Seth and I stand together in a dimly lit cell, the only sound is the echoing of our breaths. A single lamp lights the room in a dreary glow. There are papers on the table on the right and vials of liquid on the left side.
I massage my head as I watch Seth in the middle of the room. His fruity scent is assaulting my nose. I’ve become used to it by now. It’s been a few weeks of trying to thwart what the mate bond wants us to do every time we are alone.
“Hmmm,” he mutters, his face bright with an eerie gleam of excitement. “Ain’t this the most interesting result we had ever since we started?”
“You mean that this is the only result we had that can possibly justify what we are doing to these people?”
Seth looks at me and smiles. “Even now, you are still hesitant.”
I look away. I still can’t fully accept that we are using humans as experimental subjects to regain some of my memories, even if they are hardened criminals who’ve done unimaginable crimes.
Seth sits beside me and holds my eyes. “Kaiya, you know that we need to do this IF we plan to go against the goddess, right?”
The corner of my lips turns up. “I know,” I mutter. “However, it doesn’t make it any easier.”
He reaches for my hand, but I instantly pull away when I feel the first touch of electricity.
“We are in the phase where we need the most focus,” he starts as he withdraws his hand. “That means it’s already too late to second guess ourselves.”
“I understand that,” I say, looking away from his searching eyes. “Still, it doesn’t make it easier.”
Seth leans at his chair and I have no choice but to fix my gaze on the unused chains lying on the floor.
“Are we going to start exploring the boundaries of the subconscious mind and its potential for greater control?” I ask. “Or do you think it’s too soon for that?”
“Well, we have already used different techniques to induce a trance-like state in our subjects. We have tried manipulating their behavior and thoughts...”
My stomach twists in knots as I continue to listen to him. This will probably give me a sleepless night later, or an extreme nightmare.
“How was the previous report?” he asks, changing the topic. “Did my scribes write it down correctly?”
I nod. “Yes. I will submit the edited version tomorrow.”
“Should I call the next subject, then?”
When I nod, Seth moves towards the door and instructs Darius outside.
As I wait for our next subject, I can’t help but feel a sense of dread. We are playing with fire, using humans as lab rats in our experiments to gain greater control over the goddess and her powers. But what choice do we have? The alternative is to sit back and watch as the goddess descends and reigns terror in our world. And I will be dead by then.
Moments later, a guard drags in a man whose arms are bound with thick chains. I can see the defiance in his eyes, even if they are bloodshot and sunken.
I swallow hard as Seth approaches the criminal.
“Good day,” he begins, his voice firm and commanding. “I hope you’re ready for your session.”
The criminal snarls back, “Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?!”
Seth chuckles. “Oh, we have different plans for you.”
“As expected of a king! Using his subjects to do some horrible things!”
Seth ignores his taunts and signals the guards to release the criminal’s chains. When the guards left, Seth nodded at me, “Well then, let’s begin.”
I take a deep breath and step forward, pulling out a small vial of clear liquid from the table. The criminal’s eyes widen at the sight of it and he tries to move away, but Seth and the guard keep him in place.
“What is that?” he demands.
“It’s a serum that the Orttenburg researchers developed here,” I explain calmly, trying to keep my voice steady. “It will help you relax and enter a trance-like state so we can study your mind.”
He glares at me, but I can see the fear in his eyes as I force him to swallow the serum. He starts to struggle, but soon his body goes limp and his eyes flutter closed.
I take a deep breath and try to push down the feeling of nausea that’s rising in my throat. Seth turns to me, his eyes dark and serious. “Are you ready?”
I nod, my heart beating fast in my chest. I walk closer to the criminal and touch his head. I turn to Seth again and offer my hand to him.
He smiles. “It’s always a pleasure jumping into someone else’s mind with you.”
“It’s only possible because of your congenital weirdness.”
“You make it sound as if it is a disease.”

“Is it not?” I ask, but before Seth can respond, our surroundings changed into that of the criminal’s mind–which is a chaotic mess of memories and thoughts. Different objects are floating around, with no particular perspective. Even the color scheme is a mess, bright and dull, and painful to the eyes.
“What are we going to extract or change this time?”
“Hmmm,” he mutters. “We are done with the simple tests. We have also done suggestions. How about getting information about his genealogy? His ancestors and his future.”
“You are serious, right?”
“Yes. We are up against a goddess, so we need to be as crazy as we can be.”
“I didn’t know there is a requirement like that,” I say, even if I know he is correct.
“There will be no imagine-you-are-in-a-safe-place questions now. That’s too basic already.”
I take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand. This is not going to be easy, but Seth and I have been through worse. We navigate through the criminal’s memories, looking for any sign of his ancestors. We take a while, but we finally find what we are looking for.
“Do you think that’s it?” I ask, pointing at some kind of aura in the distance.
“Good work,” he says, his voice filled with excitement. “Let’s check it out.”
I nod in agreement and we walk towards it–to the criminal’s genealogy.
However, as we pass through it, the more images flow into my mind. I see his ancestors, some of them notorious criminals just like him. But then, I see something else, something that sends chills down my spine.
A dark entity lurking in his family tree.
“Seth, what is that?” I ask, pointing to the shadowy figure in the distance.
He turns to look and his expression becomes grim. “I am sure that’s not included in his family tree.”
My heart races as Seth’s words sink in. “What do you mean?”
“I’d like to think that it is a manifestation of the darkness this criminal carries with him. However, it does not feel like something that should be present in anyone’s genealogy,” he says.
My mind swirls with the implications of what we’ve found. This criminal isn’t just a product of his environment or upbringing. There’s something deeper and darker at play here.
“We need to know more,” I say, my voice barely audible.
Seth nods in agreement, but as we come closer, I realize what it is. “It feels the same as General Brandon.”
“Who?”
“General Brandon is one of the generals of Pitchford. He comes from the Stine family.”
“Oh, you mean that this feels like whatever possesses the Stine royal family?”
“Yes, I think it is the same. However, General Brandon’s is more noticeable.”
Seth and I exchange a glance and my stomach churns with unease. Does this man have the Stine bloodline? Or can the darkness that has plagued the Stine family for generations infect those outside his family? If it’s the latter, it could mean that we are missing something else.
“We need to keep investigating this manifestation,” Seth says firmly.
“We also need to find out more about this... whatever this is...” I say, nodding in agreement.
My mind is already racing with possibilities. If we can uncover more about this dark entity, maybe I can share these findings with General Brandon. Whatever he will do with the information depends on him.
However, as we dig deeper, the darkness begins to consume us and threatens to drown us in its endless abyss.
“Kaiya...”
I turn to look at Seth and realize that he is sweating. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I can go through this anymore.”
I walk closer to him and see that he is trembling. He’s not just sweating, he’s sweating buckets of it. I touch his forehead–he is also burning.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I ask, alarmed at his state.
He only grins. “I don’t want to trouble you, especially when this is not affecting you.”
“Then—”
Suddenly, a deep voice screeches. “What are you doing here, children!? Get out!!!”
Before I can even look at the source of the voice, we are whisked away from the criminal’s mind.
“What the heck is that?!” I ask no one in particular.
I study the criminal. He is still unconscious. Then, I remember Seth. I move to him as he leans over at the foot of the table.
“How are you?” I ask.
He looks up at me and grins. “Seems like we will be moving to the next phase of our experiments.”
He shifts his attention to the subject and then back to me. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to join you in the next sessions.”