The laboratory was a sanctuary of steel and suffering.
Baco was strapped to a metal chair, arms covered in scars that refused to fade—no matter how fast his body tried to heal. Needles pierced him again and again. The machines buzzed. Cold. Precise. Merciless.
They called him "experiment," "subject," "anomaly," "aberration."
But for Baco, true pain didn't come from beatings or torture.
It came from the silence.
A voice inside him was the only thing that kept him sane:
"Don't forget why you're here.You are more than flesh…You are my promise.And she will come to you."
When he closed his eyes, he could still see her—Arisha.Hazel eyes. Warm hands. The only light left in the dark.
And then… the pawn arrived.
More buzzing. More sparks.
The electrified rod came down on his skin like a ritual punishment.The chain tattoo on his back lit up in agony.
—"What's the matter, freak? Not even a scream? Are you mute or just too stupid to talk?"
The lab went silent. Baco didn't move. He gave them nothing.
The guard laughed again. "Gray-haired swine..."
Then, foolishly, he let the rod fall loose from his grip—and in a blink, Baco caught it.
One clean move.The current reversed.
The torturer flew through the air, slamming against the wall with a sickening crack.
Baco lowered his gaze, expression unreadable.
Then he smirked.
Not a smile.
A taunt.
—"Cold… Fierce…" the guard coughed, barely conscious.
That was when the door opened.
Mikhael stepped in.Impeccable. Untouchable.Like nothing could stain him.
—"That's enough," he said calmly.
Two medics followed him. One handed Mikhael a vial of blood, which he observed like it was sacred.
—"What I came for… I now have."
And with a final glance at the "subject," he left.
Hours later, during a high council meeting, Mikhael received a silent call.
His face showed nothing.
But his hand trembled faintly after ending the call.
"The serum is responding. It's unstable… but it works."
That same night, he faked an illness.
—"I need to rest," he told Arisha gently, pressing a brotherly kiss to her forehead.
Lies.They came as easily to him as breathing.
He returned to the lab in secret, cloaked in shadows, and took the vial.
No medication. No filters. No protocol.
Just fate.
He drank it.
The pain was instant. His body twisted.Nerves collapsed and rebuilt all at once. He vanished for two days, consumed by agony, locked in a hidden chamber far from the City of Gold.
When he returned…
He was walking.
But no one could know.
—"The project failed," he told the council. "No permanent results. This confirms it."
Lies. Again.And he was ready for his next move.
To keep Arisha distracted, he invited her to the Hall of Memory.
—"Just one drop," he said. "From our ancestor."
She hesitated.
But curiosity won.
She looked into his eyes, then placed her hand on the identification platform. A needle pricked her finger. The blood touched her tongue.
And the past devoured her.
The Nevri.The betrayal.The extermination.
Her true identity.
She wasn't a vampire.
She was Nevri.
A gust of wind swept through the chamber. Her eyes flared gold. She ripped her hand away, startled.
Mikhael stepped forward, gripping her arm.
—"You knew!" she cried.
He didn't deny it.
His voice alone activated the archive, and the memory podium lit up.
—"I did it for you. What would they have done if they found out?You think they'd protect you like I do? No."
She tore her arm from his grasp and slapped him.
And for the first time, she saw him for what he truly was.
"You were nothing.With me, you're untouchable.Think about it."
Arisha walked away. Not a word.
Mikhael continued the charade.A perfect cripple.A flawless lie.
Hours later… she saw him.
Walking.
No limp. No hesitation.Just lies.
And as if that wasn't enough…
She found the records.
The names of her former fiancés.Erased.Eliminated.
By order of Mikhael's family.
Signed by the High Council.
She didn't cry.
She hardened.
She had trusted him.
But no more.
She returned to the lab. Infiltrated it. Convinced the guards. Dodged the hounds of the High Council.
She found the cage.
Tore off the blanket that covered him.
Baco looked up.She met his gaze.
—"Not for you.Not for pity.I want the truth."
He nodded.
And just as they prepared to escape…
The loudspeakers thundered through the city:
—"It is hereby announced:Lady Arisha…Is officially betrothed to Mikhael Snova-Ghali."
—"A new dawn.A new era."
Arisha froze.
Her body trembled.
Another lie.The final drop.
—"Let's go," she said, unlocking Baco.
—"Where to?" he asked, still breathless.
She clenched her fists.
Now was not the time to hesitate.
—"To burn it all."
And together, they disappeared into the tunnels…
As Mikhael smiled from the heights of the City of Gold.