"Who is your master?"
Hana's voice cracked like a whip, sharp and commanding. The radioactive whirlwind tightened around Haazi's body, lifting him higher, squeezing the air from his lungs.
He stayed silent.
She felt her patience draining. "Ugh," she groaned under her breath, frustration simmering. "I said,"
She clenched her fist.
The radioactive cyclone constricted.
Haazi gasped, the sound raw and involuntary.
"Who. Is. Your. Master?" she repeated, each word vibrating with power.
He coughed, choking on the pressure. Hana loosened her grip just enough for him to breathe.
"I-I already told you…" he rasped. "The Director…"
Hana turned her head away, jaw tight.
But that doesn't make any sense…
After everything Haazi had said about the Director, their past, the change, and the regret, why would he be part of something like this? Why would he allow experiments, imprisonment, manipulation?
Was it just because they were evil?
No.
No, it had to be something else.
Something deeper.
Something… hidden.
She sighed, tilting her head back, staring at the ceiling as if it held answers. She didn't know if she could trust Haazi. He had helped her awaken her power, intentionally or not. He had spoken to her like she was human. He hesitated. He had flinched. He had feared.
But he had also lied.
Or obeyed.
Or both.
Hana lowered her gaze, eyes narrowing. She extended her hand, and a thin, precise spark of radioactivity branched from her fingertips, threading through the air like a glowing nerve.
It touched Haazi's temple.
She only had the intention to render him unconscious, without any pain or violence.
But the moment the spark entered his mind…
Something went wrong.
The spark twisted. Warped. Corrupted.
It recoiled back into her, slamming into her skull like a spike of ice.
What…?
Pressure crushed her thoughts. A cold, invasive and suffocating presence pressed against her consciousness. It wasn't Haazi. It wasn't her.
It was something else.
Something, or someone, trying to take control.
Trying to possess her.
Her breath hitched. Her vision blurred. Her heartbeat stuttered.
She felt her sanity slipping.
Her rage ignited.
No…
She trembled.
No… NO!!! I HATE THIS! I HATE WHEN THIS HAPPENS TO ME-
Her mind's bloody scream tore through the room with her radioactive flare, silent but seismic.
Her radioactivity surged outward in a violent burst, snapping the connection like a brittle wire.
There was an echo that wasn't sound but sensation…
Haazi screamed.
He felt it.
He felt the severing.
He felt the backlash.
Hana's power flared, engulfing her in a blinding aura.
The tube that once held the holographic heart began to melt, its structure warping under the heat. The flickering lights sputtered, dimmed, and died.
The room trembled.
Then…
Silence.
Hana stood frozen, suspended in the air by her own power, her hair floating weightlessly around her. The radioactive glow dimmed slowly, pulsing like a dying star.
Her eyes widened.
Her breath caught.
She realized.
…What have I done?