Offered to the Triplet Alphas

Chapter-83. The First

[Xanthea] "Genocide..."

I blankly stared at Vincent as the word 'genocide' hung heavily in the air before it finally sliced through my bones like shards of glass.

One moment, I was numb and the next, thoughts stormed through my mind, crashing into the growing pit in my chest as he kept speaking.

"It was an experiment conducted on the entire population of the weak-bloods across all the nine packs of the Infernal realm..."

Vincent's deep voice grew darker with each word, his gaze distant, as if he were reliving a haunting memory.

"They didn't just kill them. They erased them. Every trace - gone. Nothing remained, not even their souls." His hand clenched into a fist on the table, knuckles white with tension. Karima swallowed hard, shifting uneasily in her seat.

"I-I-it's just an exaggerated story," she stammered. "Nothing like that ever really happened."

Vincent's gaze sharpened. "Then how do you explain the disappearance of an entire population?"

Karima shrank back, cowering under his intense scrutiny.

"True or not, it has nothing to do with us. So it doesn't matter," Karima frowned.

Vish leaned in, her voice low. "Medical practices in the Infernal realm aren't ethically regulated. Experiments on living subjects are normal here. But this... this experiment was so unimaginably horrifying that it shook the very foundation of evil itself. So, if it's true, it matters."

"Out of tens of thousands of weak-bloods, only one survived." Vincent's words were slow, his tone strained. "Just one."

His words resonated across the table. All of us exchanged restless glances with one another. I could feel my heart pound faster in my chest as I finally broke the deafening silence.

"Who? Who survived and what... what did they do to that person?" I asked, my voice quivering as I unconsciously made direct eye contact with Vincent.

"We don't know. We don't have to!" Karima's eyes darted around the room, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her shirt. "Stop it," she hissed, her voice barely more than a breath. "You don't know who's listening... we shouldn't even be talking about this."

Vincent's gaze flicked between Karima and me, his expression unreadable but cautious.

"No one knows the exact details, but rumors say he was the first and only weak blood to have activated his immortality genes, so they call him the First," he said, holding my gaze, his every word burying like a corpse in my chest. "Rumors also say that the First was just a kid. And he didn't just survive; he completed the experiment and then, once it was over, he massacred everyone involved, sssingle-handedly. And he's still out there, more monster than man. Honestly, anyone would have lost it after enduring such darkness," Vish said.

All the questions storming in my mind condensed into a single, desperate word: "Who?"

Vincent lowered his gaze and shook his head.

"We don't know. The identity of both the legendary healer who planned Forced Activation and the survivor who overcame it remain unknown till date. The records were destroyed, and anyone who dares speak about it vanishes. Forced activation wasn't a cure; it was a torture beyond a demon's endurance. Many lives were lost for nothing, way too many lives..." Vincent said absent-mindedly.

I took a tight gulp, feeling the knot in my stomach tighten.

"Stop talking as though it actually happened. These are just rumors. Just rumors ok?" Karima said, breathing heavily.

"There's no doubt that it happened. They just silenced everyone, erased all evidence, but they couldn't cover up the mass disappearance of weak bloods; the vacuum in our history; the imbalance in our realm and its aftershocks that were felt in the other realms," Vincent said darkly.

His aura pulsed with a subtle yet intense rage, making it clear that he harbored a more personal grievance and probably knew more about Forced Activation than he was letting on.

voice cracked, panic rising in her throat as she hugged herself tightly. "Did you forget what Professor Ashstone said? If they even suspect

yearned to seek more answers and keep seeking answers until I found out why such a thing was mentioned in my mother's diary. Not just

with half-hesitation and

bit early. It's nothing as dramatic as Karima makes it sound. He was an old

read about this experiment somewhere. Reading disturbing resssearch is his hobby. He wanted to know more about it, so we went

would be fun seeing the professor laugh these rumors off like we did. I thought I'd finally see my best buddy, Vincent, make a fool of himself, but professor Ashstone's panicked reaction was something else entirely. That was a hell of a day for us-" Claude let out a breath, which was a partial chuckle and

tone. "He didn't just warn us to shut our mouths. He cut our points, mixed some strange potion

wanted us to forget all about this," Vish said. "It was a mildly manipulated poison. We just pretended to

breaking. She wiped

scraping loudly against the floor

make ourselves noticeable. But if you keep acting like this, Karima, then they are coming for you first," Vish said in

deep breath, Vish continued, "panicking

emotion control is worse than a child's," said Lana, sitting proudly. "You should be ashamed

darted around the room, as if she was expecting some invisible forces to steal her life away. "Hey, relax," Claude chuckled. His voice was light, but there was a tightness around his eyes, like he didn't want to let the fear show. "It's just crazy demons doing crazy stuff. Nothing to fear; demons do crazy stuff all the time." He tried to

we promised we would never talk about it again, so you must promise us to never bring it up again or try to pry any further. Nothing good could come out of something as dark as that event," Karima said,

where did you hear about

heard of it somewhere..." I said,

you just hear somewhere-" Vincent narrowed his eyes

Can I see the article? I am sure it's not something you can access easily... somewhere... or conveniently know which professor to ask about it..." Vincent's eyes darkened at my words. Guess we both had secrets we were

begin. It's anatomy. I need to go search for my skeleton. Devil knows where he runs away all the time," Claude said, getting up from his chair. "See you guys in

for the full

have my genetics lessons. I'll get going as well. See you guys later," Karima said

my skeleton from my

"And mine is-"

turned to see the alive skeleton being helplessly dragged across the cafeteria floor with its leg

rushed over, attempting to pry Skelly free from his healing partner's grip. "How many times do I have to tell you? You can't eat Skelly,

as she watched Vincent engage in a frantic tug-of-war, trying to rescue Skelly from Cosmos'

far. That

Thanks! That would be really helpful," I said,

***

a bone meal, but in the end, which was right before the anatomy lecture began,

other skeletons, Skelly and Boredbones were the only well-behaved and calm

skeletons played pranks on the professor and ran across the lecture room, laughing creepily with their eerie, chattering teeth. They scared people by having their skulls

hall until the owners of those skeletons controlled them, by threatening

keep it to keep

so scared of

know why we are so behind in our

me. I didn't miss much. Thanks to the skeletons," I said, and both of us

with Vish, Vincent and Claude

to go smoothly as I blended in with the other students. However, once the regular lectures ended, the nagging concern for the two kids

had considered every reasonable idea I could think of to protect them, but none seemed practical. But I was sure of one thing: I could at no cost take them with me to the

cradling

triplets might do to me, to the kids, if they found out,

away from Zosha and here I was carrying her in

near the