Ichor opened his eyes, the first thing that came into view was a large hill like rock, sparse trees and a thick scent of blood.
No, it was bloodlust and it was being emitted by two individuals.
He looked at the first one, it was a one eyed wolf-like mutant. Its fur was as black as night and it's one eye glowed with an eerie light. Its left paw was covered in blood, a human eye hanging between its claws.
It was Ichor's left eye which had been ripped out from its socket.
Ichor looked at the other entity, before him stood a youth with curly black hair that stuck to his scalp and forehead, wet from the storm.
His clothes were torn and he was covered in blood, mud and grime.
In his gloved left hand, he held a steel baton, or at least what used to be a steel baton. Only its head remained.
He had a macabre scar where his left eye should have been, its socket now empty. It's content dwelling in the hand of his enemy.
"I see. You've gotten so much stronger than the last time we fought. You are no ordinary mutant."
The beast watched Ichor speak, its eyes glowing with intelligence and amusement. It has an eerie grin of satisfaction on its face.
"An eye for an eye huh?" Ichor said in a half statement half question way.
His breath was haggard,his back was arched and his body was sore. The fight had taken a turn he hadn't even expected.
"You hid your strength perfectly well, waiting for the perfect time to get your revenge. Why? You must think so highly of me. I should have been on guard. This is my loss."
Ichor chuckled, then with surprising ease, he straightened his back, his remaining eye glowing with an incandescent light. His bloodlust was increasing, an eerie smile spreading on his lips.
His chin raised up, a hint of disdain in his gaze as he spoke in a voice so cold, the beast took a step back without realizing it.
"But I know that you know. In order to kill me, you'll have to sacrifice more than you are willing to."
The beasts amused gazed vanished and its intelligence seemed to dwindle as it bared its fangs, its fury making its instincts take over.
The bloodlust of the two clashed, each one trying to make their yearning for the blood of the other greater. It was like two primal beasts having a faceoff.
Then the mutant one eyed beast came to its senses. It knew that Ichor was right. Nothing was more dangerous than a cornered beast and it knew that the young man before it was no less bestial than it was.
It slowly walked away, making sure to not show its back to such a dangerous enemy.
Ichor watched the whole process, not at all confused by the fact that he was watching a memory of himself. Instead, his gaze was filled with the same intense bloodlust that the doppelganger in the image was releasing.
"Bloodlust should be controlled. If you succumb to it, then what difference are you from mutants?"
Ichor turned around as the image shattered, his gaze locking unto a figure that stood surrounded by darkness.
It was a lady with long black hair that reached past her waist and the lost beautiful green eyes.
Her skin was like caramel milk, beautiful and smooth. Her figure was slender and extremely curvy and she looked to be in her early thirties.
Any other man would have felt intense lust at the lady who was in nothing but a tight black bodysuit. But Ichor instead looked at her with a gaze full of genuine love.
"Mother…"
"I trained you better than this, Ichor. Anyone who hurts you shouldn't be alive. Harness that bloodlust and tame it. Use it to make your attacks stronger, your movements quicker, your blade shaper."
The lady walked forward and reached out, cupping Ichor's face. At this moment, all of Ichor's mysterious aura and his cold bearing was gone and all that was left was a little boy with a longing gaze.
He had so many things to ask his mother but he didn't. He knew she was just another part of his memories.
"Everything is a weapon, Ichor. Even things that aren't physical. Wake up, you have a lot to fight for."
"Yes mother."
***
Sal and the lab lady entered the laboratory with Maja following closely behind. She was supposed to be leaving for her post but she came here out of sheer curiosity.
The youth known as Ichor was too much of an enigma. She wanted to see the results of his month-long sleep.
"Transport him to the exit tube!" The lab lady said to her assistant but the assistant stammered in reply,
"He's fully cognitive, ma'am. He's swimming down on his own."
The lab lady looked at Sal and Maja, not surprised by their narrowed eyes.
Any normal person would be in a half awake state due to the properties of the liquid in Golgotha and only after leaving the tube will they become fully awake.
They watched with surprise as Ichor arrived in the massive tank located in the laboratory.
The tank was connected to Golgotha and they used it to bring in cadets from anywhere in Golgotha to the Lab.
The moment he entered the tank, the assistant pressed a button to seal the tank's entrance. With a few clicks, the water in the tank began to drain.
Once it finished draining, the tank opened and Ichor landed on his hands and feet.
Sal moved first, taking off his coat and placing it on Ichor to shield his nakedness. His eyes narrowed as he saw the amount of scars on Ichor's body.
It couldn't have been from this exam. I wonder the kind of life he must have lived. I don't even have this much.
"It's okay, boy." Sal muttered as he guided Ichor up to his feet.
He was about to say something else when Ichor raised his head up, revealing a pair of eyes.
In his left socket that should have been empty was an eye. Blue and cold, like the bottom of a vast ocean.
"Impossible!"