Knox slowly rose from the ground again, anger glowing in his eyes, and as he cracked his neck he growled, "This is what happens when you put your trust in a fucking test subject." Now composed, he looked directly at Youri and said, "So, Youri, you wanted to see a monster?"
Knox pulled a syringe from his pocket and injected it straight into his neck. Veins bulged violently across his face and body as his eyes turned blood-red. Youri fired the taser again, but this time it had no effect. Knox now stood towering over him, muscles swelling unnaturally, his voice deeper and twisted.
"Come, my boy," he said. "We have countless more procedures to go through."
He lunged at Youri, grabbing him by the neck and slamming him against the wall.
"You wanted to see a monster? Well, let me show you one!" Knox roared.
Youri struggled with all his strength, making desperate efforts to free himself, but it was useless—Knox was now ten times stronger. Just then, someone burst into the lab, shoving a giant metallic cart with full force. The cart slammed into Knox, pinning him to the wall and releasing Youri from his crushing grip.
Youri gasped for air, coughing as he turned to see who had saved him—and to his shock, it was Flavio. Flavio simply stood there in the doorway, silent and hollow-eyed.
Then, with a sudden heave, the cart slid aside, scraping loud against the floor and revealing Knox once more.
"You old fart!" Knox shouted, rage twisting his words. "I should have killed you long ago—just like I did with your wife and daughter!"
Youri stared at Knox in disbelief. "What did you say?"
Knox laughed, a sickening, triumphant laugh. "Let me brighten your day, boy. That Lira girl you were so fond of—she was this old man's daughter."
Youri collapsed to the floor, stunned.
Knox continued, savoring the cruelty, "His wife was a patient at the hospital. I slipped a few milligrams of acid into her medication every day until she died. I needed her organs to sell so I could build this masterpiece." He grinned wide. "I remember her daughter visiting daily, hoping her mother would get better. Pathetic. The only reason I kept him alive, was because of his gift. But you're no longer useful to me. I planned to let you rot here as thanks to your wife for funding this place. But now? I see you're not even worth that."
Knox marched toward Flavio. As he stood before him, he grabbed Flavio by the neck and lifted him effortlessly, choking him as Flavio kicked weakly in the air.
"You should be happy," Knox hissed. "You and your family will be reunited once again."
Flavio's face darkened as he struggled, his breaths short and fading. In that moment, Youri spotted a fire extinguisher in the corner. He rushed toward it, grabbed it, and swung it with all the strength he had left, smashing it against Knox's side.
Knox barely flinched. He simply turned his head toward Youri and kicked him violently, sending Youri crashing into the wall.
Flavio's limbs weakened; he was seconds from losing consciousness. But suddenly, another figure appeared in the doorway. It hurled itself at Knox, clawing at his face and biting fiercely.
Knox released Flavio in shock, reaching up as the attacker's hair whipped wildly around them.
It was Test Subject Thirty-Five—the first subject Youri had seen when he first arrived in that hell.
Thirty-Five shrieked and tore into Knox's scalp, scratching, biting, ripping. Knox thrashed, struggling to free himself, stumbling backward under the feral assault. His face disappeared beneath Thirty-Five's long black hair as the creature raged.
But somehow, through brute force alone, Knox managed to grab Thirty-Five's arm. With a furious roar, he hurled Thirty-Five to the floor, sending him skidding across the tiles.
Knox slammed into a table, metal trays scattering across the floor with a deafening clang. He growled, eyes blazing red, muscles twitching as the serum raged through his veins. Subject Thirty-Five scrambled backward on all fours, hissing, long hair covering half of his face. For a moment, Knox was disoriented—but only for a moment.
"You little pests!" he roared, spittle flying from his twisted mouth.
He lunged toward Thirty-Five, but Flavio staggered in front of him, still coughing, face purple from the choking. Knox grabbed Flavio by the shirt and raised him like a rag doll, but Flavio, trembling, lifted his hand and slammed an iron tool into Knox's jaw. Knox snarled but didn't loosen his grip.
Youri tried to stand, ribs screaming, but collapsed again to his knees. He reached toward them desperately. "Flavio—no!"
Knox tightened his hold around Flavio's throat. "Enough! I will end every last one of you."
But Flavio's lips curled into a faint, bitter smile—one that Knox had never seen on him before.
"You already did," Flavio whispered. "You just never expected one of your ghosts to bite back."
Before Knox could react, Flavio shoved a broken lab tube deep into Knox's neck. A violent spray of darkened blood burst out, and Knox roared in agony, staggering backward.
The serum pumping through his veins reacted violently, making his skin bubble and bulge in sickening rhythm. Knox lurched around the lab, smashing into panels and equipment, knocking over cylinders and cracking fuel lines. Sparks danced across the floor as electrical conduits snapped.
Alarms began to blare. Red emergency lights flooded the corridors.
Youri felt the rumble first—then the heat.
The institute shuddered.
Flavio stumbled toward him, barely staying upright. "Youri… go…"
"No!" Youri screamed, catching him by the arms. "I'm not leaving you!"
Flavio gently pushed him back, shaking his head. "Kid… listen. I've been dead for years. I've just been walking around pretending I wasn't. But you… you still got something to live for out there."
Behind them, Knox staggered to his feet again, blood pouring from his neck, face twisted into something barely human. He roared, charging like a maddened beast.
Flavio shoved Youri toward the exit. "Run!"
Youri hesitated, tears flooding his eyes. He opened his mouth to protest—but the ceiling above them cracked open, flames erupting downward like a dragon's breath. The explosion knocked Youri off his feet and hurled him through the lab door, sliding him across the hall.
Through the smoke, he saw Flavio standing between him and the collapsing lab—swaying, but firm.
Knox lunged at him one final time, rage consuming every fiber of him.
Flavio grabbed a ruptured gas tank beside him and hurled it into Knox's chest. The impact knocked Knox back into a swirling mass of open wires, cracking pipes, and hungry flames.
Flavio met Youri's eyes one last time and mouthed:
"Thank you… for remembering me."
The tank exploded.
A massive fireball swallowed Knox and Flavio both, the flames roaring so loud they shook the entire institute. The blast destroyed the lab door, forcing Youri to shield his face as molten metal sprayed outward.
The walls ripped apart. The lights went black.The entire facility began collapsing.
Youri forced himself to his feet and ran—limping, vision blurry, lungs burning. He stumbled through the dark garden out side.
Until he stumbled outside into the cold dirt.
Behind him, the institute—the prison basement that stole his childhood and his future—erupted in a final, earth-shaking explosion. A tower of flames shot into the sky. Debris rained like burning snowflakes.
Youri collapsed to his knees, trembling as the orange glow lit his tear-streaked face.
He covered his mouth, sobbing.
Flavio was gone.
The man who kept him sane, the only light in that hell, had died freeing him.
As the ashes fell, Youri whispered, voice breaking:
"…Thank you, Flavio…"
And alone in the dark, surrounded by the ruins of the institute, Youri cried—crying for his friend, for the life stolen from him, and for the monster who finally burned in the fire he created.