The dim glow of the data pad illuminated Luca's face, casting flickering shadows that danced like ghosts across the ruined chamber. As Ava leaned closer, the screen shifted, revealing hazy, fragmented footage—snippets of memories she thought were buried forever.
The flashback began.
A sterile laboratory, cold and unforgiving. Walls of white tile reflected harsh fluorescent lights that buzzed incessantly overhead. Ava, much younger, lay strapped to a metal table, her eyes wide with fear and confusion.
Scientists in crisp lab coats moved silently, their faces obscured by masks. One figure stepped forward—tall, stern, his eyes piercing. It was Dr. Voss before the scars, before the shadow.
He whispered to a colleague, voice low but urgent. "Subject #47 exhibits unprecedented synaptic activity. Her neural feedback exceeds projections."
Young Ava's fingers twitched, glowing faintly even then, a spark of the power that would come to define her.
The scene shifted rapidly—painful injections, whispered commands, nights filled with cold isolation, and experimental trials that blurred the line between science and cruelty.
Ava's voiceover echoed softly, a fragile thread through the chaos: "They took my childhood... my memories... tried to shape me into a weapon. But the pieces they couldn't break became my strength."
The footage ended abruptly with a flicker, plunging them back into the dusty chamber.
Luca looked up, voice thick with awe and regret. "This was the origin. The beginning of Winterglass — and your nightmare."
Noah clenched his fists. "We have to expose this. The world needs to know."
Ava's gaze hardened, determination blazing anew. "Then we'll shine a light into every dark corner — no matter what it takes."
Outside, the desert wind whispered, stirring the broken glass like forgotten memories rising to the surface.
To be continued...