Renlo reached the young girl, splitting his bread in two and stretching out one half towards her. She was about to start picking up the scraps when she saw him.
The girl was petite, barely eight years by Renlo's guess. Her body was marred by dirt and grime, and from the gloom around her, she had lost the light in her eyes.
Her large black eyes stared at his hand holding the bread, then flicked up to meet his. She suddenly took a step back, glancing towards the others as though to ask for help.
"You can have it," Renlo spoke softly, smiling. "I'm not trying to hurt you. You'll starve if you don't eat."
He raised his other hand as if to show her he meant no harm. The girl's stomach growled just then, and she bit her fingers, clearly nervous. All eyes were on them.
Renlo sighed. All his life, he had lived at the bottom of the ladder, and now… people were scared of him. Of him.
If Malakai were here, they might have actually entered those walls. That was the true monster.
"Here, I'll just drop it on the ground." He placed the bread in front of him and moved back.
The girl's eyes were fixed on him, not moving an inch. Renlo sighed and took another step back. It wasn't until he'd taken several steps, nearly to the wall, that she finally moved to take the bread.
'Finally.' He felt an odd sense of accomplishment.
He glanced around. The other figures still stared at him with fearful, cold eyes.
He sighed and waited while the young girl ate. She ate like someone expecting the bread to be snatched away, stuffing the big chunks into her cheeks.
Renlo nearly rushed over thinking she was choking, but she swallowed it down hard. He gulped and focused on finishing his own meal.
When she was done, he approached her again, slowly and carefully. She shivered the instant she saw him, trying to move away.
He raised both arms. "Wait, wait. I won't hurt you."
Renlo whispered, but the girl didn't move. She clutched the hem of her clothes, watching him cautiously.
Renlo decided not to push his luck. He settled a few meters from her, rather than closer.
"Are you alone here?" he asked.
It took a few long seconds, but she eventual slowly nodded.
'She understands me!' Renlo was glad.
"What about your parents?"
When she didn't answer, he turned and saw her staring at him blankly.
'Maybe she doesn't understand the word…'
The instant he said it, he saw her eyes dim significantly, and her head lowered. It wasn't until drops began hitting the ground that he realized she was crying.
'Damn, Renlo! What did you do!?'
Renlo panicked. He stretched out his arm, intending to pat her back, but thought better of it. He eventually settled for silence as she sobbed quietly.
"What happened?" Renlo asked when she had calmed.
"Take." The girl's voice was cracked and soft. But Renlo could tell she wasn't fluent in the language.
"Take?" he echoed, clenching his fists. "Where did they take them?"
The girl pointed toward a corner in the room. Renlo had to squint to see that there was a reflective surface there.
Renlo noticed the others avoided that corner. He approached with cautious steps. He had no idea what to expect.
Reaching it, he saw what looked like a small window high up, barely noticeable unless one looked closely. It almost seemed part of the wall.
Renlo thanked the stars for the indent in the wall above his stomach. He placed his foot on it and hoisted himself up. He was relieved to see the reflective glass was actually see through.
And what he saw made his blood run cold.
He had been in labs as a child. His family's labs where he visited along with his father and grandfather. Places where beasts were experimented on. Where equipment was made.
But this… this was different.
Figures in white lab coats roamed around a massive room, entering reports into large tab like devices.
The room was filled with horror.
Figures strapped to metal beds. Machines above them, each with a compressed vita blade humming softly.
Some were being skinned alive.
Some had their organs harvested.
Others had their limbs cut off.
It just kept getting worse no matter where he looked.
Renlo couldn't hear a thing, but he saw their mouths wide open, their veins bulging. He could feel their pain. Their agony.
He found himself on the floor in the next moment, puking out everything in his stomach.
When it was done, with back against the wall, he raised his head.
All eyes were on him, but Renlo didn't care. Right now, there was only one thought on his mind.
"Baby, what happened this time? You've never failed mommy before."
Seraza almost puked. She'd asked this slut to stop calling her that accursed word numerous times.
"Like I said, fourth pulse—"
"I told you to call me mother."
"Well, I told you to stop calling me baby, but here we are. Failing at fucking simple objectives." She shrugged.
Beatrix stared at her daughter with narrowed eyes, and Seraza met her gaze without backing down. They were both inside her office. The walls and desk were white, and Beatrix wore a shining white lab coat.
The Fourth Pulse sighed. "Why are you being so difficult?"
The air turned heavy and Seraza found it hard to breathe. But she smirked anyway, as though daring Beatrix to hit her.
Beatrix shook her head, releasing her aura. She decided to change the topic.
Seraza's eyes turned fierce. "I didn't lose."
"That's not what the results say." She frowned. "You had him. And you lost him. If you didn't lose, then what happened?"
"A fucking grade three darkness creature happened!" she shouted. "That little bastard defeated Konos!"
Beatrix's eyes constricted. "What?"