Wren let out a dry chuckle. "My parents died in a tragic accident. They were asleep when the house burned down. Their bodies were burnt to a crisp," Wren said casually as if he were discussing the weather.
Benjamin's eyes widened as he came to an unsettling realization. "Did you… did you have anything to do with it?"
Wren's smile widened, bright and terrifying. "You see… it took a while, but I regained their trust. I asked my father to be included in his will. A few months later, after we had dinner together, the house burned down. They just didn't wake up from their sleep. They couldn't even smell the smoke." He tilted his head with a mocking glint in his eyes. "It's unfortunate that that was the last time I saw them. They reaped what they sowed, I suppose."
Benjamin was at a total loss for words. He knew the depths of the rage Wren carried. He knew better than anyone the atrocities Wren's parents had committed against their own son and against Atlas. They had been monsters. But was it right to seek vengeance this way? To become the very thing they were?
Charles fixed his gaze on Wren. He was looking at a man who had murdered his own parents and felt no remorse.
"You know why it had to be that way, Benjamin. There was no other way," Wren remarked. "I have no regret in how it all ended. Just as they reaped what they sowed, I suppose I will too. I've come to terms with that."
For a moment, Wren's face hardened and became cold, but the moment passed as quickly as it had come. He smoothed his expression, returning to his composed, arrogant self, and threw a taunting smirk at Charles. "I am here today to complete what they didn't have a chance to."
Charles didn't fully understand what Wren meant, but the heavy silence coming from Benjamin spoke volumes. He could see confusion and deep-seated dread on Benjamin's face. But, Wren's behavior didn't surprise Charles. The man had been shady since the moment he appeared in their lives. He had appeared out of nowhere, slipped his way into Benjamin's life before finally kidnapping him.
"What were you studying at the lab?" Charles asked firmly.
"Initially, they were researching how to create artificial Alphas and Omegas," Wren explained casually. "They were almost successful. A few more years and they would have achieved it. But when I took over, I decided the research should be about something greater: the removal of secondary genders entirely.
"And, as I've told Benjamin, a world without Alphas and Omegas would be a world of true equality. Humanity is already gripped by corruption, fueled by greed and primal desires. Pheromones only serve to amplify that chaos. A world without them would be better for everyone. And we were, once again, almost successful in accomplishing this. In the early trials, we saw progress, but we needed to test it further."
"That's absolutely disgusting," Charles said in anger and horror. "Do you really think stripping people of their nature would rid the world of inequality? That's nothing but a hopeless, twisted ideal. You know nothing of this world, or of what it means to be human. You truly are a monster."
"I'm not here to argue with you, Charles," Wren dismissed. "We were almost finished with our research until our very own Dr. Atlas Night here took the files and ran off with them."
Benjamin's heart skipped a beat at the mention of his former identity. He looked at Wren confused. "I've never seen you before. How did you even know who I was?"
Wren chuckled, leaning his elbow on the arm of his chair and resting his head in his palm. He looked up at Benjamin with an expression that was almost playful, yet deeply unsettling. "Perhaps it was fate that brought us together?"
He paused, letting the silence stretch before his eyes sharpened. "You see... when I saw your application under the name Dr. Atlas Night... I truly thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Why do you think you got in so easily?"
It all started making sense for Benjamin. But Charles remained confused about the history shared between the two.
"I watched you from afar," Wren said. "Everything you did reminded me of him. You could almost be the spitting image of him. But I couldn't bear it. It was as if the past was coming to crash down on me. I wanted to speak to you, but I didn't know where to start. It was all so overwhelming, so I decided to stay away."
He paused, his eyes drifting as if seeing a different time. "But then... over time, I realized I had to face my past to move forward. That's how I ended up in Shen Zhou. After I left, everything started to fall apart. That's why I said you and Atlas saved me. Had I been there... perhaps I would not be here today?"
"How did you find me after all these years?" Benjamin asked, his voice trembling.
"I searched for you for four years. There was no record of an 'Atlas Night' anywhere. I had to travel to find you, tracking every lead and mark of your existence, but there was nothing. Eventually, I pulled the records for every AA-licensed doctor from six years ago and started from there."
He leaned forward with his eyes locked on Benjamin's with a terrifying intensity. "I traveled across the map, working at clinic after clinic, just to get closer. Then, finally, I ended up in Aster, looking for a man named Benjamin Nystrom. You cannot imagine the relief I felt when I saw you that day at the clinic. I remember it so clearly. It truly is fate, don't you think, Benjamin?"
"Nonsense," Charles snapped. "That's not fate. That's a hunter stalking his prey. Exactly what is in those research files that you have hunted down Benjamin like this?"