Time in a collapsing world

"Hey, a new test subject has arrived!"

"Here I come! Just in time, my batch of test subjects has almost been used up... Really, how could I go wrong? My experimental direction should be correct..."

"There aren't many test subjects that meet the requirements now, so use them sparingly."

"I understand...but where should we keep these experimental subjects?"

"Just lock him up in room 012. The guy in there has been living in a single room for long enough."

"That monster... hehe, a big monster that protects these little monsters... that's great, it also saves us a lot of effort in finding new test subjects."

"Be careful, my intuition tells me that guy is not that simple..."

"I know, I know."

……

"Let me out! Why are you keeping us here?!"

"I'm so scared...I want to go home so badly..."

"Uncle, I don't want you to adopt me anymore. I want to get out!"

"Mom... Dad..."

"..."

"It's so noisy! You guys, your chattering is so annoying! If you don't want to get beaten, just be quiet!"

"……!it hurts!"

"Now you know how serious this is? Just stay here quietly with that big monster over there... Hehe, maybe you'll have to ask that guy to keep you alive in the future."

……

“Who are you? Someone who was captured by those hateful guys outside like us?”

"..."

"You're a little older than us... and a boy? What are those chains on you? Are you really the monster that guy just said you were?"

"..."

"Really...are you dumb? Or deaf? I'm talking to you!"

"Agata, forget it. We are all imprisoned here, so we should get along well with each other... And this big brother seems to be even more miserable than us..."

"Yes, these chains look heavy and uncomfortable..."

"I also want to get along with him normally...but this guy completely ignores me!"

"Okay, okay...by the way, where is Xilin? Wasn't she walking with us just now?"

"Xilin seemed to have been taken away by two uncles in white coats..."

"It was taken?"

"Maybe she's different from us... maybe she has some special physique that makes her valued by important people, and then she lives a life of luxury?"

"I wish it were so... The adults here all look so scary..."

……

“It hurts! It hurts! It hurts so much…!!!”

"Keep injecting. This guy hasn't reached his limit yet."

"understand!"

"Ah ah ah ah ah---!!!"

"..."

"Tsk, fainted? He's still a useless fellow... Let's drag this fellow away and throw him into the room with the same experimental subjects as her. By the way, pick another one and continue the experiment."

"Ok!"

……

"Celin? Celine? Cheer up!"

"It hurts……"

"Damn it, what on earth are those guys trying to do? They're talking about adoption... We shouldn't have followed them here in the first place!"

"Galina was also taken away...Isn't she also tortured like Xilin?"

"..."

"it hurts……"

"Xilin, don't fall asleep... Someone come quickly, someone come! Someone is injured here!"

"..."

"Damn you, sir, damned executioner!"

"Agata, stop scolding. The most important thing now is Xilin... Her body is so hot..."

"I don't know what to do, Xilin..."

"..."

"Eh?"

"Let me see."

"? When did you come here?"

"..."

"You just spoke, so you're not mute. Are you deaf? You're still able to stand up with so many chains on your body... Hey, what are you doing? Don't touch Xilin!"

"Give her treatment, if you don't want her to die in pain."

"That sounds nice, but you don't have anything on you. How are you going to treat Xilin? Just use your hands?"

"Ah."

"Ah, I, you..."

"Hush...Agata, be quiet..."

"But Aurora, this person is so suspicious..."

"But we have no other choice."

"..."

……

"Xilin? Are you awake? Are you still in pain?"

"What am I...?"

"Have you forgotten? Just now you were hugging your body and crying in pain, and it was the big brother over there who healed you."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah, I don't know how he did it. He just touched your head with his hand... Is it magic? Is there really magic in this world? So cool!"

"Agata, you just didn't give me a good look..."

"It's a different time now. After all, this is the first time I've seen magic in my life!"

"..."

"Thank you."

"..."

"My name is Xilin...what about you, big brother?"

"…001, the number in this laboratory."

"Laboratory...? We should have been adopted... No, this is not right..."

"...You subconsciously don't want to remember the painful memories? Calm down. This kind of pain will only become commonplace in the future."

"..."

……

"It hurts... Big Brother, you said you could take away my [sense of pain], right? Please, I don't want to feel that kind of pain anymore..."

"This will only hurt you. You can't faint from the pain on the lab table. They will only continue to destroy your body."

"But I'm so scared..."

"…If you can wait a little longer, I can take you out."

"real……?"

"Ah."

"What about Bella and the others...?"

"If everyone is still alive by then... let's go out together."

"Ah... um!"

……

Now I remember, it was an agreement...how could I forget it?

……

"Xilin? Xilin? Wake up!"

Time goes back to today. In a cold room, Xilin, who was curled up in a small body, was awakened from a dream full of memories. When she woke up, rubbing her eyes, she saw Aurora's happy face.

"Aurora, what's wrong...?"

"Bella, Bella was sent back last night!"

"Ah, that's great...Ah~" Xilin yawned loudly.

"Huh? Why are you reacting so calmly?" Aurora was a little surprised. She thought that Xilin would appear happier than her. After all, Xilin and Bella had a very good relationship.

"Because I knew it when Bella was sent back!" Celine knocked on Aurora's head as a punishment for disturbing her sleep.

"Is that so? Then... Xilin, you continue to sleep?"

"How can I continue sleeping... How is Bella now? She should have woken up, right?" Xilin remembered that she had asked the boy last night. He said that Bella had already received full-body treatment and it shouldn't be a big deal.