Still in the lab, after finally understanding each other's motives, Xavier resisted the urge to reveal Ace's true condition. His silence sent a subtle message to the group: Nyah couldn't be trusted completely—at least not yet.
"So far, how long have you been here and how long have you been here?" Sam asked Nyah with a slight smirk, as he and Wei examined their masks. They were adapting them based on Nyah's superior design—hers was far more efficient.
"It hasn't been long, just about two weeks," she replied casually. "And so far, the only major thing I've discovered is related to another experiment. It's similar to ours, but... stranger. More complex."
Sam and Xavier exchanged a look filled with unease.
"What exactly did you discover?" Ace asked firmly.
"There's talk of an experiment that was supposedly never actually carried out. The idea was to merge humans with Eidolons—mentally. Not physically. They found a method to combine the intellect of an Eidolon with the human mind. It sounds like sorcery to me, but if it's real... we're in deep trouble. One of the cons mentioned is that if the human isn't strong-willed enough, they lose complete control of their body."
Her tone turned grave, and for a moment the room froze in silence. Even the sound of Wei tinkering with her mask stopped.
"Wait... if there are cons, there must be pros," Sam said, unusually tense.
"Yeah. The buffs are wild. They progress faster than both humans and regular Eidolons. Faster reflexes, stronger instincts, better senses—they grow more dangerous the more they fight and kill. Doesn't matter what they kill. Just that they must kill."
She paused and continued.
"There was something else I barely understood. It talked about controlling a kind of energy everything has. It's like potential energy, but enhanced. The theory is that they can manipulate properties like mass, weight, velocity... maybe even time perception. Both in living and non-living things."
"Okay, I think I get the picture," Xavier muttered, feigning disinterest. "Anything about us?"
"Nothing yet. But that experiment... if it was real, someone might be out there now. And we wouldn't be able to stop them."
"This might be a greater threat than we think," Nyah concluded, and the lab grew cold with silent dread.
---
Back in Geneva, President Lin and the elite squad had been on the move for days, tracking the masked and the escaped. As usual, they followed their routine: scout by day, regroup at night in their high-tech mobile base.
Steve, the bulky, bald, ever-loyal squad leader, approached the President. "President Lin, your meal is ready, sir. Would you like it now?"
"Yes," Lin muttered without looking. "I want to sleep early tonight."
Steve brought the meal within a minute. Once Lin finished, Steve left him to rest. Four hours later, only two were on watch: Steve and Wendy.
From the woods came a rustle.
"Hey, Wendy... did you hear that?" Steve asked.
"Probably just animals. Don't overthink it," Wendy replied.
"That didn't sound like animals," Steve muttered as a deer sprinted out of the forest, terror in its eyes.
"See? Just a deer. But what the hell is chasing it?" Wendy asked.
A loud bang thundered through the trees. Trees snapped and fell. More animals fled in panic.
"Wake everyone! Get the President out now!" Steve shouted as he ran.
"Right behind you! Get the engine running!"
"No!" Steve stopped. "We can't run. This might be our first real lead."
"Then I'm grabbing the Eidolon blasters. If it's a threat, we end it."
Out of the collapsing woods emerged not a creature, but a man—an Escaped. Wild, chaotic energy flowed around him. His movements were inhuman.
Steve and Wendy aimed their blasters. The rest of the squad came running. President Lin emerged, groggy but alert.
"Wait!" Lin ordered. "Try to talk first!"
Steve stepped forward. "We don't want a fight. Talk to us. We can help."
The Escaped tilted his head, expression unreadable behind the blood-drenched mask of blood from it previous rampage. Then, in a flash, he charged.
Blasts were fired. Some hit. The Escaped staggered, but didn't fall. Instead, he got faster. Stronger.
"He's adapting!" Wendy yelled.
They didn't realize—Escapeds gain temporary strength mid-battle. Every second he lasted, his power multiplied.
He tore through them.
Steve tried to grapple him, but was slammed into the van, bones shattering.
Two squad members tried to flank him. The Escaped crushed one's skull with his elbow and impaled the other with a shard of metal.
President Lin tried to use his wrist blaster but got intercepted. The Escaped grabbed his hand, crushed it, then slammed him into the ground repeatedly until he stopped moving. Blood pooled.
Wendy, retreating into the van, activated the comms.
"Base, this is Wendy! We've encountered an Escaped—level unknown. President Lin is down! I repeat, President Li—"
The door behind him was ripped off. The Escaped was already there.
Wendy spun to shoot, but too slow. The Escaped stabbed him in the gut with a blade pulled from the wreckage, then slammed his head into the console.
The message never finished.
Blood ran down the comms panel as static took over the screen.
Darkness settled again over the woods. And one Escaped, stronger than before, walked silently back into the night.