The air inside ResearchPost03 felt heavier after Unit5's voice echoed through the corridor.
That small smile on the child's face brought no warmth—only a strange coldness.
The kind of smile worn by someone unsure if they were alive, dreaming, or merely a leftover from a failed experiment.
Jainal knelt down slowly, pulling back his hood so his face could be seen clearly.
> "I'm not a shadow," he said.
"I'm here… to understand."
Unit 5 tilted his head.
> "Understand? You think you can understand...? They turned my head inside out so I'd forget what fear feels like."
He pointed to his head, then to his chest.
> "But the cold... it's still here.
---
Jainal didn't respond.
He knew this wasn't the time for questions.
Instead, he sat quietly, opened a small pouch from his cloak, and handed over a small wooden bird—just like the one he had given to the child from Karsel.
Unit 5 accepted it, stared at it for a moment… and said,
> "This… looks like the thing 'Father Number Two' gave me… before he exploded."
> "Father Number Two?" Jainal asked gently.
"The one who liked books. He told me I had to endure the itch inside my head."
> "What happened to him?"
"He said I did well… but then the walls broke. There was blood. A lot. And I… screamed until everything disappeared."
---
Silence filled the corridor.
The crystal panels still flickered faintly.
Across the shattered pods, Unit 5 sat hugging his knees, the wooden bird cradled in his small hands.
He was still a child—but something inside him pulsed with unstable magic, something only someone like Jainal could feel.
> "You can feel it, can't you?" Unit 5 said without looking up.
"Feel what?"
"The little explosions inside my flesh. They said... if I get too sad, I could burn the room."
Jainal inhaled slowly.
> "Do you want to leave this place?"
The boy shook his head.
> "If I go out... will I become a monster?"
---
Jainal paused.
Then stood, stepped closer, and gently patted the boy's head.
> "If you choose to become a monster, no one can stop you.
But if you want to live like an ordinary person...
I'll make sure you get the chance to learn how."
For the first time, Unit 5's expression stiffened—not in defiance, but disbelief.
His eyes shimmered with tears, though he didn't cry.
He simply held the wooden bird tighter.
> "...You're not one of the lab people," he finally said.
"I'm not."
"You... might be lying. But I like your lie... more than their truth."
---
A few minutes later, Jainal checked the corridor to ensure it was safe.
He wrapped Unit 5 in an extra cloak, then carried him on his back.
Before leaving the facility, Jainal stopped in front of a metal wall and scratched a message with white chalk:
> "Souls are not tools. And children are not weapons."
Then they vanished into the mountain's shadow.
Another child was saved.
But the truth… had only just begun to show its face.