Seojin's hands trembled at her sides, but she didn't let it show.
Her father's words echoed in her skull.
"You're going to help us test her."
Her mother. The woman she had believed dead. The woman who had been locked away, experimented on, and used like a tool by the very people Seojin had vowed to destroy.
And now, she was being forced to take part in it.
Seojin kept her expression neutral, though her nails dug into her palms. "What kind of test?"
Her father studied her, his gaze sharp. He was watching her, waiting for a reaction. A weakness.
"The Council wants to ensure she is still viable," he said smoothly. "We need to know if her ability remains intact. If she can still resist… or if she can be broken."
Seojin's blood ran cold.
This wasn't just an experiment.
This was torture.
Minutes later, Seojin was led into a sterile white chamber deep within the Council's underground facility. The room was small, dimly lit, and lined with observation screens.
In the center sat her mother.
She looked thinner than Seojin remembered, but her posture was still strong. There was no fear in her mother's eyes—only defiance.
Seojin's breath caught.
Her mother slowly turned her head, her gaze locking onto her.
For a brief second, recognition flickered.
Then, just as quickly, it was gone.
Seojin's heart twisted. Did she even remember her? Or had the years of isolation erased everything?
A voice crackled through the intercom. "Begin the test."
Seojin's jaw clenched.
Her father stood behind the glass, his hands clasped. "We need to see if she can still fight against mental influence," he said. "You'll be administering a neural trigger. We need to know if she can resist it."
A tablet was placed in Seojin's hands. On the screen was a control panel—designed to activate a forced compliance protocol.
Seojin swallowed hard.
She was supposed to break her own mother.
Seojin stepped forward, meeting her mother's gaze through the glass.
Then—
Her mother spoke for the first time.
"You're not one of them."
The words were quiet, barely above a whisper.
But they hit Seojin like a bullet.
Her fingers tightened around the tablet.
"No," she whispered.
Her mother exhaled slowly. "Then why are you here?"
Seojin forced her expression to remain blank, though her mind was spiraling. What was she supposed to do?
The intercom crackled again. "Proceed, Seojin."
Her father was watching. The Council was watching.
She was out of time.
Seojin turned back to her mother. Their eyes met.
A moment of understanding passed between them.
Then—Seojin made her choice.
Her fingers hovered over the control panel. And she did something no one expected.
She activated a false signal.
To the outside world, it looked like she was following orders. The screens flashed with data, numbers scrolling rapidly. But instead of breaking her mother, Seojin had overridden the system—shutting it down instead.
Her mother exhaled softly, realizing what Seojin had done.
For the first time, Seojin saw something in her mother's eyes.
Hope.
But her father?
He was smiling.
And that terrified her more than anything.
End of Chapter 85