Slava sat on the operating table, grimacing as Angel inspected him.

"Jesus, I literally just patched you up, and you go and make a mess…" Angel said, glancing at the destroyed furniture and tools. Slava didn't say a word, instead, he simply looked at Sasha as she stood next to the door, her back against the wall.

He still couldn't believe his ears, she'd fought off an entire M Series section. She'd been ambushed by them on her way to her uncle's office. And then, she got forcefully teleported into a room with the scythe while trying to escape.

"You're surprisingly uninjured," she continued, stepping back, bringing him out of his daze. "But still, I think you should be careful. And that goes for the both of you," she said, stealing a glance at Sasha. "As Awakened, we all grow incredibly fast, but we always reach a ceiling, whether it be our bodies, our arrogance, our vision, our resources…" she paused, sighing, "but you guys seem different, you constantly grow with no end in sight." She shook her head. "I've met few like you, most ended up dead and the others disappeared. Be careful of yourself, that mark on your backs might one day swallow you whole."

Hearing her words, Slava looked at his hands. Kolya had said something similar, but even during the long-drawn-out battle with the heroes, he didn't get to the point of straining himself. Sure, he had some headaches, but that was nothing compared to Kolya. Did that mean that he could've pushed himself further? He gritted his teeth.

"Would you leave us?" Sasha asked. She was clearly not listening, her mind occupied by something else.

"Alright," Angel sighed. "I hope you guys won't make a mess again." She started walking towards the door. "I know I interrupted you guys earlier, so I'll take my leave," she said, stopping by Sasha. "When you're done, you know where to find me." Seeing her nod, Angel left the room.

A long silence ensued a silence in which they both stared at the ground until Slava finally broke it.

"So when is she going to show herself?" He asked, he could hear her slowly getting closer. "She…" Sasha sat next to him. Not finishing her words, a breeze overtook the sealed-off room. Raising his head, he came face to face with Sasha’s face. Half of it was covered in a dark purple misty mask. An almost perfect replica of her face except for her scars and bandana.

"We finally formally meet Vich Scern." The ghostly face moved, its eye still closed. "My name is Arissa, Arissa Expance." Her words ended and she finally opened her eye. It was somehow clearly defined in the mist, the eyelashes, the iris, the pupil… For some reason, seeing this, Slava was annoyed. Arissa…

"I am her guardian," "She is my guardian," Arissa and Sasha said at the same time. Once they both spoke, Slava could see the difference in their demeanor. Their aura was different. When both eyes glowed, he noticed that Sasha’s was much softer. Arissa’s purple glow was dark and ominous, while Sasha’s felt bright and vibrant. Seeing his inquiring look, Arissa continued. “It means; I am the protector of the owner of this weapon.” Following her words, she grabbed the scythe out of thin air as if taking it out from an invisible bag.

“That still doesn’t explain who you are,” he squinted his eyes, his expression turning cold. “I am her guardian,” she looked back with the same unfazed expression. At that moment, Slava’s vision shifted and the shades of purple overtook his entire view. To its periphery, he could spot a white glow surrounding him. Focussing on Sasha, he noticed the two domains present in her body. It was strange, they weren’t fighting or eating each other. It looked more like they were slowly blending together to create something new, the two auras twirling around one another to form a dark sky filled with a sea of bright purple stars.

He tried to pinpoint something, anything, from the weapon, an inconsistency, a weakness, but he couldn’t. Whatever it was, wherever it came from, it was way beyond his reach. And that made him even angrier.

“Jesus, I thought you knew your history Slava, we never talked about it but still…” Sasha sighed, swiping her scythe across her face before it disappeared once more. Arissa was gone, but the tension wasn’t. It shifted, Slava now stared at Sasha’s bandaged eyes, her expression serious. “Arissa Expance, one of the founding members of Expance, the inventor of the exosuit, my uncle’s greatest confidant, and…” she paused, slightly turning her head, “my mother.”

Slava’s jaw dropped to the floor. Ari…ssa, of course, how could he forget, her name was everywhere, the greatest hero who allowed the western world to stand on par with the Union. He’d been so preoccupied with the recent events that it had totally passed him by. Despite her fame, her face was never shown. She would always have an intermediary speak on her behalf. Over time, her interactions with the world became fewer and fewer. She became a ghost, a legend, and people began to theorize that she never existed in the first place, that she was just a character created by Expance in conjunction with the state to give the people a guiding star to follow in a time of desperation. But that all changed when the leader of Expance, Lord Expance revealed her daughter to the world…

“Well, she isn’t my mother.” Sasha interrupted his thoughts, her expression turning bitter. “It looks like she’s something like a fragment, a broken…” grimacing as if she’d heard something unpleasant, she took back her words. “Sorry, I meant an incomplete version of my mother. She doesn’t remember me and isn’t anything like I remember her to be.” Sasha looked lost not knowing what to think or say.

“So what DOES she know?” On the other hand, Slava was pensive, his mind running through every possible scenario. How could she possess a scythe? A fragment… was she a part of the original, a copy, a totally different construct? He couldn’t rule out any possibility, no matter how absurd. The domains had shattered his view of reality. He’d have to rebuild his common sense.

“She says she is my guardian and that her purpose is to guide the wielder of the weapon to ‘The Source’.” She paused, tilting her head to the side. “Other than that, she seems to know a lot, but nothing specific about our situation.” He felt her gaze land on him.

“What do you mean by ‘a lot’? Does she know about the awakened? About your uncle?” This was important, right now they were almost completely oblivious. They didn’t really know why Sasha’s uncle tried to capture her, or even if he was involved at all. Now that he thought about it, they automatically assumed that her uncle was to blame for this, but it might not be the case.

“She says she knows, but she doesn’t, it’s very confusing.” Sasha grabbed her forehead. “I’ll just let her talk,” she sighed, looking exhausted. In the next moment, her eyes began glowing through the bandana. She just gave up, huh? The glow in her eyes, under her bandana, was a dark purple and almost immediately, her expression turned serene. She turned her head, avoiding his gaze.

“The information I have is not taken, it is given.” Slava was stunned, now she started to speak in riddles. She really was broken…

“What does that imply,” he tried keeping his cool. He needed to concentrate, this was important, it would determine what he did next… what they did next.

“The knowledge I possess is too vast for me to access at will, I need a catalyst or a certain event to trigger a recollection,” she spoke matter-of-factly. It made sense, such a method would stop her from going crazy, by getting lost in the past. But still, it was strange, conditional activation…

“Wait,” he exclaimed realization flashing across his eyes in tandem with white arcs of lightning. Not letting her react, he moved to grab her by the neck. “Aren’t you just an algorithm?” He asked menacingly. She could be a planted spy, feeding them the right information at the right time to lead them into the perfect trap.

“Slava stop!” He heard Sasha say with difficulty, making him instantly release his grip. “Think what you will, it doesn’t matter I am her guardian and I will fulfill my duty.” Her voice was carried out unperturbed by Sasha’s rough coughing. Slava’s eyes turned bloodshot. He couldn’t let it stay there… He had to get rid of it, he couldn’t risk it

“Sasha give me the weapon.” He looked at the bandana, beyond the dark purple glowing eyes. They were a contrast to her panting expression, but that soon changed as Sasha looked to be regaining control.

“No,” she wheezed, facing his glare. “We need it… her. We just have to be careful, this is a golden opportunity.”

A flurry of thoughts and images passed through his head. What if it led them to a trap, what if it… An image of Sasha impaling herself with the scythe flashed across his eyes. What if it overtook Sasha’s mind, what if she went crazy?

But all of it stopped once he met her determined expression. He didn’t like it, but he wouldn’t try to force her. Anyway, there was no changing Sasha’s mind. She would rather die than admit defeat.

“It’s settled then,” she said, a smile returning to her face. “We’ll get more info from her later, for now, let's go meet the others,” she joyously scampered to the door. “Come on, let’s go!”

Seeing her walk out, he sighed, smiling toward the ceiling. “Fuck you, for leaving her to me. I’ll get you for this Kolya,” he whispered following suit.