The humanoid robot's crimson eyes suddenly lit up.
— Self-destruction sequence... activated.
The very next moment...
BOOM!!
The robot had entered its self-destruct mode.
The shockwave tore through the laboratory.
Walls shattered.
The ceiling began collapsing.
Within seconds...
The entire laboratory was consumed by flames.
Thick black smoke flooded every corridor as fire spread in every direction.
...
The frail little boy slowly regained consciousness.
The explosion had knocked him unconscious for a short time.
He slowly opened his eyes.
A sharp ringing still echoed inside his head.
He looked around.
The very first thing he saw...
was Eldos.
He lay motionless on the ground.
Then...
Erzhan.
He, too...
had already closed his eyes forever.
...
The frail little boy's breathing became uneven.
He quickly looked around once more.
— ...
— A... Aizhan...
At the other side of the room...
Aizhan was still alive.
But...
Everything below her waist was pinned beneath an enormous slab of concrete.
Her breathing was growing weaker with every passing second.
Without thinking...
The frail little boy sprang to his feet.
He rushed toward Aizhan as fast as he could.
Then...
Using every ounce of strength he possessed...
he tried to lift the massive slab.
His arms trembled violently.
The veins on his hands bulged.
But...
The concrete didn't move.
Not even a little.
He tried again.
Again...
And again...
He poured every bit of strength he had into it.
Yet...
Nothing changed.
He was simply...
too weak.
He couldn't even move the concrete by a single inch.
The frail little boy collapsed to his knees.
He slammed his fist into the floor with all his strength.
He clenched his teeth so hard they almost cracked.
He was furious...
At himself.
He began to hate himself.
He blamed himself for everything.
Tears nearly escaped his crimson eyes.
...
Aizhan noticed.
Even though she was in unbearable pain...
A tiny smile appeared on her face.
The enormous slab crushing the lower half of her body made every word agonizing.
Her voice trembled.
— You...
— From now on...
She took a slow, painful breath.
Doing everything she could to endure the unimaginable pain.
— ...you must never cry...
— Even if...
— Even if you want to...
She barely managed to open her eyes and looked directly at him.
— Even if you remember this day...
— You...
— Will never cry...
— For us...
— Promise me...
She paused once more.
Then continued in a weak voice.
— This...
— Was never your fault...
— Promise me...
— That you'll never cry...
— Thinking about us...
— Or your late mother...
— Because of everything that happened here...
— If...
— If you truly respect us...
The frail little boy stood there in silence.
Aizhan...
Smiled gently.
— We...
— We all...
— Love you...
She struggled to breathe.
Her voice became even weaker.
— I...
— Want to tell you something...
— I've...
— Been watching you for a long time...
— I saw everything...
— Everything...
Her eyes slowly began to lose their focus.
— And...
— I...
— Love you...
Her eyelids slowly began to close.
She looked at the frail little boy one final time...
Then quietly whispered...
— Now...
— Go...
The moment those final words left her lips...
Aizhan's eyes closed forever.
...
The frail little boy stood there in complete silence.
He didn't scream.
He didn't cry.
He simply...
Blamed himself over and over again.
The flames inside the laboratory grew even stronger.
The ceiling continued collapsing.
The frail little boy slowly stood up.
Then...
He ran out of the burning laboratory.
...
The moment he stepped outside...
He saw the silhouette of someone standing there.
It was...
Kaisar.
Kaisar stood frozen.
He couldn't believe the scene unfolding before his eyes.
The laboratory...
engulfed in flames.
Thick black smoke...
Aizhan...
Eldos...
Erzhan...
They were all...
gone in a single moment.
Kaisar's entire body trembled.
Slowly...
he lifted his head and looked at the frail boy.
His eyes...
were filled with rage...
grief...
and shock all at once.
After several long seconds of silence...
he suddenly shouted.
— You...
— This is all your fault!
— Because of you!
His voice echoed through the burning ruins.
But moments later...
the shouting disappeared.
Only cold silence remained.
Kaisar's eyes turned icy.
He stared at the frail boy with pure hatred.
— If...
— You had never entered our lives...
— None of this would've happened...
He slowly clenched his fists.
— I...
— Will hate you...
— For the rest of my life.
The moment those words left his mouth...
he turned around.
Before him...
stood the burning laboratory.
Without a second thought...
he ran straight into the flames.
— KAISAR!!
The frail boy reached out with all his strength.
He tried to grab him.
To stop him.
But...
he was too late.
Kaisar disappeared into the fire.
...
Once again...
the frail boy stood there in silence.
Once again...
he had failed to save someone precious.
Once again...
he blamed himself.
"If only I had been stronger..."
"If only I hadn't been so weak..."
"Everyone would still be alive..."
...
At that very moment...
Footsteps echoed behind him.
The frail boy slowly turned around.
Standing there...
was his personal servant.
The moment the servant learned that Rasul had thrown the frail boy out of the house...
he resigned from his position of his own free will.
Since then...
he had been searching for the boy everywhere.
At last...
he found him.
But...
the sight before him...
left even him speechless.
...
The frail boy's face had become completely expressionless.
There was no emotion left.
Not in his face.
Not in his eyes.
He had completely...
broken.
Now...
the only person he truly hated...
was himself.
He slowly raised his head.
Looking directly at his servant, he spoke in a cold, emotionless voice.
— Master...
— Tell me...
A long silence followed.
— Is it...
— Truly possible...
— To protect the people who are precious to you...?
He slowly lowered his eyes.
— I...
— I don't want to lose anyone...
— Ever again...
The servant quietly looked at him for a long moment.
Then he answered calmly.
— Yes.
— It is possible.
He paused.
— But...
— To do that...
— You need power.
Silence filled the air once more.
The frail boy slowly clenched his fist.
His voice became colder than ever.
— Power...
He slowly closed his eyes.
— Fine...
— Then...
— To obtain that power...
— I'm willing...
— To do anything.