Vera found himself alone in his room, the white walls being the only thing that greeted him. His mind slowly started again as he pieced together the true nature of the facility he had been stuck in for...

Well, for as long as his foggy mind could remember.

"This is the facility from Ultear's past..."

Vera's voice filled the room, keeping him sane as he heard it ring over the usual silence. The words were comforting as he mumbled them repeatedly to ensure they were real.

"I'm in the testing place in her backstory, that research facility somewhere in Isvan..."

He was in a testing facility meant to increase Ultear's magic power. A facility that had barely been mentioned other than the fact that it kidnapped her and put her through various tests to increase her strength.

"Everything makes sense now..."

It was like a missing piece of the puzzle had been put in place; everything the doctor said and did now made perfect sense because he was never meant to be valuable...

He wasn't meant to be anything.

"They only care about Ultear."

That was why they never taught him magic, that was why they kept doing the tests on him, that was why he never saw anyone else, and that was why they didn't seem to care about his progress on anything other than the experimental stages.

"They already have their masterpiece."

Ultear was meant to be the final piece of their research, their magnum opus derived from the daughter of the ice mage that defeated Deliora.

"They don't need me."

The fact that they were labeled as numbers was proof enough. He was a number, and Ultear was a greater number. That meant the numbers in between, those that weren't lucky enough to catch the doctor's interest, were all gone.

"They're probably all dead."

If he had to guess, he and Ultear were the last ones left. If they had a weaker number, they would have made Vera fight them instead of Ultear...

That way, they wouldn't waste her time with someone who couldn't use magic.

"I have to get out of here."

He had uttered those words to himself over a thousand times, but this time, he understood their gravity. He knew what would happen next, and it wouldn't be anything like the robed wizards hoped it would be.

"Ultear's gonna destroy this place..."

She looked about the same age as when she ran from the facility, or at least somewhere close to it. That meant she had already escaped once and seen her mother...

"She already wants to kill Ur."

This was Ultear's second stay in the facility, which was about increasing her strength. Vera could confirm firsthand that she was strong, so once the tests stopped working, all that was left was for her to go.

"I'm running out of time."

The tests stopped working at 13, and since he was around 11 or 12 now, he could guess that Ultear was closing in on the deadline. She would feel the effect falter within a few months, maybe weeks.

"The second she realizes they aren't working, she'll leave..."

Vera was sure of that; he could tell just by looking her in the eyes. Ultear was determined to get stronger, so much so that she would willingly subject herself to torture.

Once the torture stopped working, she wouldn't need this place anymore...

Or anyone in it.

"I need to get out of here..."

Vera felt his heartbeat speed up as he started to panic, his head spinning with the idea that he didn't have a year anymore. He no longer had time to wait for his magic; he had to leave. He had to go soon, or he would die, and Ultear wouldn't even remember that she had killed him.

"What do I do?"

Vera felt hopeless and beaten. He had tried everything to find a way out but couldn't do anything without magic. The walls were reinforced, the door was reinforced, and the robes were all wizards. They never let him out of there without the doctor accompanying him. He couldn't figure out how to leave.

"Fuck... what do I-"

Vera was thrown out of his ramblings with the weight of a freight train as he heard the door click. Vera forced himself to become a blank canvas as he stood at attention, his pupils dead. He glanced at the door like nothing was wrong.

"Well, number 17, was now a bad time?"

The doctor's voice sent shivers down Vera's spine, every instinct in Vera's body telling him to run...

Those instincts told him it was too late the second the door closed behind the doctor.

Why's he here...

Vera wasn't supposed to be tested again today; he'd always only done one every day. They never sent for him after the experiment that day, and the doctor made a point to only step a foot into his room if necessary.

What happened-

"You lied to me 17..."

Vera felt his heartbeat spike, fear clawing in his gut as the doctor stood before him. His voice filled with disdain and a hint of manic excitement, "You lied, and I fell for it..."

Vera's body trembled uncontrollably as the doctor leaned forward, his faceless mask peering at him unfazed. The doctor's shoulders shook as he let out a single laugh, mocking and cruel, "I fell for it! You! A goddamn worthless idiot lied to me! I can't believe I fell for it!"

Vera froze as the doctor tilted his head back and laughed. Vera was lost in fear and confusion as he tried to figure out where he had slipped up so much that the doctor came for a visit.

I don't get it! I didn't do anything differently! I just lost to Ultear instead of the monsters! What did I-

"Oh? Are you confused 17..."

Vera's eyes widened for a fraction of a second as he realized he had forgotten to keep himself calm. His fear had slipped onto his face before he could contain it, so he buried it under a cold exterior without hesitation.

"Can you not remember what you did..."

Vera buried his fear, confusion, and terror as he waited for the doctor to spell out his punishment and what he had done wrong, like a lamb waiting for slaughter.

"Oh well, I guess I shouldn't be too harsh..."

Vera watched with hazed eyes as the doctor tilted his head, his hands behind his back, and inspected Vera like a new lab rat to play with.

"It's not like you're the best regarding memory, now are you?"

Vera heard the words like a death sentence, his breath catching as he remembered what he had said to Ultear. The question he answered that he should've lied about. The words he uttered that he should've held in because the two of them hadn't been alone during that talk.

The doctor had been watching.

Vera had forgotten about that.

Now, he would pay the price.

"I must say 17; I'm impressed. Being able to fake years of training is incredible..."

Vera gulped as he saw the doctor settle his weight on his feet, Vera gritting his teeth in preparation as a boot connected to his gut. The doctor's near-giddy voice filled the silent room as Vera flew toward the wall with a groan.

"I can't have you faking training, now can I? It wouldn't be fair..."

Vera looked up, his head dizzy as the doctor stretched his hand out. The doctor's amused chuckle was drowned out by the hum of magic power and the magic circle hovering over the edge of his fingertips.

"Smoke Magic: Nerve Breaker"

Vera could only watch with growing dread as the pale yellow gas traversed the room, inching towards him until it covered Vera from head to toe. Vera was desperately dying to hold his breath before he felt a heavy boot plant itself in his gut.

"Now don't hold your breath 17, that would ruin the punishment..."

The doctor's words barely registered to Vera as he was forced to gasp for air, the yellow gas going down his throat and sending his heart into overdrive. Vera felt like his blood would burst with how loud it sounded in his ears.

Wait, why is... everything so... loud!

Vera groaned as he curled into a ball, his ears ringing as he heard everything happening in his body. His eyes burned as they caught the slightest ounce of light before he forced them shut. His muscles screamed as they tried to stay still, every twitch feeling like an anvil had been taken to his skin.

"Oh, this must be fun for you. The first time's the worst after all..."

The doctor's words floated in and out of Vera's consciousness as he tried to understand what was happening. Trying not to move because every little inch felt like it would rip his skin apart, trying not to breathe because every time air touched his lungs, it felt like razor blades, trying not to do anything because everything just...

HURTS!

Vera's mind devolved into basic survival instincts, trying to save him from the suffering he was experiencing just from existing. His ears latched onto the doctor's voice, which sounded like cannon shots to him only.

"It's my favorite spell. All your senses will be heightened to extreme and utter agony. Every little thing will feel like death, and every little moment will feel like a lifetime..."

Vera cried out in pain as the doctor tapped his huddled form with the end of his boot, the minute touch feeling like a sledgehammer.

"Everything will feel like hell."

Vera could not do anything as he screamed and cried in utter agony. Vera's cries seemingly bored the doctor because eventually, the doctor scoffed and left with a final note goodbye.

"I can't wait to see how long the training takes this time 17."

A final warning sounded like thunder to Vera's ears in the near-silent room.


How long...

Vera's mind was numb, his body was number, and all he could think was...

How long has it been...

Vera's body eventually found the position that damaged him the least. Resting on his side while curled into a ball, closing his eyes to keep the burning light out, taking the smallest breaths to keep the stinging air away, never moving to keep the pain at bay for a second longer.

How long will it last...

Vera didn't know; he couldn't figure it out. His thoughts were chaotic, and every other emotion that wasn't plagued with fear and anxiety was just...

Exhausted.

How long will all this last...

Vera was tired; he'd tried to find a way out. He'd acted numb every single day. He'd learned to read those shitty runes he couldn't use. He scouted every inch of his little world and found nothing.

How long will I last...

He still had nothing to show for it.

I want to die...

Vera was tired; he hated this cycle of endless pain and torture. He hated that he'd become so used to it that even this new hell couldn't break his sanity.

Not yet, at least.

How long since the doctor left...

Vera didn't know, and some of him didn't even want to know. He knew it would be a miserable answer, and the hours he believed he spent in this tiny little room probably only lasted a few minutes.

The doctor said every moment would feel like an eternity...

Vera could see what he meant; once he could feel everything going on in his body, time felt slow. When he could count every beat of his heart, every slosh of his blood, and every breath he took, time could not move quickly.

I'm probably going to die here...

Vera didn't mean the punishment; he knew he would survive it. He would survive the next one, too, and maybe even a couple after it.

But a month of this, a year of this agony every day, on top of the experiments he was a part of.

I'll die.

Vera didn't know what would die first, his body or mind, but he would die. He wouldn't last long enough to adjust to this; it was impossible. No one could survive this torture and still have a will of their own.

No, that's not true...

There was one person who could do it.

She could do it...

One person could survive this with free will and a crazed determination that allowed her to volunteer for this agony.

Ultear could survive it...

One person could survive this hell and escape it without a second thought.

Ultear...

One person could get him out of this hell.

She can get me out of here...

She was the only one who could get Vera out of this place. She was the answer to his desperate pleas.

I need my magic...

Vera didn't need it to escape; he didn't even need it to survive; he just needed it to make contact with Ultear. To give the robes a reason to send him out against her again so he could get her to save him.

No matter the cost.

I need to use my magic...

Vera felt a stir in the middle of his torturous body, the feeling of a burning thrum inside his body making him want to scream for death. Vera accepted it as he pushed on, forcing himself to feel the energy in his magic container.

Even if it hurts...

Vera ignored the exploding of all his senses as he tugged on the magic in his magic container. He ignored the feeling of lava crawling through his muscles as he brought it to the edge of his skin, just like he had tried to do a thousand times before.

Even if it kills me.

Vera forced it to the boundary, taking advantage of the crystal clear picture his overloaded senses had given him of the magic resting within him. Guiding it like a flowing river as he pushed it against the inside of his skin.

Whatever this magic is...

Vera felt stars dance in his closed eyelids as he took the magic within him and twisted it like a drill. Spinning it until it dug its way through his skin, and finally...

It's mine.

It finally broke out of his skin...

I won't let it die with me.

Just in time for Vera to pass out from the pain.


Vera woke in a daze, his mind numb as he blinked the waking nightmares out of his vision. He was lying in a pool of sweat and tears as he looked up at the dull ceiling that always greeted him.

It doesn't hurt anymore...

Vera could only let out a shuddering breath at the realization that the mind-numbing agony had faded, leaving his body in a dizzy sense of fuzziness. Everything in his body is functioning as usual except for a single thing...

My magic...

The magic trapped underneath his skin had broken free, and like a river, it could now flow smoothly from his magic container to the outside world. All his magic could now be used without anything in its way...

"Come on..."

Vera's voice could barely contain his excitement, accompanied by the dull thrum of his magic as it passed the barrier that had held it for so long...

"Give me something good!"

Vera could only let out a half-crazed laugh as the pitch-black magic circle formed above him, spinning in the air before it sunk to the ground and faded, accompanied by a portion of his magical power that finally had an outlet to go to.

"..."

Vera waited in tense silence, unable to do anything as he looked around for a sign of his magic. A blast of fire, or smoke, or something...

Anything...

"Where is it!?"

Vera felt his breath falter as he stood up, looking around for any sign of his magic. His head was swimming as he looked and looked for anything that could help him, anything at all. His voice came out as a mixture of panic and resignation as he saw nothing different about the room he had been trapped in since he woke up.

"There's nothing here-"

'Scratch'

Vera stiffened as he heard what sounded like a fingernail scratching a chalkboard before he flicked his head toward the noise source. He couldn't hide his surprise as he laid eyes on the thin scratch resting on the reinforced wall behind him.

"What the"

'Scratch'

Vera tumbled back as he watched another thin line appear next to the old one. His eyes widened as he saw what had caused it, a light shadow on the wall shaped like a human. The shadowed silhouette raised a hand as if to point toward a bug in the wall, but instead, it reached through the wall. A pitch-black hand curled out of the wall and back into it, carving a new line with every move of its clawed finger.

'Scratch'

Vera watched with interest as the hand kept scratching, the message coming together in all its parts. It was a simple statement that made him realize that maybe he hadn't been abandoned after all.

Use Me

Vera felt his heart pounding in his ears as he read the message scribbled into the wall, the hand that sketched it returning to where it came from.

Back to its source...

I'll Help You

Back to his shadow.

"Finally..."

Vera's voice rang out like a breath of fresh air after an eternity underwater. A smile hinted at the edge of his lips as he called out to his magic again, watching his shadow looking at him through the wall like it was second nature.

"Your name..."

Vera didn't know why, but he felt he had to name him. He couldn't not; it was like a magic entity had shown up to save him.

To make sure he wouldn't die...

To make sure he wasn't alone.

"Your name is Sho."

Vera watched as the shadow, no, as Sho nodded, seemingly appreciating his name if he was going off the slight tilt in his head that looked suspiciously like a smile.

"Sho..."

Vera watched as Sho tensed, seemingly reading his thoughts as Vera devised a plan. He'd been waiting to use this one since he figured out how those shitty halls worked, and now he had the perfect chance to use it...

As well as a magic that was ideally suited to his needs.

"I need you to do something for me."

Sho nodded, and Vera was confident the smile that crossed his face was the first one he'd had since he woke up.


Hours passed, and a boy was meditating in the middle of the night, hours before sunrise and hours after nightfall. His magic power strained as he forced himself to keep his shadow constantly stretched under the door to his room.

Come on... it's almost over...

Vera gritted his teeth, forcing himself to persevere until he heard the faint humming from outside his room come to an end. This was a signal that the path to the lab had changed once again and that his messenger had run out of time.

Vera shivered as the magic from underneath the door got disconnected, and the slim, shadowed trail underneath the door retreated, returning to the regular silhouette behind him. This indicated that Sho had returned to his 'dormant' state, where Vera's shadow was just a shadow. A silent sign that the mission Vera had given Sho had ended.

"Shadow Magic"

A mission Vera needed a report on immediately.

"Friend"

Vera breathed in relief as he felt his shadow, which he had dubbed 'Sho,' form. His shadow took a life of its own as Sho appeared on the wall, waiting patiently as Vera caught his breath and asked with desperation.

"Did you do it?"

Vera watched in utter concentration as Sho nodded; Vera laughed joyfully at the news and, jumping up in the air, shouted to the only other 'thing' in the room.

"WE DID IT!"

Vera cried out of joy and excitement, unable to explain the relief he felt that his plan was now underway, that he now had a chance to escape this place, and that all his time spent trying to figure out how the halls worked wasn't for nothing.

"Those stupid fucking runes saved me..."

Vera laughed at that, tilting his head as he recalled how those halls kept tricking him every time he went to the lab. The simple yet genius use of rune magic made memorizing an escape route nearly impossible.

Because the rune magic only affected his room and not the hallways.

"Take that, you dumb fucking room."

Vera smirked as he kicked the door, a thud sounding from the sealed metal that kept everything inside this room. A simple door that Vera knew held something much worse on the other side of it.

"Take that, you stupid runes."

There were three rune spells on the other side, hidden at the corner of the doorway. He had figured out the meaning of two, and one, in particular, was why he couldn't memorize the way to the lab.

"The room moves every night..."

One rune inscription was part of a system of interconnected runes, and all the other rooms in the facility had similar rune etchings on their doors.

Every night, the rooms would begin to change places for an hour. The humming he had heard was the sound of the runes activating in all the other rooms. They were all interconnected in an extensive system, with his usually being the last to trade places.

"I thought the path kept changing because the lab had a rune too. That's why it changed because every night. Both places were in different spots..."

Vera had seen at least fifty rooms in this building; there were more than enough possibilities to keep him guessing...

"Good thing I don't have to worry about it anymore..."

He just needed to follow Ultear.

"That loophole was exactly what I needed."

Magic couldn't break the walls since every surface in the room seemed reinforced to handle absurd amounts of magic. However, it wasn't like he was in an air-tight bubble. There had to be a way for air to get into the room. Otherwise, he would've suffocated a long time ago.

That's where the 'containment' rune came in; it was the second rune that Vera figured out. It made it so that nothing could pass under the door inside the room, but everything could pass under it from outside.

The loophole came in the fact that the 'containment' rune couldn't function simultaneously as the 'switch' rune, so the 'containment' rune was useless for an hour a night.

He bet his life on the slight chance given to him during the hour when that rune was turned off. He slipped Sho under the door and sent him to the one place he hoped didn't have a 'switch' rune.

The room that he distinctly remembered had a window pointed toward the sky.

"So I guess Ultear's room didn't switch places..."

Vera wasn't sure why, but if he had to guess, it was one of the privileges they gave her as the masterpiece—a room that was larger than all the others and would never take away her view of the world outside.

A view she must have seen for a long time.

She's been here for years...

The thought clung to Vera's conscience like sludge, dragging him through the mud as the implications floated through his head, taunting him before he brushed them aside. Deciding to bury the guilt that prodded at him before he turned to Sho, who waited patiently on the wall after a job well done.

"Thanks, Sho, I owe you one..."

Vera chuckled as he watched Sho shake his head bashfully, a bit of bashfulness hidden in Sho that made Vera assume he had said something along the lines of 'Don't worry about it.'

Well, at least he's humble...

That was the great thing about his innate magic. It was versatile and complex, yet simple enough on the surface for him to make use of.

Sho usually does what I ask, and he acts like a protector for me.

He didn't understand the spell entirely, but if he had to explain it, he would say that Sho was a silent protector that rested inside of him.

It's like I have a magic guardian inside me... does take-over-magic work the same way? Wasn't Mira supposed to have a demon inside her or something?

Vera wasn't sure how accurate that assumption was, but he figured it was worth asking Sho about, "Hey Sho, are you a demon?"

He watched as Sho shook his head, indicating he wasn't a demon and didn't like being called one.

"Okay, noted, not a demon... are you a magical beast then?"

He could see that as a thing, although he wouldn't know what he did before losing his memories to get one.

Innate magic is weird... oh he's shaking his head. I guess that's a no, then.

Vera tilted his head, trying to come up with something to figure out what exactly Sho was—a task proving exceedingly difficult since the longer Sho was out, the more magic power it cost.

Damn, I'm still a little drained from earlier...

Vera sighed, deciding to ask a general question before Sho had to go back and rest. One he honestly cared a little more about than the other ones.

"Will you protect me?"

Vera was alone in this world, with no friends, family, or anything—nothing to help him except shoddy knowledge of the future.

He just wanted to know if someone would help him, and if it happened to be Sho, he would be happy.

So when he saw Sho nod his head, agreeing with his request, Vera felt at peace for the first time since he woke up in this shitty room.

"Thanks, Sho"

Sho didn't say anything, something Vera wasn't shocked by in the slightest, but he could almost imagine the ghost of a smile on Sho's face. A message Vera took as a soft 'you're welcome' before Sho molded back into his shadow's regular silhouette.

I made a friend.

Vera smiled as he drifted to sleep, lulled into the first peaceful dream he remembered having since he had woken up in this hellish world.