“The operation won’t take more than two hours.” The middle-aged man, wearing a reassuring smile, meticulously checked the sensors in the pristine white surgical capsule. His agile movements and precise actions mirrored the care in his gaze.
“Heart transplantation is a routine procedure, and not a single deviation has been recorded in the last century,” the man continued confidently, trying to reassure himself. Meanwhile, a young girl observed her father, attentively noting the faint crease between his thick eyebrows and the concentrated gaze of his squinted blue eyes.
“Don’t worry. I’m usually punctual,” she said softly, closing her eyes. The man remained silent, and in the lingering quiet, the girl felt her father’s focused gaze carefully tracing every detail of her familiar features.
In an instant, the concerned head of the medical center resumed the interrupted activity. His staff had diagnosed and calibrated the necessary devices long before the recipient’s arrival. However, this was not enough to calm the loving heart of the parent, who held exceptional authority within these walls.
After a few minutes, the distinctive sound of the locking mechanism echoed, marking the activation of the program. At that moment, a tingling sensation spread throughout the girl’s body, from the fingertips to the tips of her feet, depriving her of sensitivity. Silence engulfed her consciousness, suppressing not only her senses but also the flow of thoughts.
“Anesthesia completed. The first phase of preparation for the operation has commenced,” announced an unnatural female voice, bouncing off the walls of the sterile room.
“Don’t follow the same path as her. Come back to me, Suri.”
***
A sharp metallic grinding sound resonated dimly, as if piercing through the thickness of water, relentlessly intruding into the tranquility of a serene consciousness.
“Could it be a malfunction?” Suri thought, internally marveling at her own “luck.” Upon careful self-listening, the girl detected nothing unusual. However, employees from the diagnostic department had vividly described the discomfort that temporarily arises with any changes in the body.
“It seems the operation never started,” she concluded.
Suri’s confidence in her father was so deeply rooted that she couldn’t imagine him leaving her even for a moment until the completion of the regeneration procedure. As one of the center’s most experienced surgeons, he would have noticed any, even the slightest, deviation from the operation plan, promptly deactivating the program.
“Perhaps the glitch arose because of my new heart…” the girl thought but almost immediately discarded the idea. Modern technologies allowed for the consideration of all the physiological features of each individual patient, creating ideal artificial organs. Thoughtful intervention in human nature not only extended life expectancy but also gave the opportunity to preserve youth.
Due to her young age and her father’s categorical attitude, Suri didn’t often resort to the services of the medical center. She experienced only the essential procedures mandated for all newborns, aimed at fortifying the immune system and stimulating brain activity. Despite the position of the head of the center, the man had an extremely negative attitude toward any changes to the natural when it came to his daughter. Many years passed, and he was still unable to come to terms with the loss of his wife, blaming the imperfection of the system. If he himself had not noticed something was wrong in Suri’s condition, it is likely that she would never have been diagnosed. The discovery of an abnormal slowing of the heart rate, the so-called “tired” heart syndrome, was not considered unusual. And the personal participation of the most famous doctor of their time in an ordinary procedure caused a great deal of surprise among his colleagues.
The groaning of the metal intensified, and Suri wondered why the medical center staff had to manually break into the surgical capsule.
Her eyelids felt like they were filled with lead, demonstrating extraordinary disobedience, yet she managed to open her eyes slightly. The dim yellowish light blinded the girl like a bright sunbeam caught in a mirror trap. In such conditions, seeing something was akin to a miracle. However, she couldn’t shield herself from the sudden tormentor with her hands; soft, strong fasteners firmly fixed her position. Suri closed her eyes once more, hoping to dispel the unsettling sensation, and patiently awaited a more favorable moment.
The annoying piercing sound cut off. Through her closed eyelids, Suri saw the movement of shadows. Someone blocked the light source, giving her another chance to try. Expecting the reassuring warmth of familiar blue eyes, she lifted her eyelashes, only to be met with the gaze of a complete stranger. Unfazed, he approached with confidence, fixing her with an odd, fanatical stare.
“It must be my father’s subordinate,” Suri thought, trying to quell the burgeoning unease within her. The man stepped aside, making way for another stranger. The girl’s only greeting was a barely audible sigh.
The ability to form new acquaintances with casual ease was a gift for some from birth. However, Suri was convinced she possessed the opposite talent. The girl immersed herself in reading ancient texts, where the faded pages held tales of forgotten stories and mysteries that had long slumbered in the embrace of a dead language. The most amazing thing was that the fragile letters, unlike people, reciprocated the fan’s feelings, generously revealing all their secrets before her eyes.
In turn, the strangers didn’t even attempt to introduce themselves, which somewhat reassured the young victim of circumstances. The capsule had absorbed all their attention.
An insistent shout came from the side. The nearest young man sighed and mumbled something unintelligible. With a precise movement, he drove a rod between the plates, making the capsule walls tremble and creating an unfamiliar sensation.
Doubts came over Suri as quickly as a stone sinking underwater. The effect of anesthesia had not completely worn off. The girl’s consciousness teetered on the verge between sleep and reality, but at that moment, she clearly realized that she was no longer in the medical center.
Minor clues gathered in her head into a single picture. It didn’t matter what served as the zero point. Now she saw that the stranger, dressed in something resembling ancient armor, confidently bent the metal plates of the capsule with a spear. The muted yellow light didn’t just end there; it kindly directed her gaze across the surroundings. Damp stone walls, some adorned with green decay, enclosed the space. A low, rugged ceiling, riddled with cracks, seemed poised to crumble at any moment. Several men, clad in similar attire and armed with cold steel, stood frozen in a tense posture along the perimeter, ready for a sudden assault.
Pure terror banished all other thoughts from Suri’s mind. Her world fell apart.
“No! It can’t be!” the girl rejected the reality unfolding before her. Suri couldn’t fathom that the madness plaguing her mother would abruptly find a new target. She opened her mouth, hoping to unleash a scream and dispel the nightmare haunting her not only in childhood but also at this moment. Yet, instead of a deafening cry, a dense stream of energy erupted from Suri’s body, toppling the warriors. The long-suppressed anger, smoldering for years, finally pierced through the mask of restraint and indifference. The more she tried to ease her emotions, the more destructive the pressure emanating became.
The closest warrior poised a spear over the beast, but before he could strike, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The uncontrolled burst of rage was halted by the gaze of golden eyes. He appeared out of nowhere, completely unaffected by her wild, insane and silent scream. A lightning-fast sweep of a hand, and Suri lost consciousness, bringing an end to her suffering.
***
The awakening did not bring the expected relief. The oddly appearing figures, reminiscent of a distant past, vanished. Nothing constrained Suri’s movements anymore, but the surrounding atmosphere indicated that she was still trapped in her nightmare.
New discoveries and technological advancements confidently conquered the dark realms of human ignorance. Yet, even now, there seemed to be no way to escape the madness that had completely seized the mind. Her mother found no other solution but to leap into the void with no chance of return. Suri tried not to succumb to panic, but defiant thoughts raced along the paths of despair. The fear of reliving a similar fate took root when, as a ten-year-old, she witnessed the final manifestation of her beloved person’s despair. Ironically, ten years later, the first fruits of that despair ripened.
In an attempt to distract herself, the girl surveyed her temporary refuge. In the small chamber, aside from a stone-bed and a lone backless chair, there were no other pieces of furniture. The sole source of light emanated from a mountain crystal in its pristine, untouched form, as if it had grown directly from the wall. Surprisingly, it emitted a pleasantly warm glow, somehow uplifting the mood of the inadvertent dweller. Despite the utterly unassuming conditions, Suri found this little room much more appealing than the gloomy cave.
Yet, she never found the opportunity to gather her thoughts. A knock reverberated from beyond the wall, and one of the stones slowly slid inward with a grating sound. Following it, all the surrounding stone blocks shifted into motion, moving significantly faster and lighter, guided by a hidden mechanism. Boldly entering the newly revealed passage was a man of imposing stature, his focus locked onto the hunters’ most recent discovery. Meanwhile, Suri, in an uncharacteristic display of immodesty, scrutinized the visitor. Her boundless curiosity pushed her to find out what other turns her undoubtedly agitated consciousness had in store.
She strained to find familiar features in his appearance, convinced that the most plausible visions must have a real foundation. Nevertheless, the tall man with a sturdy build and the piercing gaze of black eyes remotely resembled no one she knew. Determining his age seemed an insurmountable task, despite the light gray at his temples – a symbol of a mature and wise person. His worn cloak of an indistinct color, made of rough fabric, looked somewhat ludicrous on him. Yet, against all odds, the uninvited guest carried himself as if clad in the rarest mantle, bestowing exceptional authority.
He was the first to start the conversation, displaying no intention of breaking eye contact. “Blood mage,” echoed a deep, commanding voice accustomed to giving orders. Suri flinched. The words sounded clear, simple, yet their overall meaning somehow eluded her. The perplexed girl wanted to voice the questions besieging her mind, but her voice didn’t obey: pale lips rounded in the familiar gesture of exclamation, yet all her efforts resulted in silence. Throughout this time, the Magister closely observed the discovery, noting every detail. He repeated the same words, “blood mage,” but this time, with a gesture, he pointed to the only person in the room.
A broad smile was an unexpected reaction for the guest. If Suri could, she would have laughed out loud like never before. The statement sounded like some absurdity. However, the man scowled even more in response, though it seemed physically impossible.
Suri would have continued savoring the absurdity of the situation if not for the unsettling feeling consuming her from within. The smile swiftly faded, erasing any trace of the previous amusement. Once more, her gaze, cautious and bewildered, was drawn to the stranger.
“You comprehend my speech,” he stated rather than asked. Suri nodded cautiously in response. “Five sunrises ago, the hunter squad discovered your sarcophagus. One warrior lost his breath,” the man continued. The girl’s widened eyes showed the Magister she was fully focused on him. “Blood demands blood. And the Judge would have pronounced the sentence on the surface. If not for one ‘but,’” a brief pause, seemingly endless to the girl, “You are a blood mage.”
Suri unconsciously shook her head. Among numerous thoughts, one stood out, even amid the frantic beating of her heart.
“What happens if I die? Will it end the nightmare and bring me back to reality?”
