KASLANA
"You knew what would happen, yet you let Nicole die?" I spat my words at Cain as soon as I entered his office, threw my sniper rifle at the couch, and stood beside it with crossed arms.
"It's not like you care about her; you two haven't even talked once in your life." Cain glared up at me while still holding a piece of paper.
"So, I see then, you don't value the lives of these people in your stupid organization." Cain finally stood up from his chair, but with a knowing smirk that made me more annoyed than ever.
"I can see you want to know my goal; you better stick around, Kaslana." Cain walked past me.
His footsteps echoed quietly as he approached his office door. He reached for the handle and opened it, the dim light from inside spilling into the corridor.
I expected him to continue outside.
But he stopped.
For a moment, he remained there with one hand still resting on the door handle.
"Nicole was an object to use; do not make me regret pulling you into this organization, Kaslana. You have a potential that Nicole failed to show."
Cain's words left me speechless.
For a moment, I couldn't even respond.
I stood there, staring at the closed door after he had already left the office. The silence that followed felt heavier than before, as if his words were still lingering in the air.
I slowly looked away.
My eyes fell on the weapon resting nearby.
The sniper rifle.
I walked toward it and picked it up carefully, feeling the familiar weight settle into my hands. The cold metal reflected the faint light of the room as I ran my fingers along its surface.
Usually, it was just a tool.
Something meant to accomplish a mission.
But now...
It felt different.
I stared at it quietly, lost in thought.
Cain's words replayed over and over in my mind.
The choices I had made.
My grip tightened slightly around the rifle.
For the first time, I wondered if I was truly prepared for what came next.
THIRD PERSON'S VIEW
The conference room remained sealed.
No cameras or records were accessible to the outside world.
Only a handful of people inside the organization knew what was truly happening beyond the walls of their facility.
Cain stood at the end of the long table as the higher-ups reviewed the latest reports. The atmosphere was serious, but there was a rare sense of approval among the officials.
"You performed exceptionally well."
The man seated at the center of the table looked through the documents in front of him.
"The Louisiana Forest incident has been officially contained."
A holographic display appeared above the table, showing the once-dangerous region now marked as secured.
"The number of Hokai beast sightings in that area had reached an unacceptable level. Multiple teams were sent in before, but none were able to complete the mission."
He looked at Cain.
"Until you."
Another official nodded.
"Your operation eliminated the threat without civilian casualties. The public remains unaware of the incident, and the cover story has been maintained."
Cain remained quiet, his expression unreadable.
The praise did not affect him.
To him, it was simply another mission completed.
"Your efficiency continues to exceed expectations," the first official continued. "You have once again proven why you are our most reliable asset, the successful firstborn of the cores."
For several minutes, the room focused only on the success.
Then...
The atmosphere changed.
The holographic display flickered.
The Louisiana Forest map disappeared, and a new one appeared.
This time, multiple red indicators covered the country's landscape.
Cain's eyes immediately sharpened.
"There is another matter."
The official's voice became heavier.
"Since the Louisiana operation, we have detected a significant increase in Hokai activity."
Cain stared at the map.
"How many?"
"More than we initially predicted."
Several files opened, revealing reports from different regions.
"At first, we believed the forest was an isolated outbreak. We now know that assumption was incorrect."
The official pointed at the marked locations.
"These sightings have appeared across the country."
Cain's expression remained calm, but his attention became completely focused.
"The public?"
"Still unaware."
A second official spoke.
"We have contained every incident before it reached civilian attention. The information remains classified."
Cain nodded slightly.
Then another location appeared.
A country bordering their own.
Noxious.
His eyes narrowed.
"And this?"
The room became silent.
"We received confirmation yesterday."
The official paused.
"Hokai beast activity has been detected in Noxious."
Cain looked at the screen.
A neighboring country.
The threat was no longer contained.
"It is expanding," he said.
No one answered.
Because they all knew.
The evidence was already there.
The Louisiana Forest was not the beginning of the problem.
It was only the first sign.
One of the higher-ups folded his hands.
"If these incidents continue spreading, our current forces will not be enough."
Cain's jaw tightened slightly.
The thought frustrated him.
Not because of the mission.
Not because of the danger.
He had fought countless battles.
But this was different.
An enemy that grew silently.
An enemy the world couldn't prepare for.
After a moment, Cain finally spoke.
"I'll handle it."
The officials looked at him.
"We are relying on you."
Cain stood still for a moment before turning away.
"I'll do everything I can."
His voice remained calm.
The world outside continued as normal.
People walked the streets.
Businesses opened.
Families lived their lives.
None of them knew what was hiding beyond their cities.
None of them knew that something was spreading.
And Cain was one of the few people standing between them and what was coming.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Genevieve floated endlessly within the emptiness of the Lumiana Universe, suspended in a place where even the concept of movement felt meaningless.
The stars were far away.
The planets were silent.
And yet, she could see everything.
Her body remained motionless, restrained by countless crimson chains that wrapped around her arms, legs, and torso. Each chain glowed faintly, its surface shifting with strange patterns as tiny worlds continued to revolve inside every link.
Entire realities trapped within her prison.
She had stopped struggling a long time ago.
Not because she surrendered.
Because every attempt only made the chains tighten.
The core had learned.
It knew every movement she would make before she made it.
Every thought.
Every emotion.
Every desperate attempt to regain control.
It was always one step ahead.
You are safe.
The voice echoed inside her mind.
Almost comforting.
But Genevieve hated it.
Because she knew what it had done.
Because she knew what it had taken from her.
Her eyes slowly opened.
The universe reflected across her body, galaxies moving beneath her skin.
But her expression remained empty.
Nicole.
The memory came back again.
The moment she reached out.
The moment she tried to help.
The moment the core recognized her presence.
And then...
Gone.
Genevieve's fingers twitched slightly against the chains.
"No..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
A memory shouldn't have hurt this much.
But Nicole wasn't just a memory.
She was her friend.
Someone who laughed with her.
Someone who stood beside her when everyone else saw her as a weapon.
Someone who came looking for her.
And the core took her away.
"I didn't..."
Her voice trembled.
"I didn't even get to say goodbye. Why...why would you do this to me..."
The chains remained silent.
The universe remained silent.
Only the core answered.
She was a threat.
Genevieve's eyes narrowed.
"No."
She attempted to interfere.
"She was trying to save me!"
The chains shone brighter as they held her tighter.
She would have caused more suffering.
"You don't know that."
The darkness around her shifted.
I protected you.
Genevieve closed her eyes.
Protected.
That word.
The core used it constantly.
But it didn't understand.
It didn't understand people.
It didn't understand friendship.
It didn't understand that losing someone could hurt more than any physical wound.
"Nicole..."
Her voice cracked.
Then suddenly...
A memory surfaced.
Not from the core.
From herself.
Nicole standing in front of her.
Her expression serious.
Her voice low.
"Cain."
Genevieve opened her eyes.
Cain.
The name echoed through her mind.
Why did Nicole say that?
What was she trying to tell her?
The memory was incomplete.
Broken.
Like a piece of a puzzle buried beneath layers of static.
"Cain..."
She repeated the name quietly.
The core reacted.
The chains trembled.
For the first time in what felt like forever, something changed.
Do not search.
Genevieve froze.
The core had noticed.
It always noticed.
"Why?"
Silence.
Then—
Because there is nothing you need outside of me.
Her expression hardened.
There it was.
The same belief.
The same control.
The core didn't want her to remember.
It didn't want her to think.
It didn't want her to find anything that could pull her away.
"You killed her."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
The darkness shifted.
I removed an obstacle.
Genevieve's breathing stopped.
Her anger burned brighter than her fear.
"She wasn't an obstacle."
The chains tightened more and more.
Pain spread through her body.
But she didn't back down and instead argued with the core inside of her.
"She was my friend."
Friends create weakness.
"No."
Her voice grew stronger.
"They create reasons to keep fighting."
The core remained silent.
For a moment, Genevieve wondered if it was confused.
Not angry.
Not offended.
Just confused.
Because the thing inside her couldn't understand why she continued fighting for people who were gone.
It couldn't understand why memories mattered.
Why names mattered.
Why a single word from Nicole could still reach her across an endless universe.
Cain.
She held onto it.
Like a thread.
A connection.
A clue.
The core continued pushing against her mind.
Trying to drown her thoughts.
Trying to convince her that resistance was pointless.
Accept me.
Stop suffering.
You will never lose anything again.
Genevieve stared into the endless void around her.
She wanted to believe it.
A part of her desperately wanted to stop hurting.
But then she remembered Nicole.
Her smile.
Her voice.
Her final warning.
And Genevieve knew.
If she gave in...
Nicole's sacrifice would mean nothing.
"No."
The chains trembled.
"I won't forget her."
The core pushed harder.
The universe shook.
"You can trap me here."
The crimson restraints tightened.
"You can control my body."
Her eyes glowed faintly as she forced herself to stay awake.
"But you don't get to control who I am."
The darkness swallowed her voice.
The chains remained.
The void remained.
The core remained.
But somewhere deep inside the prison...
A small part of Genevieve was still alive.
Still fighting.
Still holding onto one name.
Cain.