CHAPTER 268: CHAPTER 268: THE MONSTER BEHIND THE MASK

The days blurred.

Liora lost track of how long Aeris had been down there—strapped, drugged, silenced—beneath sterile lights that never flickered, beneath hands that once brought her books and laughter and gentle promises of safety.

Kazren didn’t even hide anymore.

Not from Liora, anyway. Because he didn’t know she existed. She was just a whisper in Aeris’s memories, a bystander.

But she saw everything.

She saw the way he calibrated the neuro-suppression device like it was part of his morning ritual. How he marked her nerve points with casual ease, drawing notes into a holopad while Aeris’s unconscious body trembled in its restraints.

She saw the slow spread of bruises that faded too quickly, like the lab was equipped with some advanced regenerative tech to mask his sins.

She saw how he smiled afterward.

That was the worst part.

Kazren smiled. He smiled like he’d just painted something beautiful. Like this was art to him.

Aeris had been locked in that lab for an entire week. A week of silent procedures. Of mock-gentle touches. Of lies spoken in warm tones and reassurances whispered into sedated ears.

And then... just as suddenly... he was done.

Liora didn’t understand what he got from her. There had been no clear breakthrough. No eureka moment. But that look on his face—gods, that look—

Satisfaction.

Like he had found what he was searching for.

Or worse...he had already achieved it.

The moment he stepped back from Aeris’s pale, unmoving form with that twisted serenity, Liora’s chest seized. She screamed inside her own mind. Beat against the walls of the memory prison.

Say something, Aeris! Fight him! Don’t trust him!

But Aeris didn’t respond. She couldn’t after being heavily sedated.

And then, the next scene shifted to a clear space. Sterile white walls surrounded her again, but this time... it was a real hospital.

Soothing monitors. Soft cotton sheets. A view of the distant cityscape flickering beyond the window. And Aeris... she was awake. Barely. Eyes fluttering open like a child after a long, fevered sleep.

And he was already there.

Kazren.

Standing by her bedside with a bouquet of pale blue blooms and a plastic smile carved onto his face like nothing had ever happened.

"Ah, you’re awake," he said with gentle relief, his voice warm, like an old friend. "How are you feeling?"

Aeris blinked slowly. "Mm... tired," she whispered.

Her throat was raw. Her muscles ached. Her entire body felt like it was broken and then repaired again.

Kazren’s eyes crinkled with a smile.

"You gave us a scare," he said. "You fainted again. We ran some scans while you were out. Turns out... there were some irregularities. Small masses in the ovaries."

Liora froze.

What are you saying...what are you doing...? What nonsense is this...

Kazren continued smoothly, his hands folded behind his back in a professional manner. "Nothing serious, though. We caught it early. Had to run a few quick tests and did a minor outpatient procedure. You’re perfectly fine now, Aeris."

He paused, reaching forward to brush a hair from her cheek.

"My friend was your attending surgeon."

He said it like a joke. Like it was normal. Like the last seven days of torment never happened.

And beside him stepped in a man in a white coat, nodding with polished detachment. "Yes, Ms. Aeris. The surgery went well. With modern tech, recovery is fast. You’re cleared for release by tomorrow."

Aeris stared between them. Confused. Dazed. But something about their words... the way they aligned... the professional confidence in their voices... it soothed her.

Just enough.

She sighed in tired relief. Her body relaxed slightly.

"Thank you," she murmured.

And Kazren...that monster, smiled again.

"There’s no need for that," he said, softly. "Atlas asked me to look after you before he left. I’m just doing what he would have wanted."

Aeris smiled. And Liora shattered at that moment.

She wasn’t just screaming now. She was raging. Pounding against invisible barriers inside Aeris’s soul, howling in fury as Kazren sat beside her like a damn savior. Like he hadn’t broken her body and memory and stitched it all back together with lies.

He’s a monster! Aeris, don’t trust him—he’s not your friend!

But Aeris couldn’t hear her, nor could she see the lie behind their fake smiles. Her mind was wrapped in layers of chemicals and fabricated memories. The truth was buried beneath scripted dreams and half-truths she didn’t know she’d been force-fed.

Liora trembled with full rage; she had never thought in her dream that she had faced something like this in the past from the hands of a man whom she trusted once. This wasn’t just manipulation. This wasn’t control.

This was a total overwrite.

And that made Kazren something else entirely.

Not just cruel. But inhuman.

Because only a thing without a soul could look someone in the eyes after mutilating them and still offer them flowers.

Only a thing without guilt could make Aeris thank him.

And as the sun set behind the glass window, Kazren reached forward again and tucked the blankets around Aeris’s shoulders with that ever-sweet voice:

"Get some rest. I’ll be here when you wake up."

Liora’s hands clenched into fists of raw, helpless fury.

Soon, Aeris was discharged from the hospital with a bandage so small it didn’t make sense. Just a single, medicated patch below her navel and a list of post-op instructions that read like a formality.

Aeris nodded at them politely. Thanked the staff. And walked out.

Liora followed, helpless in her wake.

They returned to the military compound. To the stark steel corridors and uniformed familiarity. Her dorm room looked untouched.

Aeris paused at the threshold of the room, blinking.

Something tugged at her.

A strange hollowness. A feeling like she’d left something unfinished.

She reached up, touching her temple. A whisper of a headache danced behind her eyes, but it was fleeting. Gone before she could name it.

Liora screamed inside her.

Don’t you feel it? But Aeris simply stepped inside.

She placed her bag on the bed. Looked around once. Then she turned on her light brain, which was strangely left in her dorm and was not with her.

There were new orders and new routines.

The world had moved on.

And somewhere in that moment, Aeris paused. A furrow appeared between her brows.

"...Where’s Xu Kai?" She whispered aloud, more to herself than anything. "Why did he not come to the hospital?"

Then she searches his information on her light brain. [Lieutenant Xu Kai: Deployed to Sector K-7. Current Status: On-Field. Duration: 1 Month.]

"One month?" she murmured.

She sat down slowly. Her gaze glazed over. One month.

Her lips moved, trying to summon the memory. A goodbye, or his words before he left, but nothing came.

Just a blur.

Liora felt it too. The heavy fog. A deliberate smudge on the film of time. Her gut twisted.

Aeris rubbed her forehead, trying to make sense of the hollow stretch of missing time.

"I must’ve... forgotten," she said. "He probably told me. Maybe I was too tired." And she convinced herself. Just like that.

Aeris didn’t question it any further. Her hand moved automatically, pulling out their chat. She recorded a short message for Xu Kai, something about hoping he was safe and how the dorms were quieter without him.

Then she tossed the device onto her bed.

And returned to life.

Training. Reports. Patrols. Routine.

She no longer woke up in locked storage rooms or chemical-scented bunkers. She no longer clenched a weapon beneath her pillow at night.

She laughed again—soft, tired laughs with her teammates. She complained about drills. She passed her assessments. And her health improved steadily. Like her body had been fine-tuned.

Like nothing had ever gone wrong.

And yet, Liora’s dread only grew.

Soon Xu Kai also returned; it was like everything had been tied up with a bow. He walked into the training yard in the golden haze of late afternoon, still tall and steady, with dirt on his boots and tired eyes.

Aeris dropped the weights she was lifting.

"Xu Kai?"

He smiled.

"Hey. Missed me?"

She ran to him like a excited child and hugged him tight.

And just like that... the final crack in her mind was sealed.

Whatever had haunted her... was now nothing more than a dream she didn’t even remember having.