The Light That Follows Darkness

As soon as the words left my mouth, a hush fell over the room. The twins and Ryuji exchanged glances; their faces etched with contemplation. Time seemed to stretch as they absorbed the weight of my revelation.

Suddenly, breaking the silence with a burst of excitement, Hana exclaimed: “Ah! I finally understand! That's why you asked old man Albert through Eve, 'What price would you pay for power?' when we met him!"

Hana, with her carefree and mischievous demeanor, always surprised us with her sharp insight when it mattered most. I nodded in agreement, acknowledging her astuteness.

"You're absolutely right. However, Albert's situation is different from the scientist's situation. First, they are wired differently being a man and a woman, respectively. Moreover, I had a prior encounter with the scientist during the 'Altera' genetic mutation experimentation. She and her assistant were present, and their reactions were one of sheer terror. They refused to partake in the inhumane experiments, while others were more than happy to do so, which speaks volumes about their character and principles."

My voice grew heavy with remorse as I continued: "It was my outburst against the chief that led to the tragic demise of her assistant. She felt compelled to help and was disgusted by the ongoing human experimentation in this facility. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving her to suffer alone, knowing that I played a role in her misfortune. You might say I manipulated her to join our family, but that was the only approach to win her over, and the only way to ensure her happiness and to ensure her safety."

“As for Albert's case, it took me down a completely different path. I had never laid eyes on him before, and all I had to go on was the information in his profile. But the twins insisted that I dig deeper. They saw something in him, a resemblance to an old man who had once been their savior. Their words, and their sensitivity to malice, fueled my curiosity compelling me to find out more about him."

Approaching a man in this kind of setting leaves you with two choices: coercion or force. And I didn't hold back, employing both strategies with equal measure.

From the moment I laid my eyes on him, I could see it. I could see myself mirrored in his eyes. It was the same look I had when I discovered that my wretched stepfather had callously sold me off to settle his debts. A look of betrayal, isolation, and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance. The flames of revenge were burning so vigorously, to the point where they consumed and blinded him to all reason.

So, when I decided to approach him, I already knew that he would give the answer I was looking for. A man like him who has lost everything will not shy away from gambling everything for a chance at power and revenge, not even his soul.

So here is my question to you: What would a person like him do when a person pretending to be a soulless husk approaches him and asks him through a screen what price he would pay for power?”

All three of them answered with anger and frustration.

I smiled at the obvious answers they provided and continued: "That is correct. Not only did he get angry, but he also questioned my sanity, stating that a soulless husk like myself wouldn’t be able to move or talk and questioned my ability to provide him with power. Now, the most obvious thing to do was to show him the extent of my power, and that is exactly what I did. I moved my hand to the table, channeled chi to my fingertips, and pinched the table until it took its shape, leaving Albert amazed and shaken. What I did next is to clear the misconception in his mind. The misconception that I was a soulless husk. I then stated that all he sees is a façade, an act to deceive the chief and the guards. And that what I want from him is not his soul, but his loyalty and service. Now the question is for you Ryu, what would you expect his answer to be?”

Ryuji, digesting what I said till now, answered: “If I were betrayed before and by people close to me, of course, I wouldn’t accept without knowing further details or knowing more about the person offering me help.”

“You are correct with your assumption Ryu, and I was thinking in the same lane as you are. However, and to my surprise, his answer was: ‘No one deserves my loyalty’. Now what I did next was acknowledge his opinion even though I was shocked by his answer, and I stated that I will not force my will on him and that I only approached him since I saw myself in him and that even though I didn’t know his story, I can infer it and stayed quiet waiting for the twins to come pick me up.

Well, you might think that I had given up when I went silent and stopped even looking at the old man, however, I didn’t. What I did next was wait for the twins, hoping that they would find a solution to that and maybe even soften his heart being cute and all. Yet, what I didn’t expect is that the twins’ words were so accurate and brazen to the point that they shot bolts with what they said through the old man’s heart. And instead of calming down, he flared up too much, to the point that he stood up and started shouting his concerns and doubts towards our understanding of his situation. That honestly both saddened and angered me. I was saddened since I could feel the pain and desperation coming from him. However, I was angered since he almost blew our cover and alerted the guards to our presence.

From here, I decided to get serious, and I yanked him back to his place so fast that no one noticed what happened. I then looked into his eyes and threatened him with tearing out his tongue so fast that he wouldn’t even notice if he would flare up again and that we were here to have a civil conversation. Now I don’t know what he saw and felt at that time after looking in my eyes and hearing what I said, however, he calmed down and stated that he is willing to serve me wholeheartedly if I take over this facility and give him his chance at revenge, ending our conversation and making a deal.”

I took a deep breath and concluded: “So, as you see Ryu, even though I persuaded both the scientist and Albert into joining my family, the approach was totally different. One had to be coerced and forced while the other was persuaded using logic and emotions.”