Ever since she was a child, she only knew the church and its research labs; they were a home to her at the time. At first there were multiple children with her surviving the cruelty of the church under the pretense of research and advancement. They were used as subjects to experiment on. She had made many friends; they understood each other because of their situation. There were many types of subjects in the facility. First, the obvious ones who wanted to escape it: Love fell into this category, but she was too much of a coward to flee. Next were the types to believe in church and their ideals.
There was this ideology of the church, that this world is an illusion; everything you do and everything you will do doesn't matter. Because one day. The promised king would come and free us from this illusion. They believed this king is a force that existed before our universe.
They also said that he can interact with them through dreams. Giving them orders and commands.
But Love thought every time, she has spent her entire life in an organization that worships this being; why hasn't he visited me? Why am I not even allowed to know his name?
The question bugged her throughout her short life.
Perhaps this was because she was special. Because of all her friends and children, only she managed to survive in this hell. Sometimes she thought that surviving was way worse. M- Maybe she should have just died. Who knows? Perhaps she has, and it's just all an illusion in her head.
She still has nightmares about those days, especially about the black, ugly, and viscous liquid she was forced to bathe in.
What did they call it?
'Ah, the black water or the drop of abyss'
Perhaps because of this crazy experimentation, she had received her unique powers.
She can make a clone of herself that has any elemental affinity. Currently she can only call upon the avatars of fire, lightning, and water. But she can only maintain two effectively.
And this is one of love's powers. This power was due to the Thread of Fracture.
Next was Energy Manipulation.
And that's why she has an invisible collar around her neck. This was to control her behavior and also to kill her if she disobeyed.
She was a fucking dog.
***
Tonight was like any other. After eating dinner, she had to fulfill her daily routine.
She had stood in front of the research lab that she had to get herself checked at every day.
The room hadn't changed much except there was no one inside except for the senior archivist, Pell. His expressions today were a bit odd. He was almost excited.
"Ah. It seems it's just you and me now. I think the others have gone for some documentation." He said, "Come sit here."
He pointed to a chair beside him.
Love was skeptical of his behavior, He had never been kind to her. He was always the one to treat her as a object. Seeing this, she had no reason to comply.
"No need, Doctor." she said nervously. "I'd like to finish the test faster, since I have work tonight.
She was feeling that something was off tonight. Even if they had documentation, they were the kind of person that would delay it until tomorrow, however important it may be. She was hesitant.
Hearing her answer, his expression changed from a smile to a frown.
"Are you refusing me?" He said, placing a hand on a device,
As soon as he pressed a button, Love felt her collar tightening around her. It was getting to the point that she couldn't breathe.
Gasp
She reached out her hand to hold her neck and gasped for air.
Her face was getting red, and her vision was turning black. When suddenly the collar loosened.
And she collapsed.
"How about it now?" he asked with an authoritative voice. "Are you still going to refuse?"
She stood up, breathing heavily,
'Bastard'
Not wanting to get tortured tonight, she got closer to him and sat beside him.
"See was that so hard" he said. "Just obey me, and everything will be fine."
Just as he said that, his hands slid down her thighs, caressing them softly.
The instant his hands touched her thigh, she chilled and tried to shake it away.
"What are you doing, Doctor?" She asked with a clenched fist.
"Making your life easier." He said with a grin on his face, "See, just let me have some fun, and then I promise you no one in this facility will harass you."
Love had started to break down internally. She knew where this was going, and she didn't want that. She was going to get molested. During all her time in church, she had lost many things. Her friends, her sanity, and she also got tortured. But still, she always survived. During this time, the only thing that she had with her was her dignity. And it seemed tonight she was going to lose it too.
She looked at the senior doctor, who was about 40 or 50, with a slightly nervous and fearful gaze.
"Please. Don't." She whispered, "I beg of you"
But of course that didn't stop him. He seemed to be enraged. He then once again took the device in his hands.
"Get down on all fours, bitch!." He commanded, "I decided to play nice tonight, but no, it seems I'll have to break you. You filthy bitch."
She, shivering from the device's effect, grunted with a low voice.
"You don't have to do this, doctor. Please" she voiced
But before she could continue further, he intervened with an enraged voice.
"Do you think your opinion matters?" He said, "You work under me. I could make things really difficult for you. Or would it be better to make you unconscious and pass you around like a whore?"
She shivered at the thought of that, and despite crying inside, she lowered herself into that ordered position.
Seeing this, Pell smiled. "Good, Very Good"
Her name was Love. She didn't know why the church kept her name. Love, which symbolizes something pure, something affectionate, and something devotional, yet here she is the opposite of that. With a pitch-black heart, no one to love or to be loved, and definitely not pure.