Though the battle was won, it was only the beginning. The first step to winning this war was to know their enemy. To find out more about them, the 5th Battalion and Investigation Department left no stone unturned in the facility they successfully defended.

The lights flickered on.

“What the hell is this?” a soldier doing sentry duty exclaimed as he saw the gory scene.

“Like you said, hell,” his partner commented.

Husker calmly squatted next to the nearest body and examined the injuries. He asked for Pike’s opinion, “what do you think?”

“Looks like someone attained Radiance,” Pike replied.

“He was chained to the wall there,” Husker said as he pointed at the blood-stained wall, “but he broke free.”

A scientist from the Investigation Department exclaimed, “what power…”

“That’s not all. The wounds on these guards are inflicted by something blunt. Most likely a glass shard,” Husker proposed as he stared at the broken glass shards scattered on the concrete ground, “it’s gonna take a great amount of force to inflict these kinds of wounds… And I guess he took out every single man in this facility.”

“Who is he?” Pike asked.

Husker ignored his question. That was not the crux of the issue. The most crucial thing they needed to worry about was…

“Puke, you’re asking the wrong question. We should be finding out where he is…” Husker corrected his assistant.

The scientists in white lab coats were examining the bodies of both the dead comrades and enemies. Some were scanning the area with a kind of metal detector.

“Judging by this burst of energy, he might even have surpassed breaking point and achieved Higher Radiance,” Husker murmured.

“This room reeks of radiation spikes,” Professor Regina commented, “could it be…?”

Husker replied the bespectacled female scientist in a friendly tone, “My sentiments too. What does the radiation levels show?”

“A number which far exceeds breaking point, Harrold,” she replied with seriousness in her eyes as she looked into his eyes.

Husker pursed his lips again uncomfortably. Turning towards Pike, he ordered with a trembling voice, “find him. Ezerka Nyx. He might be the only survivor from the Nebula Company.”

The two sentry soldiers were confused. An army of one? It would have been suicide. There was no way he could have endured such damage, dealt them back to the enemy and survived…

But Husker knew better. However much he wanted to deny it, people like him were adapted to survive.

Pike understood the gravity of the situation. He immediately turned around and passed the order down to the troopers. He did not even have the time to question how his superior could converse with such a gorgeous young lady as if they were long lost friends.

“Rochelle, when we find this guy, is it possible to do a full check on him?” Husker asked the young scientist.

She peeled her eyes away from the set of computers and looked at Husker.

“You seem to be quite confident that you will be able to find him, Harrold. It’s not like you,” she replied, “well, but I guess if you are so sure that your guy will be found, then I will do a full body check on him. But not here.”

“Yeah… We’ll probably make camp somewhere else.”

Husker then turned to Pike and asked, “how long more for the data collection to be completed?”

“Sir, in another eight hours or so.”

“Can the process be expedited? I have an uneasy feeling about this… Never mind… er… Forget what I just said…” Husker muttered weakly.

Husker felt weird to push his men to be faster. He was just not authoritative enough for a CO.

The slim scientist heaved a sigh and said, “Harrold, you’re still the same old timid boy I used to know back in school. Man up, man… I’ll get my team to hustle up,” emphasising on the word ‘hustle’. She then left the room to oversee her team.

“Sir, you sure you don’t want to…” Pike’s voice trailed off.

Husker gave a disapproving expression at his female friend’s comment and said, “well then… Hustle up.”

Pike’s transponder cackled.

“This is Zerga 4. Sir, I think you ought to see this… We’ve found him…”

Soft and slow beeps filled the air-conditioned room. The constant beeping was in tandem with the digital spikes on the heart rate monitoring machine next to a single bed.

Wakey wakey, prisoner. Wakey wakey. Wakey wakey.

The sadistic whisper in his ears echoed louder and louder.

Wakey wakey, WAKEY WAKEY, PRISONER!

Cold beads of perspiration formed at his forehead.

Do you think I’ll let you off so easily?

The rhythm of the beeps became fast and erratic.

I want to see the light leave your eyes. I want to destroy you, till there’s nothing left in you. The PLEASURE of killing your comrades.

He heard gunshots in the isolation room. The emergency alarm sounded.

Stop… I beg you… Not my friends… Not me… BANG! NOOOO!

His eyes snapped wide open.

It took several men to restrain him – men in white laboratory coats. A syringe was forcefully injected into his arm.

“No, let me die. Don’t revive me,” he groaned weakly.

The sedative took effect within seconds. He reverted back into a peaceful slumber.

“No one’s killing you. You can sleep in peace…”

A musical voice lulled him to sleep.

He woke up once again to see a figure in a white lab coat with light strawberry blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her back was facing him as she washed her hands at the basin. Twenty year olds did not believe in angels but it seemed to him like they existed.

Am I dead?

He was probably the only person who desperately wanted to die. The trauma had left him scarred. He knew how it was like to wake up from death. It was like snapping out from a nightmare of emptiness. Yet he was not sure this time round. No one was there to wake him up. There was no wake up call, no pain, no stuffiness.

Maybe I’m really dead, for good…

The light was piercing his eyes. He opened them slowly.

“Can someone please turn off the lights?” He groaned weakly.

The young lady gave a surprised jerk. She turned around.

He saw her side-swept bangs fell neatly down to her right eyebrow. She wore a royal blue flare dress and a white lab coat draped over her shoulders.

“You’re awake,” she said tenderly as she smiled. She walked towards him and put her hand on his forehead.

He flinched.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” she said as she felt his forehead, “no fever, that’s good.”

“Am I dead?” he whispered.

There was no place in the living where it was safe for him. The living was an endless pit of hell filled with suffering.

She giggled and said, “you’re a funny man. You’re the first person I know who wishes to die so much… I’m Rochelle, the doctor in charge of you. There’s someone who would like to speak to you, after you’ve rested enough. And no, you’re not dead, Ezerka Nyx.” She walked towards the sliding door, switched off the lights and exited the sanitised room.

He ignored her comments, turning his head to the side as one tear trickled down the corner of his eye.

“What a pity then…”