ignore.
Bodyguard 1: "Yes, sir. She matches the file exactly."
He spoke like a soldier. Head up, spine straight, arms clasped in front. Perfectly trained.
Bodyguard 2: "She's the one with the zero Energy Valor."
He stepped forward and opened his coat, pulling out a thin black folder. He handed it to the man in gold.
The old man opened it with an elegance that felt rehearsed. His eyes scanned the page, then curled into a slow smirk.
Boss: "Interesting."
Bodyguard 1: "Shall we—?"
Boss: (raising a gloved hand) "Wait. Let me hear the girl herself."
Even though neither bodyguard flinched, I could feel their hesitation. Not from concern for me, no. From fear of him. Their 'Boss'.
One of them stepped behind me and undid the gag. I gasped the moment it dropped, sucking in clean air like it was treasure. My breath was ragged, heavy with dread.
I was a mess—sweaty, aching, terrified.
The old man smiled. Too gently.
Boss: "Hello, young miss. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting… have we?"
He spoke like we were at a dinner party. As if he hadn't just kidnapped me.
I stared at him but said nothing.
Boss: "I admit, our meeting arrangements are… less than ideal. But necessary. Productive."
Me :( drops head, staring at the floor) "What do you want from me?"(voice hoarse) "Money? My Valor?"
Boss: (chuckling darkly)"Oh no, no, no. I'm not here to murder you… yet. But I am here to offer you a helping hand."
His smile widened. It didn't reach his eyes. The more he smiled, the colder I felt.
Me : (whisper's) "I don't need anyone's help."
And just like that—his smile vanished. Not in anger. Not in disappointment. Just… gone. Blank. Like he'd powered off that part of himself.
Boss: "Oh? But I need your cooperation."
He took a step toward me.
I lifted my chin and looked him straight in the eye. My golden eyes reflected his shadowy figure back at him. I wasn't trembling anymore. Not on the outside.
Boss: "Listen. I know who you are…Vilina. That's your name, isn't it?"
The sound of it punched the breath from my lungs.
No one had said my name in months.
Boss: "You're one of the patients who escaped the SIG building."
I looked away. Gritting my teeth. Cursing the floor beneath me.
Boss: "Relax. I didn't bring you here to turn you in. Not if you cooperate with me."
He smiled again. Like we were making a deal over tea.
I lifted my gaze. My whole body throbbed from the way I'd been tied, my limbs screaming at every twitch.
Me : "What do you think I need help for? You don't even know me."
Boss: " oh but I do, sweetheart. I know exactly what you are."
He paused. Let the silence sit like fog in my lungs.
Boss: "And I can get you to Emprise."
I stared at him, mouth slightly open.
Me : "What did you say?"
Boss: "In return," he said slowly, "you get me the premax, "
I blinked.
Me : "You want me to steal an ancient artifact?"
Okay. Rewind.
The Premax isn't some random stone. It's legendary. A black, round relic etched with strange symbols—no one's ever cracked what they mean. The last time a group of scientists tried to study it, the government pulled the plug and locked it in a vault beneath the Emprise Museum.
" Some things aren't meant to be studied," they said.
And now this grandpa wants me to walk in and steal it?
That's insane.
Do you know how severe that offense is? The kind of sentence that gets you erased from the world?
How do I know all this?
Let's just say people at the Facility talked a lot. Some didn't even care if I was listening. So I did. Quietly.
But I've never seen the Premax with my own eyes. Not even once.
Even if I did want to go to Emprise… to test my theory…
Still.
Me : (voice low) "What makes you think I want to go there?"
He smirked again.
Boss: "Wanting to know your origins isn't a bad thing, girl. You just need the means to do it. And I'm offering them. So... are you in?"
I didn't respond. Not right away.
My brain whirled. My limbs hurt. I could feel the floor spinning under me. Every instinct screamed not to trust him.
Me : I don't… know,"
The Boss didn't speak for a while. Then he gave a small nod.
Boss: "Alright then."
He turned away.
Boss: ( turn's to his bodyguards) "Get her back to the SIG."
No.
My heart lurched. I gasped. My whole body tensed.
Me : (shouts) "No! N-no! Wait!"
He paused. Glanced over his shoulder.
Me : (chokes) Fine… Fine! I'll do it! Just don't send me back to that place…"
He turned slowly, the smile reappearing on his face like a well-worn mask.
Boss: "Well, if you insist."
He stepped closer, his gray eyes meeting mine.
Boss: "Thank you for your accommodations…Vilina."
His eyes reflected my fear like glass. And behind his gaze, something far worse than greed lurked.