In a pitch-black, four-walled chamber lined with dense alloy sheets forged from refined vantacite, a rare mineral known for its ruthless suppression of psychic energy, a young man knelt, shackled at the wrists and neck.
His breath was faint, barely disturbing the stagnant air. Around his throat, a high-grade psychic suppressant collar blinked with a dull green glow, the only source of illumination in the oppressive gloom.
His long, unkempt hair hung like a curtain, partially veiling his gaunt face. A narrow sliding panel creaked open beneath the reinforced door.
A gruff voice sneered, "Here, little beast."
A wet spitting sound followed.
"Eat it, or the boss will come skin you alive," the voice added with venomous amusement.
A dented metal plate was shoved through the slot, its contents, lukewarm protein sludge, spilling onto the cold floor.
Another voice, quieter but tense, said, "Why do you keep messing with him? Aren't you afraid he will break out one day?"
The man who had delivered the food laughed, a dry, cruel sound. "None of these animals are leaving this place... unless it's to the incinerator."
"You're right," the second muttered, "but stop provoking him. Have you seen his eyes? That stare gives me goosebumps."
"That's what pisses me off," the first snapped. "He should be begging me for favors. Maybe I would toss him extra scraps."
"You should be careful," the second man warned. "If the boss finds out you're tampering with his lab rats, you will lose more than your job."
The man laughed again, vulgar and unrepentant. "Relax. It's not like I am going all the way. I just use their mouths and their asses. I am not getting them pregnant."
The door slammed shut, sealing the vile exchange.
Inside, the young man who remained kneeling clenched his fists. Veins bulged, his body trembling with suppressed fury. The collar around his neck blinked faster, the glow shifting from green to orange.
His body trembled, not from pain, but rage. If his psychic power weren't suppressed, the walls would have collapsed under the pressure of his fury.
He reached beneath the thin mattress, pulling free one of the bed's legs. He had been sharpening it for weeks against the floor, slowly and methodically. Now, it gleamed faintly in the dark. Sharp enough to cause grievous harm. He was simply waiting for the perfect moment.
The young man in chains, his body bruised and breath shallow, was Yu Xi.
Born and raised within the suffocating confines of vantacite-lined walls, he had never known sunlight, never heard laughter beyond the screams of the lab. His name, chosen by his mother, was a quiet rebellion, a whisper of beauty in a place that knew none. Yu Xi, she had said, because when he was born, he reminded her of jade pure, serene, and unyielding.
Even as a newborn, he hadn't cried. Not once. It was as if he understood, from the first breath, that he had been born into hell and accepted it.
For years, Yu Xi endured torturous experiments. His meals were barely edible, slop that no creature should consume. If his mother disobeyed, he was beaten. If she resisted, he suffered. But he never complained. Because she was there. Her presence softened the edges of agony, made the nightmare survivable.
Then came Xiaobao.
Unlike the other children born in the prison, Xiaobao was his mother's second son. His true brother. When Yu Xi first held him, tiny and warm, he felt something ignite inside him.
He would protect this little treasure with his life.
Kneeling before his mother's frail, ashen form, Yu Xi gently poked Xiaobao's round cheeks, eliciting a soft coo. His mother, her strength fading, reached out and caressed his face.
"My precious jade," she whispered, voice barely audible. "Take care of your little brother for me, okay?"
He nodded, unaware that in gaining one treasure, he was about to lose another.
Little Yu Xi nodded solemnly, his small hand clutching his mother's. He would do anything for her. Anything to see her smile, even in this place of shadows and steel. Her warmth was the only light he knew.
But that night, the dungeon door groaned open.
A guard stormed in and seized his mother by the hair, dragging her across the cold floor. Her cries were muffled, but Xiaobao's weren't. The infant, usually quiet, broke into a gut-wrenching wail that echoed through the vantacite walls.
Yu Xi lunged forward, fists flying and screaming, "Leave my mother alone!" He struck the guard with everything he had, but he was too small and too weak.
Then he arrived.
The man Yu Xi only saw in the lab while injecting him with burning serums and watching him like a specimen. His name was Gander, his father.
He stepped into the room, his presence suffocating. His aura surged, dark and oppressive. His eyes gleamed with emerald fire, his expression carved from cruelty.
Yu Xi glared, fists clenched, refusing to retreat.
Gander waved the guard off and crouched, face inches from Yu Xi's. "Are you going to fight me, Xi Xi? I am your father."
Yu Xi's voice cracked, tears streaming. "Let her go. I'll do whatever you want."
Gander smiled, slow and wicked. "But I have no use for her anymore." He yanked her head back, about to drag her out.
At just seven years old, little Yu Xi knelt on the frigid, cold floor, his slender frame trembling with helpless desperation. His wide, tear-filled eyes pleaded as he begged, "Please… leave my mother alone."
Gander tilted his head, a cruel smirk curling across his sharp, angular face. "Choose one," he said, voice dripping with venom. "Your little brother or your mother. That noisy brat's been crying all day. Doesn't the crying annoy you?"
Yu Xi's fragile body quivered. He turned toward Xiaobao, whose tiny chest convulsed with heart-wrenching sobs and raspy coughs. The sound was unbearable, raw, broken, and innocent.
"Xi Xi," his mother whispered, her voice barely a breath. "Look at mummy, okay?"
Yu Xi turned, and their eyes met.
Her gaze, soft, sorrowful, and resolute, spoke volumes. "Remember your promise," she said. Her pale, tear-streaked lips mouthed the words, "I love you. Mummy loves you."
Gander's voice thundered again. "Choose!"
Yu Xi's lips trembled violently. He didn't want to choose. Why did he have to?
"I will pick your little brother then," Gander growled, rising to his feet.