"The thing that corrodes the very soul," Rivera said, wearing what could only be described as a sad smile.

  Gabriel looked back at Ansel, his brows tightening. 'Conquering Rust?' The more he learned about the enigmatic doctor, the more he resembled the professor.

  Ansel meanwhile approached them from behind.

  "It's a gradual process," he said, voice low and thoughtful, "but it's proven some measure of breakthrough. Although few."

  "And how’s it meant to help me not get tortured again?" Gabriel asked, turning to Rivera.

  She smiled faintly, then glanced back at Ansel. "How’s it meant to help him not get tortured again, Annie?"

  Ansel stood beside them now, studying the incubator. "You might have noticed I have a gift — I can rummage through people's heads. It's limiting, though. The tougher the subject, the foggier the mind."

  Gabriel noticed Ansel’s gaze fall on him — mostly his forehead — studying.

  "What Cerba does," Ansel continued, "is assist me in bearing most of that burden... while also involving the subject’s own consciousness. Through something called Consent."

  "Which is your conscious permission. Once you give it, Cerba becomes a map, guiding us through your mind much faster and clearer."

  "Because of that," Ansel said, "My capabilities are heightened. All you have to do is permit Cerba — and it opens the path."

  Rivera snapped her fingers. "Mhm! All he needs to do is tweak it a little bit and it could be a ride down memory lane. With your consent, of course."

  Gabriel stared at the lean man for a long moment his mind piecing together the facts.

  'That’s why she needed my trust... my consent.' He realized. Naturally, he questioned all she had said to him at the cafeteria, but the more he thought of it the more he couldn't really blame her.

  With a sigh, Gabriel turned to study the machine. Up close, it looked like a true marvel: dark metal inscribed with shimmering runes, the incubator itself pulsing with glowing pink liquid.

  "So you'll be able to see my memories?"

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  "Yes," Ansel replied, "as you recall them, at least. “Memories are fragile — shaped more by perception than truth.”

  "But yes," he added, "a fairly accurate depiction should be made available."

  "Knowing Professor Allen, if the information is in there, it won't be easy to find. But we'll make progress." Rivera added.

  Gabriel hesitated. Rivera’s words about her family replaying in his mind. 'She'd do anything for them. I'm not any different.'

  The fact was he didn’t have much to lose... but there was much he could gain, and learn.

  If this went right, he might finally discover what had happened to him. Maybe even the fate of his sisters.

  His face twisted into a thoughtful expression.

  "You have a question, I presume?" Rivera asked.

  Gabriel looked at her, not even curious how she knew.

  "And you’re sure you’ll find what you're looking for? And how do I even know I'm not dooming the world by leading you to it?"

  Rivera and Ansel exchanged glances then Ansel spoke first.

  "The Nill Vault," he said slowly, "is as much an intangible object as it is a machine. Its components are vast. Too vast — spanning concepts."

  "Concepts?" Gabriel echoed, confused.

  "It's barely a physical object," Rivera clarified.

  "What she means is," Ansel said, "the Nill Vault was split into three parts. Including its physical and conceptual components. Each piece hidden in the professor’s most cunning places."

  "And it can’t be activated unless brought together," Rivera added.

  Gabriel frowned. "If it’s safe where it is, why do you need it?"

  Rivera shook her head. "Because someone else wants it. And he’s already gotten his hands on one. It won’t take him long to find the rest."

  "He?" Gabriel asked, unease building.

  "Him," Rivera said grimly. "The Sun Killer..."

  Gabriel stiffened.

  "The Hero of Exeges..."

  Sweat trickled down his temple as his spine curled in terror. A heavy silence fell between them.

  "The King Icarus."

  It was as if Gabriel’s world had shattered.

  There was this pulsing in his head pulling him a couple steps back.

  "No no no!"

  He grumbled as flashes of red overtook his senses. He was no longer in the lab, the metal walls replaced by burning wood and clouds of smoke.

  There was so much heat and screaming. Blood trickled down his nose as the name etched itself deeper into his fractured mind.

  All he could see now— was death, blood, and fire.

  Two eyes, burning bright, glaring directly at him. Then darkness.

  ***

  In the narrowest part of the facility's ventilation shaft, where the bars were too tight for anything human to squeeze through, something was squeezing through. Its white fur a hairs breath away from scraping the walls.

  Beyond the slats, Ansel’s lab unfolded in hushed tones and careful movements, with the strange, pulsing machine — Cerba — at its centre. Ansel and his visitors spoke unaware of the observer, their voices echoing faintly through the metal confines.

  From its perch, the creature did not move, did not blink, only watched.

  The moment Icarus was named, and the young boy– Gabriel crumpled to his knees gasping for air, the rat shifted. Rising onto its hind legs, head tilting just slightly as if to better study the scene — not with alarm, but with unnerving patience. The gleam in its eye was not animalistic in any sense of the word, instead, something cold lingered in its eyes, calm, calculating. Almost... sentient.