König entered the dimly lit room, the remnants of the raid still heavy in the air. His boots echoed against the cold concrete as he signaled to his men to search for survivors. The building was a wreck—bullet-riddled walls, shattered glass, and the stench of blood lingering in the stale air.

He moved down the narrow hall, eyes scanning the holding cells. Some were empty, others contained lifeless bodies, some still shackled. His grip on his gun tightened as he checked each one methodically, the tension in the air thickening with each step.

At the far end of the hall, a faint movement caught his eye. In the last cell stood a figure, chained and battered, barely conscious. The flickering light revealed a face he thought he’d never see again.

Bruised and torn, her hair matted with blood, the person in the cage was a ghost of who she once was. Yet, the eyes—those haunting, empty eyes—were unmistakable. They locked onto him, and for a moment, König froze.

He stepped closer, his weapon still raised but lowering slightly in disbelief. The woman in the cage was one of them. The experiments. He had thought her lost, like so many others.

“Mein Gott…” he whispered, his voice trembling. He took another step forward, his mind racing. “You’re one of the experiments.”

Her body was a twisted mockery of what it once was, but the eyes—those eyes held something familiar. He reached a trembling hand toward the bars, but hesitated, afraid this might be some cruel illusion.

“What did they do to you?” he asked softly, his voice rough with emotion.

The woman said nothing, just stared back at him with vacant eyes. The silence between them stretched on, as if the years between their last meeting had been swallowed by the darkness of this place.