30 Shattering

Sera was trying her best to concentrate in channeling the magic resistance spell. She heard the Stedores say that she is 'ready', but for what? Sera was curious but she was a lot more scared of feeling the pain, scared of the suffering. She cannot be distracted from her focus. She noticed her father, Agaven, go out of the room, but as he came back he was pushing a large cylindrical object slightly larger than the size of a person. The object was positioned just beside her and they started connecting tubes and conduits to it that seem to come from her chair.

Growing more and more concerned on what is happening; she slightly tilted her head to look more closely at the object. What she saw made her immediately look away. Inside the cylinder was a preserved body of a girl – the girl the Stedores called Lerica, their only daughter. At that moment of distraction, Sera felt the protective spell fade away and was replaced with dread and panic. Sera's worst fears began to materialize.

The Stedores were very excited with the turn of events. They didn't care how Sera became resistant to their magic but it only made their plans more possible than ever. Agaven immediately went to retrieve Lerica's cryo-capsule as Rhael prepared the extraction of Sera's life-force. This was the moment they were waiting for. Finally, they were finally going to see their dear Lerica walk again. As soon the links were made, the couple started the casting the extraction spell and directed it at full power towards Sera, only to realize something was wrong when they saw the unnatural horror in the girl's eyes.

"Noooooooooooooooooo!", Sera screamed, louder than ever before.

She squirmed and struggled at her chair, digging her nails at her palms. She didn't even care that her skin was being scraped by her metal bonds. She wanted to escape; she might have even preferred death to this suffering. It was on a whole new level. Her screams were becoming more and more hysterical and some parts of her body are already bent in unnatural ways.

Even the Stedores were not expecting such results. They stood there frozen in shock, watching the poor girl cry her eyes out. Agaven was the first to snap out, only because he was thinking of the safety of their Lerica. He immediately rushed to the cryo-capsule and forcibly wrenched away the conduits and tubes and carrying it away from the scene. Rhael, still dumbfounded, slowly turned to follow her husband. It could have been the end for Sera, but fortunately for her, Rhael involuntarily waved her hands and snapped her fingers, ending the extraction spell and teleporting her back to her prison, Lerica's old room. She was still trembling and twitching as she landed on the cold floor. Slowly trying to get up, she crawled her way towards the vanity mirror.

"M-miss A-a-urice.", her voice almost a whisper already. "A-a-re you th-there?"

"…"

Her pitiful, bloodied face only stared back at her, almost mockingly. Mocking her for being the most left-out person in the world.

"M-iss Aurice. P-please…," she was already mumbling the words, "please, help m-me, p-p-please…"

"Sister L-liz, old s-sis… why haven't you come for me… Sister Leia…"

"You all p-promised…"

Sera cried, every move made her wince in pain. She began to think that nobody really ever cared for her. If they cared, they would have saved her already. She was grieving but the thoughts infuriated her.

'Why does the world hate me so much?'

'Why does it have to be me?'

'Why? Why?'

"WHY?!!", Sera burst out, not able to contain it any longer.

Her scream echoed throughout the halls and rooms of the Stedore house, shaking it to its very foundation.

Sera fell to the floor, exhaustion and fatigue coming over her as darkness draped over her eyes. Lerica's old room was once filled with beautifully crafted furnitures and decorations, antiques and toys displayed on the shelves.

Now, everything was shattered to pieces. Some of it was lying on the floor, others embedded to the walls, and a few floating around in mid-air.

But all of it was forming a circular pattern around the limp body of a young woman, as if they were there to protect her, to keep watch over her, to keep vigil.

--------------------

Rhael found Agaven, collapsed near the cryo-capsule, tightly embracing it and crying as he said softly,

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry".

Rhael went up to them and joined in the embrace, tears starting to drop one by one. Their impatience has had devastating consequences; they almost lost their dear daughter for all eternity. Had the experiment not stopped as it had, the cryo-capsule would have been damaged by the strain, thus putting all their efforts to waste.

"Shhhhh. We'll make it right next time."

Rhael whispered softly, both as a consolation to her husband and to herself as well. The world they were living in was a cruel one, but they won't let it play with them anymore.