* TRIGGER WARNINGS * Graphic scene of torture, hallucinations, near death experiences, mentions of death.
Dr. Amar's words echoed in my skull, deafening despite the heavy silence in the ruined lab.
"You cracked the Cube."
I barely noticed the trembling in my hands, the unsteady rhythm of my breath, the ache in my body from the shock.
The Cube was cracked.
A cold realization settled in my chest, coiling around my ribs like a vice. Whatever had been sealed away inside that thing, whatever was dangerous enough to require ancient security measures, was now free because of me.
Dr. Amar's dark eyes gleamed with something sickeningly satisfied. "Do you feel it yet?"
I swallowed hard.
And then—
I did.
A strange, almost imperceptible hum in the air, like something shifting, waking up. It wasn't just in the room. It was everywhere. The pressure of something vast, something ancient pressing against the edges of my senses. It wasn't just the Cube—it was the magic inside me, the strange power that had been forced into my body, now fully awake and roaring to the surface. My veins felt like they were on fire, the heat of it spreading from my core, radiating through every inch of my body.
I could feel it—every cell, every inch of my body vibrating with it.
My vision blurred, then sharpened. The room warped and twisted before me, the walls stretching unnaturally as I stumbled forward, my hands gripping the sides of the hallway for support. The hum of the energy inside me throbbed in my ears, pounding against my skull as though it wanted to break free from the confines of my body. I gasped, trying to push it back, but I couldn't. The more I tried to suppress it, the stronger it grew, like a wildfire spreading through dry brush. My fingers trembled, and I could feel the very air around me charge with static, crackling like a storm was building just inside my skin.
My heart hammered in my chest, my body a vessel for something ancient, something that shouldn't have been there. It was like my blood was boiling, my pulse an unrelenting drumbeat of raw power that had nowhere to go. I felt it surge, uncontrollable, building in my core until it flooded my lungs. It was as though I was being filled with lightning, the air in my chest crackling with static, making it hard to breathe. My body fought it—refused to let it overwhelm me—but I could feel the energy clawing at my skin, pushing through my bones like molten lava. The edges of my vision grew blurry again, colors bleeding together in a surreal swirl as my body trembled uncontrollably, the power pulling at me from every direction. My fingers twitched, and the walls shifted around me. The hum in my head grew louder, a strange pressure in my skull as if something was trying to break through from the inside out. I gasped, clutching at the nearest wall for support, but the energy coursing through me didn't let up. It only intensified. The feeling was so overwhelming, I could almost hear it—feel it—vibrating through the air around me. My breath came in ragged gasps, and I realized—I wasn't just holding onto the power. The power was holding me.
"No…" I gasped, gritting my teeth against the overwhelming pressure.
The Cube was too much. The bracelet, the key—it had been meant for something else. Something more. And now, it was destroying me from the inside out.
I could feel it.
Dr. Amar is watching me, his eyes narrowed with curiosity, like I'm some kind of lab experiment, but I can barely focus on him. Every inch of my body is on fire. My fingertips are buzzing, twitching, and it's all I can do to keep my hands from curling into fists. I'm shaking, but I'm not sure if it's from fear, the power, or both. It's like I'm trapped in my own skin, every nerve in my body screaming to escape, but there's nowhere to go.The walls of the lab look different. Not that they've changed, but I see them differently. They're warping, stretching, flickering in and out of focus, like the edges are bending in on themselves. Everything around me feels off, like the very air has been altered, vibrating in time with the energy inside me. The fluorescent lights overhead buzz like they're too bright, too harsh, and I feel the urge to look away from them, my eyes stinging. I glance at Dr. Amar, but it's hard to make sense of his expression. His mouth is moving, but his words are muffled, like they're coming from underwater. I glance down at my hands. My fingers are trembling, but there's something else—glowing. Just faintly, at first, but I can see it clearly now. The energy inside me is leaking out, coursing through my skin in streaks of light that seem to pulse in time with my heartbeat. It's not just magic—it's a force, a power that's far beyond me, and I'm losing control of it, feeling it slip away from me.
The room is growing colder, the air thick with static, like the storm before a lightning strike. Dr. Amar's voice still rings in my ears, but it's fading, swallowed by the buzz of my thoughts, the pulse of the energy, the feeling of something dangerous waiting to be unleashed.
"You don't understand yet, Cherish," he says, his tone almost playful. "But you will. You'll see what you've unleashed."
Dr. Amar's appearance began to falter, like the layers of his disguise were slowly peeling away. His skin, once smooth and composed, seemed to ripple beneath my gaze, flickering like a mirage. His eyes—those cold, calculating eyes—flickered with an unnatural light, the pupils narrowing into slits before widening again, revealing something... alien beneath the surface.
I tried to focus, to make sense of what I was seeing, but my mind felt foggy, and everything was spinning. He didn't look human anymore, not entirely. His features warped, subtly at first, but then more aggressively as the energy in the room seemed to stir in response to the remnants of the power still within me. His face shifted, his jaw elongating just a little too far, the texture of his skin becoming translucent in patches, as though some underlying layer—something other—was starting to bleed through.
It wasn't just his physical appearance. The very air around him seemed to warp and pulse, vibrating with an energy that felt wrong, almost hostile. His breath quickened, ragged as if struggling to stay contained in the fragile shell of a human form. The faintest glow began to emanate from his skin, a sickly greenish light that flickered like dying embers, and for a split second, I thought I saw the outline of something else beneath him—a towering, angular shape, more insect than man, something that didn't belong in this world.
There were more tubes attached to me than when I was last conscious. They snaked across my body, a network of cold, metallic wires, each one burrowing into my skin like leeches, siphoning off my strength, my energy. My head was swimming, the faint, persistent hum of the machines vibrating through the air, mixing with the irregular rhythm of my own heartbeat. I could feel the pulse of something else in the room, something beyond the technology—that energy, the one still flowing inside me, still alive.
I forced my eyes open, but the room around me was still blurred, flickering in and out of focus. The walls of the lab, dim and unwelcoming, twisted and warped as if they couldn't keep up with the overwhelming sensation crawling through my veins. Every inch of me felt like it was on fire, the heat of it spreading from the core of my chest, extending to my limbs, to my head. The tubes. They were hooked into my arms, my neck, and my stomach—everywhere—and I could feel the pressure they created, a pull that made my muscles ache and my skin crawl.
I tried to move, but my body felt sluggish, as though it was encased in concrete. I couldn't tell if I was still dreaming or if I was truly awake, but everything felt wrong. My thoughts were hazy, foggy—each breath coming in shallow, gasping bursts as I fought to process the reality around me.
Dr. Amar—or whatever was left of him—loomed over me, a dark silhouette against the dim, flickering light of the lab. He looked almost... ethereal now, the strange glow around him pulsing and shifting with the rhythm of my own deteriorating state. I could see the sharp outlines of his skeletal form, his alien features growing clearer by the second. His eyes—those glowing slits—pierced into me, studying me, calculating me.
"You're still alive," he rasped, his voice barely a whisper, but it sent a chill down my spine. "Impressive. Most would've burned out by now."
I swallowed, tasting metal on my tongue as I fought against the nausea that threatened to overtake me. "What have you done to me?" I managed, my voice rough, weak, but still defiant.
His lips curled into a sickly grin. "What I had to," he replied. "You're the key, Cherish. That... bracelet Miras gave you? It was only ever a temporary fix. The real key is you. But it seems... you're not exactly equipped to hold the power of a whole universe inside of you."
I couldn't respond. I could barely keep my eyes open.
The energy inside me throbbed with painful intensity, a heartbeat that wasn't my own, and it felt like my very soul was being stretched thin, the edges of me starting to fray under the strain. My skin burned, like I was being cooked from the inside out, and I could feel the tubes tugging at me, leeching away whatever life I had left.
There was so much energy inside me, more than I could comprehend, more than I could control. And I was terrified that if it didn't get out soon, it would destroy me—destroy everything.
I felt the pressure building in my chest again, the energy shifting, surging with such force that I thought I might explode. I wanted to scream, but the pain and exhaustion were too much. I couldn't even move my arms, and the tubes—the endless tubes—held me down.
The sound of Dr. Amar's voice, low and mocking, filtered through the haze. "You think you can stop it? You think you can control the force of an entire civilization? You're nothing but a conduit. And soon, you'll break under the weight of it."
The darkness of my mind shifts, the weight of the lab fading away as the air around me grows warmer. I find myself standing in the middle of a field, the scent of wildflowers heavy in the air, a gentle breeze brushing against my skin. It's peaceful here, surreal in its calm. There's no pain, no machines, no tubes. Just this... serenity.
And then I see him.
Miras. He's standing at the edge of the field, framed by the setting sun, casting a golden glow around him. His hair is tousled from the wind, his eyes distant but locked onto me, as though he's waiting, unsure if I'm real. There's a tension in his stance, like he's holding himself back, afraid to cross the distance.
I want to move toward him, but my legs feel heavy, rooted to the spot. The moment I try to step forward, the world around us starts to shift, bending like the ground is unstable. His figure flickers, like a mirage on the edge of my vision.
"Cherish," his voice echoes softly, but it's full of longing, full of pain. "Where are you? I... I can't lose you."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I want to shout, to reach out to him, but no sound comes. I'm frozen, caught in this dreamscape where I can't move, can't speak.
Miras takes a step forward, his expression twisting with a silent plea. "You don't know what's happening. I—I'm trying, Cherish. I swear, I won't stop until I find you. Just... just stay with me, okay?"
I want to tell him I'm here, that I'm fighting, that I haven't given up. But my body is trapped in this place, caught between reality and the dream, unable to move, unable to reach him.
The wind picks up, whipping around us, as if trying to tear us apart. And I feel it, that same power, that same sense of wrongness from the lab, creeping in at the edges of the dream, threatening to consume everything.
"Miras!" I try to scream, but no sound comes. I stretch my hands toward him, willing myself to move, to break free from the confines of the dream. "I'm here! I'm here with you!"
But the words dissolve in the wind, and the space between us grows longer, the field stretching impossibly far. He's moving too, his steps growing more frantic, but we're both stuck in this endless dance, unable to reach each other.
"I love you, Cherish," Miras whispers, the words carried away by the wind before I can respond. And with that, his figure flickers again, his presence fading into the distance, leaving me in the silent void.
I stand there alone, helpless, as the field starts to disappear around me. The ground beneath my feet crumbles, the light dims, and the world once again slips into darkness.
But I hear him, his voice one last time—louder now, desperate.
"I'll find you."
I was getting really fucking tired of waking up with more things attached to me. Every time I regained consciousness, it was like I was some science project for Dr. Amar—more tubes, more wires, more foreign objects jammed into my body, stealing what little strength I had left. This time, the cool press of metal was even worse. They were all over me, more invasive, more desperate. The faint whir of machinery buzzed in the background, but I barely had the energy to care anymore. My body felt like it was being held hostage, each tube tethering me further into this godforsaken experiment.
I tried to move—tried to move—but my muscles screamed in protest. They were weak. So weak. I couldn't tell if it was from the lack of food or the toll the experiments had taken on me, but my limbs felt like lead, heavy and unresponsive. The tubes pulsed, a rhythmic hum, like they were feeding on me, slowly draining everything that made me me.
A sharp pain shot through my chest, a constant reminder of the power that still lingered inside me, twisting and sparking, like an electrical storm trying to break free. I could feel it, pulsing in time with my heart, the power deep within me. I wasn't sure how much longer it would stay contained. If it kept building like this, I was going to tear apart.
A quiet click pulled me out of my dazed haze. My head snapped toward the sound, my eyes landing on the shadow of Dr. Amar. He moved toward me slowly, like a predator approaching its prey, a sickly smile playing at the edges of his lips.
"You're still alive, Cherish," he said, his voice thick with mock amusement. "Impressive. But it won't last long, not with this energy inside you. It's only a matter of time before it consumes you—and I'll be right here, ready to take it when you break."
His words hit me like a physical blow, a bitter truth. I wanted to fight back, to shout at him, but my throat felt dry, constricted. I couldn't even find my voice.
He stepped closer, the glow from his eyes casting an eerie light over the lab. The distorted figure of his alien form flickered briefly, and I saw the chitinous underlayer of his skin, the alien light pooling around him like some twisted aura. I couldn't look away, even as it sent a ripple of dread through me.
"I'm going to pull that power from you, Cherish," Dr. Amar said, each word dripping with cruel certainty. "Whether you cooperate or not. You're the key. And you have no idea how valuable that makes you."
I clenched my teeth, my pulse spiking. If he thought he could just drain me, take everything I was, he had another thing coming. I might be weak, but I wasn't done yet.
He reached for the next set of controls on the nearby panel, his fingers dancing over the switches and dials with practiced ease. I couldn't let him keep doing this. I couldn't.
But as the machine hummed to life again, I felt the familiar, sickening pull of energy thrumming in my veins, the power crackling beneath my skin, and the edges of my consciousness began to blur once more.
I wasn't done yet. But I was running out of time.
*****
Dr. Amar's footsteps were deliberate, each one measured and heavy as he approached the lab table where I was helplessly strapped down, the tubes still snaking across my body. His smile was cold, far too knowing, and I could see the glint of obsession in his eyes. There was no humanity left in him, just the chilling hunger of a man—no, an entity—driven by power.
"You've been such a resilient little subject, Cherish," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than to me. "But this… this is where it all ends."
I watched, powerless, as he moved toward the corner of the room, where the Cube sat on its pedestal, dark and foreboding. It pulsed with an ominous energy, the same energy that had cracked through me like a storm since the day Miras gave me the bracelet. The bracelet. The key. The reason I was here, trapped in this godforsaken place, being torn apart piece by piece.
Dr. Amar's hand hovered over the Cube, his fingers twitching in anticipation. I could feel the pull of it, a magnetic force that called to me—called to the power inside me that had been burning since the moment I touched it. The energy inside me stirred again, restless, crackling beneath my skin like an electric storm waiting to break free.
He turned his eyes toward me, his gaze piercing and cold. "This is it, Cherish. With your connection, the Cube will open. The power inside it will be mine—all mine." His voice was low and almost reverent, a maniacal kind of reverence that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I tried to fight, tried to pull against the restraints, but my body was weak—too weak—and my head was spinning from the constant draining. My eyes darted back to the Cube as Dr. Amar began to connect the tubes from me to the device. Each click of the connection sounded like a countdown, a death knell.
The air in the lab grew thicker, charged with a strange, violent energy. I could feel it creeping into my bones, my blood, every nerve firing at once, the connection between me and the Cube growing stronger with every moment. My pulse began to race in time with the flickering lights around me, the Cube's glow pulsing brighter with each breath I took.
Dr. Amar stepped back, observing the machine with a sick satisfaction on his face. "It's all happening, Cherish," he murmured. "The power will flood into me, and the universe will be mine to command. No more hiding in the shadows. No more limits. I will—"
Before he could finish, the Cube hummed, a low, vibrating sound that made my teeth rattle in my skull. The power within me responded—whether I wanted it to or not. I could feel it, too much, too fast, like a wildfire spreading through my veins. It wasn't just in my chest anymore. It was everywhere. The bracelet—the power—it was more than I could contain, and the Cube was trying to force it out of me, to unlock something beyond comprehension.
I screamed, my body arching against the restraints as the energy surged inside me, almost choking me with its intensity. The pain was unbearable, but it wasn't just pain—it was something else. Something alive. The Cube's energy and my own had melded together, creating a force so raw and untamed that it threatened to consume everything around me.
Dr. Amar was watching with a twisted grin, his eyes wide with delight.The Cube was no longer just reacting to me—it was feeding on me, and I was starting to crack under its weight.
"Please—just make it stop," I cried, though my voice was no stronger than I whisper. "I can't—I can't take it anymore."
Dr. Amar bent down, stroking my tears away with an unnatural thumb. "Shhhhh, it's almost over my dear. The process will be slow and painful, but it's almost done."
"How….how long?"
Dr. Amar's smirk deepened as he looked down at me, almost savoring the moment, as though he relished the fear that I couldn't suppress. He stood at a distance, giving me space—just enough space to realize how truly trapped I was.
His voice was smooth, almost coaxing, but with a coldness that sent a shiver down my spine. "We must be careful, Cherish. This is a very delicate process." His hand hovered over the controls again, eyes glinting in that way that told me he was already picturing the end. "With the Cube cracked open, I can extract the energy directly from you and into the Cube, slowly opening it all the way."
I tried to look away, but my gaze stayed fixed on him, my body unwilling to obey the instinct to run, to fight. The weight of his words sunk in. The Cube was open. He was going to do something with the power that had become part of me—and he was going to use me as a conduit to do it.
But what he said next made the panic rise in my throat, flooding every inch of me with dread.
"But it's not going to go without a fight." His grin widened, a chilling promise. "I know you have suffered, Cherish, but it won't compare to what you will feel over the next few days."
I froze. Days? My breath hitched in my throat as my mind struggled to make sense of what he was saying. The idea of days—of enduring this—was unbearable. I could barely keep myself together through hours of his torment, though I didn't truly know how long it had been. What kind of pain was he planning? How much more could I endure?
"Days?" I barely managed to rasp the word, my voice trembling in disbelief.
Dr. Amar's gaze softened, but only just, as if he were indulging a child's naive question. "Like I said, it's a tedious process. It won't be long before your body passes out from the pain. I'll keep you alive for however long it takes to complete the transformation."
My heart dropped, my pulse thundering in my ears. Keep me alive? His words cut through me like ice. This wasn't just about taking the energy from me—this was about keeping me alive, but barely. His plan wasn't just to extract the power. It was to drain me, slowly, until I was a husk of who I had once been, kept alive only as a tool.
I clenched my fists, my body trembling as the fear gripped me even tighter. I had no choice but to listen, to hear the worst part, though I knew it would haunt me forever.
"This energy is the only thing keeping you alive." Dr. Amar's voice was quieter now, almost tender, as if he were sympathizing with the agony he planned to inflict. "I'm afraid that once it runs out, there will be nothing left of you but a corpse."
His words were like a death sentence. A corpse. He wasn't lying. I could feel it, too—the way my heart raced as the energy burned through me, how it made me feel like I was holding onto life by a thread. It was all tied to the Cube now. And if he drained it from me completely…
"I do wish we could have met under different circumstances, Cherish." Dr. Amar tapped away on his machines, preparing the shock of pain that would inevitably kill me. "Life is just unfortunately cruel."
I couldn't stop myself from trembling, each involuntary movement a reminder of my helplessness. Even without the restraints, I couldn't move. My body was like stone, frozen in place, bound by forces far beyond my control. All I could do was lie there, waiting for the inevitable—hoping that I wouldn't wake up to feel the remainder of my life being sucked out of me through those cruel plastic tubes.
I didn't even know if Miras would ever find me again. The thought of him, of his smile, his kindness—everything I had left—felt like it was slipping through my fingers, like sand in the wind. But I couldn't let it go without saying something. Something that might give him a small piece of what was left of me.
"Can you tell Miras that I loved the bracelet?" My voice was barely a whisper, the words rasping from my dry throat, weak and faint, but I didn't care. It was all I had left to give.
Dr. Amar, engrossed in his consul, didn't hear me at first. The hum of the machine seemed to drown out my weak attempts. "What?" he asked, turning toward me with a confused expression.
I swallowed, forcing my voice to steady even as my heart broke with every word. "Tell Miras that I loved the bracelet. Leave a note... or whatever."
For a moment, his eyes flickered—just a brief, unreadable flash. Then, as if he were indulging a dying prisoner's final wish, he gave me a smile. It was strange, almost too soft to be real. "Seeing as it's your dying wish, I'll make sure he gets the message."
I wasn't sure if I should feel relief or dread at his words. Was he mocking me? Was this just another cruel game? But I had no energy left to care. Whatever happened, it was too late. The thought of Miras knowing that I'd tried to hold onto him, that I'd thought of him even in my last moments, felt like a fragile thread of comfort in an ocean of despair.
Dr. Amar moved across the room, rummaging through cabinets, his movements calculated and precise. The sound of drawers opening and closing filled the silence, but my mind felt heavy, thick with the weight of the impending darkness.
Then, through my blurry vision, I saw him stop and place something gently into my hands. It was small, fragile, and my fingers instinctively closed around it.
The broken jewels of the bracelet.
I couldn't stop the sob that escaped my lips, a choked sound of grief and longing. I cradled the pieces to my chest, the warmth of them a reminder of Miras, of what I'd lost. My heart ached with a hollow emptiness, the reality of never seeing him again settling like a stone in my chest.
I glanced up at Dr. Amar, not expecting anything but the cold, emotionless face I had grown so familiar with. But for a split second, I saw something else. Something almost... human.
"I hope you two find each other again in another life," he said. For a long, uncomfortable moment, he stood there, watching me, his eyes unreadable. Then, without a word, he turned away, walking toward the machine as if the brief exchange hadn't happened at all.
The message was out there. And that was all I could hold onto as the darkness began to pull me under once again.