46 Time to Choose

Brutos stood on top of a hill, looking at the Arc tower far away. He knew a coup was going to happen that day. He itched to take part in the violence but a part of him did not want to face Juron Althemor. After all, the man stood up as his father after the world took everything from him. Puffing out smoke from his black cigar, Brutos Griffith heaved a long sigh and walked back to the Stedore house to continue with his breakthrough.

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Sera shifted nervously inside Lerica's old room. Last night, Aurice had completed the final preparations for the soldier and tried to bring it to life. Something must have gone wrong since the soldier never even moved an inch. Aurice, not wanting to give up, scoured the Sanctuary of the Sage for answers but always came back to the same solution. The soldier could be animated with magic but it was very taxing and it needed to be supplied with constantly. Sera would never be able to keep up considering her level. That's when it hit Aurice.

"Our soldier needs a soul.", Aurice had told Sera in the dream. "The Stedores have the technology that we need." She laughed at the irony of it but Sera's eyes grew wide. Aurice couldn't possibly be suggesting they use the basement laboratory.

Aurice saw this and tried to reassure Sera. "Don't worry. The procedure we will be conducting won't be as taxing as that done by the Stedores. And I have altered the soldier so that once a soul brings it to life, it will only do as you command."

Ever since the attack of Alamid, the Stedores had not touched Sera much less hurt her, save for the assault by that Brutos guy. But they had grown lax and the protective barriers around the room had lessened quite a bit. Aurice had sensed it and had devised a plan.

She instructed Sera to teleport to the laboratory and find a way to bring the soldier to life. Sera was still scared, but as she chanted the teleportation spell taught to her by Aurice, she felt the rush of adrenaline pump through her veins. She knew this was their last chance to escape.

*woosh* After a brief flash, Sera lands on the cold, white floor of the Stedore Laboratory. The familiarity of this place made her shiver, but there was no backing down now. She quickly positioned the soldier beside the chair and connected the tubes and conduits. "Now, to find a suitable soul."

Aurice had told her about a room at the far corner that was filled with bodies, and that some of them were still barely alive. As she slowly approached the room, a feeling of dread slowly started to creep upon her. At that moment, Sera noticed a large cylindrical object laid near a large equipment.

"Lerica...", she whispers, the memories of the previous experiment slowly coming back. Brushing it away, Sera opted to use her instead of the ones inside the scary room. Rushing to the cryo-capsule she peeked inside, but instead of a girl that looks almost like her, she saw the sleeping form of a man. A man whom she thought lost his life trying to save her.

"It's him. Aladin? Alamo?", Sera tried to rack her brain to remember the man's name. The man had introduced himself as an investigator from the Arcane Watch, who tried to help her escape, but was now at the mercy of the Stedores. Suddenly, a thought came to Sera's mind. What if she used the man's soul to bring the soldier to life. As she tried to consider it, she saw another cryo-capsule just a little distance from where she is standing.

She immediately ran towards it and looked inside. Her face turned grim as she recognized the face inside; Lerica Stedore, the real daughter of her foster parents. The reason for her suffering. Sera stared at the sleeping figure in front of her. "The Stedores- whom I thought was my family - made me suffer day and night, it is only fair I do the same to them...", Sera thought, vengeful hate starting to form in her heart. It was so intense that her eyes almost glinted red. Sera, suddenly feeling aware of herself, blinked and shook her head. This girl had done nothing bad to her. It would be wrong to let the daughter pay for the sins of the parents. But still...

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Sera carefully pushed a cryo-capsule near the chair and the soldier. The cryo-capsule hissed as she opened it and carried the body inside with much effort. She gently laid the body to the chair and closed the metal clamps to the limbs. She took a few steps back after double-checking if everything was fine. Satisfied, she started to chant the spell to transfer the body's soul into the soldier.

As the final words were spoken, a voice behind her caused her to choke and chills tingled down her spine.

"My, my. What do we have here?"

She couldn't be mistaken. There was only one person whom she knew gave her such awful nightmares: Brutos Griffith.