The first thing Evelyn noticed was that she was moving. Not walking. Someone was holding her upright, and her feet were dragging across the floor. She tried to lift her head, but the corridor swayed around her.
"Keep moving," a man said.
Evelyn wanted to tell him that she was trying. She wasn't sure whether she managed to speak.
Her legs felt strangely distant, as though they belonged to someone else. One of the guards had an arm hooked beneath her shoulder. The other held her firmly by the elbow. They weren't carrying her gently. They were keeping her from collapsing.
A door opened somewhere ahead.
"Back in the room?" someone asked.
"Director's orders."
"How long?"
"Until further notice."
Evelyn heard the words without understanding them.
A room. They were taking her back to a room.
Not the testing room.
Please, not the testing room.
Her feet caught on something, and she stumbled. The guard tightened his grip.
"Watch it."
She tried to apologize. Nothing came out.
Then they were through a doorway, and the familiar bed appeared in front of her.
Her bed.
No. Not hers.
The one they'd chained her to.
Evelyn made a small sound.
The guards lowered her onto the mattress. One of them pulled her legs up while the other reached for the restraints attached to the bedframe.
She saw the metal cuff. Her body reacted before her thoughts caught up.
"No."
"Hold still."
"No, please."
The guard caught her wrist. She tried to pull away, but her arm barely moved.
"Don't."
The cuff closed around her wrist. Then the other.
Evelyn stared at the ceiling.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to fight. But she couldn't find the strength for either.
The guards checked the restraints, exchanged a few words, and left.
The door shut. The lock clicked.
And Evelyn was alone.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
The room was quiet. There were no monitors, no researchers, no Catherine. Just the bed, the walls, and the faint hum of ventilation somewhere overhead.
Evelyn lay on her back.
Her body didn't hurt.
That was the worst part.
She remembered pain. So much pain. But there wasn't a single injury left to explain it.
She lifted her hand as far as the chain allowed. Her fingers looked normal.
No burns. No marks. Nothing.
Five.
The number came to her without warning.
Five times.
Daniel. Idris. The poison.
And then—
Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut.
No.
She didn't want to remember.
But her mind had already started.
She remembered waking after the sedative. Not properly.
There had been voices, bright lights, someone saying her name. She'd tried to move, but her arms were still restrained.
Catherine was standing near the monitors.
"She's responsive," someone said.
"Good. Proceed."
Evelyn remembered trying to ask what they were doing. Her tongue felt thick, and her thoughts moved slowly.
Then someone placed something against her skin. A cold contact. Another.
She'd looked down and seen wires.
"No," she'd whispered.
Nobody answered.
A researcher checked a screen. Dr. Ashcroft said something about readings. Catherine asked whether the equipment was ready.
Then—
Pain.
Not like the poison. Not like the fire.
Something sharp and impossible that seemed to exist everywhere inside her at once.
Her body seized.
She couldn't control her muscles. Couldn't pull away. Couldn't even scream properly.
The room flashed white.
For an instant, she saw Catherine watching from beside the monitors.
Then everything vanished.
Darkness. The familiar emptiness.
Evelyn remembered the relief. Not because she was dead. Because the pain had stopped.
She'd floated in the darkness, trying to understand why it had happened again.
She'd already proven her skill worked. They'd seen her return.
Why wasn't that enough?
Far away, the faint golden light appeared. This time, it was brighter.
Evelyn remembered staring at it.
There was definitely something there.
A chair.
An old-fashioned armchair upholstered in deep red fabric.
Behind it, a warm flickering glow suggested a fireplace, though she couldn't see a wall or a floor.
It made no sense. There shouldn't have been furniture here. There shouldn't have been anything.
She'd tried to move closer. As before, she couldn't.
Then the pull came.
And she was alive again.
Evelyn opened her eyes. Her breathing was too fast.
She stared at the ceiling until she could convince herself that she wasn't back in the testing room.
She was in the cell. There were no wires attached to her. Nobody was standing over her.
Not right now.
She swallowed. Her throat felt dry.
Electricity.
They'd electrocuted her. She knew that much.
She also remembered waking afterward, screaming and trying to pull away from hands that were already reaching for her.
A voice had said something about successful recovery. Another had mentioned neurological function. Catherine had asked whether there were any lasting abnormalities.
There hadn't been. Of course there hadn't been.
Undying had fixed everything.
Except her.
Evelyn turned her head toward the wall.
She wanted to stop thinking.
But there was still another memory waiting. The one she'd been trying hardest to avoid.
She remembered the smell first. Something hot. Something metallic.
Then a familiar sensation.
Heat.
Evelyn had started struggling before anyone touched her. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
"No."
Catherine was speaking with Dr. Ashcroft near the monitors.
"We have eyewitness accounts of the Manchester incident," the doctor said. "But reproducing that level of magical output under laboratory conditions will be difficult."
"Naturally," Catherine replied. "Al-Nasir isn't exactly an ordinary fire mage."
She considered the equipment for a moment. Then she removed her jacket.
"I'll do it myself."
Dr. Ashcroft looked up.
"Director?"
"My fire magic should be more than sufficient for what we need."
Evelyn went cold. She stared at Catherine.
"No."
Catherine rolled up one sleeve.
"Besides, I'd like to observe the interaction directly."
"NO!"
Evelyn pulled against the straps.
"PLEASE! NOT FIRE!"
Catherine approached the bed.
"Evelyn, this will help us establish whether your ability responds differently to repeated exposure."
"I DON'T CARE!"
Her voice cracked.
"Please! Anything else! Not that!"
For a moment, Catherine studied her. Then she raised one hand.
A small orange flame appeared above her palm.
It was nothing like Idris' inferno. Just a little flame, dancing quietly above Catherine's fingers.
Under different circumstances, Evelyn might have found it beautiful.
Instead, she began screaming.
Catherine watched the flame for a moment, adjusting its intensity.
"Interesting," she murmured.
Then she looked toward Dr. Ashcroft.
"Ready?"
The doctor hesitated.
"Monitoring is active."
"Good."
Catherine turned back toward Evelyn.
"Begin recording."
The flame surged forward.
Evelyn screamed.
The heat struck her chest, spreading across her body in a wave of unbearable pain. She tried to twist away, but the restraints held her down.
"CATHERINE!"
For one terrible instant, she could see the woman standing beyond the flames.
Watching. Controlling them.
Not a researcher. Not a guard.
Catherine herself.
Evelyn had trusted her. Had told her everything. Had believed she might save her.
And now Catherine Reed was burning her alive.
The last thing Evelyn saw was the orange glow reflected in Catherine's eyes.
Then there was nothing.
The darkness had welcomed her. That was how she remembered it.
Not because it was kind. Because it was quiet.
No restraints. No flames. No people discussing her as though she were a piece of equipment.
Just darkness.
And the light.
The golden glow had grown brighter again. The red armchair was unmistakable now.
There was a fireplace behind it, its flames moving without illuminating any surrounding walls.
And someone was sitting in the chair.
Evelyn remembered going very still.
A person. Or something shaped like one.
She couldn't make out a face. Only a dark silhouette against the firelight.
The figure didn't move. Didn't speak. Didn't seem to notice her.
Who are you?
She'd tried to call out. There was no sound.
She'd tried to reach the chair. There was no distance she could cross.
For a moment, she'd thought the figure might turn toward her.
It hadn't.
Then the darkness pulled her away.
And the fire returned.
Not the fireplace. The memory of burning.
The testing room. Her body restored. The straps still holding her down. Someone announcing that the fifth resurrection had been confirmed.
She remembered Catherine's voice.
"Excellent. That gives us something to compare."
Evelyn had tried to scream at her. She couldn't remember whether she'd managed it.
She was crying. Evelyn hadn't noticed when it started.
Tears slid down the sides of her face and disappeared into her hair. She didn't wipe them away. Her hands were still chained.
Five deaths.
Three of them here. Three times in the same building. Three times because Catherine wanted to know what would happen.
Evelyn turned onto her side as far as the restraints allowed. She pulled her knees toward her chest.
She wanted Lucy. She wanted her parents. She wanted someone to open the door and tell her that she could go home.
But nobody came.
She stared at the wall. Her breathing slowly settled.
Then, after a long time, another thought surfaced.
The System.
Evelyn frowned.
She'd seen a notification after the poison. Before that, after Idris.
The System had given her something each time. Resistances. Attributes. Skills.
She hadn't checked what happened after the last two deaths. She'd barely been conscious long enough to think.
Evelyn stared at the wall. Then she let out a weak, humorless laugh.
"Oh, fuck it."
Her voice sounded strange in the empty room.
"They killed me three fucking times."
She rolled onto her back.
"Might as well see what I got for it."
Status.
The familiar translucent window appeared.
For a moment, Evelyn simply stared at it.
Her name. Her class. Her attributes. All those little numbers that had seemed so important before the World Quest.
She didn't feel stronger. She didn't feel different.
She felt exhausted.
Then she noticed the pending notifications.
Undying ActivatedDeath RecordedCause of DeathElectrical TraumaAdaptive Progression TriggeredAttribute Increased:AGI +1Resistance Acquired:Lightning Resistance Lv. 1
Evelyn stared at the words.
Lightning Resistance.
So that was what she'd received for being electrocuted.
Undying ActivatedDeath RecordedCause of DeathExtreme Thermal DamageAdaptive Progression TriggeredResistance Improved:Thermal Resistance Lv. 1 → Lv. 2Skill Improved:Ember Lv. 1 → Lv. 2
Evelyn blinked.
Ember. The little flame she'd barely managed to produce before.
It had improved.
Because they'd burned her again.
She stared at the notification for several seconds. Then another window appeared.
Unusual Resurrection Pattern DetectedMultiple deaths recorded within a compressed time interval.Adaptive response insufficient.Undying Evolution TriggeredUndying → Undying (Minor Evolution I)All Base Attributes +1Evolution Complete
Evelyn stopped breathing for a moment.
She read the message. Then she read it again.
"Evolution?"
The word came out as a whisper.
She'd heard about skill evolutions before. Everyone had.
But Undying hadn't gained a level. It had never displayed one.
And now—
Now it had evolved.
Because she'd died three times in rapid succession.
Evelyn stared at the words.
Unusual Resurrection Pattern Detected.
As though the System had noticed something wrong. As though even it hadn't expected her to die quite so often.
She laughed. It was a small, broken sound.
"Of course."
Her eyes filled again.
"Of fucking course."
They'd poisoned her. Electrocuted her. Burned her alive.
And the System had decided that counted as progress.
She wanted to be angry at it. She wanted to throw something. She wanted to smash the translucent window hanging in front of her face.
Instead, she looked at the numbers.
All Base Attributes +1.
It wasn't much. She knew enough about the System to understand that.
Experienced adventurers had attributes far beyond hers. People like Idris could destroy entire streets with a single skill.
One point in each attribute wouldn't make her a fighter. It wouldn't let her break the chains. It wouldn't stop Catherine from ordering another test.
But it was something.
Something she hadn't possessed yesterday.
Evelyn studied the notification again. Then a different thought occurred to her.
Do they know?
Her eyes shifted toward the door.
Catherine had watched her die. The researchers had measured everything. They'd recorded her heartbeat, her breathing, the exact moment she stopped living.
But they hadn't seen this.
At least, Evelyn didn't think they had.
System information was private by default. Someone could choose to share their status, attributes, or skills, but certain abilities could reveal information without permission.
Identification. Appraisal. Specialized analysis skills.
Some revealed little more than a name or class. Others could uncover considerably more.
Evelyn had no idea what Northstar's people were capable of.
And then she remembered Catherine.
The questions. The food. The promises. The way she'd spoken to Evelyn as though they were on the same side.
And the moment she'd asked to see Undying.
Share Skill Information?RecipientCatherine ReedConfirm / Cancel
Evelyn had selected Confirm.
Because Catherine had been kind to her. Because she'd thought Northstar might protect her.
Her stomach twisted.
What if that was the whole point? What if Catherine had known exactly what she was doing? What if she'd been friendly because she wanted Evelyn to trust her?
Evelyn stared at the window.
Maybe Catherine had needed her permission to see Undying. Or maybe she hadn't. Maybe she could have found out another way and had simply asked because it was easier.
Evelyn didn't know.
That was what frightened her.
She'd thought Catherine was helping her. She'd told her everything. And Catherine had used that information to decide how to kill her.
Evelyn felt sick.
She played me.
The thought hurt almost as much as remembering the experiments.
For a long moment, she couldn't look at the System window. Then she forced herself to read the evolution notification again.
Northstar might have ways to discover her abilities. But that didn't mean they already knew.
And this time, Evelyn hadn't told anyone.
She wasn't going to.
Not willingly. Not again.
She looked at Ember again.
Level two.
She remembered the tiny flame she'd produced in her previous cell. It had barely been enough to warm her fingers.
Could she do more now?
Evelyn glanced at the door. Then at the chain attached to her wrist.
She hesitated.
Ember.
A small flame flickered above her fingertip.
She stared at it.
It was still small. Still nothing compared to the fire she'd seen Idris command.
But it burned a little brighter than before. She could feel its warmth more clearly.
Evelyn brought her hand closer to the metal cuff. The flame trembled.
For one brief moment, she imagined heating the metal until it broke.
Then she remembered Catherine. The guards. The testing room.
What would happen if someone opened the door and found her using a skill?
She extinguished the flame.
Not yet.
She wasn't ready.
And even if she could heat the metal, she had no idea whether it would help. Her wrists were inside those cuffs.
She didn't particularly want to burn herself.
Not after everything else.
Evelyn closed the System window.
The room returned to its ordinary, miserable appearance.
White walls. A bed. A locked door.
She turned onto her side and pulled her knees against her chest.
The evolution hadn't changed any of that.
She was still trapped. Still frightened. Still completely at Northstar's mercy.
But Catherine might not know everything.
Evelyn stared at the wall.
She thought about the red armchair. The fireplace. The figure sitting silently in the darkness.
She didn't know what any of it meant.
Maybe she was imagining things. Maybe dying repeatedly was finally doing something terrible to her mind.
She closed her eyes.
For a while, she simply listened to the ventilation humming overhead.
Then she whispered into the empty room.
"Please don't come back tomorrow."
She didn't know whether she meant Catherine. Or the guards. Or death itself.
Nobody answered.
And Evelyn lay awake, waiting for the sound of the lock.