The moment Tiflos stepped onto the balcony beside Noor, the waves of energy pulsing from the barn struck him like silent screams—echoes of endless suffering.
"The energy here… it's unbearable," he muttered, forcing himself to endure the pounding sensation stabbing through his head.
The barn was nearly pitch-dark, illuminated only by thin slices of moonlight slipping through the broken, rotten slats in the ceiling.
Noor spotted shifting shadows below and signaled Tiflos to prepare. The two moved quietly, crawling across the upper ledge as their eyes adjusted.
But as they drew closer, the shadows sharpened into shapes—people.
Some lay on the ground like discarded dolls.
Others hung suspended by their wrists on metal frames shaped like crosses.
Thick wires coiled around their limbs… around their skulls… and worst of all, across their faces.
Noor grabbed Tiflos's hand, her grip trembling.
"These… these are the homeless people," she whispered. "How long have they been like this?"
---
Tiflos led the descent from the balcony, Noor following behind him. But the deeper they went, the more the truth of the barn revealed itself:
This wasn't a farm.
It wasn't even a laboratory.
It was torture—methodical, scientific, and monstrous.
Strange symbols smeared the wooden walls like ancient curses.
Advanced medical devices hummed with cold precision, wires linking the machines to the suspended victims. Needles pierced skin. Tubes entered skulls. Their bodies were bruised, emaciated, hollow.
"This isn't research…" Noor whispered, her voice cracking.
"…this is torture."
Tiflos scanned the place with sharpened eyes. His expression hardened.
Noor stepped forward shakily, her knees giving out under the horror.
"We can't leave them like this. We have to free them! Look at them—Tiflos, LOOK!"
She tried to rush ahead, but Tiflos caught her arm.
"Wait."
"No! Don't you SEE them?!" Noor shouted, tears filling her eyes. "They're human beings! And you want to wait for orders? You're just like the rest of them… always following Cain's commands!"
She ripped her arm from his grip and began climbing down alone.
Tiflos sighed under his breath.
"Are all girls this dramatic? We don't even know what these… things are. They might not even be human anymore. And God help us if they're actually zombies."
Noor landed on the barn floor and hurried toward the bound victims.
Tiflos leapt down after her, anxiety twisting his chest. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.
He stepped forward—
And that's when his waves struck him with a violent shock.
A metallic force.
Fast.
Extremely fast.
Incoming.
"NOOR!" he shouted—
BOOOOOOOOM!
The barn doors exploded inward.
The world vanished in fire, smoke, and splinters. Machines shattered. Victims fell like broken puppets. The shockwave tore across the floor.
When Noor opened her eyes, she found herself in Tiflos's arms—shielded by a transparent energy barrier. Everywhere else was chaos.
If he hadn't held back his emotions earlier… if he hadn't stayed alert… she would have died.
A low, twisted laugh sliced through the smoke.
"Hahahahaha…"
A massive silhouette stepped through the dusty haze, brushing debris aside with a metallic hand. His steel-infused body gleamed faintly under the fractured moonlight.
Nathan.
"Now that," he grinned, "was beautiful. I planned to kill one of you quickly and let the other watch. But it seems I'll just kill you both together!"
Tiflos gently set Noor down.
"Be careful. This guy is way beyond dangerous. So—"
His words froze.
Because hanging directly above him… was a familiar face.
A face he hoped never to see like this.
"Saeed…"
The homeless man he once befriended under the bridge.
The man who vanished seven months ago.
But Saeed no longer had eyes.
Only two hollow, bottomless pits remained.
Noor gasped. Only now did they both realize:
Everyone here—every suspended body, every fallen victim—
was eyeless.
Nathan grinned wider.
"Surprised? We took ALL their eyes. Don't worry. You're next."
"You liar!" Noor snapped. "You can't remove eyes! Their hardness is stronger than diamond—you can't just tear them out!"
Nathan laughed—but Tiflos didn't.
"Unless," Tiflos said calmly, "they were blind."
Nathan stopped laughing instantly.
Noor turned to Tiflos, stunned.
"Blind…? How do you know that?"
Tiflos pointed at Saeed.
"He was my friend. And he was blind long before this. That's how I met him—back when I was lost."
He stepped forward, eyes locked on Nathan.
"Listen, metal giant. I'm not repeating myself. If you want to walk out of here alive tonight… you're answering my questions."
Nathan cracked his knuckles, steel ringing like blades.
"Oh? So that's how it's going to be?"
He smirked, spreading his mechanical arms wide.
"Well then, boy… looks like only one of us leaves this barn in one piece."