Consciousness surged back into 99's body as if he had been thrust upward from the bottom of a dark ocean.He gasped sharply, every breath trembling, nerves aching like invisible hands were twisting them.
Before he could steady himself—the world inside his mind burst open again.
The Faceless Army.
He stood above an endless void, overlooking the vast expanse of the universe.Below him, a colossal army moved like a churning black sea.
They were not human.Not anything that should have existed at all.
Their bodies were warped into impossible shapes,yet they marched with flawless precision—a perfect, terrifying hierarchy of shadows.
With a single command,entire planets split apart like brittle glass.The lights of civilizations died one by one,swallowed by the advancing tide.
The devastation felt eerily familiar—like an echo from a memory buried so deep it had haunted him long before he ever woke as "Subject 99."
The Girl Who Breathed Through Pain.The Mother Who Cried in a Black Suit.
Another world yanked him in.
The same woman—but grown now.Stronger, heavier with experiences that weighed on her shoulders.
Short white hair.A pristine black suit.A deep navy tie.A long black coat that made her look both commanding… and heartbreakingly tired.
In her arms,a baby boy slept peacefully.
But she—she was trembling with silent sobs.
"I'm so sorry… Aerys…"Her voice cracked apart."I tried. I really tried. But I couldn't make you stronger… not like you deserved…"
Tears slid down her face and fell onto the baby's blanket.Her hands tightened around the child, shaking.
"It's all my fault…Just like when Anya was taken from me…"
Her sorrow struck 99 like a blow to the chest.His own tears slipped down, unbidden—a pain rising inside him, heavy and suffocating,as if a missing piece of himself had suddenly begun to cry.
The vision snapped away.
He now stood in a dim room tinted with a cold blue glow.
A girl—barely in her early teens—sat in the center.Skin pale as frost.White wavy hair draping over her shoulders.Red eyes, the same sharp shade as his.
She wore a breathing device,each inhale tight with strain,as if her lungs protested every moment she remained alive.
Her thin hands trembled.Her eyes darted into empty spaces—seeing things no one else could see,trapped in hallucinations that wrapped around her mind like chains.
99 didn't know who she was.But his chest ached with a familiarity so deep it felt ancient.
He knew she mattered.As if her voice had always been calling to him,waiting for him to answer.
He reached out,whispering to her—
She turned.Red eyes met his, piercing straight through him—
And then—
Awake—With Even Worse Questions
He jolted awake again, lungs burning,cold sweat running down his face.
He was still bound to the metal chair,and Dr. A stood before himwith a calmness so unnatural it made the room feel colder.
"How was it?"Dr. A's tone was almost casual."That woman… pitiful, isn't she? To be born carrying so much suffering."
99 clenched his teeth."What does this mean? Why did you make my mother like that?"
Dr. A chuckled softly—the laugh of someone who knew far more than any sane person should.
"I told you the young girl was your mother,"he shrugged,"but I never said the grown woman in the suit was your mother as well."
99 stiffened."Stop playing word games! What is all of this?! That army destroying planets—what does it mean?!"
Dr. A gestured lazily at a hologram behind him—the same shadow army from the vision.
"She created it.And she was the one who initiated Operation Armageddon."
A chill streaked down 99's spine.
"And my name…Is it Aerys Vilozyver?"
Dr. A smirked."You can believe that if you want.Your mother had… quite a few children."
Before 99 could respond—the steel door behind him slammed open.
Footsteps entered, steady and deliberate.
A young man around 99's age stepped into view.Pale skin.Golden blond hair.Sharp blue eyes.
He wore normal clothes—just an ordinary outfit a teenager might wear out on the street.
Except—
In his hand,he held a knife.
And his gaze locked on 99 with a fury so deep,so old,it was as if he had been waiting his whole life for this moment.
Dr. A tilted his head, entertained.
"Excellent…" he murmured."The family reunion begins."
Thus ends Chapter 5th.