Elisa had been locked away in the central laboratory for weeks, a white building composed of cubic structures that floated alongside one another thanks to gravitational fields. From the outside, the place was a symbol of scientific prestige; on the inside, for Elisa, it had become a prison filled with tools.
She worked tirelessly.
She slept little.
She ate even less.
Her colleagues — engineers, quantum wave physicists, gravitational architects — followed her orders only because Isabella's influence hung over them like a constant reminder.
But obedience was not respect.
And Elisa felt it every day.
Their gazes were cold.
Their comments were daggers disguised as casual remarks.
Their hands touched her blueprints with barely concealed disdain.
And whenever Isabella came to see her, even with her usual warm smile, she could only stay for a few minutes before having to rush off to some meeting, training session, or research session guided by the council.
"Are you eating properly?" she always asked.
"Yes," Elisa lied without even looking at her.
Isabella held the door open for one more second, as if she wanted to say something… and then she left, carried away by a schedule she could not change.
Elisa did not blame her.
Not at first.
Despite the hostility of her surroundings, Elisa created extraordinary machines.
A generator capable of stabilizing dying stars.
A satellite with the power to alter gravity at will.
A propulsion system that nearly reached the speed of light.
Each invention was brilliant.
Ingenious.
Advanced.
And yet, every single one was rejected by the council.
Sometimes because of "theoretical risks."
Other times because of a "lack of clarity regarding its purpose."
But Elisa knew those reasons were merely excuses to avoid telling her the truth:
They did not trust her.
Worse still… they did not want her there.
And whenever a project was not rejected outright, it ended up being modified by her colleagues until it became unrecognizable. They changed components, altered codes, dismantled entire structures without consulting her. Then they claimed it was to "optimize it," to "adapt it to regulations."
But Elisa knew they did it to erase her fingerprints from everything.
So that no invention could remain that could be attributed solely to her.
One night, exhausted and on the verge of tears, she went to Isabella.
"I need the freedom to work. Truly," Elisa said, her voice trembling. "If they don't let me make progress, I'll never be able to prove anything. They change everything, reject everything, treat me as if I'm some kind of danger…"
Isabella listened to her with narrowed eyes, a silent pain in her expression.
"Eli…" she whispered. "It's okay. I'll talk to them, don't worry."
And she did.
Within days, Elisa was granted exclusive access to an isolated laboratory, fewer restrictions, and permission to work without constant supervision.
It was the greatest gesture of trust Isabella could offer.
And yet… it was not enough.
Elisa began the most ambitious project of her life.
A device capable of manipulating energy on a planetary scale, an invention that could provide Aetheris with clean, unlimited energy for centuries.
She worked day and night.
Her hands were covered in cuts.
Her eyes were surrounded by deep dark circles.
Her mind was filled with a mixture of hope and rage.
"This time, they won't be able to ignore me," she whispered as she connected cables and assembled structures. "This time… I'll prove that what everyone fears about me are actually gifts."
But her colleagues watched her from a distance with growing hostility.
And one day — without her knowledge — they sabotaged the project.
A reversed connection.
A component replaced with a defective one.
A configuration altered in an almost imperceptible way.
Small changes that, together, would form a bomb.
The day of the presentation arrived.
The council had gathered in a white hall with floating columns and translucent panels displaying information about the device. Isabella was there too, nervous but smiling like someone who wanted to believe in the impossible.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"More than ever," Elisa replied, unaware of how much her fingers were trembling.
She activated the machine.
A steady hum filled the air.
A blue light pulsed within the core.
The sensors emitted soft tones…
Until something went wrong.
First, an irregular vibration.
Then, a metallic creaking sound.
After that, a flashing red light.
Elisa realized something was wrong and tried to inspect the machine quickly, but it was already too late.
And then—
The explosion.
A burst of energy expanded throughout the entire place.
Structures breaking apart.
Panels shattering.
Screams.
Disorder.
Chaos.
When the dust settled, the device was destroyed.
The facility was severely damaged.
Several people had been injured.
And Elisa, standing at the center, was completely paralyzed.
"No… no… that's impossible," she murmured, trembling. "I checked everything! Everything!"
Isabella rushed toward her and grabbed her by the shoulders, but the guards were already approaching.
The council was shouting orders.
Some demanded her immediate dismissal.
Others called for her imprisonment.
Isabella tried to defend her.
"She didn't do it on purpose! Something must have gone wrong. I was watching the entire process; it couldn't have been negligence…!"
But no one listened.
Within hours, Elisa was tried in a court of law, dismissed from her position, and placed on probation.
They wanted her out of all scientific work.
Out of the council.
Off the planet, if possible.
Elisa could feel something inside her breaking at that very moment.
When she left the courthouse, her gaze was completely vacant. Isabella was by her side, trying to comfort her, but Elisa seemed unable to hear anything. Even one of the people in the crowd outside the courthouse threw a can at her, staining her clothes, but Elisa did not even flinch. Isabella shouted furiously at the person while Elisa continued walking, escorted almost automatically.
That night, Isabella went to see her.
Elisa was sitting on the floor of her small apartment and did not look up.
"Elisa…" Isabella began.
"I can fix it," Elisa said, her voice broken. "I swear, Isabella. Someone sabotaged it. Something went wrong. I don't know what, but I can fix it if they let me back into the laboratory."
"Eli…" Isabella said in an almost comforting tone.
"You can't," she finally replied, her heart heavy. "This is too serious. I tried talking to them, but they don't want to listen to you. If you make even one mistake, they'll lock you up. I can't convince them this time."
Elisa raised her head.
Her eyes were red from crying so much.
They were empty.
Hurt.
Paranoid…
"You don't trust me either… do you?" she whispered.
"That's not it. I… I support you, but—"
"No, you don't!" Elisa interrupted, pulling away. "You think it's my fault too. You also think I'm useless. That I'm a danger!"
"I never said that!" Isabella raised her voice for the first time. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but Eli, this went wrong. Very wrong. You need to stop. Rest. Leave this project behind or… or I won't be able to help you anymore."
Elisa felt as though the world had shattered beneath her.
"So you're going to let them bring me down?" she whispered, trembling. "After everything we promised each other as children? After everything we dreamed of… together?"
Isabella closed her eyes, deeply hurt.
"I'm sorry. But you're out, Elisa. I can't change that."
Elisa felt devastated. Isabella tried to comfort her, but Elisa screamed at her and told her to get out.
Isabella insisted, trying to talk to her, but Elisa pushed her out of the apartment and slammed the door in her face.
Elisa's sobs could be heard throughout the entire floor, to the point that some neighbors told her to shut up, and Elisa was forced to cry in silence.
Hours later, in the darkness, with the tears drying on her face, a spark of hatred ignited in her chest.
"She abandoned me…" she whispered. "She promised me we would do everything together… she promised she would support me…"
She clenched her teeth.
"If everyone has turned their backs on me now… even her…"
Her fingers trembled.
And rage, mixed with envy and pain, shattered something inside her.
"…then I'll make her understand me too."
Her eyes, once filled with hope, now glimmered with a new shadow.
The shadow of envy.