Opening my shut eyes, I blink twice to take in what I saw.
When I finished I stood there paralysed, around me was a place I knew all too well...
It was the city of Starta.
The place I was born and raised in, the bustling streets of people passing, and the tall buildings with flashy lights.
I was frozen in place as I stared lost. The buried fright I had thought to have locked away ages ago came back wriggling into my heart along with these memories.
My face paled at the realisation of what exact memory this was, it was the first time I was taken out of the training and recruitment centre and sent to the lab.
As I thought everything in my sight zoomed passed and what was left was the scene in which I wished to forget all these years.
What I saw was chilling to the bone, quite literally.
I stood there watching my younger self be taken into the laboratory room and being strapped on the operation table.
My heart dropped as the needle was penetrating into my skin, I yelled in pain as I clenched my chest just right above my heart. The pain felt all too real, as I kept watching the liquid being pushed into me, my screams couldn't be heard as they had taped my mouth but my bloodshot eyes filled with tears told about the pain as ever part of my body felt like it was being stabbed by needles then being ruthlessly torn apart.
I was clenching my fists while hunching on the floor trying to breathe, I could feel it in my body. I could feel the unknown substance they had injected into me when I was only 8. the pain I could never forget yet right now it felt as if I was reliving it, my eyes welled up with tears as I tried hard to endure the pain.
It wasn't long before I heard the same voices I did back then, "she's just a child, is it really that necessary to treat her this way?"
"Of course! She's just another orphan anyway. We can just replace her if she dies."
"oh...how is the experiment going?"
"The substance seems to have a bad effect on the last few test subjects before but I think that this girl could be our success."
"What makes you say that?"
"because she didn't die nor did her skin start rotting when I injected her with the serum."
"Is there something special about this girl?"
"Possibly, but that's probably unlikely."
As their words grew louder in my ears I punched the floor underneath me cursing, I hated them. I hated them with every fibre in my body. Their voices were nauseating, as each word cut my heart like sharp daggers, along with the searing of the serum still caused my body to tremble chaotically.
They didn't want to let me live yet they didn't want me to die.
These scumbags treated me like a toy that they could discard at any moment. They never saw me as a human they only saw me as a tool for their testing and dirty work.
Even now in this life, I'm still being used as a tool for others to gain power.
I'm not a human in their eyes, I'm just a tool to them...
What do I have to do to live in peace!
What do I have to do so that others can view me as a living being!
In my despair, the two men who were observing the younger me came over to my side and said casually, "If you don't want to be treated as a tool then just don't live. Simple as that."
Hearing their words, I was left stunned. "w-what?..."
"What? You said you didn't want to be used again but there's no way that you won't after-all you're different from us regular's."
"no. no you're wrong."
"see you're going into denial. You might as well die that's probably the only way you can be at peace."
My sanity was cracking as my emotions flared and acted up, my rationality was thrown out the window alongside all the new memories in this life. It was like all I could remember was my life as a trained top killer, my loneliness, my sorrow, my pain.
My colorless world filled with doubt and pain that filled my dark soul.
The only word I could think of at that moment was...
Kill.
My hands had acted on their own and went to grab the scalpel on the operation equipment tray. The sharp end was pointed at my throat, my hands seemed to move on its own as the scalpel was brought closer and closer to my throat.
My mind went blank before I gave a helpless smile,
"Kill..." I whispered to myself with disgust, I'm so pathetic...
Is that really all I know how to do...
All this time...
I guess nothing has changed.
As I felt the prick of the scalpel piercing my skin like a stream of blood leaked out.
My eyes were watering as I was about to accept my fate, until I heard a sudden cry, "Lilith! Stop! It's an Illusion!"
This voice...
Who?
My mind became clear again as I looked at the scalpel in my hand and drew it back before flinging it across the room.
What was I doing?
I may hate myself and my situation in both lives but that didn't mean I wanted to die.
As I stood up no longer feeling any pain in my body I stared at the younger me on the operation table.
The two men ran in front of me while panicking, I was right.
As I created a thin but sharp sword in my hand through my spilled blood, I rose my hand and sliced across the two men without hesitation.
The two men spilt open as two black clouded shadow figures took their spot before disappearing. I didn't even bat an eye as I kept moving towards myself.
I pointed the tip of my sword at her neck, my eyes filled with determination. I sliced at her throat with no hesitance, after which I said, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you but know this I will protect you and Lilith in our new life of mine."
The girl before me smiles and says, "it's a promise."
Before slowly dissipating, my heart sunk a little as I gave a sad smile to where she had laid.
Finishing up my thoughts and feelings I circle my mana around me and made it push outwards to attack the illusion in all places and no longer than 10 seconds the illusion shattered.
Opening my eyes I turn to witness the altar's spirit locked in battle with Rowan and Braylon. It seemed that it noticed me and turned its head to me with shock as it clutched his injured arm.
Seeing the state Braylon and Rowan were in, I felt annoyed.
I seriously had enough of this as I moved behind both Braylon and Rowan knocking them out. After the spirit just looked at me with big eyes full of confusion, before it could do anything I immediately used my mana manipulation to seal the mana in the physical altar.
At this the spirit seemed shocked then enraged as it aimed its arm at me, I just turned my head and looked at him blankly not caring about his existence.
And just as his arm reached me it passed through me, I could see his confusion as he tried to conjure up something.
I wasn't bothered to deal with him, so I decided to explain. "don't even try, it's pointless now. I've sealed your mana so you're stuck as a spirit while your physical appearance lost the ability to utilise magic."
I didn't bother sparing another glance as I plopped the altar into my own space before taking Braylon and Rowan in the air with the wind. I then exited the temple with the two floating behind me and just headed to the same hotel again.
After placing the two guys in their respected beds, I headed to the showers. After my dinner meal, I tiredly changed and prepared myself for bed.
It was rather late before I tucked myself in bed and slept.
My last thoughts before drifting off to dreamland were spent wondering if Leona, Mother, and Father were doing well.
I kinda miss them...