Chapter 28: The Girl Who Fell into Light
The battlefield was silent.
Smoke curled around the shattered remains of the chamber, frost cracking across the floor, walls groaning with damage.
Rhea's breath was ragged as she pushed debris off her back.
Kael lay against the wall, bruised but alive. Luca scrambled toward the remains of the main console, coughing.
Nira stood in the eye of the destruction, staring at the space where Elira had vanished.
There was no trace of her.
No body.
No blood.
Just a single scorch mark on the floor glowing faint blue.
"Elira," Nira whispered, voice trembling. "No…"
But the echo swallowed her words whole.
---
The Pulse Room
Three floors underground, beyond the wreckage and behind several biometric locks, a chamber stirred awake.
Blue light pulsed in rhythmic waves across its curved walls.
In the center, Elira floated—unconscious, suspended in a field of energy.
Monitors scanned her vitals.
Subject ID: E-03
Status: Unstable Activation
Origin: Hybrid. Origin DNA—Nyx Project.
Recovery: Engaged.
Outside the chamber, Vira stood with her hands clasped behind her back.
"She was never meant to awaken this soon," she murmured.
Beside her, a silent technician nodded. "The surge was unplanned, ma'am. The proximity to Nyx must have triggered latent sequences."
Vira's eyes narrowed.
"Elira Saren… You were supposed to be the failsafe."
Then she turned away.
"Prepare her for Phase II."
---
Back with the Team
"Gone?" Kael choked out. "She just… disappeared?"
"No," Nira whispered. "She overloaded. She burned out her own body to protect us."
"But where is she?" Luca asked, scanning the energy readings.
Nira walked to where Elira had stood. She knelt down, placed a trembling hand over the blue scorch mark.
Her eyes widened.
"She's not gone," she said softly. "I can feel her. Somewhere… beneath."
Rhea straightened. "There's no way Vira let her die. She wants leverage. That's her game."
"So we find her," Nira said, rising. "We get her back."
Jude stirred behind them, groaning.
They rushed to him, helping him sit up. His face was pale, skin marked with healing bruises.
"Nira…?" he rasped.
She gripped his hand tightly, tears brimming in her eyes.
"I thought I lost you."
"You didn't," he murmured. "You never will."
---
Elira's Dream
Inside the pulse room, Elira's mind drifted in a place that wasn't quite real.
A vast field stretched before her—black flowers blooming under a blood-red sky. In the distance, a mirror floated mid-air, surrounded by chains of light.
She approached slowly.
In the reflection, she saw herself—but not quite.
This version had longer hair, glowing eyes, and a darkness behind her smile.
"You woke up too soon," the mirror-Elira said.
"What am I?"
"You're the balance. The product of chaos and mercy. You were never just a soldier."
Elira touched the mirror.
"I want to go back."
"You will. But first… remember."
Suddenly, the field burned away—and memory returned like a blade to the chest.
---
Flashback: Elira's Origins
Elira sat in a white room as a child, her arms strapped to a chair, wires in her veins.
Across from her sat a girl—white-haired, black-eyed.
Nyx.
They didn't speak, but they understood.
They were both experiments. Both broken.
But where Elira cried… Nyx never did.
Nyx once whispered:
> "If they ever erase me… you'll be the one who remembers."
And then she was gone.
Elira had forgotten that day.
Until now.
---
Return to Fire
Elira's eyes snapped open.
The pulse chamber around her was dimly lit, and her body ached. But she could move.
She sat up, ripping out the wires.
Alarms wailed.
Footsteps thundered outside.
She had one chance.
Summoning what strength she had, she reached deep—into the part of her that was still burning.
Blue light exploded from her skin.
The door blew open.
She ran.
---
Vira's Fury
"She's awake?!" Vira slammed her hand on the table.
The technician trembled. "She broke containment. She's loose in Subsection Gamma."
Vira's expression twisted.
"All units to Gamma. I want her alive."
Behind her, a shadow stirred.
Nyx stepped into the room, silent as ever.
"She's afraid," Vira whispered. "Of you."
Nyx didn't answer.
But her presence chilled the air.
"She's your sister," Vira said. "Bring her home."
---