After concluding that they were heading to Tenebris, they began preparing almost imdiately. Thirty minutes, no more; anyway, that had to be more than enough.
Kaiser had gone to take a bath; he needed it. Nox and the others had arrived while he was training, and he wasn’t about to leave covered in sweat.
Jasper, for his part, was cleaning his bow with a dry cloth, focused, while Nox had settled on a wide sofa in the manor’s large living room.
Everything seed under control until Julian ca running through the corridor. His rapid footsteps were heard, then a door slamd upstairs. He hadn’t said anything and had simply run to calm his impatience...
Jasper rolled his eyes.
"What an annoying idiot this guy can be..." he muttered without looking up, continuing to run the cloth over his bow.
"...Julian remains Julian after all," Nox replied in a calm tone.
After all, they were used to his character; it wasn’t really surprising coming from him.
With a sigh, Nox had opened a lollipop. He carefully unfolded the wrapper, put the candy in his mouth, and slumped deeper into the sofa. The cushion sank under his weight. He crossed his legs, savoring his lollipop.
Kaiser, who had finished, had returned and was exchanging a few words with Jasper. They were talking about possible routes to Tenebris and the specific rift they were going to take. Nox was only half-listening; the voices beca re background noise.
The sour taste of the lollipop slowly spread across his tongue as his gaze drifted into the void while thinking about his sister. Her face ca back to his mind. They had been through so much together. ’...Am I getting sentintal?’ he murmured to himself. A slight smile curved his lips.
’I suppose it’s normal... she’s my sister after all.’ He exhaled slowly, thinking back to his life in Babylon...
People always talked about its towers, the imnse industrial buildings dominating the horizon. Symbols of wealth and power for the dark elves, but Babylon was not just that.
In reality, it was the place that ca closest to what hell must be like. Honestly, if the devil ever ca, he could fall in love with this place.
The towers might shine in the sun, but the rest of the population lived in utter squalor. The houses were cramd together, and the sll of waste floated in the air. Skinny children walked barefoot while adults fought to survive... in short, the majority of Babylon lived in filthy slums.
Only a handful of elites lived in the towers. They had abundant food, clean clothes, spacious rooms, while the rest of the population got by as best they could.
It was the kind of place where you could die for a piece of bread. And Nox knew it well because he had lived it.
In the middle of that chaos, he had only Norah... Even though Babylon was not known for family bonds, in this case she was his real sister, not just a title.
Every day was a struggle: finding food, avoiding more violent gangs, and protecting his sister.
You had to be wary of others and sotis cruel.
In a place like that, morality didn’t weigh much. You could sell a child for a few coins.
Nox clenched the lollipop slightly between his teeth.
"Fortunately she was there... Otherwise I might have gone mad..."
He paused.
"...Mad? I already am actually... Anyway." His smile turned ironic.
*Ten years earlier*
One day, while they were sharing a piece of dry bread and the remains of a dead fish found near a canal, silhouettes appeared in the alley.
Their clothes were clean and of good quality. They did not look like the residents of the neighborhood.
’People from the towers...’
One of the n, young but already marked by a certain authority, stopped in front of them. He observed them like one observes an object.
"You two, if you want to live, follow us."
His voice was dry and his gaze betrayed disgust. He seed eager to leave.
Nox straightened slightly. He instinctively moved Norah behind him as cold sweat ran down the back of his neck.
They didn’t understand what they had done to attract the attention of these people. But he knew well that with a snap of fingers, he and his sister could lose their lives.
But as Nox was thinking of a way out of this hell, the woman suddenly stepped forward.
She had a gentle face and a calm voice.
"Sorry if we scared you. What are your nas?"
"I’m Nox. And this is my sister, Norah." he replied cautiously. He didn’t take his eyes off them. Clearly showing his distrust.
Seeing him like that, the woman simply smiled and continued talking about the reason for their visit. Apparently, they were not there to cause trouble; on the contrary, they were there to give them an opportunity...
She told them about the towers. About the food they could have as well as a nice soft bed. All that just for participating in a large-scale experint by the witch Walpurgis.
For two starving children, those words were more than enough. Having no other choice, because Nox could not afford to refuse these people, the Seraphs alone knew what would have happened otherwise, they had to accept and follow the people from the tower.
They were taken to a large structure inside the Tower of Sorcery, and there they discovered they were not the only children; there were hundreds.
The rooms were simple but comfortable, and they were given three als a day.
For the first ti, they were not hungry.
Of course Norah was very happy while Nox remained wary, but he enjoyed it too.
They were not alone... Other children were there anyway, which contributed to giving him so elent of trust, especially since they all ca from poor neighborhoods.
Groups ford naturally.
Nox and Norah grew close to a small group of four children. They ate together. They talked in the evening before sleeping.
Over the months, they considered themselves a family.
Then the tests began...
It is said that if you are given any product for free... it ans you are the product...
At first, it was only examinations with blood draws and injections. They were given substances without much explanation.
So children fell ill. Others disappeared and the numbers decreased more and more.
Nox observed everything; he asked no useless questions; he was not stupid. He simply protected the one who had the greatest value in his eyes. He told Norah to stay close to him.
The months passed, the experints beca harder.
The place quickly filled with screams as children from seven to twelve years old begged for their lives, their flesh rotting before their eyes in an inexplicable way.
The group stuck together; they promised to stay together until the end.
Then ca the final test...
All the survivors were gathered in a large room...
"Only the survivor will have the right to a peaceful life."
A woman had spoken, her voice clear and emotionless. And she was not joking.
"I will count to three..."
They imdiately understood that they had to kill each other. In this world, there would only be one spot and it was for the strongest.
Children who considered themselves brothers attacked each other.
Nox received a blow to the face; he grabbed a piece of tal from the ground.
His best friend looked at him, hesitant.
"We can still stop..."
But behind him, another child was already throwing himself at Norah.
Nox no longer thought.
He struck once, then a second ti, and his friend fell right before his eyes. But he had no ti to mourn; other children were already coming.
Norah, for her part, fought with the determination to survive. She cried silently while pushing back those who attacked her.
Forty minutes later, the floor was covered with bodies. The tallic sll of blood spread everywhere in the room, and in the middle of this carnage only the two of them remained.
Nox breathed heavily. His gaze was empty while Norah trembled.
[...]
The following days were calm.
But sothing had changed in them.
Under the direct supervision of the witch Walpurgis, they continued the experints.
Norah developed affinities that were supposed to be impossible even for the elves of Yggdrasil. She could manipulate the four elental magics: fire, water, earth, and air responded to her will.
One could speak of success.
Nox, for his part, had no classical magic. But he developed a particular aura.
A chaotic energy that could disintegrate magic around him and therefore much more dangerous than his sister.
The Witch of Curses had found the formula to create monsters.
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