Darkness.
Cold.
I couldn't even tell if I was alive anymore.
My breath came in shallow gasps. My body… numb. I couldn't move. Couldn't scream. Couldn't even cry.
All I could do was wait.
Wait for death.
Wait for the pain to stop.
I didn't even know how long I'd been here. Days? Weeks? Time didn't matter in a place like this.
The chains around my wrists dug into my skin. I'd lost feeling in them days ago—no, maybe longer.
The taste of blood still lingered in my mouth.
And the worst part?
They didn't kill me.
They kept me alive.
To test.
To torture.
To see what happened when a "failure" was pushed beyond human limits.
I was that failure.
"Subject 17," they called me.
Not Kael.
Not a name.
Just a number in a lab no one would ever find.
I tried to laugh. Nothing came out but a dry breath.
Heroes.
They used to call themselves that.
The ones who locked me away… they weren't demons. They weren't monsters.
They were humans.
They were the same people I once admired.
The same ones who said I wasn't worth protecting.
The ones who murdered my sister.
Mira...
I clenched my jaw, hard enough to make it hurt.
I tried to remember her voice.
Her smile.
But even that was fading now.
No… I didn't want to forget her.
Not now.
Not here.
I just wanted… a chance. One more chance.
Just to hold her hand again.
Just to tell her I'm sorry.
Just to say goodbye properly.
My vision blurred. The world was already black, but now it felt like it was closing in.
I didn't want this.
I didn't deserve this.
I wasn't a monster.
I didn't choose to be born with a broken system.
"I don't want to die like this…"
I don't know if I said it aloud or just thought it. It didn't matter.
"I don't want to die… not like this…"
My voice cracked.
I didn't care.
I'd been strong for so long.
But now?
Now I just wanted to live.
"I don't care if I'm weak. I don't care if I'm cursed…"
The tears finally came.
Slow. Hot. Silent.
"I just want a chance… just one more…"
I tried to raise my hand.
It didn't move.
"I don't want to die…"
Please…
Someone…
Anyone…
"Please—!"
And that's when it all went quiet.
My breathing stopped.
My heart slowed.
And the cold… it vanished.
Everything turned white.