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Chapter 205 – The Forsaken Awakening
Chapter 205 – The Forsaken Awakening
The night was silent.
Seraphis moved through the darkness, her form a mere shadow against the cold landscape. The coordinates had led her deep into the wilderness, far from civilization.
Before her stood the lab.
A towering metal structure, rusted with time, half-buried beneath a mountain’s embrace. Vines curled around its surface, as if nature itself was trying to consume the horrors that lay within.
She approached cautiously, fingers brushing over the cold steel doors.
No guards.
No sounds.
Abandoned.
But that didn’t mean it was empty.
Inside the Lab
The scent of decay and chemicals filled the air.
Seraphis stepped forward, boots echoing against the tiled floor. The walls were lined with cages—some broken open, others still locked. Skeletons lay inside some of them, their bones twisted in unnatural shapes.
Failed experiments.
She scanned the room, eyes sharp. A desk sat at the far end, papers scattered across its surface.
She approached.
The Experiment Logs
The notes were aged, ink smudged from time and neglect.
She picked one up, reading carefully.
"The Sleeper project is flawed. No matter how much we refine the process, the subjects continue to fail. Their bodies cannot withstand the transformation. Their minds shatter. They either decay within days or turn into mindless beasts."
"Only one came close. Subject XIII. A partial success. He endured longer than the rest—one week. But in the end, he too perished."
Seraphis’s eyes narrowed.
"We have shifted focus. If male subjects continue to fail, we will turn our sights to female candidates. The next phase begins soon."
Her grip tightened.
The notes continued, detailing the next wave of experiments—on two females. But there were no results.
She flipped through more pages.
Then she found it.
"The failed subjects have been disposed of. Their bodies have been transported to another site."
Another location.
More abominations, discarded like trash.
She let out a slow breath.
Then—a sound.
The Sleeper’s Awakening
Seraphis turned sharply, instincts flaring.
In the far corner of the room, hidden beneath the dim glow of flickering lights—
A tube.
Inside it, submerged in a murky fluid, was a figure.
A man.
His skin was pale, veins darkened like ink spreading beneath his flesh. His chest rose and fell in slow, painful intervals. His heart barely beat.
A Sleeper.
The only one left in this forsaken place.
She approached, placing a hand against the glass. His eyes were closed, but she could feel it—he was not dead.
Not yet.
The Ritual
Without hesitation, she pressed her palm to the glass.
Then she spoke.
"By my will, by my blood, by the ties that bind the forsaken to the living, I claim you as kin."
The moment the words left her lips—
The tube shattered.
Glass exploded outward as fluid gushed onto the floor, sending a wave of cold liquid cascading over her boots.
The body fell forward.
Seraphis caught him.
His weight was heavy, his breath shallow. But then—his fingers twitched.
A second later, his eyes opened.
Azrael
His gaze locked onto hers.
He inhaled sharply, his chest rising as if taking in his first breath of true life.
Then, he knelt before her.
"Thank you, Mother."
His voice was deep, yet soft. A whisper laced with centuries of slumber.
Seraphis studied him.
His features were sharp—elegant, yet fierce. His dark hair clung to his face, his skin pale but unmarred by decay. Unlike the failed experiments, he was whole.
She knelt down, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Do you have a name?" she asked.
He looked up at her, eyes filled with strange clarity.
"Yes. My name is Azrael."
Unraveling the Past
Seraphis nodded.
She had revived another Sleeper. But what of his past?
She touched his forehead gently.
"May I see your memories?"
He hesitated, then smiled faintly.
"Of course," he said. "You gave me life. You gave me purpose."
The moment her fingertips brushed against his skin—
Visions flooded her mind.
The Truth of the Experiments
She saw his suffering.
The endless tests. The pain, the agony.
The scientists had worked tirelessly to create the perfect Sleeper, but in their desperation, they had discarded too many.
Then she saw it.
The two females.
The ones who had been tested after him.
They were taken elsewhere.
Somewhere hidden.
Seraphis’s breath hitched.
She pulled away from the visions, eyes locking onto Azrael’s.
"Where did they take them?" she asked.
His expression darkened.
"They sent them… to the graveyard of failures."
Her fists clenched.
This was far from over.
There were still more to save.
And more to kill.