The Fourth Number

I stared down at the thing in front of me. The darkness covering its body came off, revealing the figure underneath. Her head was facing the ground, her messy blonde hair nothing remarkable. I mean, even I had better hair.

<Shut up.>

"What do you mean by that?" I cocked my head, brows furrowed.

She shook on the ground, squirming around for some reason.

"You can't talk?"

<Ease off the pressure, idiot.>

'Uh?'

<Fine, I'll do it myself.>

She suddenly gasped, as though she couldn't breathe before, sucking air back into her lungs.

'How did I make her kneel like that?'

<For a Trevisi, you are very unaware of the power that runs in your blood, and the weaklings that have been following us since I killed that rogue.>

'....What?'

She raised her head, glaring back at me with the most beautiful pair of eyes I had ever laid my eyes on. Her glowing sapphire eyes glittered in the dim light of the hallway, making them seem more mesmerizing. Her red lips twisted with what seemed like an annoyance, her cute nose making her look like a whining puppy.

'Beautiful.'

"Uh? You don't have a number?" She said, audibly confused.

"What's that?"

"Your number!"

"My phone number?"

"What? No! Your grade number!"

"What's that?"

She pulled herself up, pushing herself backward as she looked at me, eyes filled with apprehension.

Her eyes darted between my body and my eyes before she slid a part of her hospital gown down from her shoulder. My eyes roamed her pale white skin, confused as to why she was stripping.

She pointed at a number that read '056' above her left breast, which I couldn't help but look at.

"Pervert."

"Pervert."

She put her dress back on, staring at my chest with curiosity in her eyes.

"Take it off."

I stared down at my chest, wondering why a number was so important.

"The number you are assigned is an evaluation of your power and potential. I am '056' because that was the assessment of my potential, which isn't much. Compared to the monsters in here, at least."

"Who assigned the numbers?"

She stared at me with a dead look in her eyes, which seemed to mock me for my ignorance.

"You don't even know that much? Who the hell is your renator? They are doing a terrible job."

"My renator? I don't know what that means."

"They're handlers. They protect their assigned numbers until they wake up." She paused, looking at me before she widened her eyes, staring at me with an incredulous look.

"Your renator wasn't there when you woke up?! How are you alive?!" She said, shock coloring her features.

"No, It doesn't matter now. Show me your number." She stared at my chest, as though she wanted to burn a hole through it with her eyes.

"No." I stared back at her. I didn't know what this number meant, but I wasn't about to show it to some random girl that showed up out of nowhere.

"What do you mean no?! I showed you mine, didn't I?!"

"That was your choice." I shook my head, walking back slowly.

"Hey! Get back here!"

"No."

"It's considered rude to not show your number when a number has been shown to you." A voice echoed in the halls, startling me as I whipped my head backward, my body tensing up.

"A lady, nonetheless."

<I didn't sense this one. Interesting.>

"You are stronger. Why bother being cautious to a weakling." The voice sounded from around the turn at the end of the hallway, becoming louder as a silhouette came into view.

My eyes settled on the stranger who had just entered the room. He was an ethereal being, with chiseled features that could have graced a magazine cover. His languid strides radiated energy that distorted the air around him. And those red eyes of his seemed to shimmer with a dangerous kind of magnetism. But the sight of him made me feel sick to my stomach.

It was as if his otherworldly beauty was a mask that concealed his true intentions. His very presence made my skin crawl.

He set his eyes on me, switching his gaze between me and the girl behind me, his ruby eyes twinkling with what seemed like amusement.

I recoiled at his words, feeling a sickening disgust churn in my stomach.

"Things like this girl...are only good for consumption," he said, leering at me with an unsettling grin.

"Then I guess you're also on the menu," I retorted, my voice dripping with disdain.

The man's laughter boomed through the air, his eyes alight with mirth. "Your bloodline won't matter if you can't do anything with it yet," he taunted- a note of condescension in his voice.

I narrowed my eyes at him, my fists clenched at my sides. Suddenly, my feet were wrenched off the ground and I found myself dangling in midair. Panic flooded my veins as I twisted my head around, searching for the source of my predicament.

It was then that I noticed 056, standing behind me with her hand outstretched. Her eyes glowed with a cold indifference that sent shivers down my spine.

The man's grin widened as he licked his lips, his eyes fixated on me with a predatory gaze. "You're just a kid, yet you wield so much power. It's almost criminal." His words dripped with malice and amusement.

I rolled my eyes.

"Wow, classic villain lines."

He chuckled, the madness in his eyes growing more intense. "You're so naive. You won't survive in this world if you fall for something as dumb as that. So do me a favor and just die, okay?"

He extended his hand, energy crackling and gathering in front of his palm. "As for my name, you're not worthy of knowing it. You don't tell your food your name, do you?"

A blinding white beam shot out of his hand, hurtling towards me at an impossible speed. I couldn't react fast enough as it struck me squarely in the chest, sending me hurtling back down the hallway. I screamed in agony as the energy ravaged my body, every fiber of my being felt like it was being shredded by a thousand tiny knives.

I hit the wall at the end of the hallway with a sickening thud, but I could hardly feel it. My body convulsed uncontrollably as I lay there, completely at the mercy of the energy coursing through me.

<You disappoint me.>

The surprisingly durable hospital gown I was wearing was in tatters, the white energy from the blast coming out of it in tendrils.

I wheezed weakly, my bare skin now visible with my chest slightly scorched.

He turned to the girl that was now in front of me before grinning at her, "You've been helpful." She stared back at him silently, her eyes fluttering from the residual energy in the air.

The red-eyed man turned at me and walked closer, clicking his tongue, "As expected of a highborn, he has no wounds on his skin."

He muttered to himself, "Can my teeth cut through his skin? Maybe."

He moved his eyes up my chest, before his eyes constricted, his eyes fixed on the tattooed number above my left breast.

'004'