“I... I finally uand,” Runebelle whispered, her eyes meeting the Doctor taking care of her. “You... you reminded me of her... my mother...”

  Tears welled up in the Doctor’s eyes as Runebelle’s words hung in the air, their significe sinking in as Runebelle’s eyes closed.

  Runebelle’s sciousness drifted in a strange liminal space, a realm between her former existend an uain future. The vivid memories of her past life lingered, like fragments of a dream, as she began tain awareness.

  Slowly, she awakened within another world. She became aware of her surroundings, the green tube that enclosed her, and the sensation of being in a different body. Panic welled up within her as she tried to make sense of this.

  Then, as if guided by an unseen force, she directed her attention to her new body. She realized that she had taken on the body of a young girl, her hair a mesmerizing blend of blue and pink, just like the one she had before. Although her body was child-like, it felt strangely familiar.

  Runebelle gazed at the young girl with long, flowing yellow hair, her eyes wide with astonishment. The girl’s presence was a stark trast to Runebelle’s own uainty and fusion. She g to the tank and seemed genuinely surprised by Runebelle’s awakening

  As the green rejuvenation fluid slowly disappeared, Runebelle found herself face to face with Dr. Kintovar, who had a ptive look.

  The green rejuvenation fluid surrounding Runebelle dissipated, leaving her feeling vulnerable and exposed in this unfamiliar world. As she tried to collect her thoughts and uand her situation, a anding figure entered her field of vision.

  Dr. Kintovar walked into view fidently. She g the young girl, Roselle who had been waiting nearby.

  “I told you to wait elsewhere, Roselle, not to startle my new creation,” Dr. Kintovar stated with authority

  Roselle, nodded in response. Her eyes dropped to

  the ground. “I’m sorry, Dr. Kintovar. I was just excited.”

  Dr. Kintovar turned her attention to Runebelle, her pierg gaze filled with curiosity and calcution. “As for you, my dear, wele to a new beginning. I am Dr. Kintovar, and this is Roselle, one of my brilliant creations!”

  Dr. Kintovar tinued, “From this day forward, you shall be known as Runebelle, amed: Project Rune.”

  Runebelle absorbed Dr. Kintovar’s introdu, her mind rag to prehend the abrupt shift in her existence. “Runebelle,” she echoed softly, still bewildered by the unfamiliarity of it all. “ame... Project Rune?”

  Dr. Kintovar nodded with a hint of satisfa. “Yes, Project Rune. You are my test creation, and I have high hopes for what you will aplish.”

  Runebelle’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name, a name from her past life that held deep significe.

  Dr. Kintovar carefully examined Runebelle’s systems, her keen eyes sing the data before her. To her surprise and fusion, she discovered that Runebelle’s memory capacity was already at 50%, despite the fact that it should have been at 0% for a newly created entity.

  She scratched the back of her head, a rare sign of her iurmoil. Her fingers grazed the headphones resting there, and she momentarily raised them to her ears as if seeking soce uidance from the soothing sounds they provided.

  “This is... impossible. Memory capacity at 50%? How could this have happehere must be some error or interferen the data.”

  Roselle, still standing nearby asked, “Is that a bad thing, Dr. Kintovar?”

  Dr. Kintovar blinked as if just remembering Roselle’s presence, and she lowered her headphones, her attention shifting to the young creation.

  She replied, choosing her words carefully, “It’s not necessarily a bad thing, Roselle. It’s just... ued. It might indicate that there’s more to Runebelle’s past than I initially thought. But for now, we’ll tih the pnned assessments and see how her memory funs develop.”

  Runebelle took hesitant steps into the b, her new body feeling fn and unfamiliar. Her face, adorned with a blend of blue and pink hair, carried a weight of sadness, a refle of the memories aions she had carried from her previous existence.

  Dr. Kintovar observed Runebelle’s arrival with a keen eye, notig the sadhat seemed to emanate from her. She walked over to a nearby rack, where a fur coat hung, arieved it. With a measured but not unkind tone, she approached Runebelle and held out the coat.

  “Runebelle,” Dr. Kintan, “your full outfit isn’t quite ready yet, so you’ll have to make do with this for now. It should keep you fortable.”

  Roselle, who had been quietly the iioween Runebelle and Dr. Kintovar, suddenly spoke up,“Dr. Kintovar, what about my outfit? I’ve been wearing this magic academy girl’s outfit since I got back. You haven’t said anything about it yet.”

  Dr. Kintovar turned her attention to Roselle. she looked offf to the side and then came back with one raised finger.

  “Ah yes, your outfit Roselle. I haven’t had the ce to provide you with a suitable o, but I assure you, I’ll have something fitting for you soon. For now, that academy uniform should suffice.”

  Roselle pouted and tugged at the oversized academy uniform she wore, clearly dissatisfied with its fit. She pined, “But it feels so big on me, Dr. Kintovar. It’s not fortable at all.”

  Dr. Kintovar offered Roselle a reassuring smile and said, “I uand, Roselle. I’ll make sure your new outfit fits you perfectly. Patience, my dear. It won’t be long.”

  Roselle relutly nodded, her pout fading as she accepted Dr. Kintovar’s words.

  Runebelle’s eyes remained fixed on the ground, lost in thought as she processed the information and her new reality.

  Roselle noticed Runebelle’s silence. She begins to speak to her. “You know, Runebelle,” Roselle began, “We have a big sister named Risebelle. She’s just like us, created by Dr. Kintovar. You’ll meet her soon, and I’m sure you’ll like her!”

  Runebelle’s perpetually sad face showed no ge, but Roselle was determio get a rea. She took a deep breath and then stared upwards for a moment.. “Risebelle is… well, how do I put this? She’s super serious. Always has this intense look on her face! Oh, and she’s got and she has this habit of calling me an idiot every other sente’s kind of her thing.”

  Runebelle tilted her head in fusion” That doesen’t sound likable...”

  “It’s something like this!”

  Roselle then put her hands on her hips and tried to adopt a mock-stern gaze with lowered eyed. “You’re su idiot, Roselle!” she mimicked, but the exaggerated seriousness in her own voice made her burst into ughter.

  Runebelle tilted her head slightly, still looking as sad and fused as ever.

  Roselle sighed, shaking her head. “Okay, maybe I’m not the best at impersonations. But trust me, you’ll see what I mean when you meet her. She might seem strict, but she has a good heart. And she’ll look out for you, just like she looks out for me! I know she will.”

  Runebelle nodded. Roselle couldn’t tell if that meant she uood now, but she moved along.

  Roselle began to give Runebelle a tour of the Lab. While on the move, Roselle noticed the persistent sadness etched on Runebelle’s face. filled her heart as she wondered what she could do to help her new sister overe this profound sadness.

  As they tinued walking through the b, Roselle decided to strike up a versation, hoping to create a sense of fort for Runebelle.

  “Runebelle,” Roselle began, “I ’t help but notice that you seem really sad. Is there anything you want to talk about? I help you with whatever it is. Just call me ‘Ask me anything’ Roselle!”

  Runebelle’s gaze shifted to Roselle, her eyes filled up with gratitude. She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

  “I really appreciate your kindness, Roselle,” Runebelle admitted, “but it’s just... I’m trying to uand my situation. My memories and now being here with sisters I never knew I had. I ’t shake this… overwhelming sadness I’m feeling off of me...”

  As Roselle looked into Runebelle’s eyes and saw the profound sadness within, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness wash over her. She, too, was a creation of Dr. Kintovar, but her experiences had been vastly different from Runebelle’s. She had never known the weight of a past life or the kind of emotional turmoil that seemed to haunt Runebelle.

  ‘What I do to help her?’ Roselle wondered, her heart ag for her new sister. ‘I wao note look so sad, but I don’t even know where to begin to help her…’

  As they tiheir tour of the b, Roselle made a mental o seek guidance from Dr. Kintovar.

  Roselle led Runebelle through the byrinthine corridors of the b until they arrived at a massive, imposing door. It seemed almost out of p the sterile enviro of the facility, and its presence piqued Runebelle’s curiosity.

  “This, Runebelle,” Roselle expined, “is the door to the outside world. Beyond this door lies the mystical forest, where we’ll carry out our missions. But we must always be cautious. Our enemies are humans, and they will stop at nothing to capture or destroy us.”

  Runebelle’s eyes widened as she took in Roselle’s words. The idea of fag humans as adversaries was both intimidating and shog. Her memories of her past life didn’t include any enters with humans as enemies, and the notion filled her with uainty.

  “I... I don’t uand,” Runebelle admitted, “Why…Why are humans our enemies? What have we even doo them?”

  Roselle sighed, realizing that this was a plex and difficult topic to broach. She chose her words carefully as she attempted to expin their situation to Runebelle.

  “It’s not about what we’ve done, Runebelle,” Roselle began. “It’s about what we are. Dr. Kintovar created us to be different, to possess unique abilities and powers. Humans wish to destroy teology in this day and age, and they see anything that is not magical as a threat to their society. This is why they see us as a threat, and why they want me dead so badly. That’s why they’re our enemies...”

  Runebelle absorbed this information, her mind spinning with new insights into her existehe world outside.

  Roselle reached out to open the massive door to the outside world, her fingers brushed against the cold, metallic surface. She turned back to Runebelle, her face lit up with a sense of excitement.

  “Runebelle,” Roselle said with enthusiasm, “are you ready to explore the mystical forest? It’s a whole new world out there!”

  Runebelle mustered a small smile, eager to experiehis unknown world and the adve might hold; however, before they could step outside, Dr. Kintovar shouted through the corridor, stopping them iracks.

  “Wait,” Dr. Kintovar anded, her tone firm and authoritative. she walked infront of them. “You ’t let Runebelle explore the forest just yet, Roselle. We o test her abilities first.”

  Roselle turo face Dr. Kintovar in disbelief. Her jaw dropped to the ground.

  “But Dr. Kintovar, you didn’t do the same for me! You se without any experience or training in eliminating humans, and I had to learn that all on my own!”

  Dr. Kintovar’s response was measured and unwavering.

  “The circumstances were different then, Roselle. My life was in danger, and I had no choice but to send you out. But now, with Runebelle, we have the opportunity to prepare her properly and ensure her success.”

  Roselle’s frustration simmered beh the surface, but she knew better than tue further with Dr. Kintovar. She looked at Runebelle apologetically.

  “Sorry, Runebelle,” Roselle said softly. “It looks like we’ll have to hold off on our forest adventure for now. Dr. Kintovar has her reasons, even if I don’t pletely uand them.”

  Dr. Kintovar’s eyes settled on Roselle. “Roselle, I need you to teach Runebelle how to use her magic because Risebelle is currently occupied with a crucial task. She won’t be avaible to assist with Runebelle’s training for the time being.”

  Roselle looked somewhat ed “Um...But what’s Risebelle doing, Dr. Kintovar?”

  Dr. Kintovar hesitated for a moment before responding, “Risebelle is w on a mission of great importance. She’s assisting me in gathering very essential data that will aid in our future endeavors. It’s a task that requires her full attentiht now, so the responsibility of teag her magic will lie upon you this time.”

  As Roselle absorbed Dr. Kintovar’s request, a wave of fear and doubt washed over her. Her gaze shifted between Runebelle and Dr. Kintovar as she attempted to process this new role she was beirusted with.

  A nervous smile crept onto Roselle’s face as she stammered, “W-Waitaminute, I-I have to teach her Magic?”

  Roselle begandarting her eyes between Dr. Kintovar and Runebelle.

  “WHAAT?!”