"Next."

  The scientist in the white lab coat repeated in a cold voice.

  None of the orphans showed enough courage to step forward.

  Then, the sound of small footsteps echoed against the wooden floor, heading toward the scientists.

  From the group of children emerged a boy, shorter than his peers. He had black hair, an average face, and black eyes. But what set him apart from the others was his faint smile.

  There was a glimmer of madness in his eyes - no trace of fear. Someone might think he wasn’t walking toward the Trial of Death but simply strolling through a park, admiring the scenery.

  Mark looked at the boy with a flicker of appreciation in his eyes.

  "Interesting. Since we started these experiments, no one has ever approached us voluntarily. I commend your bravery, boy. What's your name?" the scientist in white asked, tapping his fingers lightly against the syringe in his hand, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

  "My name is Asher," the boy replied, glancing at the syringe and noticing the scientist’s slightly impatient demeanor.

  "Doesn’t matter. Stand before me and take off your shirt." The blond-haired scientist spoke with a tone that brooked no argument.

  As Asher pulled his upper garment over his head, a flood of thoughts rushed through him. On one hand, he felt nervous, fearful of what was to come. On the other, he had been anticipating this moment for years.

  He felt every detail of the surrounding room. Every scent.

  He felt the dampness. He felt the tension in the air from the other children.

  He saw the excitement in the rat’s eyes. He saw that familiar indifference (in his observation) reflected in Mark’s gaze. He saw the longing, scrutinizing look in the short, blond-haired man standing before him.

  He felt and saw everything.

  But the moment his shirt slid off his chest, he noticed the scientist stepping closer with the syringe filled with Awakening.

  Then, everything went silent. Then, everything lost its scent. Then, everything vanished - no more children. No more rat. No more scientists.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Even he disappeared.

  Only the Awakening remained before him.

  It was approaching.

  Slowly, it pierced his skin, reaching his bloodstream.

  The Awakening began to flow from the syringe and into Him.

  It started with his veins and arteries - a sensation of searing fire spreading through his body. He felt like a torch.

  Then, it reached his organs. As if they were melting. He felt like a bonfire.

  It seeped into his bones. As if he had jumped into a geyser, burning him from the inside out.

  Then, it spread to his skin. He felt like he was fire itself. He had become a volcano. The fire no longer burned him.

  He had become the fire.

  He couldn't think. He wasn't capable.

  He only felt the heat consuming him.

  He could no longer resist it.

  He let it flow.

  He tried to direct it.

  It was all happening inside Him.

  On the outside, his skin began to pale, but not in a sickly way - as if it was absorbing the light around him.

  His eyelids snapped open. Instead of entirely black eyes, hints of translucent white began to emerge in their depths.

  The air around him trembled. It looked as though reality itself was beginning to fracture.

  Black veins started to appear around his hands and eyes.

  "Mark, step back and prepare!" the scientist ordered, slightly stressed by the boy's transformation.

  He didn’t need to say it - Mark had already taken precautions on his own. He stepped back, raised his weapon, and his eyes began to glow faintly red.

  The children didn’t know what to do. Seeing the scientists’ reactions, they tried to shrink against the wooden floor or hide behind the laboratory tables.

  The rat’s eyes lost their excitement. She began looking around for shelter, then quickly grabbed one of the children and hid behind them.

  "Move, and you’ll die!" she warned a boy slightly larger than his peers. Her tone made the boy nearly soil himself as he stood frozen in place.

  "Kill them! They’re all monsters! Avenge your parents! They surround you! KILL!!"

  Asher felt his head splitting apart. He heard voices.

  "Asher, no! They are people! They are not monsters! You are not yourself!"

  "Asher! Kill them!"

  "You can’t! Asher!"

  He heard voices. Many voices.

  The people around him felt something passing through them.

  Pens, papers, syringes, the scientist’s glasses, cups, scalpels, scissors, knives, and many other objects—

  Everything small and light began to rise into the air.

  The space around them warped slightly.

  Asher’s hands and face became covered with more and more black veins.

  Mark felt his gun begin to tremble. His gaze hardened with determination.

  He slowly pressed against the trigger.

  Two boys and one girl began to whimper quietly. The orphans were more terrified than before.

  They didn’t understand what was happening. Compared to previous transformations, this one affected them directly.

  "Kill them, Asher! KILL!"

  "kill..."

  "Kill!"

  "KILL THEM ALL, THEY ARE MONSTERS!!!"

  He was ready. It was telling him to. Something inside him had awakened.

  He raised his hands. The floating objects aligned themselves with the people.

  He was about to unleash everything.

  And then - everything went black.