Nana woke with a gun in her hand.
Again.
The sound had been distant—a car backfiring three blocks away—but her enhanced hearing had picked it up and her combat instincts had activated before consciousness fully returned.
She was crouched beside the bed, weapon raised, aether core glowing faint blue, ready to fight.
The apartment was quiet. Safe. Morning light filtered through the curtains.
No creatures. No soldiers. No threat.
Just her, alone in Zayne's apartment, responding to phantom dangers that didn't exist anymore.
Nana lowered the gun with shaking hands and sat on the floor.
*I'm safe. I'm in Bloomshore. The war is over. I'm safe.*
But her body didn't believe it. Still thought she was in Linkon, fighting for survival. Still expected hybrids to crash through the windows or demons to break down the door.
Still thought she was Specimen 21 in a death realm instead of Nana in a normal apartment.
She pressed her forehead to her knees and breathed slowly, counting to ten, using the techniques Zayne's mother had taught her for managing combat shock.
*In. Out. In. Out. You're safe.*
This happened every night. Every loud sound—thunder, car horns, doors slamming—triggered the same response. Waking up ready to fight. Heart racing. Aether core activated.
Normal life felt impossible when her body was still in survival mode.
Zayne had moved back to work three days ago. Returning to his career as a cardiologist in Bloomshore General Hospital—the same role he'd had in Linkon, the same precision surgery, the same saving lives.
But different. Because everyone *knew* now. Knew he was Version 06. Knew he'd been enhanced against his will. Knew he had ice evol that could kill as easily as heal.
Some patients were afraid of him. Some refused treatment. Some stared at his hands like they expected frost to appear.
But Zayne kept working. Kept saving lives. Kept being the doctor he'd always been, enhanced or not.
Nana was proud of him.
And terrified she'd never be able to do the same.
*What career do weapons have after the war ends?*
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The trial of the Linkon government officials had been the most publicized legal proceeding in history.
Every news outlet covered it. Every country watched. Hundreds of survivors packed the courthouse, demanding justice for what had been done to them.
The defendants sat in the dock—five high-ranking officials who'd overseen the specimen program. They'd been captured trying to flee to another island, attempting to escape accountability for the thousands of deaths they'd caused.
They'd spent two weeks denying everything.
"The creatures were natural phenomena. Wanderers that appeared through random portals."
"Linkon City was destroyed to prevent spread of contamination."
"We had no knowledge of human experimentation."
"The facility was a rogue operation. We never authorized—"
Lies. All lies. And everyone knew it.
But proving it required witnesses.
Required Specimen 21 and Version 06 to stand before the world and tell the truth.
Today was that day.
The courtroom went silent when Nana and Zayne entered.
Nana wore her Hunter Association uniform—or what remained of it. Black combat gear, weapons strapped to her thighs, scars visible on every exposed surface. Visual proof of what she'd survived.
She'd debated covering the scars. Making herself look more normal. But Zayne's mother had stopped her.
"Don't hide what they did to you. Make them see. Make them LOOK at the evidence of their crimes."
So Nana wore the scars proudly. Let the cameras capture every mark, every modification, every piece of proof that she'd been turned into a weapon.
Zayne stood beside her in his doctor's coat—professional, calm, but with his hands slightly frosted. A reminder that he wasn't fully human anymore either. That the facility had taken an innocent surgeon and turned him into Version 06.
The judge gestured them forward. "Dr. Zayne Li and Ms. Nana Wang. Please take the stand."
They sat together at the witness table, facing the packed courtroom. Facing cameras that would broadcast their testimony to the entire world.
Facing the government officials who'd ordered their deaths.
The prosecutor stood. "Dr. Li, Ms. Wang—thank you for your courage in coming forward. I know this is difficult. But the world needs to hear your story. The truth about what happened in Linkon City."
He pulled up a holographic display. "Let's start with Avalon. Can you explain to the court what Avalon is?"
Nana took a deep breath and began.
"Avalon is a manufactured death realm. Created by the government eleven years ago as a testing ground for enhanced human specimens. It exists in a separate dimensional space with severe time dilation—three years inside equals three hours in the real world."
Gasps rippled through the courtroom.
"The government built 'curiosity traps'—ice portals that looked supernatural but were engineered to lure specific targets. People who fell through would wake up in Avalon with no memory of how they got there."
She pulled up footage from the facility's monitoring room—thousands of screens showing Avalon's districts in real-time surveillance.
"Avalon has a death-rebirth cycle. When you die there, you come back with a Roman numeral added to your chest. Each death erases more memories. The creatures—vampires, hybrids, demons, giants—were all produced in the facility and released through portals."
More gasps. Some people in the audience were crying.
"The objective wasn't to kill people. It was to collect data. To see how enhanced humans would adapt to extreme survival conditions. To test combat capabilities, psychological resilience, enhanced healing under duress."
The prosecutor held up a document. "And the facility had a 'Wish Bridge' that allowed escape?"
"Yes." Nana's voice cracked slightly. "But it was designed to be nearly impossible to reach. Most people died dozens of times before finding it. And even then, crossing during a blood moon while vampire swarms attacked..." She shook her head. "Only two people successfully escaped before the outbreak. Dr. Li was the first, 3 years ago."
All eyes turned to Zayne.
He spoke quietly, calmly, like he was delivering a medical diagnosis. "I fell into Avalon 3 years ago. I was twenty-four, just finished my residency, working at Linkon General Hospital. I'd lost a patient on the operating table—a child—and I needed to clear my head."
His hands clenched. "There was an ice cave outside the city. I went there to think. The ice was unstable. I slipped and fell through a portal."
He pulled up footage—the facility's records showing a young Zayne escaping the Wish Bridge, collapsing on the real-world side.
"I woke up in a hospital with no memory of Avalon. The facility had reset almost all of my memories immediately—couldn't have witnesses talking about their death realm testing ground. They sent me back to my normal life like nothing happened.But I still remember there was ice cave in linkon forest "
"But fours years later," the prosecutor said, "Ms. Wang fell into the same portal?"
Nana nodded. "I was twenty-one. S-class Hunter for the Hunter Association. On solo patrol near the ice caves. I saw Dr. Li there—recognized him from the hospital where he worked. He was trying to seal the cave with his ice evol."
She showed footage from her Hunter Association records—mission logs, patrol routes, the exact date and time.
"I approached to help. The ice collapsed. We both fell."
Her voice dropped. "But we arrived in different locations. The facility separated us intentionally. Wanted to see how we'd adapt individually before allowing contact."
Zayne continued the story. "I don't remember my first timeline in Avalon. But according to Nana and the facility records, I died during a blood moon vampire attack. Sacrificed myself so she could escape to the Wish Bridge."
He looked at Nana with devastating tenderness. "She made it back to the real world alone. Woke up in the hospital. Only three hours had passed for her, but she'd lived in Avalon for years."
"And no one believed her," the prosecutor said.
"No one," Nana confirmed, tears starting to fall. "I tried to tell people about Avalon. About Dr. Li being trapped there. But everyone thought I was having a mental breakdown. Suggested therapy. Medication. *Psychiatric evaluation.*"
She pulled up her medical records—psych evals, crisis intervention notes, concerned reports from colleagues.
"What I didn't know..." Her voice broke completely. "What I couldn't know... was that my parents and Captain Jenna were facility scientists. They *knew* Avalon was real. Knew I'd been there. Knew Dr. Li was trapped."
The courtroom erupted in shocked murmurs.
"They played along," Nana sobbed. "Made me think I was crazy. Made me doubt my own memories. All while monitoring me through surveillance cameras, collecting data on how a specimen would process post-traumatic stress."
Zayne took her hand, squeezing gently.
"Two weeks later," Nana continued, "the portal reopened. I jumped back in. Voluntarily. To save Dr. Li."
She showed footage from the facility monitoring room—Nana diving through the ice portal, disappearing into Avalon.
"I found him with no memories. He'd died and been reborn. I had to make him fall in love with me from scratch. Had to rebuild trust, rebuild partnership, rebuild *everything* while fighting for survival."
"How many times did Dr. Li die in Avalon?" the prosecutor asked gently.
"Six times," Zayne answered. "Version 01 through Version 06. Each death added another Roman numeral to my chest. Each rebirth erased my memories."
He pulled up the facility's specimen records—clinical logs documenting each of his deaths, each resurrection, each memory reset.
"Version 01: Vampire bite, first timeline."
"Version 02: Fire spirit, before Nana returned."
"Version 03: Gang violence, random rebirth."
"Version 04: Hybrid attack."
"Version 05: Drowning rescue, then vampire bite in underground tunnel"
"Version 06: Was here with me"
The courtroom was dead silent. Some people were openly weeping.
"And each time," Nana said, voice raw, "I found him. Rebuilt our relationship. Made him fall in love with me again. Because I couldn't leave him there. Couldn't let him die alone."
She showed footage—surveillance of her and Zayne in Avalon, fighting creatures, building shelter, falling in love over and over in different timelines.
"Finally, after nine months inside—which was only hours in the real world—we both escaped through the Wish Bridge. Together."
"But Dr. Li's memories were reset again," the prosecutor said.
"Yes." Zayne's jaw clenched. "I woke up in the forest with no memory of Avalon. My body was pristine—no scars, no calluses, no evidence of survival. Just... reset. Like the facility's memory modification erased even the physical trauma."
"So Ms. Wang had to make you fall in love with her a third time."
"Yes." Nana smiled sadly. "Took a year. But he fell. Soul recognition transcends memory loss."
Zayne squeezed her hand tighter. "I kept having dreams. Nightmares of dying with Nana crying over me. Didn't understand why. Didn't know they were memories."
"Until the facility breach," the prosecutor prompted.
"Until the facility breach," Zayne confirmed. "Fourteen days ago. Something destabilized the portal systems. Creatures flooded Linkon City. Nana and I fought for survival while everyone else evacuated or died."
He pulled up footage from news helicopters—the city in chaos, creatures everywhere, buildings collapsing.
"On Day 3, we discovered surveillance cameras in the forest. Realized someone was watching Nana fight. Monitoring her performance."
"On Day 5, Nana fell through a hidden entrance and discovered the facility."
Nana took over, voice shaking. "Thousands of monitoring screens showing Avalon in real-time. Scientists explaining that the death realm was built. That the portals were engineered. That I was Specimen 21—modified from birth to be a weapon."
She showed her medical records from the facility. Genetic modifications at age zero. Aether core implantation at age three. Combat training logs. Enhancement procedures.
"My parents were the lead scientists. They designed me. Built me. Made me into this."
She gestured at herself—at the scars, the enhanced physiology, the weapon she'd become.
"And then they threw me into Avalon to test their creation."
The defendants tried to interrupt. "That's not—we never authorized—"
"SILENCE," the judge ordered. "Continue, Ms. Wang."
Nana pulled up footage from the facility's final moments. The fire spreading. The creature production floor destroyed. The monitoring room filled with smoke.
"My parents died in the fire. Holding each other. I found their bodies."
She showed the image—devastating proof.
"Dr. Li was captured by surviving facility staff. Forcibly enhanced with the same procedures that created me. Turned into Version 06 Enhanced against his will."
Zayne pulled up his medical scans. "67% transformation when I escaped. Ice evol manifestation. Enhanced physiology. Pain receptor modification. All without consent."
"The facility was demolished by government order," Nana continued. "Burned to hide evidence. But the portal systems were already failing. Creatures flooded Linkon. The outbreak we'd been trying to contain became impossible to stop."
She showed footage of the hospital siege. The city collapse. The desperate fighting.
"For thirteen days, we fought. Protected civilians. Tried to save who we could. Until the government decided we were too dangerous to let live."
"Because you're witnesses," the prosecutor said.
"Because we're witnesses," Zayne confirmed. "We know the truth. We have evidence. We're living proof of human rights violations."
He showed the classified military orders—the ones Captain Chen had leaked before defying them.
ELIMINATE SPECIMEN 21 AND VERSION 06. CLASSIFY AS CASUALTIES.
The courtroom erupted in shocked outrage.
"The government hunted us," Nana said, crying openly now. "Shot at us in public streets. Tried to kill us to erase evidence. And when that failed—"
She pulled up footage of the nuclear strike. The mushroom cloud rising over Linkon.
"They destroyed the entire city. Vaporized thousands of people. Erased everything."
The final image on the display: Linkon City before and after. Vibrant urban center. Then... nothing. Just radioactive wasteland.
Silence.
Heavy, devastating silence.
The prosecutor turned to the defendants. "Do you still deny involvement in the specimen program? Do you still claim Avalon was a natural phenomenon?"
The lead official tried to speak. "We were following orders—"
"Following orders doesn't make you innocent," Nana said, voice hard as ice. "My parents followed orders. The facility staff followed orders. The soldiers who hunted us followed orders. But someone gave those orders. Someone authorized human experimentation. Someone built Avalon. Someone killed thousands to hide the truth."
She stood, facing the defendants directly.
"I am Specimen 21. Modified from birth. Tested in a death realm. Hunted by my own government. But I am also Nana Wang. A person. A survivor. A witness."
Zayne stood beside her. "I am Version 06. Enhanced against my will. Killed six times. Memory erased. But I am also Dr. Zayne Li. A surgeon. A human being. A witness."
They spoke together: "And we will not be silenced."
The courtroom erupted in applause—survivors standing, crying, clapping for the two people who'd survived hell and refused to let the truth die.
The judge banged his gavel. "The court finds overwhelming evidence of government misconduct. Criminal charges will proceed against all defendants. And..."
He looked at Nana and Zayne with deep respect.
"Thank you. For your courage. For your testimony. For surviving long enough to tell the truth."
Truth: revealed to the world.
Justice: beginning.
Two witnesses: still standing.
Still surviving.
Still winning.
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To be continued.