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"You can't do anything to me, Kiran. You may have control over everything else, but your powers won't work on me…" Orna gloated, though her knees trembled with fear in the presence of him. Something had changed… Something sinister was brewing beneath the surface.
Orna had always feared Kiran, ever since her first fight with him— and that fear fueled her animosity towards him. The embarrassment, the envy, the hatred .
But things were different now; she had the backing of angels behind her, and she knew that Kiran, Cody, whatever his blasted name was, he was a coward. He always had been.
And yet, here he was. Different, if only slightly… His form was that of a human, but his skin revealed cracks; visual instability. His body glitched every now and then, fingers twitching with anticipation— ready to fight. Ready to attack. And his eyes…
They glowed a menacing white. Pure, but full of poison… looking for too long made Orna feel as if she was going mad, head spiralling and soul unruly. It was almost like glimpsing into the void and the whole universe at the same time.
She stood her ground however. Kiran had destroyed Earth once, and now for a second time. She couldn't fathom why, but it seemed he was truly off the rocker this time.
Even throughout all the tyranny and war, not once had he attempted to fight back. He only tried to defend others— and that certainly worked in Orna's favour. Her brother could have ended the war long ago, but it had gotten this far all because he refused to.
But now...his eyes were unkind. Kiran had never once looked at her, nor anyone else, with such malice before.
Still, Orna persevered.
"You think I'm scared? Of you??" She let out a laugh, tail flicking out irritably. "Please." Rolling her eyes, Orna faced to the side before glancing back at her brother. "You wouldn't kill a virus if you thought it had a soul…"
The silence was loud, a horrid electrical buzzing in Orna's ears, like TV static. Orna had heard it before... The part of Kiran that she had always feared. The part of Kiran that could do anything it wanted when it wanted. She had seen it happen before.
Orna walked past the chamber, sneaking a peek inside. There was a part of her that enjoyed seeing her older brother suffer— a sadistic urge to watch. She knew as soon as she saw Kiran being escorted away by some guards that he was in for something…
And so she snuck in to watch. Would there be more electrical burns today? Maybe a broken bone or too? It was always fascinating seeing how much he endured all because of a bunch of whiny little brats. And yet, Orna still felt envious as she watched their father stroke Kiran's head and comfort him when it was all over.
What she wasn't expecting was to see blood splatter the window she was peeking in through. She definitely wasn't expecting to see the headless body of one of the younger Kriegerins in the other room. One of the ones that she had seen Kiran playing with…
Orna ducked her head down again, biting her thumbnail with a slight grin on her face. Their father had been coddling Kiran for decades, and now he was finally teaching him a real lesson. She was proud of his decision; this was necessary for him to learn to stop being so damn full of himself.
All of a sudden, the building shook tremendously— as if a bomb had gone off— yet the rumbling didn't dissipate. There was the sound of TV static…
Orna peeked back through the window, eyes wide and snapping open even wider at what she saw.
Kiran, eyes a blinding white, was glitching like a faulty screen, distortedly crying out in anguish. It sounded like sirens were going off… Orna could feel her whole body freezing up, unable to breathe whilst she had her eyes on him.
The guards were trying to hold him down and get him to stop, but in moments they all collapsed, writhing in agony as glitches spread to their own bodies, tearing them apart by their very souls.
Kiran didn't stop, his shriek still going strong as the writhing men slowly began to bleed from their eyes and mouths, blood turning white as if it were the void taking over their bodies. Orna managed to move again, and immediately ducked back down and out of sight, breathing heavily and staring ahead at the wall whilst covering her ears. No matter what she did, the static wouldn't stop.
She tore at her hair in distress, trying not to completely break down. It didn't even matter if her father caught her back here— she could take a lecture. But if Kiran saw her…
Will he kill me too..?
She sat there for what felt like hours, not even realising when it had stopped. Once she snapped out of her panicked state, Orna shakily stood and peeked back in through the window. Kiran was gone. There were no bodies either…
But the room was painted with blood.
Orna had been afraid of that part of her brother ever since then. She never told anyone what she had seen— but whenever Kiran's eyes started turning white…
Every part of her needed to hide.
But she wasn't a little girl anymore— she had seen death and war. She had caused most of it herself— relished in it even. Kiran was a big fish when they were younger, but now she liked to think of herself as stronger. She was stronger.
"Oh?" Kiran spoke, voice rumbling and echoing from all angles. It felt like he was surrounding her— suffocating her. Orna couldn't help but hold her breath. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, Orna."
She grit her teeth, straining to speak up for herself. She couldn't let herself be bested… Kiran had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth— even taken it from hers, and she wouldn't allow him to act so high and mighty. Not after all she had accomplished..
"All this time I've never tried to hurt you. You think that's because I can't?" His manner of speaking was different. Slightly off— Kiran always seemed meek. He was afraid of himself, afraid for others, and now that he wasn't… "If I wanted you dead, you would've known… because you would be it."
Orna let out another laugh, though it was unsteady; just like her pulse. The static only seemed to get louder the longer this went on, his presence becoming larger and more intimidating without so much as moving a muscle. Just as she went to speak again he interrupted.
"You died just a few years after the facility burned down." The statement made her blood run cold, but she couldn't help letting out a laugh of disbelief, hands trembling.
“You expect me to believe that? Do you take me for a fool?” She spat.
Kiran tilted his head in a similar fashion to how he usually would— but now it looked more robotic than curious. A slight smile pressed on his lips, the exact same one she had seen many times before but for some reason this time it felt threatening.
"Oh Orna… You really haven't figured it out yet? You're a copy, dear sister. A memory, you should be grateful if I even bring you back at all. You're nothing ." Kiran didn't stop there, expression liberating. He was talking to Orna, not as an opponent, but rather like a dog. Only to talk to— not waiting for a response. Not expecting understanding or recognition.
The same feeling of discomfort and trepidation that she got all those years ago was festering below the surface. Already Orna found herself tense and unable to speak.
"You're going to die today. Everyone will. But don't worry— I'll bring you all back. Or... I'll just make a new copy.” He acted as if he was pondering the idea, not even looking at Orna anymore when he spoke. Like she wasn't even worth his attention. “You should pray that I don't forget. Not that it would matter. She won't remember who you even are.”
Orna grit her teeth, fists clenched but soul settling emptily within her. She didn't want to break down. She didn't want to be weak. She wanted to be stronger than Kiran— strong enough to receive their father's love. She didn't want to…
Kiran's gaze flickered back to her, the static growing even louder like insects scratching inside her brain.
"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm the only thing that's real. You aren't my sister.” For a moment his expression broke, a hint of despair in his gaze; yearning, guilt. Then just as soon as it appeared it was hidden once more. “I've done it so many times before. You won't even remember the pain.”
He reached his hand out, glitching more sporadically and taking hold of Orna's soul. She choked for a moment, winded by the pain overwhelming her senses.
“Kiran stop!!” She cried out, her hands grabbing at his wrist and trying to push his hand away to no avail. His expression twisted with a million different emotions and settled on anger.
“That’s not my name!! And stop looking at me like that! Gods you're all so small and pathetic and fragile. You feel no sympathy when you crush a bug so why do I feel anything for you?” He hesitated, mouth opening and closing silently for a few moments before he continued. “I don't. You're not even my real sister. I killed her. I did that.”
All she could see was back then… The guards writhing and yelling and screaming in agony. Orna's vision blurred, but she couldn't close her eyes. It felt like a cold liquid, filling every part of her body, bloating her blood vessels and twisting her limbs. Her bones contorted and she fell to her knees, barely able to see that blinding white gaze through the blood.
“K-Kiran Kiran please don't— gods it hurts …I won't interfere in this war again I promise you..! Stop!” It was both a demand and a plea, her hands gripping his outstretched one desperately, hoping to appeal to his sickening kindness that had always been present during their childhood. She could grovel if it meant avoiding this fate. She would do anything. “I-I see now how very wrong I was! I just want to be a family again! S-so please…”
He looked down at her, anger flickering and switching between remorse. He settled on sympathy, reaching forwards and cupping Orna's cheek with his cold hand, watching her eyes become red as blood pooled behind them.
“You know, you always say whatever you think I want to hear, and yet…it doesn't work, does it? Because you will never be my family. You are my creation, you just have her face.” He sighed. “I know you don't understand that, and I know you're scared but…this is reality. It's my reality, Orna. Sometimes I just need to reset things. And quite frankly, your begging has never worked.”
Orna collapsed to her hands and knees with a sob, body still contorting, her own cries sounding distorted as they fused with the anguish of those guards from the past. She could see her own body in that room, watching painlessly from afar as she became mangled and bloodied, hearing her own screams as if she was hearing a hundred copies before her.
“I just…missed her. That’s all.”
Orna could feel the blood start seeping from her eye sockets, the invading white liquid stinging as if it were liquidised glass. She saw Kiran, standing above her and watching with a cold but distant sympathy, his hand now resting at his side as he watched her suffer.
No matter what she did, the static wouldn't stop.
Orna couldn't do anything. Her tears came out red, unable to speak or beg.
There were no bodies either…
But the room was painted with blood.