A few minutes before the explosion.(wait there was an explosion in the last ch right? Idont remember)
The laboratory was silent, save for the rhythmic ticking of the clock mounted above the observation deck. The scientist's son, Varlen, adjusted the valves of the machine as the jar containing Milly's head bubbled faintly with preservative fluid.
"Father said to transfer you here…" he muttered, half to himself, half to the quiet room. He reached for a switch. The chamber lights dimmed, and an eerie hum began to build from deep within the structure.
A faint pulse of light rippled through the wires then another and another.
Then… a spark.
The electricity surged through the body laid out on the table. Its black-and-red scales shimmered faintly. For a moment, there was no movement until a finger twitched. Then another. Her chest rose slowly, shallowly, as if drawing breath for the first time in centuries.
Varlen's eyes widened. "It's alive"
A sudden force burst through the air. The glass jar shattered in an explosion of red light, and Milly's head was no longer there. The pieces of glass hovered midair for a moment before dropping lifelessly to the ground.
The boy stumbled back, eyes wide, as the room filled with a low, rumbling growl.
It came from her.
Her head reattached itself to her body in one smooth, unnatural motion, guided by invisible tendrils of forgotten energy. Then, silence.
Her golden eyes opened.
But they weren't hers.
"Finally…" a low voice escaped her lips, distorted and echoing, "…free again."
The air thickened instantly, suffocating, trembling under the pressure of her aura. Red energy spiraled from her body, searing lines into the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Every machine shorted out one by one, lights bursting as crimson tendrils licked the walls like fire.
The assistants screamed, scrambling to escape, but their shadows stretched unnaturally long then vanished, leaving nothing behind.
Varlen turned, trying to reach the door, but a whisper echoed right behind him.
"So curious... so bold..."
He froze. A dark hand her hand rested on his shoulder.
There was a flash of red, and his scream was abruptly cut short.
Milly's alter ego pure darkness turned toward the mirrored wall separating the observation deck from the main chamber. She tilted her head slowly, watching the reflection of herself.
The body of a girl, draped in faint crimson light, with eyes like molten coal and veins glowing black.
She smiled. A smile that wasn't human.
"I was gone for so long…" she whispered, voice trembling between joy and venom. "And all it took was one careless fool to bring me back."
The room shuddered as her aura intensified. Glass liquefied, metal warped. The hum of machinery turned into a deep, guttural roar as the lights flickered violently then went out entirely.
When the silence finally returned, it was absolute.
Smoke filled the air, curling around the destruction like dark mist. And through it, a figure emerged Milly, standing still, her hair singed at the ends, her breathing ragged.
Her golden eyes blinked slowly, confused.
Her fingers trembled. She looked down her hands were drenched in red. The floor beneath her was unrecognizable, a warped mess of heat and shadow.
Her throat tightened.
"N-no…"
The memories of the last few minutes were gone only flashes of crimson and the echo of her own scream remained.
She stumbled forward, tripping over debris, her vision blurring. Her voice trembled as she whispered to herself,
"W… what have I done?"
A faint echo answered her from deep inside her mind soft, mocking, familiar.
You didn't do anything, Milly.
I did.
Her knees gave out. The light of dawn crept faintly through the cracked windows as the ruins of the lab smoldered quietly behind her.
She could only sit there, trembling, staring at the blood on her hands too afraid to move, too afraid to remember.