Ivan Odinson woke up to the soft breeze of the rotating swing that hung above him, he had been confused about it since the moment he had awakened.
It looked like those machines of the past which gave ventilation in a room, but that only made him confused since he had read about those things appearing only in the textbooks that talked of such an ancient age...but even then, those old ventilation machines people once used before modern systems replaced them.
But that only made him more confused. Why was it here?
Why was he here?
He was still processing his surroundings when he realised about the absence of the society called priest that stood in front of him.
He found his mother laying on the floor soundly as if she was in deep sleep, just then, the priest's last words before he lost consciousness came into his mind.
"...all that's left now is to corrupt that schizophrenic girl—"
The boy instantly stood up as he realised the suspicious situation.
Sol.
His heart jumped into his throat. The boy threw the sheets off his body, ignoring the stabbing pain in his ribs, and stumbled to his feet.
His legs were shaky, but adrenaline burned through him as he pushed the door open.
The hallway outside was dim, the pale light of dusk spilling through narrow windows.
A bench sat across from his room, and on it was his sister.
Sol.
She wore her black shorts and that oversized t-shirt she always liked. Her curvy legs dangled off the bench, swaying slightly, but her posture seemed to be too still.
Too calm.
Her head lifted the moment he stepped out, and their eyes locked.
Ivan froze.
Her black eyes, those same dark orbs she had inherited from their mother, shined strangely, almost glowing. A shiver crawled down his spine. This wasn't the Sol he knew.
"Brother…" her voice rang out, oddly bright, almost excited. "I remember now. I finally remember everything."
Ivan's lips parted, but no words came out of his mouth. There was something in her tone that seemed strange.
"…What?" his voice broke as he was almost too worried about what happened to her.
She leaned forward, her lips curling into a smile that looked wrong on her face. "I know now. I know Father…I know that he died."
Ivan's chest caved in at her words. His hands clenched into fists, anger and grief mixing inside him.
He didn't want her to go down this path, to scratch at wounds that had never healed.
But then, just as suddenly, her voice shifted.
Her smile widened, and she whispered almost playfully, "No…that's a lie. He isn't dead.
Father is alive."
The world seemed to tilt.
Ivan stumbled forward, shaking his head violently. His voice exploded, louder than he'd ever heard it before.
"Stop it! Enough, Sol! You don't know what you're saying!" His throat burned with each word.
"He's gone! He's been gone for years! You're just—just losing it!"
Tears pricked down his eyes. Seeing her like this, his little sister, the one who used to cling to him in the dark, the one who laughed through their empty dinners...it broke him. He couldn't watch her tear herself apart with this madness.
But Sol only tilted her head, her calm expression unshaken. She looked at him with pity, her lips twitching into something that almost resembled sadness.
"You're still too weak, brother…"
The words hit Ivan harder than any blade.
The boy's breath got caught in his mouth itself as he dig his nails into his palms, his heart screaming for her to stop.
But she didn't. She stood up slowly, her small frame casting a long shadow across the hallway.
"I'm going to find him. I'm going to bring Father back." Her tone seemed to be just too certain.
The girl stood up from her stood, looking at Ivan almost excitedly. "Look…I even received his powers."
Ivan's mind stuttered at the words. He couldn't understand what in the gibberish what she was talking about was.
Things like powers and abilities only existed in books and fantasies.
Th world they lived in, the laws it followed had and will always follow the concept of science.
Just listening to his little sister talk made him realise how far her schizophrenic problems had gone for her to think that she had awakened some mysteries powers and would go on about finding their father.
His chest grew hollow, fear clawing at his ribs.
But then, denying all his beliefs and expectations, he saw it.
Right between her brows, the skin split open with a wet sound, like tearing flesh.
Blood trickled down her nose as an eye as a third, unnatural eye, peeled itself open on her forehead.
It blinked once. The pupil dilated almost unnaturally, swirling as if something alive moved inside it.
Ivan staggered back, horror crawling through his veins. His breath broke into shallow gasps, the air leaving his lungs.
His hands trembled uncontrollably as he almost felt like he was gonna have a heart attack.
The girl he once knew, his little sister, stood in front of him smiling...staring at him with three fucking eyes.
***