Yuzuki no longer knew how much time had passed.
Time had stopped meaning anything in this place. Days, weeks perhaps months or even years could have gone by, and she wouldn't have known. There was no sun, no sky, no seasons to mark its passage.
The only indication that time had moved at all was her hair.
It had grown unnaturally long, cascading from her head all the way down to her feet. When she shifted even slightly, it dragged across the cold stone floor. Sometimes it tangled around her limbs like another restraint layered over the chains.
She had desperately wanted to cut it after they removed her from the containment tube.
But regular scissors had not worked.
She remembered the doctor attempting to trim it with ordinary metal blades. The scissors had snapped the moment they closed around a strand.
"Regular metal can't cut it… interesting," he had said, fascination clear in his voice.
He had held her hair in his gloved hand as though it belonged to him, not to her. Then he used a mana blade to slice off a small portion.
After that, he told her he would not cut it again.
And she was not permitted to have a blade herself.
Knives, he had said, were dangerous in her hands.
Yuzuki disagreed.
Anything was dangerous in her hands.
Even empty hands.
She had killed a mana beast using nothing but her fingers. It had been small like a child size and weak.
But a kill was still a kill.
The warrior memories forced into her mind that were not hers blended unnaturally into her thoughts. Things she had never done or seen. Combat techniques. Battlefield instincts. Efficient methods of ending life now existed within her mind, and she could use them whenever she wished.
She clearly remembered the day hundreds of small needles were injected into her head, forcing down murmured commands. She saw things that were not hers, felt things she had never felt, experienced emotions ranging from happiness to unbearable pain. She knew that experience had changed her. Whether for better or worse, she did not know.
But she was certain of one thing.
If they released her now, she could kill at least five swordsmen with her bare hands alone without difficulty.
Perhaps more.
That was one reason she was here.
But not the only one.
She had tried to escape.
It had been hopeless from the start.
Even if she had succeeded, her life outside would have been brief. The illness in her body would have killed her within a day without medicant.
There had never been hope.
Still…
She had wanted to see the outside world.
Anything other than darkness.
But she couldn't.
A thick blindfold covered her eyes claiming it was necessary.
After all, they said she was not obedient like the other subjects. She was still loyal to herself, not to the doctor and that could not be changed. He knew that. After all, she would rather die than become his tool.
She wanted to scream at him.
But her mouth was gagged.
They said it was to prevent her from harming herself during emotional breakdowns.
Before this cell, she had been kept inside a containment tube suspended in a dense liquid that clung to her body like a second skin. It pressed against her from every direction, restricting all movement.
It had been suffocating.
But manageable.
Because she had only been awakened for a few hours each day for testing. For combat evaluation. For forced integration of the implanted warrior memories.
Then she would be submerged again.
Now she remained awake.
Constantly.
Her arms were locked in place.
Thick mana-resistant chains wrapped around her neck, torso, and legs—binding her tightly enough that even breathing required effort.
She could not move.
Could not see.
Could not speak.
Only exist.
Alone in darkness.
Tap.
Tap.
Footsteps echoed beyond the iron door.
Yuzuki stilled.
Even blindfolded, even restrained, her senses had sharpened over time to compensate for the loss of sight. She could hear the measured pace of someone approaching. Not too heavy. Not too light. Average weight. Controlled steps.
She could hear the faint scrape of fabric against stone.
She could smell antiseptic.
The lock disengaged with a heavy click.
The iron door creaked open.
Someone entered.
The person did not speak at first. They stood there, observing her in silence. She could feel their gaze.
Then, calmly clinically he spoke.
"I hope you have learned your lesson, My dear new Subject."
There was no warmth in his tone.
Yuzuki gave the faintest nod.
It was barely noticeable just the smallest dip of her head but in the silence of the cell, even that movement felt loud.
A gloved hand brushed against her hair.
It slid slowly through the unnaturally long strands, lifting them, letting them spill between his fingers. The touch was gentle almost tender as the hair was drawn away from her face, grazing her cheek.
"You survived," he said softly. "From the adjustment of mana density within your body… to the integration of foreign memories. Many of my tests could have resulted in your death."
His fingers continued their slow motion through her hair.
"And yet," he murmured, "here you are. Alive. Far beyond other subjects Far beyond even my own expectation."
There was pride in his voice. like of man in love with his child's accomplishment.
"After so long of research," he continued, his tone tightening, "I finally found the perfect candidate."
His hand stilled.
"And what do you do?"
His voice sharpened.
"You attempt to escape."
The words cut through the darkness.
His fingers moved downward, gripping the gag. With a small click, he removed it. The restraint fell away.
Air touched her lips for the first time in days.
Yuzuki gasped, dragging in a shaky breath through her mouth. Her throat burned from disuse, each inhale raw and dry.
"You tried to run away," he repeated, but this time there was something else beneath the anger.
Disappointment.
"I… I—" she tried to speak.
A finger pressed lightly against her lips, silencing her.
"An experiment should only speak when permitted," he said calmly.
The finger lifted.
"Now tell me," he asked, his voice lowering just enough to carry weight, "why did you try to escape?"
Her throat felt fragile. Unused.
She swallowed.
"…I wanted to see the sky," she said quietly.
The memory flickered in her mind the last time she had seen open blue world above her. The last time sunlight had touched her skin without glass or stone between.
Silence filled the cell.
The man exhaled slowly.
"…Hmm."
There was no anger in the sound now.
Fabric rustled as he reached into his coat pocket. A small object clicked lightly against glass.
He withdrew a pill.
"Open your mouth," he said.
Yuzuki's lips trembled.
For half a second, she considered refusing.
Then reality settled in.
There wasn't an option.
Slowly…
She opened her mouth.
The pill was placed carefully on her tongue.
"Swallow."
She obeyed.
It slid down her throat dryly, leaving a faint bitter trace behind. The doctor's gloved hand tilted her chin upward, holding it there for several seconds to ensure she hadn't hidden it.
"Good," he murmured.
His hand released her.
At first, nothing happened.
The silence stretched.
Then—
A faint heaviness crept behind her eyes.
It was subtle. Almost gentle.
Her vision though already covered by the blindfold felt dimmer somehow, as if even the darkness was fading into something thicker.
Her breathing slowed.
Her limbs grew heavier within the chains.
Warmth pooled through her body, replacing tension with a spreading, artificial calm. The sharp awareness she had maintained for so long began to dull at the edges.
Her thoughts felt… slower.
Like wading through deep water.
"N-no…" she whispered weakly, though her protest lacked strength.
Her fingers twitched against the restraints.
Her head dipped forward.
The doctor caught her chin before it could slump fully.
"I wanted to change you slowly… shape you into my perfect creation," the doctor whispered, his breath warm against her ear. "But I am running out of time. And others are asking for results."
His voice lowered further.
"So I will have to speed this project up."
Before her entire mind was consumed by sleep, something else surfaced.
Rage.
Blazing like hot blood in her mind.
Relentless, it spread from her thoughts to her entire body. It was anger unlike anything she had ever felt in her life, and it was directed at one person and one person only.
Hiro.
She didn't know why she felt this much rage, and she didn't care to understand it. She only wanted one thing—
To smash Hiro's head in, one way or another.
After all, she had taken care of him—fed him, let him stay in her house—and now he had left her. As if she were not his friend not his family.
He needed to be punished.
He needed to pay.
With every second, Yuzuki felt her anger grow.
And grow.
And grow.
Before she knew it, she could see the doctor in front of her.
The restraints that had been holding her down lay shattered on the ground, broken apart and corroded by steaming, acidic blood.
The doctor slowly stepped back.
"So, it also increases the power…element, huh? That could be useful," he said calmly.
Then—
Snap.
He snapped his fingers.
Clothes and two short swords fell onto the floor in front of Yuzuki.
"All right," he said, watching her carefully. "Put them on. I'm going to help you take your revenge."