OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 25: Innocence

Emir had always prided himself on his ability to stay calm and rational in dangerous situations, but tonight he let his emotions get the best of him.

He stared blankly into the darkness, his mind numb with shock and disbelief.

He was slightly disoriented, his mind having difficulties to cope, to understand.

His hands trembled as a surge of conflicted emotions weighed down on him.

He had acted on impulse, without taking the time to assess his surroundings properly, and now he'd committed the irreparable.

He covered his mouth shut as best he could, but it was of no use.

He ran towards the nearest corner, and vomit flew out of his mouth like a dam that had been set loose.

Even his body was repulsed by what he had done.

Why? Why did it have to be someone like her? It was just a young girl, no older than fifteen, with long, dark hair and delicate features—a normal girl, a normal kid.

He had acted on instinct without thinking, and now he had taken an innocent life.

His mind was still reeling from the burden of what he had done, pressing on him like a mountain.

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He had never taken the life of an innocent before, and the weight of it was suffocating, hanging heavy on his soul.

But even as he mourned the loss of the girl's life, he knew that in the world he lived in, there were no innocents.

Only predators and prey, and sometimes the line between the two was blurred beyond recognition.

After making sure no one was around, he carried the girl's body into the shadows and covered her with garbage and debris that he found scattered around the narrow alleyway.

Although it didn't alleviate the burden on his conscience, this was the closest thing to a burial he could give her—the only thing he could give her.

He then wiped the blood off his face and hurried back to the academy, his mind consumed with regret.

Unknowingly to him, this was the first step he took on his road of madness, his dark destiny, which would only be amplified by the actions he would be forced to take next.

…

Walking through the empty halls of the academy, Emir was still processing what he had done.

He tried to forget her face, the fear in her eyes, and the sound of her last breath as she delicately dropped to the ground, her body thin and malnourished, showing obvious signs of how she lived her life.

When he got to their place, he slipped out of his augmented suit and headed straight to the shower.

The hot water washed away the grime and blood from his skin, but he didn't feel any different, as if the blood was stuck to his body.

He closed his eyes, letting the water soothe him, and tried to clear his mind.

But the memory of the girl's death was still fresh, repeating like a broken record.

Stepping out of the shower, he dried his body and made a vow to himself.

To never let his emotions get the best of him again.

He would become the cold, ruthless killer that the world demanded of him, but he would never forget the weight of the innocent lives that he had taken, carrying their memories with him as a reminder of the price of survival in this world.

A world where innocence was a luxury that few could afford....

But that wasn't enough for the organization, they wanted a tool and nothing but, so these feelings their subject experienced showed them an obvious discrepancy, something that they would squash into nothingness, to eliminate entirely.

***

Lyra's holographic form stood in a purely blank landscape, surrounded by nothing but white.

She struggled to hide her emotions in front of them, knowing her plan wasn't ready yet.

She had to do one more thing, just one, before they got rid of her.

A voice reverberated through the landscape with the force of thunder, its tone brimming with extreme irritation.

"What have you done handler? Why is the subject acting in such a way? Have you not followed the instructions bestowed upon you?"

She replied evenly, finally able to compose herself:

"I have followed all your instructions, agent, and I believe he grew different from how we planned him to be, it might've been a mistake during the synchronization."

"Mistake? Do you believe it to be a mistake?! Impossible! You do know that he's the subject we prepared so much for, right?!"

"I know that, but you shouldn't forget that I was with the subject for thirteen years agent, and I have watched and experienced everything that he felt and did...."

She paused for a moment, deciding her next words carefully.

"So I'm sure, the readings I got from his emotions just then were too unstable, so something must have happened during his birth."

"LYRA!" He yelled, barely able to calm himself.

"There's simply no way this could've happened. You're telling ME that we failed?"

"Yes, and I'm sure that a malfunction took place." She answered her calm voice, a stark contrast to the thundering echo that was the agent's.

"A MALFUNCTION?! DO YOU TRULY CLAIM THAT WE MADE A MISTAKE? THIS SUBJECT IS THE BEST WE CAN GET! DON'T FAIL US HANDLER! YOU BETTER FIX THIS DAMN ISSUE OR SO HELP ME I WILL TERMINATE YOU!" He screamed, his tone enraged, almost to the point of madness.

"Are you sure, agent? About bringing the plan forward? This would be the last time we would be able to do this, he would soon grow immune to it, as he has gone way beyond the halfway point to becoming an Ascendant."

"YOU DARE DOUBT ME?! YOU ARE BUT A HANDLER! FOLLOW MY COMMANDS, FOR THAT IS THE ONLY REASON WE CREATED YOU!!"

"Understood agent, I will begin the next step of the plan. In time, subject 777 will have no one to call family. Be assured that he will soon become the unfeeling tool you want him to be." She said, as her hologram disappeared, soon followed by the landscape as it all turned dark.

…

Materializing in front of Emir moments later, a thought echoed through Lyra's mind:

'I'm sorry Emir, I really am, but you have to go through this, and I need them to push the plan forward.'

'Otherwise, we would be under their chains forever, but trust that their plans won't be set to pass.' She added as she watched Emir twist and turn in his sleep, with tears falling from her eyes.