Deep beneath a huge, anonymous-looking building, far from sunlight or fresh air, a basement stretched out like a hidden graveyard.

Dozens of humans were trapped inside it.

Some floated in eerie, liquid-filled pods—eyes closed, bodies pierced by tubes and cables, strange symbols etched onto the glass. Others were crammed into iron-barred cells that looked less like rooms and more like cages made for wild animals. The stench of blood, rot, and chemicals clung to the air, thick and suffocating.

In one of those cages sat a boy and a girl who both looked to be around sixteen.

They had the same green hair, now matted and dirty, and the same black eyes dulled by pain and exhaustion. Their faces were nearly identical. Twins.

Their clothes were torn and filthy, hanging loosely from their thin bodies. The skin on their arms and legs was riddled with wounds—cuts, bruises, needle marks. Parts of their flesh had started turning black, as if something was eating away at them from the inside. Their bodies gave off a horrible, sickly smell of decay.

They clung to each other, fingers interlocked so tightly their knuckles had turned white.

From her lifeless-looking eyes, the girl suddenly spoke, voice trembling as she tried to hold back her tears. "Remus… you're there, right?"

The boy beside her swallowed, forcing his throat to move. "Tina… Are you alright?"

Tina shook her head, tears spilling at last. "No… no, Remus… it hurts… it hurts so much… so bad…" Her voice cracked into a sob. "Please kill me… please… I can't take it anymore…"

She started clawing at her own face, nails scraping against her skin as she screamed.

The color drained from Remus' face. "Tina! Stop!" he cried.

He pulled her into his arms, hugging her trembling body despite the agony that flared through his own. Every touch hurt—but he held her anyway, burying his face in her shoulder as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Don't worry," he choked out. "They won't do anything to you anymore. I swear… I won't let them…"

Tina's body shook. "They killed… Mother and Father, didn't they…" she whispered. "They tore my clothes… to… to…"

"Don't," Remus said quickly, voice breaking. "Don't say it, Tina. Please."

Both of them hovered on the verge of complete collapse.

Just a month ago, life had been simple.

They'd run a small clothing shop with their parents in a quiet town in the southern district of Avaloria. Their days were filled with fabric, customers, laughter, scolding, meals together.

Then the cult came.

Men in cloaks and masks. Strange symbols.

They were kidnapped along with their parents and dragged into this nightmare.

For an entire month, they were experimented on again and again—strange injections, burning blood, hallucinations, bones twisting, pain that never ended. Their parents endured the same torture, until one day… Mother and Father simply stopped screaming. Their bodies had changed into something monstrous—no longer even resembling humans.

Remus and Tina had watched it all.

And now, their own bodies were reaching the limit.

Tina sobbed, her voice hoarse, her fingers digging into his arms. "It hurts… Remus… I don't want this anymore…"

Remus bit his lip so hard he tasted blood.

His gaze shifted.

Outside the bars of their cage, lying near the edge of the corridor, there was a shard of broken glass—probably from some shattered tool or container. It glinted faintly in the dim basement light.

He stared at it.

Then he looked back at his sister, her face twisted in pain, her eyes begging for an end neither of them had the strength to reach.

One thought slowly formed in his mind.

'Let's end it. I've had enough. The gods have abandoned us. No one's coming. We've been thrown away by fate. So let's just… end it ourselves.'

He reached out with shaking hands.

His fingers stretched through the gap under the bars. The cold floor scraped his arm, but he kept reaching… until at last, his fingertips brushed the shard. He dragged it closer, the glass scratching against the stone, then grabbed it tightly.

His hand trembled violently as he lifted it.

"Tina," he whispered, tears blurring his vision. "It'll be over soon… I'll end the pain…"

He brought the shard slowly toward her neck, his grip shaking so much the glass clicked against her skin.

Tina closed her eyes, tears still falling.

Remus shut his eyes as well.

And with his entire body trembling… he began to move his hand.

BOOM!

The door to the basement blasted open with a thunderous crash.

The sound echoed through the underground chamber like an explosion.

Remus froze, the glass still pressed weakly against Tina's skin. His eyes flew open.

Footsteps followed.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Slow, steady footsteps, echoing in the suffocating silence. The air seemed to grow heavier with each step.

Tina clutched Remus even tighter, fingers digging into his clothes. "They're back…!" she screamed. "They're back—Remus, save me! Please, I don't want it anymore, please don't let them hurt me!"

"…Tina…"

Her pleas were swallowed by another sound.

Thud.

Something heavy hit the floor.

A moment later, something rolled across the ground—then another, and another. The sickening wet thuds and the dragging sounds made Remus' stomach twist.

Bodies.

Several bodies, wrapped tightly in blood-soaked cloth, were thrown into the basement like sacks of trash. They skidded across the floor, leaving smeared trails of red behind them.

One of the bloodied bundles rolled just close enough for Remus to see the face that peeked out from a torn corner of the cloth.

His eyes widened in shock.

It was the man who had overseen their torture.

The one who had laughed as their parents screamed.

The one who'd held Tina down as he tore at her clothes.

Now his face was swollen and broken, teeth missing, one eye completely shut. He groaned faintly, more dead than alive.

A voice cut through the room.

"Looks like I have a brave one here."

Remus looked up, trembling.

The shadowed figures in the doorway moved aside, parting like a curtain.

A group of cloaked individuals stood there—shadow guards with cold, unreadable eyes.

And in the center of them, walking forward slowly, was a young man with silver hair that gleamed even in the dim basement light.

His eyes were ocean-blue.

There was no madness in them, no cruelty—only a calm, chilling focus that made it hard to look away.

Remus and Tina both stared, stunned.

'Beautiful…' they both thought at the same time without meaning to.

The silver-haired young man—Alex—stopped in front of their cage and crouched down slightly, bringing his gaze level with Remus's.

"What's your name, boy?" Alex asked.

Remus opened his mouth, but no words came out at first. His throat was dry, his breath ragged. Fear, pain, and desperation tangled together.

"Please…" he finally choked out. "Please save us. We haven't… we haven't done anything… Please…"

Tears spilled again, soaking into the filthy floor.

Inside Alex's mind, a mechanical voice spoke. [ Host, their will to live is extremely weak. The chances of failure are higher with these two. ]

'That's not what I asked,' Alex thought. Out loud, he said, "I asked for your name."

Behind him, Alicia's voice called out, tense. "Alex, they need medical attention immediately. If we don't treat them now—"

"I know," Alex said quietly. "Just trust me. I know what I'm doing."

For a moment, only the sound of distant groans and dripping water filled the basement.

Then Remus forced himself to speak. "My… my name is Remus," he said hoarsely. "My sister's Tina. Please… help us… please…"

Alex held his gaze.

"Tell me something, Remus," he said calmly. "Between the two of you… who is more valuable to me?"

Remus blinked. "What…?"

"I will save only one," Alex said. "You, or your sister. Who should I save?"

Tina's eyes widened in horror. "W-Wait, I—"

Remus didn't hesitate.

"Save Tina," he said immediately. "She's… she's a good kid. Smart. She'll be more useful to you than me. Please… save her."

A flicker of something unreadable passed through Alex's eyes.

He straightened slightly.

"That man over there," Alex said, flicking his wrist.

A dagger flew from his hand and landed with a clatter near Remus, the blade glinting beside the bars.

"He's the one who did all this to you. The one who put you through hell."

Alex's voice turned colder. "Kill him… and I'll save your sister."

Remus stared at the dagger.

His breath hitched.

His hand shook violently as he reached through the bars again, fingers closing slowly around the hilt. The metal felt heavy—like it carried every scream he'd heard in this place.

He lifted it with trembling hands.

His gaze flickered between the dagger and the half-dead torturer on the floor.

"Remus, don't," Tina whispered, voice shaking.

Before he could move any further—

A small, shaking hand grabbed the dagger from his grip.

"Tina—?!"

Tina's fingers wrapped around the handle.

Her eyes were red and swollen, but inside them burned a raw, desperate fury.

Without a word, she crawled forward as far as the cage allowed, arm reaching through the bars as far as it could go.

The tortured man groaned, barely conscious.

The first stab landed in his chest.

"Ah—!"

The man gasped, eyes going wide, but Tina didn't stop.

She yanked the dagger out and stabbed again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Each strike was clumsy, fueled not by training, but by raw terror and rage. Blood splattered the stone floor, the bars, her hands. Her small body shook with every thrust, but she didn't stop. Tears streamed down her face as she continued to stab him, long after his voice had gone silent.

Remus could only watch, stunned, tears flowing silently.

At last, Tina's strength gave out.

The dagger slipped from her fingers, clattering to the ground with a dull ring.

She collapsed forward, arms shaking, then dragged herself back on her elbows, crawling toward the front of the cage.

Her forehead touched the dirty floor.

She reached out, fingers barely brushing the tip of Alex's boot.

In a broken, hoarse voice, she whispered, "My brother… My brother… Please… save him… Please…"

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A/N:

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