Vierna entered her room and went straight to the bath to wash away the day’s fatigue. The sensation of Lisa’s lightning still tingled on her skin, and the bruising strike from the training dummy lingered like a dull ache.
But the biggest shock today had been Albrecht’s past. Hearing it directly from Strau made her question if she had ever known her friend at all. Until now, the procedures and training had consumed her thoughts. But it wasn’t a reason. And she would make sure that this would change.
I never even bothered to learn their past. Was I really a friend at all?
She stepped out of the bath and paused by the mirror. Droplets clung to her hair and traced down her skin. The reflection staring back was no longer the lonely girl who used to sit by herself at the orphanage. This was a girl who had finally found a friend, yet punished herself because she didn’t know how to be one.
She went to her bed, jaw tight and shoulders heavy. Rest was the only choice. Between the books she had devoured, the lessons still turning in her head, and the unease that gnawed at her, her thoughts were too crowded to continue.
Vierna slipped under the sheets beside Lina. Her gaze lingered on her friend’s face, silver hair spilling across the pillow. The scar ran from just beneath her nose down to her chin, a harsh reminder of the experiments. And yet, even with that mark, Lina was striking. The scar did not erase her beauty; if anything, it deepened it, a testament to what she had endured. Vierna found herself wondering then—what had Lina’s past truly been like?
“Vierna…?” A voice stirred her. Lina had woken from her slumber.
“Hey, Lin. Sorry for disturbing your sleep. How are you feeling?”
“Like crap, but I think the worst has already passed.” Lina said as she stretches her hands. It’s long, silky and slender like a doll’s hand. “Still feels like I’ve got a sore everywhere.”
“Aww, poor you. Do you want a bit of a massage?”
Seeing the golden opportunity, She’d never forgive herself if she let this chance slip.
“Yes, please.”
She slipped off her clothes and lay on her stomach. Vierna began to massage her back gently. To Lina’s surprise, her hands were steady and practiced, each press sinking into sore muscle with uncanny skill. A soft sound escaped her lips before she could stop it.
“How can you be so good at this… ahh.” Lina sighed.
Vierna’s hands stiffened. The words pressed against something in her mind, something she couldn’t reach. A sharp breath caught in her throat.
“I… I used to massage someone,” she said slowly, voice unsteady. “But I don’t...”
“Was it your mom?” Lina asked softly.
Vierna shook her head, her gaze clouding. Whenever she reached for the memory of her mother, all that surfaced was a vague silhouette and a voice—harsh, rasping, never gentle.
“No. I don’t… I can’t…” Her fingers trembled as though the memory was just out of reach, and the effort of chasing it hurt.
The shift in Vierna’s tone was enough. Lina bit back her question—if Vierna wasn’t ready to talk, she wouldn’t press her. Instead, she forced a change of subject. “So… how’s training going?”
Lina tried to look at Vierna directly, but Vierna’s hand pressed gently between her shoulder blades.
“Lina… I’m a horrible friend, aren’t I?”
“What? Why would you say that?”
“I never asked about your past. It feels like I didn’t even care…. I’m sorry, Lina.”
Vierna’s voice wavered. Her fingers stilled against Lina’s skin, as if even the act of touching carried her shame. Lina closed her eyes, her throat tightening.
Her halting words slipped past her defenses, striking deeper than Lina expected.
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“It’s okay, Vierna,” she whispered. “Even if we don’t know each other’s past, the important thing is now.”
“But… but…”
“I don’t need to know your past but knowing the present you is enough for me already.”
Vierna’s hand loosened, giving Lina the chance to sit up and meet her eyes directly. She lifted her arms and cupped Vierna’s cheeks, the same way she had when unmasking before her. With gentle fingers, she brushed away the tears already gathering there.
“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me since I came here.”
The certainty in her voice cut straight through Vierna, steadying the storm in her chest. For the first time that night, she found a sliver of composure.
“…Thanks, Lina.”
“You’re welcome. And by the way, I’m still sore, hehe.”
“Hehe, of course, my queen,” Vierna said, half-joking.
Vierna continued the massage, her hands moving in slow, steady circles. Lina’s words had calmed her, eased the weight pressing on her chest, but curiosity still lingered like an itch she couldn’t silence. At last, it slipped out.
“Lina… what was your life like?”
“Hehehe, still curious, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I want to know you better.”
“Haha, you’re so sweet. Well… my past was like any other child’s. What I remember most was…”
She spoke of her parents first, of how deeply they loved her and how simple life had been in their village south of Einhartturm, pressed close to the Imperium border. It was a small place, barely thirty families, most of them peasants. The Reich hardly spared them a thought; as long as taxes were paid, the village was left alone. Lina went to school, surrounded by friends, and said she could still name every one of them.
Vierna frowned. The question rose from somewhere deeper than curiosity, from the memory of being overlooked for as long as she could remember. “Wait… they didn’t ignore you?”
“Well, they did at first. But I didn’t care. Every time they tried to push me out, I just kept joining the conversation anyway.”
She grinned. “One day, there was this big boy in the village. Meanest of them all—he bullied everyone, me included. I couldn’t take his crap anymore, so in front of the whole class, I kicked him in the crotch. After that, no one ignored me again. Hahaha!”
Vierna blinked. “Wow, you’re super strong, Lin. I wish I could be like that.”
“Hehe, Vierna, you’re even stronger than me. Not many kids would ever think of this Facility as heaven, like you did. In a way, you even saved me.”
Vierna’s cheeks warmed. Hearing it from Lina, in that gentle, certain voice, was different.
“One day, however, someone from Einhartturm came to our village,” Lina continued. “Arkmarschall Leopold had decided we would all be relocated. We were given a week to leave our homes and move into the city.”
Her voice faltered. “No one dared defy him. We were preparing to leave, but… two days later, the Imperium attacked.”
Lina’s tone shifted as she told Vierna what happened to her village. She described it with such clarity that Vierna felt as if she stood there herself. Neighbors and friends were crucified along the road. Children her own age were subjected to unspeakable horrors. Even the village bully, once larger than life in her childhood memories, was violated before they finally decapitated him. Her parents, too, were nailed to a cross, while her aunt was skinned and burned alive before her eyes.
Tears slid from her eyes as she spoke. Halwen had returned just as the soldiers reached for her. Even with all his strength, he could not turn the tide. Among the attackers were four figures wielding strange, overwhelming magic. Vierna thought it must be the Saints, Imperium’s equivalent of Archmages, and realized how hopeless the battle must have been.
The fact that Halwen had managed to pull Lina from that nightmare at all was a miracle. Yet by the time he arrived, the village was gone—consumed by fire, its people desecrated and left to rot.
Lina went on to say that this was why she was here. In the end, her reason was the same as Vierna’s—she wanted strength, strength that truly mattered, so she could one day kill the Imperium with her own hands. She admitted she had felt ashamed when Halwen stopped her procedure, as though she had failed. Yet when he later told her he would make sure she completed it, she felt relief instead. The thought comforted her, and it comforted Vierna too.
“And that is why I really want my revenge,” Lina whispered.
“I understand, Lin. It must be hard for you,” Vierna said, pulling her into a hug. “And I share your desire. As long as I breathe, I’ll help you in everything I can.”
Lina raised an eyebrow. “You won’t tell me revenge is wrong?”
“And let them get away with all of it? No. That would be naive.”
Lina’s eyes widened. She had expected pity or dismissal, perhaps to be called vengeful. Instead, Vierna’s affirmation struck her deeply, as if her own desire had been reforged into something sharper, something righteous.
After sharing her past, Lina turned curious about Vierna’s. Yet when she remembered how her friend had only offered a quiet “something happened,” she chose not to press. Today had already been heavy enough. Another time, she decided.
“Hehehe.”
“What’s so funny?” Lina asked.
“Sorry… I just feel closer to you now. I can’t help but be happy.”
“I’m glad,” Lina smiled softly. “When you’re ready, tell me about your past too.”
“But i… don’t really remembered it… beyond the orphanage… it was like something was blocking me.” Vierna said. Lina heard her struggling to recall it, as if there was some kind of block there that makes her couldn’t access her memory fully.
“No worries. It’s late, and we’ve got the procedure tomorrow, right? Let’s sleep.”
Vierna realized Lina had given her an out, sparing her from saying more than she was ready to. “Thanks, Lina. You’re the best.”
They lay down, but neither drifted off right away. Their eyes lingered in the dim light, searching each other’s faces. No one knew who moved first, but soon they were wrapped in the same embrace, holding on as though each was the other’s pillow. Only then did sleep finally take them.
People keep saying that there are Yuri on my writing, but there isnt yuri so far right?
