We had been walking for about 15 minutes. We took a break in the previous room and had found two more rooms almost exactly like it. As we ventured deeper and deeper, the mist seemed to let up a bit, and it became easier to breathe.

  However, our journey wasn’t all easy. Despite our remaining quiet, we saw that monster two more times. It’s like it knew our general area, but not exactly where we were. It felt like it was stalking us.

  “How’s the air?” I asked Zero, who was walking alongside me.

  “I can breathe and walk just fine now. I still feel a little groggy, though.”

  “That’s good.”

  We walked in silence for a bit longer.

  “I see your hair isn’t in a braid today. Did you already forget the way I taught you?”

  “It’s….hard.”

  “Looks like I am better than Mr. Survival at something. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you as many times as you need!” She said as she happily slapped my back.

  Despite her jovial demeanor I could see her shaking as we were walking. She was doing everything to keep a positive attitude.

  I wonder if she’s been acting so happy as a mask to hide her fear of death.

  “Don’t worry, next time I’ll get it down. I’ll probably be better than you after the 2nd time.”

  “Huh?! Quit dreaming. It’s my job to be the miracle worker here, not you.”

  We both chuckled as we continued on.

  “I…need to tell you something 963.”

  “What is it?”

  She leaned forward on my back, her white hair draping over my shoulders.

  “Do you know what this facility is called?”

  “No, I was never told,” I responded, checking a corner before treading forward.

  “It’s a secret facility known as the Gift Awakening and Evolution Neurocenter, called GAEN. Its purpose is to forcibly awaken children….through torture.”

  I stared at her in silence as she continued to explain.

  “My dad told me that there is no sure way of awakening gifts, but it’s a fact that many people who seemingly don’t have gifts, just haven’t awakened yet. Many gifts lie in dormancy until a certain condition is met, but sometimes that condition can be overridden with near-death experiences. At least, that’s the complicated stuff he told me. I don’t really get most of it.”

  “So it’s similar to how some restrictions on people’s bodies are lifted in dire situations.”

  She nodded her head and continued on.

  “But…not many people would willingly put their kid through torture. So the head researcher of this place began abducting other kids to use for his experiments, and my dad looked the other way. That’s one of the reasons why I hate him.” She said, clenching my shoulder tight out of rage.

  “Do you know how many kids are currently here? 3,228. This is the 4th batch of kids; there have already been thousands and thousands of deaths. And only 10 total kids of over 10,000 children awakened. And my dad just lets it happen.” Zero said, starting to hiccup.

  “...And it’s all my fault.”

  Tears dripped down her cheek as she hugged me tighter.

  “You had no control over those actions. It’s pointless to blame yourself for your father’s mistakes, don’t–”

  “You don’t get it!” She yelled, pushing off of me and falling on the ground.

  She slovenly stood up and looked at me. Her hair covering her eyes, grasping her chest with tears streaming down her face endlessly.

  “This facility was made for me!”

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  “What? What do you mean?”

  “I…I can’t show you because it’s very volatile, but let me explain what my gift is. My gift is called Hemofloral Burst, at least….that’s the name the Head Researcher gave it. If I see an open wound or just any blood at all, I can make a flower absorb the blood and bloom. Once it blooms fully, it explodes.”

  “How…big is the explosion?”

  “....Big enough to destroy the limb the flower blooms on. Which sparks more blood, causing more flowers to be able to bloom and… you get the point. Even I know it’s a very powerful and destructive gift.”

  “...”

  “The side effect is that those same flowers bloom in my body. They don’t explode, but they absorb my blood at a constant rate and grow on my bones and muscles. If left unchecked….my blood will be constantly consumed, and I’ll die.”

  “Well, you’re being treated right?”

  “I told you, it’s constant. I might get treated once every couple of weeks, but it continues to come back and bloom. Each time I get treatment, it’s less effective. It’s painful to move around with the flowers in me….every step or twitch I make feels like I’m being stabbed from the inside.”

  “I’m sorry that this is happening to you…but what does this have to do with the creation of this facility?”

  “We tried the best hospitals on every continent, but not even people with the best healing technology and gifts could stop it. That’s when some people in the Agency got wind of what was happening to me.”

  “The Agency?”

  “You said this air was similar to your homeland, right? You’re probably from Laeva. My dad described the place he went to as “A barren wasteland tinged with red.” After my dad stopped a massive Rust outbreak there that almost endangered the whole world, he became known as “The Hero.”

  I remember my mother telling me that the mist was far worse 10 years ago….

  “To keep the world like that, he made a company called World Gear, although a lot of people just call it the Agency. A bunch of people are a part of it, and it’s probably the most well-known organisation in the world.”

  “Your dad is quite something,” I said with a hint of sarcasm, but she just looked down further.

  “A man named Dr. Verrat, who was a scientist working under the Agency, came to my father with an idea. If there were no gifts in the world that could heal me, why not force-awaken people and create one? With this method, they could take matters into their own hands.”

  “That’s more than just far-fetched; that’s ludicrous. Even if you could effectively awaken one person a day, that method is completely unreliable.” I said, instinctively flexing my fingers.

  “Ha…that’s what my dad said too at first. But Dr. Verrat had two other reasons. He said that if he could study the process of awakening gifts, he could potentially reverse it as well. This was what got my dad on board.”

  “What was the second reason?”

  “Dr. Verrat told my dad that any child who awakens can be used for the Agency as future combat Agents. He’s basically turning kids into weapons.”

  “....”

  “I spoke out and yelled at my dad to not do this, but he acts like I’m crazy. He just keeps telling me over and over that he’ll save me, but….”

  “Zero….”

  “Why does my life have to be worth thousands?!”

  She collapsed on the floor once again, crying.

  “Everyone here is hurting, going through pain, without their families because of me! You wouldn’t have been taken from your home if it weren’t for me! That tournament where everyone died wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for me! These monsters wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me! It’s all my fault!”

  “I….”

  “And the worst part is….I can’t escape on my own! I’m useless because of this sickness from a power I didn’t even want! I pushed you to go to that tournament so I could see if you were strong enough to help! I put your life in danger for my own selfish desires! I’m the same as my dad!” She continued, holding her head. “If… if only my mom was here….! Mom….*hic*....!”

  What she was saying wasn’t untrue. Without her existence, this facility would have never been made. However….

  “I have no doubt in my mind that Dr. Verrat would have found a way to create this facility regardless. There’s no use in blaming yourself for something you couldn’t control.”

  “But that’s not what happened, is it? I live for what, a year longer? And thousands more die. That’s why I want to leave. It may be selfish, but I just want to run away from it all. I want to die on the outside, after seeing sights and doing what I want. I don’t want to continue this treatment, that’s not even helping. I’d rather die being free than die stuck in this place.”

  I walked back over to her and knelt down to meet her eyes.

  “I’ve heard your plea. Let’s….escape together. I’ll make sure that you’ll live and die of your own free will, not shackled here any longer.”

  “Even…*sniffle*....though it’s my fault that you’re stuck here?”

  “It’s not your fault. The right to live how you want….could never be a sin in my eyes.”

  I hugged her, and she hugged back with all her might.

  “Thank you…..thank you…..thank you….”

  She repeated those words over and over again before releasing her grip and showing a wide smile.

  “With the time I have left, let’s get out of here and go on an adventure around the world!”

  “Sure….I think I’d like that.”

  “Now, let’s–”

  *SCREEEEEEECH*

  From behind us, we heard a deafening roar. So loud and fearsome that both Zero and even I were stunned for a moment.

  There’s no way it found us already when we got so far away from it! Even if we were making noise!

  We slowly turned around and saw it hunched over, with its hand against the wall. It clenched its palm and cracked the wall, slowly looking up and staring at us with its empty sockets.

  “963....!”

  “RUN!” I yelled.

  Time seemed to slow down as, for the first time since coming here, the only plan I could think of was to run for my life.