"Khaia, you are a subject."
Khaia froze, his pupils dilating. A subject? Of what experiment, and for what purpose? He craved answers immediately. His father had written that he wouldn't die—was it because he was a subject? Or were the grueling drills his mother forced him through merely parts of the experiment? He understood nothing, but the urge to know was suffocating.
He reached for the notebook again, but then he noticed the sounds from outside drawing closer. He tucked the notebook under his arm and shoved the black cloth—etched with strange symbols and an unknown alphabet—into the pocket of his leather trousers.
He knew the Eyes of Khun were high-tier Essence users. He knew that masters of their level could locate others by sensing the Essence in their blood. He couldn't just stand there. He didn't know what they were looking for, but he wondered if it had anything to do with him being a subject. Regardless, he felt he must avoid them at all costs.
Outside, two men approached, wearing black coats with a purple eye symbol on the back and distinct masks hiding their faces. His home was the last house in the district, sitting slightly apart from the rest; that was why they were coming here last. The house had two floors and a basement.
The basement!
"Of course," Khaia whispered. "The hidden room Mom mentioned." She had told him it was a sanctuary where he could hide during a dangerous situation. Since his mother was also a high-tier Essence user, she had warded the room with a spell that prevented the Essence of anyone inside from being sensed.
Frantically, he put the note, the notebook, and the cloth back into the box. He snatched the ring required to enter the hidden room from its hiding spot under his bed. The ring bore a seal carved by his mother using Essence; her unique magic was needed to open the passage.
He slipped the ring onto his finger and hurried to the basement. It was pitch black. He grabbed a lantern from the wall and lit it. The basement was small: a bookshelf stood opposite the door, a workbench was pressed against the left wall, and crates of grain and supplies lined the right.
Before closing the door, he noticed his footprints in the thick dust. To hide them, he took a straw broom from the wall and swept the dust around. He kept the broom with him as he closed the door, erasing his tracks inside as he moved toward the bookshelf.
Khaia was as tall as the shelf; thanks to his father's genes, he was tall for a hybrid and would only grow more. He approached a specific book, set the broom down, and pressed the ring into a circular notch on the book's edge.
Following a yellowish glow, the center of the bookshelf dissolved into Essence particles. Essence Materialization. He knew from his books that not everyone could achieve this; his mother was truly talented.
Where the shelf had been, a plain wall remained. He pressed the ring against the center of the wall. This time, there was no notch—she hadn't included one to keep it hidden. The seal on the ring flared, the wall ground forward, and then slid upward. The passage opened. His mother had said he would have only ten seconds before it closed.
He quickly swept away the remaining tracks, ensuring no trace was left, and tossed the broom through the opening. Taking the lantern and the box, he stepped inside. Behind him, the bookshelf re-materialized. He had thought materialization could only be done once; creating something that could reform itself must have been incredibly difficult. Then, the wall slid back into place.
He could see the room at the end of a short tunnel. He gave the straw broom on the floor a quick kick, took the lantern in his right hand and the box in his left, and walked the ten steps to the room. It contained a bed, a storage cabinet filled with essentials and non-perishables, and a small round table.
He set the box and lantern on the table and sat in the chair. He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. He strained to hear the voices above, wondering what he would do now that he was truly alone.
"This is the last house. If it's not here, what then?"
"Then the Emperor might actually kill us this time."
"All this for a damn necklace? Why are we ransacking an entire layer for one trinket?"
"You really are an idiot. All brawn, no brain. I don't know how they let you into the Eyes. There is only one of these necklaces. It's the key to completing the experiment. And the man who made it is dead. It would take years to replicate."
"Fine, I get it. But why is the Emperor so obsessed with creating a super-soldier? Is a war coming? I thought there was a treaty with the Surface-Dwellers."
"You don't need a war to justify a super-soldier, moron. It's about leverage. It's about keeping the Lords of this layer in check. The treaty has nothing to do with it. You really only understand killing, don't you?"
"I don't care for diplomacy. But you're right—I do love killing. I've already put down fifty people today looking for this thing."
"Stop yapping and look. As much as I hate to admit it, your Essence-sensing is better than mine. That's why you're here. This house looks empty, but look at the table—fresh crumbs. Someone ate polu here recently."
"Of course I'm better. But there's nothing here. I feel something upstairs, but it's faint... like someone who's already dead or dying."
"There's a staircase here leading down."
"Fine. You check the basement, I'll check upstairs."
A woman wearing a red demon mask descended the basement stairs, while a man in a green horned-toad mask headed up.
The woman entered the basement and scanned the area. Since it was dark, she gathered Essence into her eyes to search for traces. Her eyes glowed a predatory purple. But the lingering Essence she saw was old. She approached the bookshelf and tried everything, thinking there might be a secret passage, but found nothing.
Meanwhile, the man entered the mother's bedroom. He approached the bed. The Essence he felt was the residue from the mother's body turning into pure energy. Finding nothing, he scanned the room. His breathing quickened, his eyes flashed. There was no one left to kill. He raised his leg and brought his heel down like an axe, splintering the bed in half.
In the hidden room, Khaia heard the voices and the crash. He was certain he had heard the words "necklace" and "experiment." So, the necklace really was related to the experiment. He had looked up instinctively at the sound of the bed breaking. They were doing something in his mother's room. His eyes flashed, his breathing grew heavy, and sweat dripped from his forehead. He was both terrified and enraged, but he could only sit there, staring at the ceiling with clenched fists.
Then, he heard another sound. Footsteps in the basement. Someone was tapping on the wall.
The woman narrowed her eyes, sliding her hand along the wall as she moved back toward the stairs. Upstairs, the man sat in the doorway, whistling.
"Fiuuu... fıu...fiu...fiuuu...fiûûûû..."
It was a melody like an old lullaby, but distorted—the kind associated with nightmares. The woman shook her head and called out to him.
"Hey, Number Three! Find anything?"
"Pah... took you long enough. I was bored to death waiting. There's nothing here."
"I hope the others found something."
The man called The Third jumped down from the top floor with his hands in his pockets, landing in front of the woman.
"Do you think we'll be executed? I don't want to die yet; there are still men I want to fight."
"The risk was always there, but I doubt it. The new candidates aren't ready. If we die, it's not in the Emperor's best interest."
They left the house and continued talking as they walked toward the central assembly area.
"Hey, can I ask something?"
"Ask..."
"You're The Second Eye, right?"
"Yes."
"Since I'm The Third, does that mean you're stronger than me?"
"I don't know. The numbers aren't a power ranking. We won't know who is stronger without a fight. I beat the previous Number Three in a duel."
"Wait, really? The traitor Number Three?"
"So you can pay attention when you want to. Yes, the traitor. I beat him, and eventually, he killed himself. Or maybe he lost on purpose; he was a clever man. Did you know he's the one who made the necklace we're looking for?"
"What! The guy who stole it is the one who made it? He must be a strange one. What do the numbers mean then?"
"Did you learn nothing in training?"
"Nothing besides fighting interested me."
"The numbers represent the Five Pillars of the Emperor. We were chosen based on those principles."
"I remember them saying mine was Power. But you said the previous Number Three was smart; how did he become Three?"
"Yes, The Third is Power. Your predecessor was powerful and raised for it, but he was also brilliant. However, he wasn't raised for the Pillar of Intelligence, which is The Fourth. He helped design the necklace and found the solution—we didn't expect that. I am The Second, representing the Pillar of Will."
"I didn't understand most of that. Anyway, the guy was strong; I wish we could have fought before he died. And you're Will? Cool, but mine is better."
The woman sighed, glancing around as she walked. Finally, she vanished in a shimmer of yellow light.
Khaia remained in the room, listening intently. The voices of the man and woman faded and eventually vanished.
He only then realized how hard he was clenching his fists and slowly opened his fingers. He rubbed his temples; his head was throbbing. His face was flushed, his hair messy, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. He let out a long sigh of relief.
His stomach growled, and hunger set in. He stood and opened the cabinet, taking what food he could find. Most of it was grain and dried fruit. He frowned, but the pain in his stomach was worsening. He had to eat. Since he couldn't light a fire to cook the grain, he ate the dried fruits from the box.
Once the hunger subsided, he took the notebook from the box. He wanted to know the truth. He laid the notebook and the black cloth on the table. Was life beautiful? Would it be worse to just go out and die instead of hiding? He found no joy in life; he had no purpose or dream. Then, he remembered a dream from his past.
He was small then, and he didn't know he was a hybrid. He thought he was like everyone else, trying to discover life. One day, he saw a man arrive in the village. Wearing magnificent armor and carrying a massive sword, the man approached on horseback as the villagers gathered. Everyone looked at him with admiration and gratitude. Khaia hadn't understood; he asked his mother.
"Mom, who is this man?"
His mother smiled, looking into his eyes. "He is the strongest man in this layer."
"Stronger than the Emperor?"
"Of course. He carries the Emperor's Pillar of Power, and he is a hero who defied him to stop a great evil."
"The greatest evil? What kind of evil?"
"The Emperor took his child and tried to do terrible things to him. To a father, that is the greatest evil."
"I see. He must be a wonderful father. I want to be a great hero like him when I grow up."
"You will be even stronger than him. For that, you must continue your training."
At the end of that day, he had seen the man approach their house and then leave, but he never learned what the man had done. That was his dream—to be a hero like that man and be loved by everyone. But he knew he could never achieve that dream now, so he had forgotten it. He had no motivation to live. His mother was gone; he couldn't understand why he was still trying to live by running and hiding. But it was over; he would decide what to do after reading the notebook.
He opened the notebook and read the first sentence again.
"So, I was born for an experiment."
He continued reading.
"You were brought into this world by force, part of an experiment by the Emperor to create a 'Super-Soldier.' Your mother and I were powerful Essence users, and we were forced to have a child. Many hybrid children like you were forced into birth. They are producing hybrid children like a factory. This is all part of the Emperor's desire for power. By preventing hybrids from dying early, they are trying to create stronger soldiers who can use both bloodlines. I was part of this at the beginning, contributing to this nonsense. It was because I was one of the Five Eyes. I couldn't defy orders. However, through my own studies and some help, I managed to stop the Emperor from controlling me. With the help of a few friends, we found a way to complete the necklace. We named it 'Khart of Ilia'—The Heart of Hope. 'Ilia' means hope in my native tongue, Hax. I am writing this in your mother's language so you can understand it better.
I had to take the incomplete necklace from the Emperor to finish it. But before that, you and your mother had to escape. Your mother was a Surface warrior captured in war; she was kept here as a test subject. I truly loved her, and I couldn't leave her behind. I helped you both escape together. I worked separately to complete the necklace. Finally, we finished the missing half. I defied the Emperor and fled with the completed piece. I was declared a traitor, but I managed to lose my trail for a short time. During that time, I am trying to get this box to you. I hope you are well and can read this. Everything about what the necklace is, how to use it, and the plans for its creation are in this notebook. With this necklace, you can use Essence without fear. By the way, I've written the locations of some of those who helped me at the very end of the notebook. They will help you too; I think you should take a look.
I hope you fulfill your dream, my son; I believe you will be a great hero respected by all. And I am sorry for everything I couldn't prevent.
--The Third Eye, Khaan"
Khaia had clenched his fists again without realizing it; his eyes flashed. He didn't know what to do. He had known nothing of what his father and mother had endured. He had thought his father might be a bad person, but everything was different. His father must have endured so much for him to live. He ground his teeth, thinking of the man called the Emperor. Everything—the reason for his birth and his suffering—was because of this experiment nonsense. It was just a project born from the Emperor's greed for power and control.
He stood and faced the mirror in the room; he thought, "I am looking at the result of the experiment." He looked into his purple, slanted eyes, seeing the death of the Emperor within them.
He touched the cold mirror, his fingers trembling. For the first time, he didn't need to learn a name for this sensation. It was pure, unadulterated hatred—and it burned.
The Gathering of the Eyes
The four Eyes of the Emperor had gathered in the assembly area, sitting at the corners of a pentagonal table, waiting for The Third Eye. The Third entered through the door, scanned each of them, and took his place.
The First Eye: "You finally arrived, Third."
"Hey, hey, take it easy. The Second teleported suddenly; I can't do that. How could I have come any faster over such a long distance?"
The Fourth: "We all know how fast you can move and that you can fly. You must have been stalling again."
"Phe..he...hehe, you caught me. Yes, I had some business."
The Fifth narrowed their eyes, looking toward the Third, and spoke loudly.
The Fifth: "Anyway, that doesn't matter. None of us found the necklace. Our topic is the necklace. I don't care why you're late."
"Calm down, Number Five. Since you're so tense, I guess you didn't find it either."
The Second: "You can understand things when you want to."
"Phe..he..hehe."
The Fourth: "Yes, we didn't find it, but that doesn't mean our job is over. We know the son and the Surface-dweller wife of the traitor Khaan are missing. If we find them, I believe we'll find the necklace."
The Third: "Speaking of Surface-dwellers... we went to a house in the village where they said a hybrid and a Surface woman lived."
The Second: "I already mentioned that. We found nothing there."
The Third: "When I went upstairs, I found Essence residue mixed with Surface-dweller blood. It looked like a Surface-dweller had undergone an Essence-Death."
The Fourth: "If that is the woman we're looking for, then she is dead. We might only be looking for a child. That makes our job easier."
The Second: "We can't call a fifteen-year-old a child. We don't know how strong he is. Her being gone makes it easier, of course. But don't relax."
The Fourth: "How do you know he's fifteen?"
The Second: "I was closer to the former Third than any of you; I remember approximately when the child was born. He should be around fifteen. If that house was theirs, there were crumbs of polu on the table. Yesterday must have been his birthday. And we couldn't find this boy anywhere; The Third's eyes saw nothing either."
The Fourth: "We must go back to that house; we might find some clues and information. The Emperor expects a report from us. It will be better for us if we find something. We have two days; we go back tomorrow. That's enough for today. Dismissed."
The sun had set and it was dark. Following the Fourth's words, they finally rose from the table and departed.