Chapter 72 - WHO ARE YOU?

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Maya stood in a field of white spider lilies.

They stretched endlessly in every direction—a sea of pale, delicate petals swaying in a wind she could not feel.

The sky above was vast and colorless, a eternal twilight that cast no shadows and offered no warmth.

She turned slowly, her bare feet pressing against the soft earth. The flowers brushed against her ankles, cool and featherlight as though they were reaching for her.

She had never seen anything so beautiful.

She reached out, her fingers brushing against the petals of a nearby flower. They were soft, almost silken, trembling at her touch like the wings of a butterfly.

She smiled—a small, genuine smile, untainted by fear or grief. And then—she felt a presence behind her, still .

She turned.

A girl stood among the flowers. She looked exactly like Maya , the same small frame, the same delicate features.

But her hair was red. A deep, vivid crimson that seemed to burn against the pale twilight sky. And her eyes, her eyes were a startling, piercing blue.

She was wearing the same grey uniform as Maya. Yet on her, it looked different—sharper, more deliberate as though she had chosen to wear it rather than been forced into it.

She smiled.

It was not a warm smile. It was not a kind smile. It was the smile of someone who knew something Maya did not—something vast and terrible and inevitable.

Maya took a step back. Her bare foot pressed against the earth, crushing a flower beneath her heel.

The girl tilted her head, her red hair swaying."You're afraid."

Maya's breath caught. The voice was her own—the same pitch, the same cadence but it was colder. "Who—who are you?"

The girl's smile widened, just slightly. Her blue eyes gleamed.

A sound—sharp, crystalline, shattering. Maya looked down.

The ground beneath her feet was cracking. The earth splintered, spreading outward like a web of broken glass.

She stumbled back, but the cracks followed her. They spread faster, reaching the flowers, the sky, the air itself.

The girl remained still, untouched by the destruction around her. "I'm the one who

survives when you can't."

The world shattered.

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Maya's eyes snapped open. Her heart was pounding, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

The cave was dark around her. The fire had burned low, casting faint, flickering shadows across the stone walls.

She could feel the cold earth beneath her, the rough fabric of her uniform against her skin.

She sat up slowly, her hand pressing against her chest, trying to steady her racing heart.

Subject 0002 was the first to notice.

Maya stirred on the cold stone floor, her eyelids fluttering. A soft groan escaped her lips as she slowly pushed herself upright, her hand pressing against her aching ribs.

"Finally," Subject 0002 said, her voice carrying a note of relief she quickly masked with her usual sharpness. "You're awake. Come eat."

Maya blinked, her vision clearing slowly.

The cave came into focus—the dim glow of the fire, the rough stone walls, the figures huddled around the flames.

Subject 0011 was sitting cross-legged, a piece of roasted rabbit in his hands. Subject 0014 was beside him, his broad frame hunched over a flat stone that served as a makeshift plate.

Subject 0004 sat slightly apart, his injured arm resting in his lap, his expression unreadable.

Subject 0002 was already holding out a portion of meat, her sharp eyes fixed on Maya's pale face.

Maya pushed herself to her feet, her legs trembling beneath her.

She walked toward the fire, her bare feet pressing against the cold stone floor. She lowered herself onto the ground beside the others, accepting the meat from Subject 0002's outstretched hand.

She took a bite. It was warm, slightly charred but it was food. She chewed slowly, feeling the warmth spread through her body.

No one spoke. The fire crackled, casting dancing shadows across the cave walls.

Then Maya's voice cut through the silence, quiet but curious. "How many points do you all have?"

Subject 0011 looked up, his cheeks still full of food. He swallowed quickly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Twenty-five. "

Subject 0014 grunted, his bald head gleaming in the firelight. "Twenty-nine."

Subject 0002's sharp eyes flicked toward Maya. Her voice was flat, matter-of-fact. "Thirty-three."

Maya nodded slowly, processing the numbers. Then she turned her gaze toward Subject 0004, who had remained silent throughout the exchange.

"Subject 0004?" she asked. "What about you?"

Subject 0004 didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on the fire, his face a mask of stone. He seemed not to have heard her.

Subject 0011 blinked. "Uh, Subject 0004?"

Still nothing.

Subject 0014 leaned forward, his brow furrowing. "Hey, you okay?"

Subject 0004's jaw tightened, just slightly. He still didn't respond.

Subject 0014 let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. "Subject 0004. Come on, man. How many points do you have?"

Subject 0004's the firelight flickered across his face, casting shadows that made his scar seem deeper, more prominent.

Then slowly, almost reluctantly, he looked up.

His eyes met theirs, his expression carefully blank. "Thirty-nine."

The silence that followed was absolute. Subject 0011's mouth fell open, a piece of rabbit nearly tumbling from his lips. Subject 0014's brow shot up, his eyes widening with disbelief.

Subject 0002's sharp eyes narrowed, her head tilting slightly as she studied him.

"Thirty-nine? How? You've been gone for one hour. You've been fighting with that arm."

"I found more predators."

Subject 0014 opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked at Subject 0011, then at Subject 0002, then back at Subject 0004.

"How?" Subject 0014 demanded. "I've been fighting the whole time. I've been taking down everything I could find. And I only got twenty-nine."

Subject 0004's expression didn't change. "You were inefficient."

Subject 0014 sputtered. "Inefficient?! I—"

Subject 0002's lips twitched, the barest hint of a smile. "He's not wrong."

Subject 0014's face went red. "I wasn't—" He pointed at Subject 0004, his finger shaking.

"He's been gone half the time! He's been sitting in the cave with that arm—"

"Recovering."

Subject 0014's mouth opened, then closed. He looked like he was about to argue further but then he caught Subject 0002's amused expression and deflated.

"Fine, It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine."

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Maya watched the three boys scramble out of the cave like startled rabbits, their faces flushed, their feet slipping on the rocky floor.

Subject 0014's bald head seemed to glow red with embarrassment. Subject 0011's glasses were askew, nearly falling off his face as he stumbled over a loose stone.

Even Subject 0004, usually so composed, had a faint flush creeping up the back of his neck.

The cave entrance swallowed them whole, their hurried footsteps fading into the rustle of leaves and the distant calls of nocturnal creatures.

Maya turned her head slowly, her dark eyes fixed on Subject 0002. "What happened?"

Subject 0002 let out a long, weary sigh. She pressed her hand against her forehead, her fingers massaging her temples as though warding off a headache.

"Those idiots, They were hovering like a bunch of frightened rabbits watching me work. I told them to leave and they just stood there, gawking."

She lowered her hand, her sharp eyes meeting Maya's gaze.

"I had to remove your uniform to treat your wounds. And they are asking weird question. "

Maya blinked. Her lips twitched, the barest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "So you kicked them out?"

"I threatened them." Subject 0002's voice carried a note of cold satisfaction. "I asked if they wanted to watch me undress you. They ran."

"That's one way to handle it."

Subject 0002 sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, her sharp eyes fixed on Maya's face.

The firelight flickered across her features, illuminating the hard lines of her jaw, the faint shadows beneath her eyes.

Maya sat across from her, her small frame hunched, her dark eyes reflecting the dancing flames.

"0017 A, I need to ask you something."

Maya looked up, her eyes meeting Subject 0002's. "What?"

"The chemical damage on your body." Subject 0002's gaze was steady. "The burns, the discoloration, the marks from repeated injections. How did you get them?"

Maya's expression didn't change. She stared at Subject 0002 for a moment, her face unreadable. The fire crackled between them, a brief, sharp sound that seemed to echo through the silence.

Then she looked away, her gaze dropping to the flames.

Silence.

"Fine," Subject 0002 said, her voice carrying a note of calm. "If you don't want to answer that, then let me tell you something.

A STORY. Something interesting."

Maya's brow furrowed. Her curiosity flickered in her dark eyes, a brief crack in the mask. She looked up, her gaze meeting Subject 0002's.

"A story?"

Subject 0002 nodded. She leaned back against the cave wall, her sharp eyes fixed on Maya's face. The fire crackled between them, casting dancing shadows across the rough stone walls.

The warmth of the flames seeped into her skin, but it did nothing to chase away the cold that had settled in her chest.

"Once upon a time, there was a scientist. He was brilliant—one of the best in his field.

He was obsessed with his work, consumed by it. He spent every waking hour in his laboratory, studying, experimenting, pushing the boundaries of what was possible.

He believed that the human mind was the greatest mystery of all and he was determined to unlock its secrets, no matter the cost."

Subject 0002's voice grew quieter, carrying a note of something darker.

"But he had a daughter. A little girl, about five years old. Her name was...Veyra."

A pause.

"She was the only thing he loved more than his work. He would spend every spare moment with her, telling her stories, taking her on walks, showing her the world through his eyes.

She was his whole world—the one thing that made him feel human.

She trusted him completely. She believed that her father was the smartest, kindest man in the world. She believed that he would never hurt her, that he would always protect her.

She loved him with all her heart."

Her sharp eyes fixing on Maya's face.

"One day, he decided to take her on a special trip. He told her they were going to the market to buy her something special—a new dress, something that would make her smile.

She was so excited. She held his hand, skipped beside him, her heart full of joy. But they didn't go to the market."

The fire crackled, a sharp sound that seemed to echo through the silence.

Maya's hands tightened on her knees. Her dark eyes were fixed on Subject 0002's face, her expression unreadable.

"The scientist walked past the market. He walked past the shops, past the crowds, past everything familiar to his daughter. She asked him where they were going.

He didn't answer. He just kept walking, his grip on her hand tightening just slightly. He took her to his laboratory. A secret one, hidden beneath the ground.

The walls were cold. The air smelled of antiseptic and chemicals. There were no windows, no signs of life. Just machines and instruments and the cold, sterile light of fluorescent bulbs."

She paused, her gaze drifting toward the fire.

"He locked the door behind them. The sound of the lock clicking into place echoed through the room like a death knell.

And then he told her that she was going to help him with his work. That she was special. That she was going to be part of something extraordinary."

Maya's voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. "What did she do?"

"She trusted him. She didn't understand why her father had brought her there, but she trusted him completely. She believed that he knew what was best."

She paused, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"And then he began his experiments."

The fire crackled, a brief, sharp sound that seemed to cut through the silence.

"He injected her. She felt the needle pierce her skin, felt the strange, cold liquid flood her veins. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion and fear.

'Daddy?' she whispered. 'What are you doing?'"

He didn't answer. He just watched her, his eyes clinical as though she were a specimen under a microscope. He made notes on his tablet, recording her reactions, cataloging her pain."

Her sharp eyes fixing on Maya's face.

"He burned her skin with chemicals. He applied them carefully, methodically, studying the way her flesh reacted. She screamed. She begged him to stop.

She called out for her mother, for anyone who might save her but there was no one. Only him."

Maya's hands were trembling. Her dark eyes were fixed on Subject 0002's face, her expression a mixture of horror and disbelief.

"Every day, he took her back to the laboratory. Every day, he found a new way to hurt her. He told her it was for science.

That she was helping him unlock the secrets of the human mind. That one day, she would understand. That one day, she would thank him.

She cried for him to stop. She called out for her father. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. His obsession had consumed him completely. She was no longer his daughter.

She was just another experiment."