Chapter 5: The Weapon
I could feel the change in the air. It wasn't just the sterile, cold feeling of the facility; it was something more profound. I wasn't the same person I had been when I first woke up in that cell. The pieces of me, the small things that made me who I was, they were slipping away, and it didn't even hurt anymore. There was nothing left to lose.
The guards had stopped calling me by my number—087—though it didn't matter anymore. I didn't have a name, not really. It felt like a word that no longer existed, one that wasn't meant for me. Every day, they pushed me further, breaking me down in ways that twisted my body, my mind, and even my very identity. I wasn't Theo anymore. I wasn't even 087 anymore. I was… a thing, an object to be used, a weapon.
Seraphina had made that clear. She had given me purpose—one I didn't choose for myself but one I had no choice but to accept. When I fought back, it only made the process more painful. They were meticulous. They broke me slowly, piece by piece. They severed the connection I had to my powers, to my past, and I let them. What was the point of resisting? Every time I tried to regain my hold on something—anything—she tore it away from me, even my sense of self.
There was no escaping. Not physically, and certainly not mentally.
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The training sessions were relentless. Every movement, every task was calculated, designed to drain what little remained of my will. They didn't need to push me; I was already broken. They only needed to teach me how to use my Void and Lightning abilities for their cause. Each day felt like the last—like I was falling further into a pit, but the pit never seemed to end. It was the kind of emptiness you feel when you can't remember the last time you felt alive.
"087, you're going to train again," one of the guards said as they opened the door to my cell.
I didn't react. I didn't even lift my head. What was the point? I was beyond the point of caring. It wasn't even exhaustion that kept me from moving. It was apathy.
When I didn't respond, the guard gave me a shove. "Move."
I stood mechanically, every movement devoid of the purpose I once had. They shackled my wrists—something I used to fight against, but now… now I didn't even flinch.
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Seraphina was already in the training room, standing in front of me with her usual cold, emotionless demeanor. Her eyes never seemed to soften. Not even when she was pleased with my progress. She wanted me to be a weapon, and she was getting what she wanted.
"087," she spoke as if she were addressing a tool, "Today, we'll focus on control. Your Void powers are raw, chaotic. You have to harness them, bend them to your will."
I didn't respond, but her words still lingered in my mind. There was nothing left to bend to my will. My will had been drained.
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Training consisted of endless drills—nothing I did was ever good enough. Every time I used my powers, she was there, watching me, observing my every movement. My Void magic, once so free, now felt like chains wrapping around me, pulling me deeper into her control. Every time I tried to draw on it, I could feel it being twisted, turned into something else. The pain was unbearable at first, but eventually, I stopped feeling anything at all.
"Focus," Seraphina said, watching as I struggled to channel the energy. I had learned to obey, to silence my thoughts and simply do as I was told, but I had no real understanding of what I was doing. Every action felt robotic, like I was just mimicking what I had been trained to do. "Focus and control the energy. It's not a part of you anymore; it's mine."
I swallowed, but my throat was dry, and the words tasted bitter. Her words were true, but they didn't make them hurt less. I could feel the electric surge of my Lightning affinity—stark, raw, and volatile. The Void was colder, darker, and alien. But none of it was mine anymore.
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The hours blurred together. I didn't know if I was succeeding or failing. It didn't matter. In the end, it was all the same. My powers were being honed, but they didn't belong to me. I wasn't in control. I was a puppet, and Seraphina was the one holding the strings.