Belle stared up at the towering building as she followed Deborah inside. At the very top, a glowing blue emblem shimmered faintly, with neat lettering beneath it:
Rebirth unit 47.
Inside, the space opened wide, filled with gleaming equipment, slender metal rods with blinking tips, holographic screens, assisting robots humming softly, and doctors in white coats weaving quickly about their work.
They entered a reception hall of polished walls with four doors, two on either side. At the center stood a high counter, where a young man sat slouched with a book.
He looked up lazily as they entered. His eyes were sunken, with dark bags beneath them, his eyeballs almost bulging as though sleep had long abandoned him.
The moment he noticed their pale hair, his book slipped lower. His gaze jumped from Deborah to Belle and back, lingering too long, as if trying to pierce through them. Belle shifted, uneasy.
"Captain, your sister is cute. What's her name?" he asked with a smirk.
Deborah's jaw tightened. She turned to Belle briefly, then back to him.
"She's not my sister, Quill. Just give us the card, we're going to see the boys."
Boys? Belle thought.
"Oh, oh, sure." Quill jerked back to his duty, scrambling through a drawer. He pulled out a slim access card and handed it to Deborah, though his stunned eyes never left Belle.
Anyone who saw their matching hair, eyes, and skin would think they were siblings. Deborah had faced this question countless times, even from captains.
Deborah pressed the card against a scanner on the next door. A green light blinked, and the steel door hissed open. They stepped into a dim hallway.
Shadows clung to the floor; only the glow of white lab lights spilled out through tall glass walls. Each of the eight labs stretched deep, with machines whirring inside.
Belle slowed near one window. Inside, four researchers circled two unconscious boys lying on white beds. Tubes ran from their arms to tall rods, machines humming at their sides. Screens flickered with readings.
Her stomach tightened. One was Dave—his blonde hair unmistakable. The other, a black-haired boy with Asian features, lay just as still. Both wore grey patient uniforms, pale and silent.
"What happened to them?" Belle whispered.
"Dave's the blonde. The other is Lang," Deborah explained softly. "Thread Constriction. Lang only has one strand blocked, but Dave… all of his threads are contracted."
Belle frowned. "What does that mean?"
Deborah crossed her arms. "Our tattoos glow when we channel our powers, right? That's because of cosmic threads. They're like veins, carrying cosmic energy through the body. When we fight, those threads rush energy at impossible speeds. But for them—the flow is blocked."
"So they won't be able to use their powers?"
"Not just that. Our very organs are refined by cosmic energy, muscles, reflexes, everything. Without it, they're weakened. Healing takes years."
Belle's eyes widened. "How many?"
"Two… maybe three."
Belle exhaled, staring at Dave's still chest. Three years might as well have been forever. She turned sharply to Deborah. "Then why bring me here?"
Deborah's lips curved faintly. "Because they're Earth Clan, Belle. Like you."
Belle blinked, then shrugged. "Oh."
Deborah's smile faded. "What? Aren't you excited?"
"How should I be? Grownups always pretend boys are special. They're loud and annoying. I can't stand them."
Deborah almost stumbled. This girl… lonely minutes ago, now this?
"I want to see my sister," Belle blurted, arms crossed. "She was taken during the scan."
Deborah froze. "Sister? Dorothy… she's your sister?"
"Yes. My grandfather adopted her. That makes her my sister. Period."
Deborah rubbed her chin. "Adopted… huh. Well, what exactly happened?"
"During the scan, I don't know what color showed, but they took her away."
Deborah thought a moment. "Then she must have rare cosmic energy."
Belle's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"
"In some cases, mutations happen. Unstable cosmic energy, different from the norm. That's probably her case. They'll handle it, but until she's stable, you won't see her."
"Why not?" Belle snapped.
"She's under research. Safe, but not ready. When she is, I'll make sure you meet her."
Belle studied her silently, then walked past toward the exit. "Fine. Where's food? I'm starving."
Deborah pressed her temples. This girl will be the end of me.
Meanwhile, outside, as recruits filed toward their carriers, one slipped away. Eric had been watching. He'd seen the captains vanish into a restricted section and, driven by his own fire, he followed.
Vaulting over netted fences, slipping past guards, landing silently on concrete, he pushed deeper toward the forbidden zone.
But before he could go further, a man intercepted him.
"You're fast," the man said, bent with one hand braced on his knee, chest heaving lightly.
Eric's eyes narrowed.
"You must be Eric, Eren's little brother," the man went on, straightening. "He said you were stubborn. Seems he was right."
Eric studied him closely. The man was thin, late twenties, dressed in black and white robes marked with the sigil of the Umbra Clan.
"Who are you?" Eric demanded.
"My name is Ace, Vice-Captain of Umbra. Nice to meet you." He smiled warmly.
Eric's expression stayed cold. His stance shifted, calculating. "You're in my way. I want to see my brother."
Ace shook his head. "That won't happen. He isn't accepting visitors."
Eric's glare sharpened. "I didn't ask permission."
He lunged forward.
Ace's smile slipped when he saw shadows coil around Eric's arm, solidifying into a black rod.
"What the hell—?"
Eric feinted left, dashed right, body weaving with sharp zig-zag motions that blurred his figure. Ace struck out but missed, Eric had already run up the wall, flipping off it to land smoothly behind him before darting forward.
Ace staggered back, stunned. A cosmic rod… Umbra's secret technique… from a fifteen-year-old?
Eric didn't slow. He burst into a courtyard where four captains stood mid-discussion. Their heads turned instantly. Their eyes flicked between Eric and Eren, the resemblance undeniable.
But Eren's face twisted into disgust.
Eric roared, twin rods flaring in his hands, and leapt at him.
Eren barely moved. His hand flicked, and from his palm shot a jagged, shadowy line that zig-zagged through the air, lashing around Eric mid-flight. His body froze, bound tight.
With a harsh tug, Eren yanked him down and caught his throat in a crushing grip.
Eric choked, legs kicking.
The captains blinked in disbelief.
"That doesn't look good," Lucy muttered.
Eren didn't let go. Eric's body convulsed, his face reddening, breath rattling. Only when three captains grabbed Eren's arm, shaking him violently, did his fingers finally unclamp. Eric fell to the floor, gasping, clutching his neck.
"Eren, what's wrong with you? Isn't he your brother?" Henk demanded.
Eren's cold eyes flicked down at him.
"I hate being bothered." He turned and walked away.
The captains gathered around Eric. Lucy knelt at his side. "Are you alright?"
Eric's eyes still burned with fury. He pushed himself up, jaw clenched. "I'm fine."
He turned sharply and stalked away.
Lucy's gaze lingered, her voice low. "He hasn't forgiven him… not since then."