The Silver Seer

Chapter 25: Into the Dark

Reko jumps up and down, unable to contain his excitement. A dim light illuminates a perfect replica of himself, though their eyes are closed and all limbs still.

After Liam's suicide and Leon's attempted attack on Reko, he and Thilo committed all of their time- even time to eat and sleep- to finish building the soldier.

Thilo steps back from behind them before rounding the platform they stand upon, sighing and speaking to Reko. "Did Kirsi ever program a name into you, or did he just call you 'Reko' and it stuck?"

At the supposed mention of what Reko calls his "creation name", he smiles. His name was originally Levo, but he changed it once in the orphanage so he could not be recognized by any Russians or even spies posing as orphanage staff.

He notices Thilo is still looking at him and brings himself to reply. "I think he looked at me while saying my name so many times that I just figured it out."

The man nods before coming to stand beside Reko. The teenager watches as the fingers of the mechanical being twitch before their eyes snap open, already glowing a bright, vibrant red. He walks up to the soldier, and puts his hand up, palm turned in the other mechanical's direction. The soldier meets Reko's hand with their own, and the boy smiles. "Lunas. Your name will be Lunas."

Reko steps back from the newly named soldier, who blinks before speaking. "Fourth generation, Model F Mechanical Soldier Lunas, awaiting your next command Luoja Erkki."

Oh, Luoja? Reko remembers speaking to Kirsi just a few hours earlier. He didn't call Kirsi by the title of Creator, but they have a different relationship compared to the other mechanical soldiers and children brought to life by the young prodigy.

"Haha! Reko, you're brilliant!" Reko meets Thilo's hand in midair for a high five, and he does not remember a time when Thilo was this happy since arriving in Bern and seeing Felix for the first time in two years.

The teenager keeps staring at his perfect copy. Everything, from the face to the body is just like Reko. Yet their expression remains emotionless, reflecting their dull eyes. They do not feel any emotions. Their only existence is that of a soldier constantly stuck in a war with no way out: kill the enemy and obey any commands from superiors, no matter what.

"Tell me what you can do that's different from myself." Reko takes a few more steps back from the soldier, ending up by Thilo's-

Reko turns to his right. Where's Thilo? He could have sworn the older officer was by his side several seconds ago. But as though hearing his question, Thilo's voice comes from above Reko, mostly likely from the ground floor of the garage.

"Do you know how worried I was for you after hearing Reko almost got attacked, and you weren't there by his side? He insisted he was okay but couldn't tell me if you were fine! You've been becoming more and more distracted lately, and that's never been like you. So please, tell me if there's anything I can do to help you." Thilo's voice is soft yet stern.

The soldier automatically knows he's talking to Felix. Has his captain become more preoccupied with other matters besides that of himself lately? Disregarding his own health for that of his other officers? Doesn't he understand that his ability to command the officers is of utmost importance to this war that Reko and Thilo have just created a mechanical soldier to hopefully put an end to before it even begins?

His captain finally replies, and Reko has to remain extremely quiet and strain his ears to hear his voice. "Will you ever betray me?"

Breaking out of his frozen state, the boy scrambles into the tunnel leading up to the garage's main floor yet is blocked from stepping out from the workbench. There is a small crack, just wide enough for Reko's right eye to glimpse a small area, in which he can see both Thilo and Felix.