Maya turned her head slowly, her eyes finding Rahi's face in the dim light.
"Subject 0013 A , You said the IRVANA involves Special Experiments,what kind of experiments?"
"Neurological and chemical experiments. They inject subjects with compounds that rewire their brains.
They push them beyond limit, every boundary, every threshold of human endurance."
"They're -they're trying to create super-soldiers?"
Rahi let out a hollow laugh. "That's one way to put it. And they try to unlock something hidden.
Something that lies dormant in every human being but can only be awakened through ..... extreme measures."
Maya's brow furrowed. "Unlock what?"
"Abilities. Things that normal people can't do."
"That's... that's insane. That's not possible. You can't just... create Abilities out of people. You can't just—"
"Can't you?" Rahi interrupted, "Look around you, Subject 0017 B. Look at what they've already done. Look at what they've already created."
Maya felt a chill run down her spine. "That's.... that's impossible, That's not real. That's just stories. Legends."
Rahi let out a weak, hollow laugh.
"I used to think that too. I used to believe that such things were impossible. But then I saw things.
Things that couldn't be explained. Things that defied every law of nature and science.
And I realized that the impossible was not only possible, it was happening. Right here. In this facility."
"But...why would they do this? Why would they try to create superhumans ?"
"This facility doesn't run on charity,doesn't run on government funding, doesn't run on donations or grants.
Then how does it run? How does it afford all this technology? All this... everything?
Think about it, Subject 0017 B. Think about the seventeen subjects who reached Code Blue before your generation.
The ones who were sent on missions, ones who were deployed out into the world."
Maya's mind raced back to the Instructor's words.' The remaining Blue subjects are currently engaged in other assignments.'
"You mean... the missions?"
"Yes, missions. The assignments that the Blue subjects are sent on. The ones that take them outside the facility.The kind that brings in money."
"You mean... the subjects are sent out to work? To earn money?"
"Not just work, Subject 0017B. They're sent out to Assassinate, to infiltrate, to destroy.Sabotage. Espionage.
The kind of missions that require a level of skill and ruthlessness that normal operatives don't possess."
Rahi paused, his eyes meeting hers.
"The Blue subjects are the most valuable assets this facility has. They're not just subjects—they're weapons.
Living, breathing weapons that can be deployed anywhere in the world."
Maya shook her head slowly, "But... but how? How can a single subject bring in enough money to run an entire facility?"
"Because a single subject, properly trained and conditioned, can bring down an entire nation."
Maya felt a chill run down her spine. "A... Nation? You mean... one subject could destroy a whole country?"
Rahi nodded slowly. "Yes.One subject, deployed at the right time, in the right place, with the right training, could cripple a nation's infrastructure.
Could assassinate its leaders. Could bring it to its knees.
There are people out there—powerful people—who are willing to pay for a weapon that can be deployed anywhere, anytime, without leaving a trace. "
A pause.
"And do you know what a nation would pay to have that kind of power?
What they would pay to have a weapon that couldn't be traced, couldn't be defeated?"
Maya shook her head slowly, "I... I don't know."
"Billions of dollars, every single year. The Blue subjects bring in billions of dollars for this facility."
Maya's eyes widened. "Billions? That's... that's impossible."
"Not impossible, just hidden. The money doesn't go through normal channels.
It's laundered through shell companies, offshore accounts, secret transactions. It's hidden so deep that no one even knows it exists.
But it exists. And it's the lifeblood of this facility. It's what keeps the lights on, the experiments running."
Maya stared at him, her mind reeling. "This facility, it's not just a research center. It's not just a prison. It's an Empire."
"Yes. An empire built on the backs of children.
An empire that has been growing for decades, expanding its reach, extending its influence.
An empire that will never stop because it can't stop."
"And the seventeen subjects who reached Code Blue before us... the ones who were sent on missions..."
"They're incomplete. They never reached the final stage of Nirvana. They were never fully conditioned. "
He paused, his eyes meeting hers.
"But even incomplete, they're powerful. They're valuable. They're the backbone of this facility's operations.
They're the ones who bring in the money that keeps this whole nightmare running."
"All this time... I thought the facility was just trying to create soldiers. I thought the Nirvana Program was just about survival. "
She stopped, her voice catching in her throat.
"But, It's about making us into something. Something that can be used, that can be sold. "
Rahi nodded slowly. "Yes. That's exactly what it is. That's exactly what we are."
"But... but the IRVANA Program. The Special Experiments. The ones that create subjects with abilities.
They're not sent on missions, are they? They're kept here, kept hidden, kept secret."
"Yes. The Irvana subjects are the crown jewels of this facility. They're too valuable to be sent on missions.
They're kept here, studied, experimented on, perfected."
"Subject 0013 A... what are they planning to do with me? With the Irvana subjects?"
"I don't know exactly.... But I know that they've been preparing you for something. Something big. Something that will change everything."
"Change everything, what do you mean?"
Rahi shook his head slowly. "I don't know. I don't think anyone knows. But I know that you're special.
I know that you're destined for something greater than anything this facility has ever seen."
Silence. [CLICK]
The door at the far end of the room slid open with a low mechanical groan. Cold air rushed in, carrying the familiar scent of antiseptic and ozone.
Maya's head snapped toward the sound. A figure stepped through the threshold. The scientist. His pale eyes swept across the room, taking in the scene with clinical detachment.
He saw Maya lying on the floor, her body broken, her face streaked with tears, Rahi chained to the wall, his head hanging low, his body limp.
His lips curled into a thin, satisfied smile.
"Subject 17B, I see you've made yourself comfortable."
Maya's throat was dry. Her voice, when she finally found it, was barely a whisper.
"Please... please don't hurt me anymore. I'll obey. I'll do whatever you say. Just please—"
The scientist's smile widened. It was a cold, predatory smile, the smile of someone who enjoyed the power they held over others.
He stepped closer, his footsteps echoing against the cold floor. [Tap...Tap...Tap]
"Level One: Isolation. You survived. Level Two: Physical Reinforcement. You survived. But you have not yet demonstrated full compliance."
He stopped a few feet away from her, "Level Three awaits : Psychological Breaking."
Maya felt her blood run cold. Her entire body began to tremble. She had known it would be bad. But she hadn't known how bad.
"Please," she whispered, her voice cracking.
The scientist's hand shot out. His fingers closed around her hair, gripping it tightly, yanking her head back.
Maya let out a sharp cry of pain. Her hands flew up, trying to pry his fingers loose, but his grip was iron.
"Silence,You will speak only when spoken to. You will obey without question. You will learn that your body is not your own."
He yanked her head back further, forcing her to look up at him. His pale eyes bore into hers, cold and merciless.
"Do you understand, Subject 17B?"
Maya's eyes were filled with tears. "Yes... yes, I understand."
The scientist's smile widened. "Good."
He released her hair. Maya's head fell forward, her body trembling violently. But the relief was short-lived.
The scientist's hand shot out again, closing around her arm. His grip was iron. He dragged her to her feet, his fingers digging into her bruised flesh.
"Come with me, Level THREE awaits."
He dragged her across the room. Her bare feet scraped against the cold floor, her legs barely able to support her weight. She stumbled after him.
Rahi's voice echoed from behind her, weak and desperate. "0017 B—! 0017 B,0017 B. don't—!"
But the door was already sliding shut. [CLICK]
The room was different from the others. It was smaller, more confined, its walls lined with metal bars and instruments of torture that gleamed under harsh fluorescent lights.
In the center of the room stood a chair. Its surface was cold metal, its arms and legs fitted with restraints. Beside it, a table was covered with instruments.
The scientist dragged Maya toward the chair. His grip tightened on her arm, forcing her forward.
"Sit," he commanded.
Maya's legs gave way beneath her.
She collapsed onto the cold metal surface, her body trembling violently. The scientist's hands moved with practiced efficiency, securing her wrists and ankles to the chair.
The metal bit into her skin, she tried to move, tried to find some small comfort but the restraints held her fast.
The scientist stepped back, studying her with cold detachment.
"Level Three: Psychological Breaking. This is where you will learn that your mind is not your own."
He reached into his coat and withdrew a small device. It was metallic, its surface gleaming with a faint red light.
"Sleep deprivation is the first step. Your body will be kept awake for the next forty-eight hours. Every time you try to sleep, you will be jolted awake."
He pressed a button on the device. A low hum filled the room, vibrating through the air like a living thing.
Maya felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her body. Her eyes snapped open, her muscles convulsing. A sharp cry escaped her lips.
"That is a warning, The next shock will be stronger."
He pressed the button again. A jolt of electricity shot through Maya's body, her scream echoed through the room, bouncing off the cold walls.
The scientist began to speak."You are nothing, Repeat after me. 'I am nothing.'"
Maya's body was trembling violently. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I... I am nothing."
"Louder."
"I am nothing!"
"You exist only to obey. Repeat."
"I exist only to obey."
"Your thoughts are not your own. Repeat."
"My thoughts are not my own."
The scientist's smile widened. "Good. Again."
He made her repeat the phrases over and over. Each time, his voice grew harder, colder, more demanding. And each time, Maya's voice grew weaker, more broken.
[12 HOURS LATER]
Maya had lost count of how long she had been in the chair. She had been shocked, beaten, forced to repeat degrading phrases until her voice was hoarse.
Her body was covered in bruises and burns. Her mind was frayed, her thoughts scattering like leaves in a storm.
The scientist stood before her, his pale eyes fixed on her face. "You are nothing. Repeat."
"I... I am nothing..."
"You exist only to obey."
"I exist... only to obey..."
"Your thoughts are not your own."
"My thoughts... are not my own..."
The words had lost all meaning. They were just sounds now, meaningless sounds that she repeated mechanically, because it was the only way to make the pain stop.
The scientist's smile widened. "Good. You're learning."
He reached for a new instrument—a thin, metal rod with a glowing tip. "This is the final phase of Level Three : You will learn to associate disobedience with pain."
He pressed the rod against her arm. A searing heat spread through her skin and she screamed.
"Repeat after me. 'I will obey.'"
Her voice was barely a whisper. "I... I will obey..."
"Good. Again."
[48 Hours Later]
Maya had stopped fighting. Her body was limp in the chair, her head hanging low, her eyes half-closed. She had stopped screaming. She had stopped crying. She had simply stopped.
The scientist studied her for a moment, "Subject 17 B, do you understand why you are here?"
She didn't answer, she couldn't, the words wouldn't come.
The scientist's hand shot out, gripping her chin and forcing her to look at him. "I asked you a question."
She forced the words out. "Because... because I refused to obey..."
"And what have you learned?"
"That I must obey... without question..." A cold smile spread across the scientist's face.
---
"Subject 0017 B !Subject 0017 B, wake up!"
The voice cut through the darkness like a blade. Maya's eyes fluttered open. The scientist was gone. The instruments were gone.
She was lying on the cold concrete floor of the Correction Room. And 0013 A's eyes fixed on her, his voice desperate.
"You were unconscious, You've been out for hours. I thought... I thought you were dead."
Maya blinked slowly, her vision swimming in and out of focus. She tried to speak but the words wouldn't come.
"Don't talk, just rest. You need to rest."
Maya's eyes drifted to the ceiling. The cracks were still there. The water stains were still there. And for the first time, she noticed something else.
A faint, almost imperceptible glow. A violet light. Flickering just for a moment, then gone. She smiled weakly. "IRVANA."
Rahi stared at her, his brow furrowed. "What?"
But Maya didn't answer. She had already slipped back into unconsciousness, her body broken.
And somewhere deep in the darkness, a voice whispered.
"Where you go, I go. What you see, I see. I know I'd never be me without the security of your loving arms, keeping me from harm. Put your hand in my hand and we'll stand."
The words echoed through the silence, soft and haunting, a promise and a warning.
~~
Fahan was sitting on the floor, his back against the sofa,
"They made her repeat those words. Over and over. She's five years old. Five. And they made her believe she was nothing."
He let out a broken laugh.
"I used to think I knew what cruelty was. I used to think I understood suffering. But this—this is something else entirely. This is systematic, calculated."
He shook his head slowly.
"They're not just hurting her. They're destroying her. Piece by piece. Until there's nothing left."
Naya had wrapped her arms around herself, her nails digging into her own arms. Her face was pale, her eyes hollow.
"The waterboarding, They waterboarded her.
A five-year-old child. They held her down and poured ater over her face until she couldn't breathe.
I've heard of torture techniques. I've read about them. But I never—I never thought I'd see them used on a child. On my—on my family."
She shook her head slowly, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"She's never going to be the same. After this, she's never going to be the same."
Ohi sat on the floor,
"The other subjects—Subject 0014, Subject 0011, Subject 0002—they're not bad kids. They're survivors, they've been conditioned to believe that obedience is the only way to stay alive.
But Maya — Maya still has something they lost. She still has a sense of right and wrong. She still has a soul."
He looked at the frozen image of Maya,
"And that's what they're trying to destroy. That's what the Correction Room is for. To kill her soul. To make her just like the others.
And the worst part is—they might succeed. They might actually break her."
~~
The darkness of the Correction Room pressed against Maya like a living thing. She lay on the cold concrete floor, her spirit barely clinging to existence. But she was alive. Barely.
Rahi's voice was barely a whisper, "Subject 0017B... Subject 0017B, are you still there?"
Maya forced her eyes open. "I'm here."
Rahi let out a shaky breath. Relief flooded his features,
"I thought... I thought you were dead. You were unconscious. You didn't move. You didn't speak.
I thought—"
"I'm not dead yet, I'm too stubborn to die."
"That's good. That's really good."
Maya's eyes drifted to the ceiling. "Subject 0013 A... what's going to happen to you? After all of this? What are they going to do with you?"
Rahi was silent for a moment.
"They're going to continue the Special Experiments. They've invested too much time, too many resources to just let me go. They'll keep me here. Keep testing me. "
He paused, his eyes meeting hers.
"Until I'm either useful to them... or dead."
Maya felt tears welling in her eyes. "That's not fair, You didn't deserve this. Any of this."
"None of us deserved this, Subject 0017B but we're here. And we have to survive."
Before Maya could respond, the door at the far end of the room slid open with a low mechanical groan.
Two attendants stepped through the threshold. Their faces were expressionless, they walked toward Maya.
Maya's heart began to pound. Her body tensed instinctively, every muscle screaming in protest.
"Subject 17B, Your punishment in the Correction Room is complete. You are to be taken to the Instructor."
Maya blinked, startled by the words.
Her punishment was complete? She had survived Level Three?
The attendants reached down, their hands closing around her arms. They lifted her to her feet, her legs barely able to support her weight.
"Wait." Rahi was straining against his chains, the metal biting into his wrists, fresh blood trickling down his forearms.
His head was lifted now, his dark eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made Maya's blood run cold.
"Subject 0017B...If you survive... if you somehow make it out of this hell... we'll meet again."
His lips curled into a smile—but it wasn't a warm smile. It was something far worse.Someone who had spent countless hours in the dark, planning, dreaming, perfecting.
"And when we do...I'm going to kill you.Slowly."
A pause. His smile widened, just a fraction.
"Painfully, with my bare hands. I've imagined it, you know. Every detail. The way your body will feel beneath my fingers.
The sounds you'll make. The way your eyes will look when the light finally fades."
He let out a soft, almost dreamy sigh. "It's going to be beautiful."
The attendants shifted uncomfortably. Even they, hardened by years of cruelty, seemed unsettled by the quiet intensity in his voice.
Maya stared at him. Then—slowly, deliberately—a faint smile touched her lips. "We'll see who kills who, Subject 0013A."
~~
Mahi covered her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. "He... he threatened to kill her. And he meant it. Every word."
Rahi leaned back in his chair, a crooked smile spreading across his face. His eyes glinted with something dark that made the room feel several degrees colder.
"You know...I still hope to fulfill that promise someday."
The room went deathly silent.
Every head turned toward him. Eyes widened. The weight of a dozen judgmental stares pressed down on him like a physical force.
Mahi's hand flew to her mouth, "You... you still want to kill her?"
"Kill her? No." his smile widening just a fraction. "I want to see if she can survive it. There's a difference."
Mahim's voice cut through the silence, "That's not funny, Rahi."
"I'm not joking."
Fahad stepped forward,
"You just told us she saved your life. That she was the only person who ever showed you kindness. And now you're sitting there, talking about killing her?"
Rahi's smile didn't waver. If anything, it grew sharper.
"You don't understand, do you? That promise—it wasn't about hate. It wasn't about anger. It was about respect."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, intense murmur.
"In that place, the only way to show someone you saw them as an equal was to promise to end them. It was a bond.
A twisted, broken bond but a bond nonetheless. She understood that. She smiled when I said it. She smiled and said she'd do the same to me.
That's the thing about survivors. We don't connect the way normal people do."
Fahim adjusted his glasses, "Trauma bonding can manifest in...unconventional ways but this—this is something else entirely."
Rahi let out a soft laugh. "You're all looking at me like I'm a monster.
But I'm not the one who chained a child to a wall and beat him until he couldn't stand. I'm just the one who survived it."
He looked around the room, his eyes meeting each of theirs in turn.
"And so did she. That's why I made that promise. Because if anyone deserves to be the one to end me—it's her. And if anyone deserves to be the one I try to end—it's her."
Farhan's voice quiet but firm. "That's... that's the most twisted thing I've ever heard."
~~
The attendants began to drag Maya toward the door. She stumbled after them, her legs barely able to support her weight.
As she crossed the threshold, she looked back. Rahi was still chained to the wall but his eyes were open, fixed on her.
"Survive, Subject 0017B," he whispered.
The door slid shut behind her. The attendants dragged Maya through the endless corridors.
Her bare feet scraped against the polished floor, her legs barely able to support her weight. She stumbled after them, her vision blurry, her mind reeling.
~~
Rahi leaned back in his chair, a dangerous smirk spreading across his face. "What fun it would be, don't you think?"
His eyes glinted with dark amusement as he looked around the room, watching the family's reactions with obvious delight.
"Imagine it. After all these years— I get to look her in the eyes and say, 'I told you I'd keep my promise.'"
He let out another soft, almost dreamy laugh.
"The look on her face... it would be priceless."
The room remained frozen. No one knew how to respond to the casual, almost cheerful way he spoke about killing their daughter, their sister.
Faha slowly leaned toward Fahim, his voice dropping to a barely audible whisper. His eyes never left Rahi's smug face.
"Brother... tell me you have some knockout medicine handy. Just in case.
Because this madman, this absolute lunatic is going to start something. I can feel it. He's got that look in his eyes.
That 'I'm about to do something incredibly stupid' look."
Fahim adjusted his glasses, his expression unreadable. "Funny you should say that. I was thinking the exact same thing.
I have a sedative in my bag. Strong enough to put down a horse. It's meant for emergencies — but this might qualify."
He glanced at Rahi, then back at Faha."Let's just hope he doesn't give us a reason to use it."
From across the room, Rahi's head snapped toward them. His eyes narrowed, his crooked smile returning. "I heard that."
Faha blinked innocently. "Heard what?"
"I just said I have a sedative—" Fahim started, before Faha elbowed him sharply.
Faha's voice was sweet, almost angelic.
"We were talking about medicine for headaches. Very boring. Very normal. Nothing to do with you at all."
~~
They stopped before a massive door — sleek, metallic.