Time felt distorted as if I were in some sort of vivid dream. After Eliza had discussed with Anthony earlier, I had lost track of how long it had been. The lack of light in the room probably didn’t help much. Something about the dearth of a day and night cycle had thrown off my internal clock. I couldn’t tell if it was morning or midnight, and the suffocating silence only compounded my sense of disorientation.

To compensate, I tried to remember how many serums had been injected into me. He said something about 11 of them earlier, I think? So, if I count how many have happened since then—1-2-3-4-5... grrr... make that 6, I was too distracted just now, and he injected another while I was unfocused. Ouch. So, if my math is right, that should be 17 serums total... about 8 and a half hours? Sounds about right. That means 3 more to go. Come on, Elara, just a little longer, then an hour of rest before being drugged and operated on...

But the thought brought with it a fresh wave of dread. Wait, why is a core even needed? Are they trying to make me a monster? Cores are things only monsters and demons have...

I felt a cold chill sweep through me at the thought, goosebumps prickling along my arms. The idea of becoming a monster twisted in my gut like a knife. Monsters. The word echoed in my mind, an insidious reminder of my impending fate. I was Elara Vale, not some grotesque creature of nightmares. The image of twisted horns and unnatural features filled my thoughts, making it hard to breathe.

I pressed my hands to my temples as I tried to focus through the haze in my mind. Fear and confusion frothed at its edges, coercing an irrational panic to take hold. I struggled to defy it, wanting nothing more than to surrender to its temptation, but I was a logical woman; I would not falter yet.

Then, a flash of heat broiled through my flesh. My stomach churned, and a mild tingling spread through my limbs as if my body had fallen asleep. Not long after, shadows closed in and danced in my peripherals, but I clenched my fists. I felt the hot trickle of liquid trail from my enclosed hands as I fought to stay upright.

A sudden jolt of pain erupted from my forehead, sharp and relentless. My heart raced as I pressed a palm against my skin, feeling the intense throb beneath it. Something shifted, and I realized with dread that the skin there was stretching, morphing, as if something inside me was clawing its way to the surface.

“Please, no,” I whispered, my breath hitching in my throat. I could feel the pressure building, pushing against my skull, and instinctively, I arched my back in a futile attempt to relieve the tension. My head swam, and I gasped, sweat beading on my brow.

“Hold her still!” Anthony commanded, his excitement building as he took a step closer. “Get a mirror! I want her to see this transformation!”

The sensation intensified, and before I could process it, something erupted from my skull, forcing a cry from my lips. I pressed my head against the cool wall behind me, gasping as a second sensation followed. Each time something burst forth, a hot trickle of viscous liquid rolled down my skin, pooling beneath me, anchoring me further into this horrifying reality.

“Ah! #724, look at that!” Anthony exclaimed, his voice a mix of awe and exhilaration. “You’re becoming a true vessel of power!”

Then came the scorching heat spreading across my back. I winced as a tearing sensation sliced through my flesh, sending waves of pain that made me want to scream. I could feel something emerging, expanding, reshaping, and with each pulse of agony, I knew I was becoming something else entirely.

“Beautiful,” Anthony breathed, his voice filled with awe. “This is what we’ve been waiting for.”

The transformation felt like being torn apart and remade in a single moment. I could sense something thick and powerful beginning to unfurl from the small of my back, its weight stretching behind me, heavy and alive. It felt as if I were losing myself, my very essence being rewritten by the serums coursing through my veins.

“Just a little more!” Anthony urged an edge of desperation creeping into his tone. “I need to see it all.”

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“No!” I shouted, the sound echoing in the empty chamber. “I am not a monster!” I fought against the encroaching darkness, determined to hold on to the fragments of who I was.

But the pain surged anew, threatening to swallow me whole as the final stages of transformation began.

The world around me blurred, and I felt like I was caught in a tempest. My senses heightened; the sharp tang of metal mingled with the musty scent of the room. Each pulse of pain was accompanied by a disorienting rush of heat as if my blood were boiling beneath my skin. I could feel the muscles in my back twitching, stretching, as they adjusted to whatever was trying to break free.

“#724, you’re so close,” Anthony said, almost breathlessly. “Just let it happen! Embrace it!”

Embrace it. The words were poison to my ears. I felt my resolve wavering as the pain wrapped around me like a vice. I fought against it, gritting my teeth as another wave of heat surged through me. I pressed my palms against the ground, the coolness of the floor a stark contrast to the fire consuming my body.

Then, a sudden tearing sensation rocked through me, sharp and unforgiving. I gasped, feeling something slice through the flesh of my lower back. A primal instinct surged within me, a fight-or-flight response that screamed for escape. But there was no escape, not here. Not now.

“Get her a mirror!” Anthony shouted again; his voice laced with manic glee. I could hear the scuffling of boots against the floor as a guard rushed to obey.

“No!” I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation. “Don’t, I don't want to see!”

But my plea fell on deaf ears. Anthony's laughter echoed, drowning out my protest. “You need to witness your rebirth! This is your destiny!”

My breaths came in sharp gasps, my heart racing as I felt the weight of something heavy pulling at me. It was both painful and oddly exhilarating as if a part of me was awakening to a power I had never known. The sensations were at war within me, fear battling the instinctive allure of this new strength.

Then came the final surge of agony, an explosion of heat and pressure as something substantial pushed its way out, followed by a slick trickle of viscous liquid running down my back. The world spun around me, blurring at the edges as I clung to consciousness.

“#724! Look!” Anthony’s voice cut through the haze, and I could hear the eagerness in his tone. “Look at what you’ve become!”

The guard returned, holding a mirror before me. The reflection stared back, but I barely recognized the face. My hair was in disarray, damp with sweat, and my skin was glistening with a sheen of crimson. But it was the other features, the grotesque appendages sprouting from my body, that drew my horrified gaze.

A low, anguished sound escaped my throat as I caught sight of the jagged protrusions on my head, the remnants of what had once been my hair now mingled with crimson streaks, marking the brutal transformation. My breath quickened, and I turned my head away, refusing to look at the emerging shape behind me.

“Embrace it!” Anthony urged, his eyes sparkling with fervor. “You are becoming something extraordinary!”

Extraordinary. The word clanged in my mind like a cruel joke. I felt the weight of the new appendage behind me, shifting as it took form. Each movement sent shocks of pain racing through my spine, but beneath that pain was a strange, unfamiliar warmth. It was as if the transformation held some hidden power, a promise that flickered at the edges of my consciousness.

“NO!” I roared, the sound reverberating off the cold walls. “I refuse to be this!” I could feel the hot liquid rolling down my sides, pooling beneath me, a reminder of the price I was paying.

“Don’t fight it!” Anthony pressed, moving closer, his eyes wild with enthusiasm. “You’re not just a subject anymore; you’re an evolution! You’re destined for greatness!”

Greatness? The very concept felt twisted in my gut. I was supposed to be a person, not a weapon or an experiment. I was Elara Vale, not an abomination of science. The thought of what I was becoming clawed at my sanity, pushing me to the brink.

The mirror glimmered in front of me, and I caught a glimpse of my reflection once more. My heart raced as I saw the jagged ridges where my horns had sprouted, thin and white, curving up from the crown of my head. They twisted elegantly yet grotesquely, a symbol of my transformation that filled me with dread. My eyes were wide, reflecting a mixture of disbelief and horror, and for a moment, I barely recognized the person staring back at me.

“Look at how strong you are!” Anthony said, his tone persuasive. “This is what I always envisioned! You are the key to our future!”

As I squinted at my reflection, a hazy distortion obscured my features. The outlines of my new wings loomed large behind me, their white feathers appearing like a ghostly halo. But I couldn’t see the full extent of what I had become; the angle of the mirror left the rest of my transformation shrouded in uncertainty.

“No…” I gasped, my voice barely above a whisper, overwhelmed by the sheer horror of it all.

And just like that, the darkness closed in, pulling me into its depths.