The clattering of chains striking against each other echoed through the basement, in an almost musical rhythm, almost making one forget the winter cold that filled the laboratory, despite the unsettling sensation that it penetrated to the bone. Amidst this poetic atmosphere, however, was a cloud of horror composed of human corpses, dead under the most horrific conditions—a truly pitiful existence. Accompanying them in this cloud were chimeras, deformed beings, artificial creatures, and above all, things that should not exist in this world. This hellish laboratory had created a being as pitiful as it was tragic.

  The Madman’s insane laughter rang out in a melody both tragic and sorrowful, directed at a monstrosity, a kind of hybrid between human and monster, a being that should not exist in this world. In a state-of-the-art cage, a child of less than five years old crouched on all fours, and what set him apart from others was certainly not something he could ever be proud of. Instead of hands and feet, he had deformed limbs resembling those of a lizard, while a semblance of a tail flicked behind him. And finally, the worst part was his face: his eyes were as deformed as his feet—large, grotesque, and asymmetrical—accompanied by an abnormally curved spine. The most horrific aspect lay in the partial presence of scales on his body, as well as parts that seemed to literally liquefy.

  Observing the members of Twilight with his greenish reptilian eyes, they felt extremely uncomfortable, particularly Cynthia, who had a special love and passion for caring for children. Even Shin, who did not like children, felt uneasy.

  From the look of his eyes and his size, one could easily imagine that he had once been an adorable child, with gray hair, probably blue eyes, and a favorable appearance. As he grew, he would have been assured a bright future—one that had long been snatched from him and dragged to the darkest corners of hell.

  Opening his mouth, revealing a row of terrifying teeth, he tried to attack everything within his sight, even scratching the walls of his cage with his bloodied hands. It was surely not his first attempt, our heroes guessed, but above all, he had lost all forms of intelligence.

  “This… is horrible…”

  finally said the Hermit, who usually avoided commenting on sensitive topics, while Chariot, always fiery when it came to speaking about the world, remained silent.

  Tears streamed down the Empress’s face as she gently touched, through the glass of the “thing’s” prison, its injured and lonely hands on the other side, all while trembling violently—perhaps from horror, indignation, rage, or simply the cold. Hiding her face, she alone knew the reason for her sorrow.

  Shin stood stoically behind her, wanting to take her in his arms and comfort her. Without even realizing it, his hand was already near Cynthia’s shoulder; yet, he restrained himself in a moment of lucidity.

  “No, if I want to achieve my dream, I can’t afford to lose focus along the way…” thought the young man, trying to control his thoughts.

  “And above all… I’m not the one she chose…” he sneered inwardly.

  “Hermit, check one of the machines nearby or our data to see if what happened to this thing can be cured,”

  said the leader in a nearly fragile voice, fulfilling his role.

  Head bowed, as if already knowing the answer, Manu went to explore the room. His allies watched the child with dismayed expressions. After all, it could have been anyone. Donavan, among all of them, was likely the most affected, thinking intensely of his older sister, who had just had her first child. Clenching his fists, he was determined to succeed in his mission.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “No… I can’t let this happen to them,”

  murmured the brave knight. Indeed, he had been a bully in the past, and his values of friendship were hardly exemplary, yet his familial love was astonishingly strong: his family meant everything to him.

  “It’s incurable. The Telos product was created with a single purpose: to turn humans into monsters. They were the first subjects tested, and he’s one of the survivors.”

  With a face of utter despair and fury, the Hermit bit his lips until they bled behind his helmet.

  “No… THERE MUST BE A WAY TO SAVE THEM!”

  shouted the Empress, carried away by her emotions, as a discreet tear ran down her cheek.

  “It’s a progressive transformation, deadly and ultimately irreversible… I… I’m sorry.”

  Looking away, filled with shame and disgrace, Manu felt useless.

  The Empress lost her composure in that fragile moment and grabbed him by the collar, furious and filled with resentment she could not redirect elsewhere.

  “You’re kidding me, right? You, who always know everything about everything, can’t do anything!? You’re useless, then?”

  Unable to tolerate the remark, the Hermit brushed her hand away and, full of resentment, usually so withdrawn, finally responded:

  “You think I don’t want to do anything!? I want to save him too! I have a brother and a sister who could have been in his place!”

  “Stop!”

  Interposing himself between the two, Chariot tried to calm them down. In the distance, watching them, the Madman’s eyes suddenly lit up.

  “Wait… did you just say ‘one of the survivors’?”

  he noted, temporarily calming everyone’s fervor.

  Eyes turned to the Hermit, who looked away, everyone awaiting his answer.

  “Look behind this prison, right there, in the shadows,”

  he finally said, clenching his fists in indignation.

  At the edge of the darkness he had indicated was another glass prison, and inside, a little girl the same age as the thing, if not younger. She was human and perfectly normal. She was small, even for her age, probably due to malnutrition. She had the same grayish hair as the thing, though hers was complete and dirt-streaked. Her hypnotic golden eyes, angelic facial features, and fragile air made it clear she was waiting to be saved.

  To everyone’s surprise, Chariot was the first to advance toward the cage, breaking it with his Herculean strength and freeing the little girl, who jumped back, terrified by what had just happened, and began to cry in fear. After all, from her perspective, a ton of monstrous strangers had just broken her cage, where she had likely suffered unspeakable horrors for who knows how long.

  Aware of their frightening appearance, Chariot removed his mask, revealing a wide smile and reddened eyes, suggesting he had probably cried recently.

  “Are you okay? Don’t worry, the cavalry is here!”

  “Are you the police? Did you come to save us, my brother and me?”

  she asked in the most angelic voice.

  The Empress quickly approached and held her in her arms, moved and filled with hope at the sight of the little girl.

  “Yes, we came to save you.”

  “You… really came after all? I… I’ve been waiting for so long…”

  The tear-streaked face of the girl revealed the despair in which she had survived, hoping someone would one day rescue her. Her sweet face could have captured anyone’s heart; she was truly unlucky.

  “The bad people have locked me in here for over six months… They put me in this cage like an animal… And… and… they turned my brother into an animal… Please, help us.”

  The little girl’s tears and despair were heartbreaking, especially after all she had endured. Despite her fatigue, worn and malnourished body, she had held on to hope all this time.

  Shin stepped forward, took her hand, and looked into her eyes, trying not to frighten her. He removed his mask, revealing a somewhat fragile smile, as if it could break at any moment.

  “What’s your name, little one? I’m Shin. I came to save you.”

  “My name is Lia… please, help us.”

  Clenching his teeth, Shin moved his hand closer to the little girl’s head, gently caressing her.

  “Yes. I will do it,”

  he finally said, his eyes empty, filled with profound sadness.