Mobius' grin was sharp enough to cut glass, stretching across her face as though she had just been handed a gift she'd long been waiting for. Her voice purred into the silence as the simulation pod hissed open and Kiana stumbled out, knees giving way on the steel floor.
"Well done, Kaslana," Mobius crooned, her golden eyes gleaming with dangerous amusement. "You get passing colors from me."
Her tone carried no warmth, only a kind of predatory glee that made Kiana's stomach twist. She wanted to scream at her, but her throat was clogged with sobs she hadn't even realized she was holding back.
Chris was the first to move, arms crossed, expression grim. He gave Kiana a long look before giving a short nod — approval, but not celebration. "You held out longer than most could. That much is true." His voice was low, heavy, almost proud, but the weight in his eyes told her he had seen every choice she made in there and judged her for it.
Eden followed soon after, her steps as measured and graceful as always. Unlike Chris, she offered no words at first, only dipping her head in acknowledgment, her soft eyes lingering on Kiana's trembling form. "Yes," she murmured finally, her tone quiet and genuine. "You… passed."
But then there was Otto.
He stood off to the side, hands folded behind his back, his gaze fixed on the floor as if it might swallow him. No sardonic smile, no pointed remark, none of the sly charm that usually accompanied him. He was pale, his jaw tight, and when he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse, almost brittle.
"…Passable. I suppose."
It was hardly praise. It sounded more like a man trying to convince himself of something he did not believe.
Kiana looked up, her eyes wet and red-rimmed, her lips trembling as she tried to form words. But the flood of grief was too much. She collapsed fully to her knees, hands digging into the floor as tears streamed freely down her face.
"I… I have to go back," she gasped out, her voice breaking. "Please… put me back in. I need to… I need to help them! Kallen, Chris—everyone… I can still—"
Her desperate plea ended in sobs that wracked her shoulders, raw and childlike. She had seen them die. She had seen their final smiles. And her heart could not accept it, not when the images still burned so vividly behind her eyes.
Mobius' sigh cut through the air like a cold wind. She shook her head, her grin fading into a look of almost bored exasperation.
"What's the point?" she said simply, her tone as sharp as a scalpel. "Those were recorded events. Even if you crawl back in, screaming and thrashing all you want… nothing will change. They are echoes of the past, Kaslana. Shadows on stone. And shadows cannot be saved."
The words hit Kiana harder than any blow. Her chest clenched, her sobs breaking into ragged whimpers. "No… no, that's not true, I—I could have—if I had tried harder—"
Her spiral deepened, voice rising into a panicked pitch, desperation drowning out everything else. Her hands trembled so badly they could barely hold her up. "If I had just been stronger… if I had just done more, they wouldn't— they wouldn't have—"
Her words cracked entirely, leaving her choking on grief and self-loathing.
Eden stepped forward then, her smile soft and radiant, though sadness lingered in her eyes. She crouched down slightly, her hand brushing Kiana's shoulder in a tender, grounding touch.
"Kiana," Eden's voice was warm, steadying, like sunlight through a storm. "Enough. You did everything you could. More than anyone else would have managed. What you endured… what you saw… none of us could expect you to bear it without breaking."
Kiana shook her head frantically, still lost in her spiral. "No, no, no—"
Eden looked up over her shoulder then, gaze finding Mei. Her voice was gentle, but it carried an unspoken authority that silenced the room.
"Mei… take her. Comfort her, please. She needs a friend more than she needs any of us right now."
Mei, who had been standing still at the back of the chamber, stepped forward at last. Her violet eyes were calm but cold as they settled on Mobius. The two women locked eyes for a moment — Mobius still smirking faintly, Mei narrowing her gaze ever so slightly.
No words passed between them, but the disdain in Mei's look was clear. Then she turned back to Kiana, reaching down to gently lift the girl up, supporting her trembling body.
"Come on, Kiana," Mei whispered softly, her hand firm around Kiana's arm. "Let's go. You don't have to face this alone."
Kiana leaned into her, broken and quiet, her sobs muffled against Mei's shoulder as the two walked out of the chamber.
Every gaze followed Kiana and Mei until the doors closed with a muted hiss, leaving behind only the heavy sound of breath. The air was thick, weighted by the knowledge of what came next. No one spoke, not immediately. Even Chris, who usually filled quiet with bravado or sharp remarks, stood still with his arms folded, jaw tense, his amber eyes locked on the humming machine.
Eden's expression betrayed her usual serenity; her brows drew faintly together, the faintest crease of worry marring her features. Her hands folded neatly in front of her, but the tremor in her knuckles gave her away.
Mobius, however, stood utterly still. Her usual smirk had faltered, lips pressed thin. The golden gleam in her eyes flickered with something closer to strain. Her voice broke the silence at last, a whisper barely meant for the others.
"…Here's to hoping those two take a long time," she murmured, the words tight.
The faint hum of the simulation chamber deepened into a steady pulse, its systems reactivating, lights blooming pale blue against the metallic walls. The sound was soft, but in the tense quiet it might as well have been thunder.
One by one, their gazes shifted. Away from the still-warm equipment Kiana had left behind. Away from the blood still drying on Otto's bitten lip. And toward Viktor.
The man sat with eerie calm, his posture relaxed, his silver hair catching the glow of the machine's light. His face betrayed nothing — no nervous twitch, no uncertainty. If he felt the weight of every eye pressing on him, he didn't show it.
Chris finally moved. He exhaled sharply, stepping forward, his heavy boots echoing on the chamber floor. He looked down at Viktor with a seriousness rare for him. "You need to know what you're walking into," he said. His voice was steady, though beneath it was worry that he could not mask. "This isn't like Kaslana's test. You won't be living another's memories.."
Viktor tilted his head slightly, but said nothing.
Chris glanced at the machine, then back at him. "The simulation you're about to enter…" He hesitated, as though picking words carefully. "…It's the first spark of the Inferno. The day everything began. The first mission of those deemed as monsters necessary for the future.."
His words lingered, heavy with history and unspoken grief.
Eden's voice followed, soft yet firm, completing the thought with a weight of her own. "…The first spark of the fire that darkened the night… so the bright flames of the stars could shine."
Her words filled the chamber, solemn and poetic, carrying with them both pride and sorrow. The phrase wasn't spoken often — it was an epitaph, a creed, a truth carved into the history of those who had walked that path.
Otto finally stirred, his grief-hardened features turning toward the simulation screen. His lips barely moved, but the words were audible in the quiet.
"…The Black Flames."