I reached Virel's door and heard a faint hum inside. The door was ajar, but I hesitated a moment before entering. I held my breath, then stepped in quietly.
Virel stood behind his desk. Two Velocironix waited in the corners, wearing simpler outfits—probably science or internal-security staff. Virel turned; his gaze softened for an instant, then tightened.
"I expected you would come after yesterday's talk," he said—voice neither cold nor warm, simply prepared. "Come in."
I said nothing and walked inside. The door slid shut behind me.
"Leave us," Virel told the others.
They glanced at me but left without protest. The room seemed to grow a few degrees quieter once the door closed.
Virel paced toward the desk but didn't sit. Hands clasped behind his back, he faced me.
"There's a serious matter," he began. "You should have been told yesterday, but..."
His eyes flicked to the symbiote on my wrist, then back to mine.
"...you weren't exactly... in a fit state." He paused, gauging me.
"A team is on its way for you. They're coming from the home world—the Serynox delegation."
The words dropped into me like stone.
"I've been instructed not to spell out their purpose, but their mission isn't limited to observation."
I opened my mouth—when the door swung wide.
Valsera strode in, anger in her step. Her eyes locked on Virel.
"The Serynox delegation?" Her tone was sharp. "Were you planning to mention that without telling me?"
Virel rubbed his brow. "Valsera, I didn't make that decision."
"No, of course you didn't. But you could have done more to delay them."
"I did," Virel replied. "I requested two postponements. Both denied. It's out of my hands."
Valsera fell silent, then turned slowly toward me. In her eyes I saw not only anger, but uncertainty, fear—and belief.
"I should have died that day," she said, almost to herself. "But I didn't. Not because of him... but thanks to him. That can't be a coincidence."
Virel narrowed his eyes yet remained silent.
Valsera approached, studying my face as if seeing me for the first time. Then she stepped back.
"This must mean something. I survived because... I'm connected to this boy. It was a message. Not chance. The universe works in patterns; sometimes fate precedes logic."
Virel exhaled quietly. "Valsera, you know the science board—"
"I won't present it to them," she cut in. "But I will be there at the start. I was the first to observe him, the first to interact, and that will not change."
Silence enveloped the room.
I couldn't speak. The void inside me deepened.
The Serynox team was en route. Virel's hands were tied. Valsera, still unhealed, insisted on leading the process.
She kept her gaze on me, then turned to Virel—voice softer, yet edged with suppressed fury:
"So... did you at least tell him why they're coming?"
Virel shook his head slightly. "Not yet. You walked in before I could."
Valsera let out a dry breath. "Of course... classic." She faced me again. "Then I'll explain."
She looked once more at Virel. "Is he able to understand me yet?"
Virel shrugged. "Let's ask him."
Their eyes landed on me. I nodded, tense.
"Good," Valsera said. Her expression hardened; the scientist's sharp focus returned.
"The Serynox delegation isn't coming to study you, Okan. They're coming to use you."
She paused, as if the weight of her words surprised even her.
"This is an experiment—a long-running Velocironix project. A super-soldier program. In theory it rebuilds cells. The immune system is heavily suppressed, then injections re-program the body. Think of it as rewriting your own organism."
Virel turned his head slightly but didn't stop her, eyes downcast.
Valsera went on:
"They call it 'cell engineering.' I call it gambling."
Her voice dropped. "We've worked on it for years. Countless tests, countless theories—but when it comes to practice, no subject has survived. Either the body fails under the new load or the mind unravels. Some vanish in hours, others in days."
Silence settled. My heart thudded. What I heard was reality. My eyes drifted to Virel; he only bowed his head.
Valsera stepped closer, voice aimed solely at me.
"I believed in this project. I improved it. But I never wanted it used on anyone—not until it worked. I wanted the deaths to stop..."
Her eyes gleamed—not triumph, but a sorrow-tinged resolve.
"I can't block it—I lack the authority. But I can be present. At least I won't leave you alone on that table. I'll monitor dosage, duration, response curves. And at any cost, I'll try to keep you alive. I'll buy as much time as I can."
My vision dimmed, yet I stood firm. Everything inside me tangled.
Valsera's resolve and Virel's silence were opposite poles, and I was caught between.
The room stayed heavy, unmoving.
I dropped my eyes. Feet planted, breath heavy. Thoughts collided in my skull—yet nothing was truly new. It had all been known beforehand, merely... delayed.
Then, a whisper swept through my mind like a cold breath at my ear, intimate and chilling:
"You were expecting this, weren't you?"
I jerked up. My pupils widened. That voice—familiar in tone, but not Yaren's bright energy. This came from deeper, darker: the invader within.
I parted my lips—
"STAY OUT!"
Yaren's voice crashed through my brain, sharper than ever, like an electric jolt racing down every nerve. The dark whisper was slammed shut, muffled behind mental walls.
"It's here," Yaren muttered, tense but steady. "I won't let it bother you."
I drew a long breath. Only then did I notice my hands shaking. I clenched and released them. My heart pounded in my gut. Something had moved inside—and something else had stopped it.
Two opposing forces. Both inside me. And I stood between them.
Valsera hadn't spoken, but she watched me; suspicion flickered in her eyes. Virel, sensing something, tilted his head slightly. Maybe they felt it—some brief disturbance. But the secret would stay with me. For now.
"When?" I asked. My voice didn't crack. I was tense, but in control.
Valsera kept her gaze on me—calm, yet grave.
"Soon. A few days—maybe less. Once they land, everything begins."
I lowered my head. "All right."
One word—yet inside me, acceptance and defiance churned in equal measure.
YOU ARE READING
GATE: First Encounter
FantasyA stranger in his own body... An intruder in his own mind... Okan had no idea he was living the last ordinary day of his life. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in his own bed but a captive on Aetherion-a distant world beyond the stars. How...
