Chapter 191 Death and resurrection

Chapter 191 Death and resurrection
Anya's POV

He stood up, and I watched Helson's body move with a grace that was utterly Victor's, and utterly wrong.
"I'm going to walk out of this facility," Victor continued, straightening Helson's shirt. "And no one will stop me because they'll see Helson, the loyal soldier, and I'll go directly to the Darklord, and I'll kill him using his own lover's body. And then—"
He paused. His hand moved to his chest, and his expression changed.
"What did you..." Victor started, but something was wrong. His breathing was becoming labored. His movements were jerky.
"Helson," I realized, understanding blooming. "What did you do?"
"I took control of my own biology," Helson's voice said, and it was completely his now. Completely himself. "Victor can control my consciousness, but he can't control the genetic modifications. I can shut down my own organs if I want to. I can poison my own blood."
Victor's eyes went wide, and Helson's body convulsed violently.
"No," Victor screamed, and now there was panic in his voice. "No, you're killing yourself, you're killing me."
"Yes," Helson replied, and there was a terrible peace in his voice. "I am."
His body collapsed, and I lunged forward, catching him before he hit the ground.
"Don't," I said. "Don't do this, there has to be another way."
"There isn't," Helson whispered, his breathing was already becoming shallow. "This is the only way to make sure he never hurts anyone again."
He reached up and touched my face, his hand still warm, still Helson's.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I have to leave you."
"No," I said, and I was crying now, holding him against me. "No, there has to be—"
But his eyes were already beginning to close. Victor's presence was fading as Helson's body shut down. The consciousness transfer chamber had destroyed Victor's original body, and now Helson was destroying the host body, taking Victor with him.
Both consciousnesses were dying.
"Anya," Helson whispered, his voice barely audible. "Promise me. Promise me you'll live. Promise me you'll be happy."
"I promise," I choked out. "I promise."
He smiled, and it was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen.
And then he was gone, I held his body for a long moment, unable to process what had just happened. Victor was dead, and Helson was dead. The consciousness transfer had been destroyed, and with it, any hope of understanding how to reverse what had been done.
I was still holding him when the guards burst through the doors.
When they saw me there, covered in Helson's blood, holding his corpse, their weapons came up, but I wasn't looking at them. I was looking past them, at the figure standing in the doorway.
The Darklord.
His eyes took in the scene with terrible understanding. He saw Helson's body and the consciousness transfer chamber.
"No," he said quietly.
"He's gone," I said. "He's really gone."
"We need to leave," he said finally. "The facility is in chaos. The backup systems are activating, and in minutes, this entire section will be sealed."
I didn't move, my entire body had gone numb.
The Darklord lifted me up, Helson's body falling from my arms.
"I'm sorry," he said, and he meant it. "I'm so sorry."
He carried me out of the chamber and into the corridors beyond, but as we were trying to escape, I heard a sound like electricity charging, it was the consciousness transfer chamber powering up again.
And then, from the chamber behind us, a voice, I heard Helson's voice, the voice behind us stopped us dead.
"Anya," Helson said. "Don't leave me."
The Darklord didn't hesitate, he pulled me faster down the corridor, his ancient body moving with inhuman speed.
"What is that?" I gasped.
"I don't know," the Darklord replied. "But we need to get out now."
Behind us, I heard footsteps, they were not the heavy boots of guards, but the lighter and faster footsteps of Helson moving with a speed that even Helson shouldn't have been capable of.
We burst through a corridor junction just as a blast of energy tore through the wall behind us. The consciousness transfer chamber was firing, and it targeted us.
The facility was in complete chaos now, the alarms were screaming. Guards running in different directions. The backup systems were coming online, and entire sections were sealing themselves to contain the damage.
"The maintenance tunnels," I said. "The soldier showed me—"
"No time," the Darklord interrupted. He stopped running and turned to face the corridor we'd just come from. "Get to the east exit, there's a vehicle waiting. Go."
"What are you doing?" I demanded.
"Buying you time," he replied.
Helson emerged from the corridor, and I barely recognized him. His body was covered in electrical burns, and his left eye was completely black. But he was smiling.
"Hello, Darklord," Helson said in a terrible voice. "I've been waiting for you."
The Darklord stepped forward, positioning himself between me and Helson.
"Anya, run," he commanded.
I ran, and behind me, I heard them collide. The sound of powers clashing, and the facility shook from the impact.
I ran through corridors that were collapsing, through sections that were sealing behind me. Guards tried to stop me, but I moved with a desperation that transcended training, I wasn't thinking, I was just moving forward.
The east exit was exactly where the soldier had said it would be. A vehicle was waiting with the engine running, and the driver ready.
"Get in," the driver said. It was Marcus.
"The Darklord," I said. "He's still—"
"He told me to get you out," Marcus replied firmly. "Get in. Now."
I threw myself into the vehicle, and Marcus gunned the engine. We tore through the facility's underground garage, heading toward the exit tunnel.
Behind us, I could hear the heavy sounds of combat, explosions and power surges from the Darklord and whatever Helson had become, locked in battle.
"He's not coming," Marcus said quietly.
"He has to," I replied. "He has to come."
We burst out of the facility into open air. The vehicle accelerated, putting distance between us and the compound. In the rearview mirror, I could see the facility's lights flickering, sections collapsing inward.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Safe house," Marcus replied. "About forty kilometers north, the Darklord set it up weeks ago, in case everything went wrong."
"Everything went wrong," I said.
"Yeah," Marcus agreed. "It did."
We drove in silence for several minutes. I kept looking back, hoping to see the Darklord following us, hoping that his power was enough to defeat whatever Helson had become, but the facility was far behind us now, and he wasn't following.