Compared to the floors below, the upper portion of the lab was an even bigger mess. Somehow, the ceiling had collapsed, making rubble pile in the corners. Glass shards littered the ground, and small cracks made water leak down the lower floors. The moment Viktor reached it, it didn't take long for him to be completely drenched. A frown formed on his face, and he regretted wearing a sweater. It was heavy now that it was wet, and it clung tighter than his normal clothes.

He brushed his wet hair back and continued walking. The sight of the ruined laboratory made him chuckle bitterly.

Lucinda was right. This place was worse than he remembered, too.

But she wasn't here in the beginning. She wasn't here twenty years ago when the lab was still working. She wasn't there when scientists still walked around, conducting experiments on anyone they could get their hands on just so they could prove it was possible to pass a wielder's abilities to a non-wielder.

She didn't see what he saw. She didn't feel what he felt.

He stopped in his tracks and picked up one of the glass shards on the ground. At first, the glass only showed his hand. When he flipped it over, he wiped the water and dirt that gathered on it to see his face better. Drops of rain harshly fell down his face, removing the light makeup he had hoped wouldn't be washed off. Before it could completely disappear, he tossed the glass on the ground and clenched his hands into fists.

He always told his subordinates that people in the DUO, especially the Investigation Squad, had two choices when at crossroads: to follow orders or to abort the missions.

But Viktor wasn't a person in the DUO. He wasn't even sure if he should call himself a person. He could wear this mask all he wanted, put up a façade and play pretend for the rest of his life if he wished, but he had been too tainted in the past to be considered as a person.

He never had a choice on what he should do.

He shook his head and pushed the thought away. No, he wasn't going to stall more time by hiding. If he would stall, Lucinda would get her way. And he already wasted an hour or two by pretending to be investigating.

He was already at the top floor; there was no turning back now.

After a while of walking, Viktor reached a room that he would have called familiar if it weren't for its disastrous state. There was no ceiling, and most of the walls had fallen down. He would have had a view of the forest if the fog from the rain didn't blur it.

Near the end, Zeus stood with a stick of vape on her hand. She removed it from her lips and paused, then slowly exhaled the smoke out. When she lifted her head, her bright blue eyes glowed. Instinctively, Viktor reached for his face and took a step back.

Zeus hummed in amusement, but no emotion reached her face. "Hello, Demon."

Viktor stood tall once again and mirrored her expression. "Hello, Mother."

"Did you enjoy your freedom, Viktor?" she asked. "Did you have fun with the extra time I gave you? You even brandished yourself a new name. Tell me, did Hades give you that?"

"Get to the point, Zeus," he spat. "If you were looking for me, you wouldn't have made one of your Furies kill an innocent journalist, raid the DUO, and nearly kill my coworkers. And I'm sure you didn't have to use a twelve year old when there's a handful of people in the Intelligence Database who can wield the same ability as him. I'm sure you know that they're more useful."

"Take it as a punishment for the two of you," she replied as she waved a hand in the air. "I do have to thank that journalist for letting me know where you are. It's quite a shame that I didn't get the chance to see what reaction Silveria's blank face would make when he finds out that the boy he would have tortured was his own son. And I'm sure I would have enjoyed seeing your expression after I returned him. I think it's fitting."

The thought of Zeus getting his hands on Greyson made Viktor curl his hands into fists once more. If he wasn't angry before, then the flames of his rage were scorching even brighter inside of him, burning anything it could touch. He had to refrain himself from grabbing his gun and shooting her right now. He still had a plan to follow.

But one glance at Zeus made him regret his plan. Maybe he should have let Lucinda kill Zeus. She didn't have Zeus's control, so she could do anything she wanted. And even if she wasn't a fighter, she was a cunning snake that had killed people in the past. Killing Zeus was a challenge she would enjoy.

Mustering up every courage he had, Viktor met Zeus's eye and held his ground. "I think I didn't make myself clear. What the hell do you want with me, Zeus?"

"And here I thought you already knew." Zeus sighed. She placed her vape pen inside her pocket and crossed her arms. "Or perhaps you already do. You're just in denial because you're hoping that I need you for a different reason."

Viktor gritted his teeth. Calm down. Stick to the plan. You have to make sure you stick to the plan before Greyson gets here.

"I'm getting old, Viktor," she said as she placed a hand on her chest, "and most of the Underworld wants me dead. My Furies can pretend all they want, but they also want me gone. If I die, I won't have control of the Underworld anymore. The Furies are already undoing some of the things I've worked hard for. If I'm not going to be here, they're going to make sure it'll all be tossed away."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

Zeus raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The moment she did, Viktor felt a searing pain in his head, then on his face. He placed a hand on his cheek, and the mark that Zeus had placed there so many years ago burned once again.

"If you remember what happened when the Underworld paid us a lovely visit, there were marks on their faces. I'm going to take a wild guess that whoever pledges their loyalty to Zeus gains that mark on their face. And once they do, Zeus can control them."

Viktor gritted his teeth. If only it was as simple as 'pledging their loyalty'. Not once did he ever want to be loyal to Zeus. It was all forced.

"It has something to do with you because you're helping me make sure it won't happen," Zeus replied. Every word that left her lips was dripping venom, increasing the pain he was feeling in his mind. "So won't you be a good child to your mother and let her live in your body forever?"

Viktor screamed as he fell to his knees. Zeus was standing in front of him, slowly approaching. Yet at the same time, he could feel her inside his head. He could feel her hands on his shoulders, holding it tight to keep him in place, and her voice whispered multiple words in his ears.

It had been at least a decade since he left the Underworld. At least a decade since that silver-eyed man helped him escape. Viktor thought that he had buried the pain of his past deep in the darkest corners of his mind. But right now, as he was feeling it again, it was like the past years never happened. He was back to being twelve, cowering because he infuriated the most powerful ruler the Underworld ever had.

He forced himself to stand up and break free from Zeus's control. The moment he tried to, however, his body burned in pain. Another scream left him, and this time he planted his forehead on the floor. Zeus's voices were becoming louder and louder, and he wanted to bash his head on the shattered tiled floor so they would leave him alone.

Zeus grabbed his chin and dragged his face up, letting him see that she had knelt down to match his height. Her grip on his face tightened, and Viktor froze when she placed her hand on the mark. He sighed in relief when she released him, though it was cut short when he felt the back of her hand against his face.

"I'm glad that you decided to come to me yourself, Viktor, but I'm still disappointed that you ran away." Zeus sighed. "I thought I saw myself in you when you were younger. I saw you as my own son and treated you like one. And you decided to repay my kindness with rebellion?"

"Funny," he said as he slowly lifted himself up. "I didn't know that mothers hit their children whenever they felt like it."

"It was to teach you a lesson."

"The only thing you taught me was that I needed to leave the Underworld as soon as possible!" He smashed his fist on the floor. "You didn't see me as your son, you saw me as your vessel! A thing you can use so you can keep your control on everyone else even after your body dies! You weren't my mother, your sister was!"

A sharp pain shot through his body when Zeus's foot kicked his chest. The moment his back hit the floor, Viktor pushed himself up and grabbed the gun from his back. Two shots cracked through the rain, and he flinched back from the sudden loud sound. One of them missed Zeus, while the other one managed to hit her shoulder.

The mark on his face burned, and Viktor bit his tongue before he could yell again. Almost, Viktor's hand pointed the gun to his head, but Zeus's control made him lower his hands.

"And here I thought you came underprepared," Zeus said with a hum. Her voice wavered, and her hand reached for her wounded shoulder. "I might have underestimated Hades. I'll be sure to thank her personally when you see her again."

Somehow, Viktor managed to laugh. "G- Go ahead, kill me now. See- see if I care."

Zeus stepped forward and placed a hand on his forehead. By now, the pain in Viktor's body burned so much that he could feel himself becoming numb to it. He wasn't sure if the water that rolled down his cheeks were from the rain or his tears. Zeus gripped his hair and made him look up to her, and he could only stare.

The life in Zeus's eyes was slowly draining, but he could still feel her control on him.

The whispers in his mind silenced, and the voice that replaced them sent shivers down Viktor's spine.

I was planning to completely remove your control from your body and let me take over, but I feel like this would be a much more believable story, Zeus said in his mind. You managed to kill the head of the Underworld, and then decided to return to your old organization and lead it in a way that Zeus couldn't lead. It'll be easier to convince people if there's still a hint of you inside.

Even though he couldn't feel his own movements anymore, Viktor forced himself to move his arms and punch Zeus. As expected, she managed to hold onto his weakened fist. Viktor used this as a chance to fire two more rounds once again. Like before, only one of them managed to hit her chest. Zeus stumbled backwards, and Viktor sent another punch that made her stumble back.

Almost, he sighed in relief.

His vision was blurry, and his head was floating on air. When he placed his hands in front of him, they didn't look like his hands. It almost felt like he was dreaming, and he was staring at someone else's body in his perspective.

In front of him, Zeus was bleeding as she pushed herself up. Her movements were sloppy and lifeless, as if she didn't have full control of her body anymore.

"Kuya Viktor!"

Viktor's eyes widened. He turned around, and his chest twisted when he saw Greyson running towards him. The moment Greyson stepped inside the room, his golden eyes widened. One of his hands reached for his arms, and he stepped back.

"K- Kuya Viktor," he said, and Viktor noticed he was reaching for his radio. "Wh- what happened to your face?"

"Greyson..." Viktor felt himself limp forward, which only resulted in Greyson stepping back once again. "Greyson, I need you to listen to me. Zeus doesn't have full control of me yet. But if you do as I say, she'll never control anyone ever again."

Greyson shook his head. "How- how do I know I can trust you?"

Viktor wanted to smile. He wanted to give the kid some sort of reassurance that things were going to be alright. That they were going to be alright. That after this stupid mess, they could go back to being the Investigation Squad again.

But he couldn't lie.

Instead, he knelt down to Greyson's height and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You... don't have to trust me. But for now, I want you to follow my orders."

Greyson gulped, and his ears flopped down. "What- what do you want me to do?"

Viktor reached for his pocket, and grabbed the old cellphone inside. "I need you to transfer me and Zeus inside here. And once we're all inside, you have to leave without me."

Greyson's eyes widened. His hands fell to his side, and he shook his head. "Wh- what?"

"Greyson—"

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to understand—"

"Viktor!"

Viktor's eyes widened as he turned around. Zeus's white suit was stained in red and dirt, and her hand was on her chest. She gritted her teeth and groaned, then ran. Her pace was fortunately slow, but that didn't mean they had time.

He turned around and removed Greyson's gloves from his hands, then held onto his wrist. The moment Zeus managed to grab his other hand, Viktor shoved the cellphone into Greyson's fingers. A spark of golden yellow lightning flashed right in front of them, and he felt something drag his body downwards. An electrical surge rushed in his veins, conflicting with the fire from Zeus's control.

And then, it all stopped.

When he opened his eyes, everything around him was white, though black squares were appearing from the top. The fogginess from earlier disappeared, and everything was clear again. Next to him, Greyson slowly pushed himself up. Viktor placed his hands in front of him, and he wasn't sure if he was surprised that his arms—or perhaps half of his body now that he was looking at it—was glitching or not. At first, they were his own hands. Then, in a flash of blue, it became Zeus's hands, before becoming his own again.

"Greyson." He turned around and placed his normal arm on Greyson's shoulder. "You need to leave."

Greyson shook his head. "I'm not leaving you here! I- I don't fully understand what's going on, but I'm not leaving you with her!"

"I... I can't can't."

Viktor was glad he couldn't feel his chest aching right now. He didn't want to feel himself crying.

He placed his glitching hand in front of him and added, "I can't leave. Half of Zeus is with me. If I leave with you, we'll still be bringing her. She'll still have control over me."

"Then... then we'll do something about it!" Greyson placed his hands on Viktor's own. "I'm not leaving without you, Sir Viktor! I- I'll stay in the Investigation Squad if you want to. I'll forget about quitting—please! Please, just come with me! It's not the Investigation Squad without you!"

Viktor couldn't feel it, but he increased his grip on Greyson's shoulder. Then, he wrapped his arms around him.

It was a shame. The first and last hug he ever had was something he couldn't feel. He was sure that Greyson would have felt warm in his arms.

"I'm sorry, kid," he said as he shook his head. "But this is the best way for me to make sure that Zeus stays gone forever. Now go, before she wakes up and realizes she can drag herself with you."

"I... I'm sorry, Sir Viktor."

"You know, you should stop apologizing for things you don't have control over." Viktor chuckled at his own comment. After parting with Greyson, he lowered his eyes and bit his cheek. "I'm sorry for making you work so much. And... tell Sedah I'm sorry for being too harsh on her."

With one last nod, Greyson took a step backwards. The same yellow lightning engulfed his body, and he disappeared into a bunch of numbers and letters. Even though Viktor couldn't feel anything, he knew his heart twisted in his chest.

For a kid, he was admirable.

Viktor would surely miss him. He would miss all of them. Ciel, Greyson, Azul, Lucinda, Anthea—hell, even Hades.

He turned around, just in time to see Zeus standing up. Just like him, half of her body was glitching. Though instead of his own body, it was glitching into nothingness. When she turned to him, Viktor felt a victorious smile form on his face.

"Welcome to my old cell phone, Zeus," Viktor said as he placed his hands on his hips. "I hope you won't mind the emptiness, I factory-reseted it earlier. We'll be here forever, though, so you'll probably get used to it."

"What on earth—" She placed her glitched hand in front of her, then shot him a glare. "What did you do?"

"I asked Greyson to put us here. It's a block of a phone. There's no internet, the charging port doesn't connect to anything except a wall socket, and I'm ninety-nine percent sure it's not waterproof. The black squares probably mean it's breaking."

Zeus didn't limp when she charged forward. She pulled her fist back, then punched Viktor's face. Even though Viktor's head knocked back, he didn't feel anything. He managed to lift his head and turn to Zeus, showing her a grin that he had been wanting to show her for so many years.

"You..." Zeus reached forward, taking a step back when a black square appeared between the two of them. "You..."

Viktor hummed in amusement.

"You made me your Demon, Zeus," he said, the grin never leaving his face. "So let me drag you to hell with me."

And Viktor knew that the smile still remained even when the darkness surrounded them.