After four minutes – or maybe just seconds? – I felt my body regaining its function. Every nerve seemed suddenly synchronized, every cell charged with something I couldn’t name. The pain vanished. The weight disappeared. I felt... stronger than ever before. The aura vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. The warmth evaporated. I was myself again – or perhaps... not quite?

The woman hadn’t moved. Her gaze was focused, serious, almost analytical. Finally, she spoke – her voice cold, but not hostile:

“Stand up…”

I obeyed. My body moved with astonishing ease, as if it had forgotten all its injuries. My muscles worked effortlessly, joints pain-free. I stood and looked around. Only then did the destruction strike me.

It had been a laboratory. Or rather, what was left of one. Pipes jutted from shattered walls. Broken glass. Burned cables hanging like dead snakes. As if something had passed through – something powerful. Uncontrollable.

“What happened here?” I asked in disbelief, my voice echoing off the twisted metal surfaces.

The woman looked at me as if she could see through my soul. Her gaze was calm but unreadable.

“You did this. And YOU are responsible.”

“Me? But… that’s impossible!”

“Didn’t Eonabsolad explain anything to you? He told you everything about your powers… your abilities. That energy burst… it was only the beginning.”

I froze.

“How do you know all this? …Wait… You’re… Feya?”

A smile appeared on her face – not warm, but approving. As if a test had just ended, and I had passed. Maybe not with honors, but well enough to move on.

“I see you’re learning fast, Aiden…” she said calmly. “Now… it’s time to see if you’re more than just cannon fodder.”

“How?” I asked hesitantly.

“Two doctors are already waiting. They’ll escort you to the entity… known as the Plague Doctor.”

I hesitated. My heart was beating faster. I had no choice. I sighed and nodded. We left the room. Sure enough – two scientists in white lab coats were waiting outside the door. They silently walked ahead. Their faces were expressionless, devoid of emotion. As if made of wax. Artificial. Exhausted.

We passed through several corridors – metal walls, cameras, heavy doors, the cold light of fluorescents casting shadows where there shouldn’t be any. We passed more and more sections marked with letters and numbers, and each step seemed to bring me closer to something inevitable.

Finally, we stopped in front of a door with the inscription:

SCP-049

The metal letters seemed to tremble with internal tension, as if they were trying to warn me of what waited behind.

The scientists moved into the observation room behind thick glass. One of them spoke through a speaker:

“Aiden… Please, step inside.”

The door opened with a hiss, releasing a cloud of cold air, as if the cell itself breathed it.

I stepped inside.

The door slammed shut behind me with a metallic thud.

The cell appeared empty at first glance. A single lamp, concrete walls. But the air… tasted different. Heavier. Thicker. With every passing second, my breath grew shallower, as if the air was filtered through thousands of memories.

And then I saw him.

A figure stood in the corner. A man – or something merely wearing the shape of one. He stood about 190 centimeters tall. Clad in a long, black cloak with a hood, resembling the garments of plague doctors from the past. The fabric seemed to move independently of his body, as if it had a life of its own. But the mask… it wasn’t ordinary. It wasn’t made of leather or metal. It looked carved from bone. Or perhaps something… even older.

Its surface was etched with tiny runes, so ancient I couldn’t identify them. The eyes of the mask were black, glossy like glass, yet I felt something – someone – staring from within those empty sockets. He hadn’t moved. But his presence was overwhelming.