Kapitel 111: Two felines pt.2
Months passed and Ada felt her power grow day by day. She slowly learned to manipulate the darkness, to steer it in the right direction and to create illusions that could deceive the eye of scientists.
The tests continued, but they no longer had any use. Usually, the actual exam was done by a single operator after she had been sedated, so she had learned to create an illusion that could distract him enough that he wouldn't realize the demigoddess had moved.
They tried to push her to the limit, to break her, but instead they achieved the opposite effect. Her abilities continued to improve, giving her more power than she expected. A strength she could have exploited against the lion that chased her every day.
Ada's heart beat furiously as she ran through the dark room, the darkness around her thick and suffocating. She could hear the lion's breathing approaching behind her, deep and menacing. Her mind was in panic, in fact every time she tried to concentrate on summoning her power, terror paralyzed her.
Then, without warning, the beast was upon her, grabbing her and throwing her violently to the ground. Ada screamed, the sound broken by fear and pain, as the creature roared above her, its golden eyes staring at her as if it could devour her soul in an instant. The demigoddess felt completely helpless, crushed by the weight of the mammoth being.
For a long moment, they remained like that, with Ada motionless under his paws. He could have killed her, yet he didn't. He simply held her still, as if to force her to confront her helplessness. Finally, he pulled away, releasing her from his grip. He didn't even turn to look at her as she moved, giving her space that felt more like a mockery than a reprieve.
Ada, still trembling, struggled up, her hands digging into the dark floor as if trying to grab onto something solid. She looked at the creature in front of her, wondering why he had spared her. The lion began to pace back and forth, his tail wagging slowly.
"The world out there is changing, panther," he said finally. "Dark forces are awakening, ancient balances are being broken. And you… you are still here, even though you are in the center of all this."
Ada felt the weight of those words fall on her like a stone. "Me? Why? Does it have to do with my mother? The goddess..."
The creature stopped, looking into her eyes. "Because you are unique, but not as you think. I won't go into more detail today, but you should start thinking about what awaits you. The outside world is very different from what you think, and if you don't escape from here, you will never be able to discover it. Keeping you alive until you mature is too risky, so you have one month after which I will stop keeping you alive."
Ada felt her head spinning, "Keep me alive..."
The scientists moved and appeared to lead her back to her white room.
"I am not killing you by my choice, my presence is already enough for terrify you," he replied, licking his paws, "But at the end of this month I will devour you."
She wanted to know more, but the lion simply walked away as they took her away.
The month passed in a flash. Ada did not object when the scientists led her back into the dark room. She had spent the last period in the grip of fear, paralyzed by the constant terror that devoured her from the inside, unable to find a way out. Every day she wondered what the last one would be like, if she would find the strength to fight or if she would simply give up. The answer seemed clear to her: there was no escape.
The lion was right. She had withdrawn into herself, unable to react, and now, the day of her execution had finally arrived.
The scientists' voices rang out in the distance as they urged her forward. Nobody spoke anymore, nobody gave her instructions. They knew what was coming. Ada, with her gaze dull and lost in space, walked like an automaton. Her hands were shaking, but not from the cold. Her mind was a white expanse, without thoughts, without emotions.
It was empty, just like the shell that place had been.
When she reached the center of the room, she saw them. The lion's golden eyes stared at her.
"Is today the day?" Ada asked, her voice an almost inaudible whisper.
"Yes," he replied in a deep tone. "Very disappointing, poor panther."
Ada closed her eyes and froze. "Hurry up."
"Aren't you running away?"
A roar rent the air, causing her to fall to the ground. Her mask of apathy faltered and the lion waited no longer.
With a second ferocious roar, he lunged at her. The claws dug into the girl's belly, just as they had done in the past. Ada felt the pain, but didn't make a sound. Her body was tired, her mind already distant. Warm blood slid down her abdomen, but she no longer felt it. She was ready to die. The jaws came close to her face, his hot breath enveloped her, and his mouth opened, ready to finish her.
Then, his voice echoed in the darkness. "Nadim, is the name of your executioner. Thanks for everything, panther."
But before the lion could perform the final act, the oppressive silence that had enveloped the orphanage was suddenly blown away by a deafening explosion. The walls shook, dust and debris rained down from the ceiling, and for a moment Ada thought the world was collapsing around her.
The scientists rushed into the room where, suddenly, all the darkness vanished into thin air. The light blinded him, but he could see the shattered belly on the floor.
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the white intensity that crossed her irises and what she saw left her breathless.
A hooded figure wrapped in a long flowing cloak stood in the rubble of what was once the structure's outer wall. Flames danced around his hands, illuminating a determined face. Behind him, a group of armed warriors poured into the breach, their weapons glittering in the sunlight.
Ada dropped her head to the ground again as the lion moved away from her.
Chaos erupted in an instant. Warning sirens began to wail, their screeching sound mixing with the panicked screams of the staff and the battle cries of the invaders. The demigoddess could hear the sound of doors being kicked in, glass breaking. Other patients were there, a step away from her, but always isolated.
Now they had been freed and mixed in with the general din.
The hooded boy moved in a storm of heat, his flames consuming everything in their path. At his side, a young blond warrior wielded two axes with a ferocity that made even the most daring scientists tremble.
The corridors that had been her personal hell began to bustle with activity, the lion had disappeared.
Patients ran in all directions, some laughing hysterically, others crying with relief. Guards and researchers tried desperately to maintain order, but it was like trying to stem a tide with your bare hands.
Ada felt a mixture of emotions re-emerge within her. Joy for the freedom that finally seemed within reach. Anger for the years of imprisonment and suffering. And, surprisingly, a touch of hesitation.
That place, terrible as it was, was all she knew. The outside world was a frightening unknown.
She rolled in a bath of blood as she considered where to go.
It was at that moment that a scientist saw her and ran to sedate her, he couldn't lose his jewel so quickly. The demigoddess opened her eyes wide and tried to crawl further away, but the man had reached her.
He pulled out a syringe and a scalpel, then leaned over her.
"No, no, don't run away, I won't let you escape," he scolded her, the scalpel already raised and ready to descend on her achilles tendons.
She screamed, there was nothing else she could do. She hoped that the darkness would respond to her will, but the truth was that she had no energy left.
She would have died if someone hadn't helped her.
But the blond warrior was also looking in her direction. Their eyes met and Ada felt a shiver run down her spine.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of her, ready to shield her. Ada looked up and saw the reassuring back of the teenager, who couldn't have been more than 18 years old.
"What? And who are you?"
The scalpel moved in an almost vertical cut, hitting the hero who had saved her. The scientist was then thrown away with the flat of the ax and did not get up. Ada didn't even have time to wonder how he had gotten to her so quickly or if she was okay, before the boy pulled her up.
"You must be the one we were looking for," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle despite the chaos surrounding them. "Come on, let's get you out of here."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein