Year: 2000 Location: Dr. Quinlan’s Private Hospital

From Victor and Victoria’s Perspective

Years of research and effort were finally ready to come to light. We were going to Dr. Quinlan’s private hospital for children to collect our final test subjects. Victor looked very anxious. Lately, I had started to think he was getting closer to madness. When we arrived, we had specific criteria: they had to be the smartest yet the most foolish, the most agile yet the clumsiest, the most attractive and with the potential to be geniuses, and they couldn’t have any Heiliant blood. We took blood samples from each of the fifty children we chose, and Victor persuaded Quinlan to hand over the children who would be useful to us as our wards in exchange for a large sum of money.

Victor sometimes didn’t understand; he was very ruthless and hasty. These children, unaware of magic, sorcery, and this world, had their psyches turned upside down because they were in their adolescence during the experiments. Yet, they were different from the norm. They were well-acquainted with all the processes of the experiments done to them at that hospital, and now, with their new powers, they were getting into all sorts of trouble and following in my dear brother’s footsteps. Despite my efforts to heal the wounds he had inflicted on them, I was unsuccessful. Eventually, they accepted this work with joy. Every day we were getting closer to our plan, spending months and years with Victor, tirelessly searching for the formula of perfect power.

Of course, we had occasional conflicts. They wanted to live their lives with these powers, but Victor had placed explosive chips on each of their necks, with only one warning:

V: If you try to remove it, you’ll die. If you tamper with it, you’ll die. If you attempt to break it, you’ll die.

I had lost my patience. My only wish was to finish our work as soon as possible and let them return to their normal lives. One day, while Victor was working in the lab, Magnus asked him:

M: When you’re done with us, you’ll destroy these bombs, right?

A: (Stammering) You mean, without killing us?

Veronica: Yes, Victor, there should be a reward for all the suffering we’ve endured.

V: Of course, children, you will regain your freedom.

But that wasn’t the truth. That same night, I told Victor I was a bit happy he would be leaving them behind. He replied:

V: What nonsense are you talking about? They are just test subjects. They exist to make us stronger. When I’m done with them, they won’t matter anymore.

Victoria: You can’t do this to them, Victor. We can’t force them against their will. When did we become so ruthless?

V: You’re mistaken, sister. We’ve always been ruthless; I just found a way to bring it out. Their only task is to find the girl and bring her to us. If they succeed, they might live.

Victoria: Everything must be flawless. A single point of failure could expose us.

V: That’s why you must be careful. You’re the one with the chemistry knowledge. A single mistake from you could also affect the chips, dear sister.

He had threatened me openly, but there was a point he missed. If I injected myself first, I would have a chance to defeat him. I set this plan into motion. I always backed up the malfunctioning trio and ensured their success in their tasks. This way, I would first save myself, and then them. Victor had a grand plan for them. I started preparing a power vial for each of them. While spending time in the lab, every thought and sound echoed in my mind.

M: Hey Victoria, are you okay? (Touches her shoulder)

V: I’m fine, you startled me.

M: I called out, but you didn’t hear.

V: Why are you here? Where are your siblings?

M: I think we’ve reached an age where we understand they want to be alone now.

V: Yes, that issue. There’s no harm in it, of course. Since there’s no blood relation between you, but it still feels strange.

M: Have you ever been in love, Victoria?

V: I’m not that old yet, Magnus.

Victor entered the room and the conversation was interrupted. I sent Magnus away and began to contend with Victor’s gaze.

V: What were you discussing with him, sister?

VA: He was telling me how happy they were to have us as their siblings.

V: Of course. I turned them from having a miserable normal life into superhumans. What else could they want?

VA: Besides a real life, yes.

V: What do you mean? They’re not clones.

VA: True, they may not be clones, but they are your soldiers.

V: Aren’t you happy that when I’m done with them, you’ll be reunited with your dear niece?

VA: My niece? Milan?

V: That’s right. Everything is to bring her back.

VA: Victor, I need to know, is she still alive?

V: In a deep sleep. If I can find Rein Orka, everything will be set right.

VA: Rein Orka is beyond what we can achieve; it’s just a legend.

V: But dragons can fly, can’t they? (Sinister smile) Tick-tock, Victoria, time is working against you. If you fail, you’ll become a bomb too.

VA: Of course, brother.

His crazy ideas and plans frightened me more every day. His ruthlessness towards his daughter deeply shook me. Turning her into Rein Orka was absurd in itself. She was merely a legend from our myths. Though, he was right; if dragons could exist, so could she.

I began researching what I could find about Rein Orka. I wasn’t searching on the internet, unfortunately, the history of the Heiliants was never information available online. The references in old encyclopedias were veiled accounts. However, while researching Rein Orka, I found that many civilizations had tried to use it. But if it granted something, it took something in return; a soul for a soul. Everything had to be balanced. If it granted a wish, it would awaken a nightmare. After further research, I found that someone in an ancient fox tribe had used it. The legend stated:

"He was a powerful chief. He looked after his tribe, met their needs, and was a hero remembered by history. Since the first songs, the Raposas had made it a principle to control their powers and discover skills, bestowing a power to Rein Orka once every century. It was a tradition that someone with a due date would transfer energy to him. Charles Harp Riotta, the chief of a Raposa tribe founded in the mid-8th century BC, used this sphere for a different purpose.

After this event, he was declared a hero. He wished to protect his family from the Ryus and to grant his power to his descendant and his lineage, but Rein Orka created a disaster in return. He inflicted a partial illness on each of his descendants, a sickness passed from one to the next, a mental illness because Charles was a two-tailed sorcerer.

This was the only agreement to protect his tribe and family, and he surrendered to Rein Orka. This saved his tribe. The Ryus did not approach him, his family, or his tribe again. Years went by, and each Riotta family member began to cope with the illness. His last descendant, Marilyn Riotta, who was the daughter of Frank Riotta, made another wish for her grandfather’s powers and gave her soul to Rein Orka and disappeared.

Marilyn searched for it for years, but the powers she inherited from her father never emerged. After giving birth to her daughter, Marilyn passed away three years later, and Frank’s powers appeared in his granddaughter Violet. The tribe protected her dearly as the chief’s granddaughter and placed her with a family."

This was the information I was looking for. If I find that girl, I can find Rein Orka too. As the next step, I informed Victor and we started the search.