“What in the world are they trying to do here?” Aqualina muttered in an utterly shocked tone, her eyes widening as she took in the scene before her.
A group of people, all clad in pristine lab coats, moved methodically, their faces unreadable, their hands working as if they were conducting some sort of twisted experiment. They looked like scientists, but whatever they were doing—it was anything but humane.
“Bring Test Subject No. 23409!”
A cold, commanding voice echoed and moments later, a group of masked individuals dragged out a woman. Her body hung limply between them, her arms dangling as if all life had already left her. She seemed to be unconscious, her breathing barely noticeable.
“Princess, we need to leave! There are too many people here!” Celestia whispered urgently, her tone laced with fear and frustration.
She tugged at Aqualina’s arm, trying to snap her out of her horrified trance. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t establish a connection with Aether, and that only meant one thing—they were still trapped inside whatever nightmare these people had created.
Aqualina clenched her fists, her jaw tightening as she watched the sheer cruelty unfolding before her eyes. This was no ordinary lab—this was a place of suffering.
Meanwhile, Celestia anxiously scanned the area, searching for a possible escape route. The person who had helped them earlier had given them one clear instruction—reach the top, find the door. ‘Maybe I should check ahead first…’ she thought, stealing a glance at Aqualina.
But what she saw made her stomach twist…. Aqualina’s expression was a mixture of fury and disbelief, her lips parted slightly as if she were barely holding back from charging forward.
Celestia shook her head firmly. “Princess, listen to me. We are in enemy territory. If we act recklessly, we’ll alert everyone in this place, and then we’ll never make it out alive. We need to leave now. Once we’re safe, we can plan a way to come back and help them, but right now, our priority is survival!”
“…”
“Princess!” Celestia pressed, her voice firmer now. This wasn’t the time for hesitation. They didn’t even know who had kidnapped them, nor for what purpose. If they made the wrong move, they might not get another chance to escape.
Aqualina exhaled sharply before crossing her arms. “Fine!” she huffed, her lips pursed in a small pout.
Celestia sighed in relief, “I’ll go ahead and find the path. Stay hidden, I’ll come back for you.”
Aqualina nodded reluctantly. Their current hiding spot was well-covered—at least for now—so she trusted Celestia to scout ahead.
Without another word, Celestia melted into the shadows, her figure disappearing seamlessly as she moved from one shadow to another…. For a moment, Aqualina just stood there, her gaze fixed on the horrifying scene before her.
She watched in stunned silence as the unconscious woman was strapped tightly onto a steel examination table. Several people in lab coats circled around her, preparing something. A dark red liquid—thicker than blood—was being loaded into a syringe the size of a dagger.
Aqualina’s breath hitched.
‘What the hell are they injecting into her?’
For a few agonizing seconds, nothing happened. Then, all at once, the woman’s body jerked violently, her back arching unnaturally. Her eyes shot open, and then—
“AARRRRRRHHHH!!”
A piercing scream tore through the air.
The woman convulsed, her entire body trembling violently as if something inside her was shifting, moving, twisting her from within. Thick blood and other fluids gushed from every orifice, staining the cold, metallic table beneath her.
Then suddenly—her chest lurched forward.
Aqualina’s breath caught as something emerged from the woman’s body…. A crystalline structure—glowing with shifting colours like a fractured rainbow—forced its way through her skin.
Aqualina’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. ‘W-What in the world is that?!’
She had never seen anything like this in her life.
Finally, the woman’s body stilled. The screaming ceased.
Her skin had turned deathly pale, and her eyes—once full of life—were now empty and pupil-less. She slowly turned her head, gazing at the people surrounding her as if she had become something else entirely.
“Subject No. 23409’s internal organs are stable…”
“Reaction stabilized…”
“Good… It’s a success.”
The scientists exchanged satisfied nods, their expressions unreadable but eerily pleased. Then, without hesitation, the lead scientist turned to his assistants and ordered, “Bring Test Subject No. 23410!”
Aqualina’s stomach twisted in revulsion.
‘They’re just going to keep going? Why?’
What was their end goal? They had succeeded in whatever they were trying to do, and yet they continued, testing over and over again on these helpless victims. Just what the hell were they trying to achieve?
‘I need to know the details…’ Aqualina thought, her eyes darting around the room, searching for any kind of records or evidence she could take. If she could find something, anything, they could use it against them later. But just as she was about to move—
“Please don’t!” Celestia suddenly appeared, her face tight with urgency, “We need to leave. Now!”
“But this could hel—”
“Princess.” Celestia cut her off, her golden eyes locking onto Aqualina’s with an intensity that left no room for argument. “For me, your safety is more important than anything else. I won’t risk losing you!”
Aqualina bit her lip, frustration bubbling inside her, but she knew Celestia was right. With a reluctant sigh, she finally asked, “…Did you find the exit?”
“Yes. It’s at the very top of this tower.”
“T-Tower?”
“Yes,” Celestia confirmed. “We’re inside a massive tower, surrounded by those buildings we just escaped from. This entire place is connected. We need to get to the top if we want to get out of here.”
Aqualina exhaled heavily but nodded. “Alright, let’s go.”
Turning away from the horror behind her, Aqualina followed Celestia, her heart weighed down by the cruelty she had just witnessed. They moved cautiously, their steps careful as they navigated through the dimly lit halls.
Before long, they reached another staircase. This time, it spiralled upward in a never-ending circular path, wrapping around the inner walls of the tower. With each full turn, another floor came into view—another laboratory, another victim undergoing the same cruel experiment.
Aqualina’s hands clenched into fists.
This place… it was hell itself!
“Princess!” Celestia called from ahead, her voice sharp.
“…I’m coming!” Aqualina forced herself to move, forcing back the urge to burn this entire place to the ground.
With renewed determination, they climbed higher, reaching the topmost floor.
“Just one more, and we’ll reach the terrace,” Celestia whispered, her pace quickening.
They were close.
They just had to make it.
“There are no guards here?” Aqualina muttered as she ascended the spiral staircase, her footsteps echoing faintly in the eerie silence. She hadn’t encountered a single guard since they started climbing, which felt unsettlingly unnatural. It wasn’t just strange—it was outright suspicious.
“Do they really think no one could escape?” Aqualina thought with a deepening frown, her mind racing with possibilities. The complete absence of security wasn’t just negligence. It was deliberate.
As if the captors believed escape wasn’t even within the realm of possibility.
Reaching the last floor, Aqualina slowed her steps… Unlike the previous floors filled with laboratories and gruesome experiments, this one was different.
The moment she stepped forward, It was dark and silent!
She frowned and cautiously summoned a small flame in her palm, the warm light flickering to life as she carefully stepped forward.
“This place… looks like a prison,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
She glanced around and took in the surroundings more carefully. Massive cage-like structures lined the walls, constructed from thick black metal bars. They were large, ominous, reinforced as if meant to contain something—or someone—who couldn’t be allowed to escape under any circumstances.
“Hmm…” Aqualina slowly moved the flame around, trying to see inside the cages, but the darkness was too dense. The light barely reached beyond the bars, and from what she could tell, the cage nearest to her appeared empty.
“Princess?” Celestia called from behind her.
“Yeah, I’m comi—SHIT!!”
Just as she turned to respond, a figure suddenly emerged within the dim glow of her flame, standing eerily still. Aqualina’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest, and she barely stopped herself from stumbling backwards.
‘Fuck! I’m still not good with this kind of shit!’
Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to steady her breath. Her fingers tightened into a fist before she slowly let them relax, exhaling deeply. Finally, she focused her gaze on the figure that had nearly scared her half to death.
And then, she realized—
“A… child?”
Aqualina frowned… A small child, no older than five or six, stood just beyond the bars, their face pale and gaunt. Their small body was clad in nothing but a tattered sack for clothing, the fabric barely covering their frail frame. The child’s hollow eyes were locked onto the flame in her hand, filled with something between curiosity and hesitation.
“What’s going on he—” Aqualina’s words trailed off as movement stirred in the darkness behind the child. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire
Not just one.
Dozens.
One by one, more small figures began to emerge, stepping hesitantly toward the light. The children moved cautiously, their tiny, dirt-streaked faces showing a mixture of fear and fascination.
“Children?” Celestia’s voice finally broke the silence as she took in the sight before them. She had been too focused on finding the exit to bother checking what lay in this area before.
The children huddled behind the thick metal bars, their wide eyes fixed on the small flame in Aqualina’s palm. They did not speak. They only watched.
Aqualina hesitated for a moment before slowly extending her hand, bringing the flame closer to them, illuminating their small, malnourished faces.
The children flinched instantly, their tiny bodies tensing as they took a cautious step back, almost as if they expected pain.
“Don’t worry… I won’t hurt you,” Aqualina murmured softly, her voice gentle yet firm. She wasn’t sure if they understood her words, but after a few moments of tense silence, the children stopped retreating. Instead, they inched forward again, drawn toward the warmth of the fire like moths to a flame.
Aqualina glanced at Celestia, her expression grave. “If this many children are in just one cage… what about the rest on this floor?”
Celestia swallowed hard, dread curling in her gut. She already knew where Aqualina’s thoughts were heading.
“Princess… please,” Celestia started, her voice almost pleading. “You need to understand—we have to get out of here first. Once we’re safe, we can come back and plan to rescue them. But right now, we—”
“Save them? How?” Aqualina snapped, her frustration evident. “We don’t even know where the hell we are! What if whoever kidnapped us moved this whole location somewhere else? Then what? How can you be so sure we’ll even get the chanc—?”
Before she could finish.
One of the children had reached out.
A tiny, frail hand slowly stretched through the bars, trembling slightly before touching the flame in Aqualina’s palm.
Then—
PUFFFFF!!!!
The flame erupted without warning, flaring wildly as if it had been doused in fuel, its intensity surging in an instant. Aqualina barely had time to react as she stumbled back in shock, shielding her face from the sudden burst of energy.
“Princess! Are you alright?!” Celestia rushed forward as she quickly scanned Aqualina for any injuries.
But Aqualina wasn’t listening.
She stood motionless, staring blankly at her own hand, her fingers trembling before she slowly clenched them into a fist. The sensation… the raw, unfiltered power she had felt the moment the child touched her flame—it was overwhelming.
The children had scrambled backwards in fear, vanishing into the shadows of the cage.
Celestia, sensing something was very wrong, cautiously stepped closer. “What happened?”
“I… I felt it… The power of the Chosen Ones.”
“!!!”