No. 20, the first successful product

No. 20 didn't have a name.

Or more specifically, she couldn't remember her name.

For as long as she could remember after waking up inside the dark damp room which was only illuminated by a small candle on the table situated at the left of the room, she was chained to the walls and had a gag in her mouth.

Those chains bound her, restricting her circulation of energy within her body.

She had dark skin and long silver hair that stretched all the way to her knees.

When she first woke up, No. 20 didn't even have the willpower to open her eyes. It was like something internal was stopping her from even making a move.

At that time, the first emotion No. 20 felt was fear. It was the first emotion she recognized and she thought that to be normal. Ever since then, she feared the darkness, but more so, she feared not being able to move of her own volition.

Day after day, night after night, No. 20 made sure to move a little every time so as to keep her sanity intact. She felt as though she would fall into an endless despair if she didn't at least bother doing so.

She had no memory of where she came from nor how she ended up at this horrible place.

The only thing she knew was her tag number "No. 20", that was ingrained into the side of her neck.

She found out by accident when looking at a broken piece of mirror that was laying on the floor.

These few days, No. 20 was scared of something else. Since 2 or 3 days ago, she felt a creeping power trying to take over her body.

She encountered a second emotion, anger.

She felt angry that she was being kept like an animal, never being able to see the light of day.

She pondered on the reasons why anyone would do this to her, and she got even angrier.

She wanted to deny it, but the fact was that the emotion that she was feeling slowly but surely started taking over her mind.

She begin to feel even more negative emotions.

Jealously, of those who are not kept like how she was.

Frustration, that she couldn't even attempt to break herself out even if she wanted to.

Loneliness, because of the dark room she was kept in.

Helplessness, because she couldn't do anything about her situation.

These emotions piled up in her, like a volcano that was about to explode. And everything she reached the brink of exploding, the chains would attack and restrain her from making any movements.

During that time, her vision would go blurry and she wouldn't remember much. Not that she had anything to remember in the first place.

And now, she's having one of those again. Those "exploding" moments.

No. 20 clenched her fists as tight as she could as she felt her blood boil. She twisted her neck back and forth like a mad man and clasped her teeth before opening wide and clasping her teeth once again.

She was busy biting away at the air while struggling to get out of her bindings.

Compared to the rest of the times she had this, this was no doubt the worst.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours and she finally fell asleep.

As she awoke from her slumber, the tapping of shoes could be heard closing in, followed by a silent creeking noise.

No. 20 instinctively knew who it was.

Ever since she was kept in this jail like cell. The only people she has ever seen would be these two. Everyday without fail, at the same time, these two would come into the room to check on her. You could say it was her favorite time of day because she was able to see another living being.

Whenever they did, she would be able to catch sight of the moonlight seeping in through the hallway window. She would try and call for help, but no words would exit her mouth. It wasn't because of the gag, it was that she couldn't even hope to make a single sound.

She would hear them talk to one another regarding an experiment. She would remember the words said by the two and play them over in her heard for days to come. This was after all, her only form of entertainment in this hellish place.

Some days they would talk about her condition, other days they were chatting about materials and such.

Everyday she would gain some new form of information, and from that she managed to piece together her situation.

No. 20 was kept in a facility meant for running an experiment. This experiment was meant to turn her into a thing called a "homunculus".

There were others like her, all chained up and checked on everyday.

No. 20 was relieved when she found that out, she wasn't alone. She wasn't the only one experiencing this insanity. But that couldn't stop her from still feeling lonely and hopeless.

She sheds a tear, and as she tries her best to lift her head using her remaining energy, she manages to catch a glimpse of the two men before falling asleep again.

"Looks like it happened again."

The man talking was an exceedingly tall middle-aged man with white hair and had a short white beard. He bore a long white coat that was stained with small splashes of blood and wore rectangular-shaped spectacles.

He moved closer to the table on the right hand side of the room and took off his gloves before placing them on the small table.

"Seems like it master Spencer."

The woman who replied also bore a long white coat with bloodstains. She had scruffy violet hair and wore black leggings along with heels.

She took out a grey booklet from his right coat pocket and turned to the relevant page.

"Master, these are experiment No. 20's notes. As usual, I took them during the day."

The woman hands the booklet to her senior.

"Hm..."

Spencer pushed his glasses up with his middle finger and stared at the opened booklet for a few seconds.

"This data...are you sure about this Orchid?"

"Yes master, I too didn't believe it when I first saw it."

"Hahahaha."

Spencer bursts out in laughter and places the booklet down on the table.

"So it's finally done huh."

"A successful product is about to be born!"

He walks up to No. 20 and stares at her unconscious face.

"Yes. The mysterious power that the dark elves hold really makes them the best vessels to become homunculi!"

Spencer turns away and walks up to Orchid who is diligently standing at the back. He taps her on the shoulder.

"Are all materials for the vessel ready?"

"Yes master. We have about thirty fifth rate mages ready for the absorption."

"The duke's son is still planning on bringing in more to accelerate the process."

"That boy was called Noel was it? Good."

Spencer steps away and continues to the door. He opens it and before leaving turns towards his student one last time.

"She will become our first of many successful products. It is only a matter of time."

"The blueprint that 'he' has given us is sure to work."

"I understand master."

Says Orchid while bowing politely.

"Come on, we still have much work to do."

"Yes master."

The two leave, shutting the door behind them. What followed was an eerie silence that plagued the whole room.