They dragged me into the chamber like I was carrying secrets I didn't know I had. The restraints snapped shut, and suddenly every eye in the room burned with the same question.
"What did your father mean in that message?" The lead scientist leaned close.
"I don't know." I answered. It was news to me too.
"Has he been communicating with you?"
"No."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Know where he is?" I was stunned. "Isn't he supposed to be dead?"
The scientist cleared his throat and went on, "Any knowledge of his whereabouts?"
"I'm literally confused. My dad left when I was five and never came back."
The scanner hummed over my body as the interrogation continued. Shortly after, one of them approached him with the results in his hands.
"Sir, I'd like you to take a look at this." He said, handing it over to the lead scientist.
He looked at me with an open-eyed expression
"Have you encountered any beasts?"
Remembering Kambi's warning, I stuck to the safe story. "Yes. A monster attacked the train that was transporting us here."
They exchanged stunned looks. "How did you survive that amount of venom?"
I shrugged, saying nothing.
"We'll need to extract the poison before enhancement," one muttered.
Another scientist held up a hand. "Wait. We need to check his ranking first before proceeding. No, we don't want to waste resources on someone weak."
"What enhancement—"
Lex walked in with his team, one carrying an antidote case.
"I'll take it from here." He walked in.
"We received clearance for this—"
"I don't like to repeat myself," and gestured a few of his subordinates to clear the room. The scientists who were leaving grumbled bitterly how he was using his champion status to boss them around.
After they were done, he turned to his assistant
"Let's be quick before they realize what's going on," while pulling out a serum he got from the opened box beside him.
As I waited for Lex to explain, another scientist jabbed something into my arm. "This is the real antidote that will flush out the venom shortly."
Numbness crept through my limbs. I became a prisoner in my own body, watching them work. Tubes, machines, monitors—all connected to me like I was some experiment.
When the extraction neared completion, Lex leaned close and whispered, "I'm making sure you get the enhancement. Kambi begged me to."
I wanted to respond but felt like a soul trapped in an empty shell.
Lex signaled his partner. They began injecting something new into my bloodstream. Silver liquid flowed through clear tubes into my veins. They did it consecutively, I think about seven times, can't tell as my brain was slowly getting foggy.
My body temperature spiked, then plummeted. Every nerve fired at once—electricity racing through my system while my muscles contracted involuntarily.
My vision flickered between blur and crystal clarity. Heart hammering against my ribs like a caged animal. The enhancement felt like liquid fire rewriting my DNA, each cell screaming as it transformed. Terror gripped me—what if this killed me? What if I never saw Cent and Vivi again?
Suddenly I convulsed violently, back arching off the table.
"Inject the solution! Now!" Lex commanded.
They injected a clear fluid that made my body instantly calm. Muscles relaxed, breathing steadied, but strange energy hummed beneath my skin.
I lay there until feeling returned to my limbs. Lex approached cautiously.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better now that the venom's gone."
Lex looked confused "You don't feel any slight symptoms?" and I shrugged. He wore a worried look, muttering to himself as he flipped through his journal. "I followed every protocol." He studied my face. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Doctor Voss is going to kill me," he whispered.
"Stop being such a worry-wart," his female partner said. "Long as we don't tell anyone about the enhancement, we're fine."
The door swung open, and a soldier entered. "Thorne requests Kae's presence."
Lex looked like he was about to panic. "Don't mention what happened here."
"I'm not a snitch."
The soldier led me through several buildings until we reached the government complex—a towering structure of black marble and steel, all sharp angles and imposing columns. Inside, crystal chandeliers cast golden light over polished floors. Ornate paintings lined the walls between massive windows draped in burgundy velvet.
Thorne sat at a round mahogany table with several men who looked older than my father.
He looked exactly how I see him on screen; thick-set, well-fed, his expensive suit straining over his belly. Gray hair swept back, cold eyes calculating as he shuffled cards with practiced ease.
The soldier left, leaving me to study the fancy decorations while I wait for him.
"Why's the kid here?" one man asked.
"I called him." Thorne waved them away. "Give us privacy."
As they filed out, one paused before me. "You remind me of someone. Do you perhaps know this young man—"
"That's enough," Thorne interrupted.
The man smiled at me and left.
"Join me," Thorne gestured to the cards.
"I don't play cards." No, I have never played cards.
"You're missing the fun." He dealt two hands. "What do you do for hobbies?"
"I don't have any."
"Young fellow like you? Hard to believe."
How could I? When I spent my formative years caring for my younger ones. No time for hobbies when survival came first.
"This conversation's getting dull." Thorne's eyes glittered. "Let's play a simple game."
The word 'game' zapped me back to when Pierce used that same word before everything went wrong.
Thorne dealt cards face down. "Pick one. Either a high card or a low card."
My hand trembled, reaching for a card, and when I picked it up, it was a Queen of heart.
"Good, a high card. Can you guess what it means?" I shrugged, "I know you're a smart boy, so let me be direct—don't try anything sinister or your siblings will pay the price on your behalf."
Chills traveled down my spine "Like what?"
"Causing trouble, and mind you, I won't make the same mistake twice."
Same mistake twice? What does he mean?
"In other words," he continued, "I won't make it easy for you in the trial, so it's best you don't have anyone to drag into this."
The words hit like ice water. My blood ran cold. He was the Grim Reaper that the old one tried to tell me.
The most powerful man in the Sphere was the one who marked me to die.