Far from the billowing smoke and the shrieking roar of machines—like the sound of a tortured soul—Sector Zero stood as a paradise. It was an oasis in a desert of soot; a pure sanctuary isolated from the scorching sands and the suffocating industrial pollution of PETERUMMAN.
Towering buildings scraped the sky. Atop them, neatly arranged panels spun incessantly—as if scanning the very air—without end. Not a single speck of dust ever touched the gleaming, sturdy concrete walls. Here, oxygen was a luxury commodity, filtered through thousands of microscopic membranes, producing air so pure it felt sharp in the lungs of anyone accustomed to the soot of the lower districts.
In one of the highest buildings overlooking the crimson horizon, a woman with bright red hair walked briskly. Scarlett. Her silver-white robe fluttered softly—no stains, no trace of the gentleness she usually offered to heal the wounds of Unit 009. Her hand gripped an android device. Her steps were rapid—noisy—as if she were stomping with every stride. Her eyes, usually a muted green, now burned with fire, matching the color of her hair. Her mind was far away, fixed on the coordinates of Sector 7—where she knew the echoes of gunfire were resonating within The Hollow Rim.
At an elevator door, she found Lord Vier waiting for her with a smile. "Welcome back, Scarlett! What brings you here?" A heavy baritone voice shattered the silence. "You stare at that dumping ground too often, Scarlett. You've even abandoned your research," he smirked, his jawline appearing razor-sharp.
Scarlett clenched her fist. Down there, amidst the clean streets and symmetrical artificial parks, people dressed in finery walked without knowing that beneath their feet, souls were being crushed to keep this 'paradise' standing.
"They are not a dumping ground, Vier," Scarlett whispered, her voice remaining soft yet carrying a subtle vibration of resistance. "They are humans you have forced to become machines. Stop all of this!"
"They are my jurisdiction. Harlin will never agree to your request!" Vier provoked.
"We shall see, Vier! I will shut down Project Executioner with my own achievements!" she replied coldly. Scarlett turned her back, her footsteps echoing as she left Vier, along with her final words. "It's only a matter of time, Vier! My robots will replace the function of your troops!"
Vier stood frozen before the elevator. Those words felt like a cold blade piercing his heart. He took something from his pocket and made a call on his android.
***
The hum of the call traveled to a room that was always tidy and smelled of citrus.
"Be patient, little one! Papa will be home tomorrow, after my work is finished!" Lion's voice was low and soothing—a fleeting glimpse of a loving father accustomed to making promises.
"Papa, promise?" a small, raspy voice asked.
"I promise, sweetheart!" he coaxed.
"Pinky promise!" the child pleaded. Through the video call, they virtually linked pinky fingers.
However, that sweet moment lasted only five seconds before the call from Lord Vier ruined his mood. "Forgive me, sweetheart. Papa has to go!" he stated coldly. Just before the call ended, his daughter's face looked disappointed, her cheeks puffed out. Click. The connection severed.
"Lord Vier!" The light in Lion's eyes died instantly, replaced by the cold shadow of a ruler who tolerated no delays.
"Lion, how is Scarlett here? She threatened me; her project is nearing completion!"
"Do something! Those children... send them to the Underworld! I want them to find a fugitive!"
Click.
"Understood, Lord Vier!" Lion's words hung in the air; the call had already ended.
The click of Lion's android sounded like a death knell echoing through the corridors of Sector 7. Far beneath the grandeur of Sector Zero, the fresh scent of citrus was replaced by the smell of rust, antiseptic, and the hissing steam of recovery fluids.
***
In front of the door to Medical Room Block B, a red light glowed statically. Nugia stood there, silent as a statue, staring through the thick glass. Inside, Amae's body was barely visible behind a forest of tubes and circuit wires trying to reattach his torn network. There was no sound. Only the rhythmic heartbeat from the monitor that occasionally slowed—a symphony of pain waiting to stop.
Meanwhile, in another room, Meyra sat on a medical bed no softer than their dormitory mattresses. "How are they?" Meyra whispered.
"Hush, don't think about it! They're going to be fine!" Zilla replied, her voice soft, trying to calm her. Reyna nodded slowly, holding Meyra's hand with hope. "You have to get well soon. Nugia and Amae are waiting!" The mention of Amae's name made Reyna look down and Zilla turn her face away.
In the corridor, footsteps echoed like falling rain, filling the space. They forced Nugia to glance over. Fifteen elite soldiers marched in, led by a girl about his age. Her hair was a shimmering red, her face sharp and rigid—beautiful, with emerald eyes and lips that never knew a smile. She wore a different class of 'Second Skin' gear; her uniform was similar to Vice-Captain Diana's, but she was smaller.
For a moment, Nugia saw a woman he recognized very well hiding behind a wall between one of the medical rooms; she quickly vanished into the room.
The leader of the unit stopped right in front of Nugia. However, she didn't look at him for a second, as if Nugia were merely a wall. "Search over there!" she commanded, splitting her unit into three groups. On her sleeve was written 'Sector 2' with the symbol of crossed daggers. While her unit moved, she waited, standing with her hands on her hips.
"You look like someone I know. And I just saw her over there," Nugia said.
She turned and scrutinized Nugia thoroughly. Then, she looked away with a savage expression, crossing her arms quickly. "Soldier, show some respect to a superior. I do not speak with low-ranking scum," she stated firmly. "It seems to be true... Sector 7 is indeed a place for uncultured wild animals," she added, though this time it was more of a whisper.
"Are you a little Lady Scarlett, perhaps? But I saw you there! Well then, good luck!" Nugia turned back to observing Amae seriously.
The girl trembled. Not out of fear, but because a name that had just been uttered by the "trash" in front of her collided with a bitter memory in her head. She grabbed Nugia's shoulder with a grip that made her Second Skin gear creak, forcing Nugia's eyes to look straight into her emerald gaze.
"Wh-what did you say?" her voice shook, breaking like shattered glass.
Nugia looked at her flatly. Coldly. "Forgive me. Have you become a low-ranking soldier too?"
Slap!
The girl didn't slap him with her hand, but with a gaze more insulting than anything else. She released her grip as if Nugia's arm had just transmitted a plague.
"Don't you ever... dare mention that name with your filthy mouth," she hissed. She leaned her face in close; the expensive scent of Sector Zero perfume wafted through the stench of Sector 7's antiseptic.
Nugia fell silent. He remembered Scarlett's soft fingers applying green ointment to his arm during Cycle 10:00 long ago. Warm. So different from the frozen aura of the girl in front of him.
The girl's eyes welled up with rage. "She didn't ignore me! She's... she's busy with her 'trash' projects!" She stared at her own reflection in the glass separating Nugia and Amae.
"Why are you crying? Slapping me won't make you stop crying."
The Sector 2 girl took a step back as if the reflection of herself—or perhaps Nugia's presence and words—terrified her. Her entire elite unit was now silent; their weapons were still pointed down the corridor, but their focus was shattered. Their leader had just been emotionally "stripped bare" by an experimental subject who wasn't supposed to have memories.
"Find her!" the girl screamed at her troops, her voice high-pitched and full of desperation. "Find that woman right now! If she really is here... I will prove to her that the 'achievements' she's so proud of are only fit to be destroyed!"
"And you!" Ariella pointed at Nugia with a violently shaking finger. "Detain this boy. Make him realize... that his filthy mouth just touched the wrong person!"
In an instant, five Vermaelen elite soldiers moved forward, forming a precise containment formation. The tips of their plasma weapons hummed softly, aimed exactly at the vital points of Nugia's body, who still stood rigid.
Ariella was no longer hiding behind a mask of caste. Behind her sharp gaze, those emerald eyes were now flooded with shimmering water—as if boiling with the fire of jealousy Nugia had just ignited.
Nugia didn't move. He only stared at the reflection of his own face in Ariella's tears, while behind the medical wall, a silver-white robe could be seen moving away in a hurry.
"Welcome to the real hell, Soldier 009," Ariella hissed, just as the sound of weapon locks echoed simultaneously in the suddenly silent corridor.