The Superior Rebirth: A Hero's Awakening

The Embrace of Deceit

March 8th, 1810

Only a few days had passed since the last incident, and now the scene opened in a bleaker, far more treacherous corner of London. The kind of place where the shadows didn't just hide people—they swallowed them whole. Robberies, kidnappings, murders... none of it was rare here. And no one would bat an eye.

Criminals skulked through the streets like rats in a sewer—unbothered, unafraid.

Among them, cloaked and blending in as best they could, moved several members of the Lantern Society. Their steps were cautious, calculated. Their goal: infiltrate a secret government facility, one they recently discovered had ties to Percival himself.

But what none of them realized was that they weren't alone. Trailing from a distance, trying and failing to look inconspicuous, was none other than Teslaine.

She wore an outfit that screamed "I'm definitely not supposed to be here" to anyone with eyes—an awkward mash-up of street clothes and a tattered cloak. Still, her grin was so wide, so genuine, it was almost hard to scold her for it.

I finally get to go on a mission! she thought, her heart pounding in her chest like a drum. Her excitement was almost impossible to contain. Though... this isn't exactly how I pictured it. And the fact I'm secretly following them... Auntie Victoria's definitely going to kill me. But maybe... maybe she'll understand.

Her expression faltered for a moment.

I hope she does... Because I need to prove to myself—and to my father—that I'm worthy.

Time slipped by, and the undercover Lantern agents reached the entrance to a run-down, lifeless facility. Its boarded-up windows and rusted metal gate gave it the look of a place long abandoned—but the truth behind its walls was anything but.

Teslaine crouched behind a tree at a distance, her eyes locked onto the scene. She whispered breathlessly to herself, "This is so exciting! It's like one of those scary stories they used to tell us as kids!"

She was right, in a way.

The atmosphere held that same eerie suspense, the kind that made your skin crawl and breath hitch. But what Teslaine didn't realize... was that this wasn't a tale told around a campfire. It wasn't make-believe.

It was real.

And it was about to turn bloody.

Just as she began to edge forward, intent on sneaking in, a heavy, chilling presence loomed behind her.

Teslaine's instincts screamed.

She turned, heart stopping in her chest—and met the eyes of a man she didn't recognize. His face was a roadmap of old scars, each one a silent testament to the lives he'd stolen. He towered over her like a specter from a nightmare.

"Well, well," he drawled, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. "Looks like a pretty little girl wandered where she shouldn't be. Out here all alone... without her parents."

He extended a hand toward her, mockingly polite.

"Come. Let me help you find them."

Teslaine froze. Her breath caught in her throat, body unwilling to move.

Then—instinct.

She slapped his hand away and bolted.

But she didn't get far.

With a guttural laugh, the man lunged and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her backward with brute force. Her scream was cut short as her body hit the ground, hard.