Noir opened her eyes.
Blinding white light flooded in, forcing her pupils to shrink. The smell of chemicals and machines made her stomach turn.
She tried to move—no use. Her arms and legs were locked tight by special restraints, cables tangled everywhere. She was almost fused to the chair.
On her wrist was another metal ring, thick and cold, glowing faint blue. A device designed to suppress power—used when a "product" is being prepared for official deployment.
The feeling… was heavy.
Her abilities felt like they were dragged straight down into an abyss.
Only then did she slowly lift her head.
Kaelith stood right in front of her, arms crossed. Her face was cold, like solid ice.
That gaze—empty, distant, mixed with something close to hatred. As if there had never been any bond between them at all.
Familiar. And yet painfully distant.
Noir stared at her. There was no urge to tear her apart. Instead, her eyes were calm. Soft.
The same strange feeling from the first time she tried to read Kaelith returned—that layer of hollow fog she could never name.
She had guessed right.
And now… it was too late.
Ari's warning echoed in her head, clear as if it were yesterday.
"Be careful. Some things are not always what they seem."
Noir closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
Her gaze turned sharp—chilling.
This time… she had bet too much.
From the monitoring room, the leader's voice came through the speakers.
"Good. She's alive. And Lysander kept his promise."
"Do not kill her. A perfect product like this… keeping her for experiments is the wiser choice."
Lysander stood behind them, silent. His eyes flickered with something unreadable as he looked at Noir.
The room was so cold and quiet that the only sound was the faint hum of the restraint on Noir's wrist.
Beep… beep…
Kaelith stepped closer, eyes unblinking.
She stopped right in front of Noir, looking down, as if trying to crush the last scraps of pride left in those icy eyes.
Noir said nothing.
She waited.
After a long while, Kaelith finally spoke. Her voice was full of conflict.
"Do you know… I was never given a choice?"
Noir raised an eyebrow, gaze sharp.
Kaelith bit her lip, then continued. Each word felt torn straight from her chest.
"It's YOU… YOU!! Your existence turned my life into this. Are you satisfied now? HUH?!"
She was almost screaming.
Noir remained silent, watching what she would do next.
Then Kaelith suddenly laughed.
"Ha—HAHAHA… How does it feel? Being betrayed by the one standing beside you? It hurts, right? I'll drag you straight down to hell, bitch!"
The room fell dead silent. No one else. Just the two of them.
But then—Noir noticed.
Kaelith was crying.
Her voice broke.
"How… how could you ever understand this feeling of mine? My parents are in their hands. They suffer every day, hoping for me every day… and I'm the one hurting people. Do you know that?! HUH?! I was the one who leaked your location. I followed you… haha—"
She shook Noir hard by the shoulders.
Noir froze.
Images flashed in her mind—the sudden appearances of the Organization, the traps she barely escaped.
So that was it.
It had always started here.
Kaelith took a deep breath. Her eyes trembled, but her voice hardened like steel.
"I didn't lie about my parents being taken. From that moment on, I lost my freedom.
Do you think I wanted this?
I… didn't. But if I didn't obey, they'd kill my parents right in front of me."
Noir looked straight into her clear eyes.
The red in her left eye flickered weakly.
She wanted to hear everything. From Kaelith's own mouth.
Kaelith gave a bitter smile, her voice choking.
"I know. You figured it out long ago.
You're always faster. Always sharper… but this time, you were one step too slow, Noir."
The room drowned in tense silence.
Noir still said nothing. Just stared. Just stayed quiet—so quiet it made Kaelith feel suffocated.
Outside the door, Lysander had left the meeting room at some point. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
He didn't interfere. Only watched.
In his deep eyes reflected two figures—
the woman he had always considered everything, now finally back,
and a girl forced to betray to save her family.
For some reason, a sharp pain stabbed his chest.
Yet deep inside that twisted mind, Lysander felt no guilt at all—for as long as Noir was near him again.
Inside, the air remained heavy. Grief and hatred tangled together.
Fortunately for Kaelith, VOID's cameras didn't record audio—otherwise she'd never dare act like this in front of Noir.
Elsewhere, in high-level meeting rooms across different locations, the Organization's leaders watched the large screen.
The one in charge looked pleased.
"Indeed. There's nothing VOID can't control. A reward—hahaha…"
He gently swirled the wine glass.