I wake slowly to the warmth of Liesel resting against me.
For a few quiet moments, I simply watch her sleep.
In this place of gray walls, blood, and endless pain, she somehow still looks peaceful. Soft strands of blonde hair fall across her face, and her breathing is slow and steady against my chest.
Too gentle for a place like this.
Too kind.
What she told me before falling asleep lingers heavily in my mind. Her mother. Her fear. The way this place stole everything from her.
Whatever reason they brought Liesel here for, it has something to do with her mother's ability.
And now she's trapped in this nightmare because of it.
Carefully, I shift and lower her onto the thin mattress so I don't wake her. She stirs slightly but settles again almost immediately.
I sit up slowly.
Every muscle aches.
But something else feels different now.
Heavier.
I flex my fingers and hear the faintest metallic creak from my joints. My movements are slower than before, less natural, as if my body is still adjusting to itself.
The iron.
That man's blood changed me.
Changed my bones.
I stand carefully, testing my balance. Even that feels strange now. My own weight drags at me differently, forcing my muscles to work harder just to move.
So I adapt.
I spend the next hour stretching, moving, forcing my body through simple exercises in the cramped space of the cell. Squats. Pushes against the wall. Controlled movements.
Slowly, the stiffness eases.
Not completely.
But enough.
---
The cell door slams open.
Again.
Hands seize me before I can say a word to Liesel.
I barely catch a glimpse of her waking in alarm before they drag me away.
---
Another room.
Another table.
Leather restraints this time.
Tighter.
---
The experiments begin immediately.
Knives cut into me.
Needles pierce my skin again and again.
They draw vial after vial of blood while Johann watches with cold fascination, occasionally writing notes into one of his journals.
At some point, the pain becomes too much.
The room fades.
And darkness takes me.
---
I wake back in the cell.
The first thing I feel is damp cloth against my skin.
Liesel is kneeling beside me, carefully cleaning dried blood from my chest and arms.
"Hey," I whisper weakly.
She looks up instantly, relief washing over her face.
"You're awake."
Her voice is soft, but I can hear the anger beneath it.
"They were worse this time," she says quietly. "The things they did to you…"
She trails off, unable to finish.
I let out a bitter laugh.
"Yes," I mutter. "I noticed."
I glance down at myself.
Bandages wrap parts of my torso and arms, stained faintly red. Bruises darken my skin. Fresh stitches pull painfully whenever I move.
The sight turns my stomach.
"Thank you," I say quietly. "For cleaning me up."
A faint blush touches her cheeks.
"It's nothing," she says. "You've been kind to me since the moment we met."
Her hands tighten slightly around the cloth.
"You make me feel safe," she admits softly. "Even here."
Something in my chest aches at those words.
Before I can stop myself, I lean forward and bury my face against her lap, wrapping my arms tightly around her waist.
She stiffens in surprise.
"M-Matthias?"
"I'm scared," I admit.
The words come out broken.
"I'm terrified."
I grip her tighter.
"They keep cutting me apart like I'm not even human. And I don't know when it'll stop." My voice trembles despite myself. "I don't know how much more I can endure."
For a moment, she says nothing.
Then her hand gently brushes across my forehead.
Slow. Careful.
Comforting.
"We should escape," she whispers.
I look up at her.
Her expression is nervous—but determined.
"It's dangerous," she continues, "but I think we can do it."
I almost laugh at how impossible it sounds.
But she keeps talking.
"You're changing every time they make you drink from someone unique like you," she says. "Maybe the next ability you gain could help us escape."
I stare at her for a moment before chuckling softly.
"Unique," I repeat. "That's what you're calling us now?"
A small smile appears on her face.
"Yes," she says quietly. "Unique."
She fidgets nervously with her fingers before continuing.
"You have something special, Matthias. Something beyond ordinary people." Her eyes meet mine. "And you're different even from the others."
I frown slightly. "Different how?"
"You can take abilities from other unique people," she says. "That makes you…special."
I don't know how to answer that.
No one has ever spoken about me like that before.
Not with admiration.
Not with hope.
For a moment, I'm reminded painfully of my mother—of the way she used to smile at me, the way she always found something kind to say no matter how bad things became.
The memory hurts.
God, I miss her.
---
The days blur together after that.
Pain.
Blood.
Experiments.
Rest.
Then pain again.
---
One day they force me to drain someone completely.
It takes hours.
By the end, I can barely think straight. My head spins, my body burning with stolen strength while the corpse beside me looks shriveled and hollow.
The sensation is horrifying.
And intoxicating.
---
After that, the routine only worsens.
They push my body further each day, testing limits I didn't know existed.
The aches never fully leave now. My muscles constantly burn beneath the unnatural weight of my altered skeleton. Sleep comes rarely, and when it does, nightmares wait for me.
Liesel is the only thing keeping me together.
At night, she holds me when the dreams become too much.
And slowly, without either of us meaning for it to happen, we become inseparable.
She's all I have left in this place.
Without her…
I don't know what I would become.
---
The door opens again.
Johann steps inside.
One look at his expression makes my stomach sink.
He looks excited.
Interested.
Which is somehow worse.
"We've acquired someone new for you," he says.
I immediately tense.
"Their ability is…particularly fascinating." A thin smile spreads across his face. "And potentially very useful."
My blood runs cold.
"After this," he continues casually, "security around you will increase significantly."
His eyes linger on me.
"We can't risk you escaping," he says softly, "when there's still so much left to learn by cutting you open."
He snaps his fingers.
The guards move immediately.
Hands grab me once more.
And once again—
I'm dragged away.