This was very strange to Altair. Liam was acting completely almost completely different from when she had first encountered him in the Recovery Room. Back then, he had been far more malicious with his words and actions, seemingly to deliberately go out of his way just to torment her. He also didn't care at all for any information she had and only spoke his mind on his questions and quickly following them up with his own desire to find the answers.
Now he suddenly wants the answers to his questions straight from her?
It felt very off for him to do that. It was like he wasn't the same person yet he still knew the same things.
Altair narrowed her eyes at him and went silent for a moment. *Liam* frowned at her and crossed his lower arms. He then went on to say, "Well, I guess that's it then. No more going outside while its ra-"
Altair interrupted him with a question of her own, "Who are you?"
*Liam* immediately shut his mouth and looked at her with an inquisitive gaze. He then slowly stated for emphasis, "I am Liam Gonlefol, of course. What do I look like? Someone else?"
Altair nodded her head slowly as if she agreed with his words, "You do look just like him."
'There's no way,' Altair thought to herself. 'He wouldn't say it so strangely if he really was Liam. So, who is he then?' Altair's thoughts drifted towards the warning that Liam had given her back in the Recovery Room.
"…If this gets out, you can beat that you'll be dissected slowly, in agony, until everything about your body is known. And when you beg for death, they will ignore it. You will be used to try and breed more of your kind for further experimentation. Once they have another female produced, you will be disposed of if you're lucky…"
Altair's eyes darkened slightly as a plan to confirm if he was really Liam came to her mind. She had to make sure that it wasn't just a gut feeling. He did have one of the samples that Liam had actually cut from her, after all. And he seemed to have found out about the rain's effects on it. He could also, seemingly, affect her body with his Spiritual Self. She hadn't seen anyone else able to do that yet. Then again, she hadn't seen anyone do much of anything with their Spiritual Self, so that wasn't really much to go by.
Altair sighed exaggeratedly before she said, "Ok. I'll tell you. But it can't be here. You told me yourself that this room isn't private."
Liam's frown seemed to deepen as he gazed at her. He then sighed in return and said, "Alright, we'll continue this discussion in my office. Let's go now then." He then stood up from the chair and started walking towards the door.
Altair didn't move from the bed and only followed him with her eyes, 'So he is an imposter.'
The fake Liam looked exactly like the Liam from her memories. However, he was ultimately an alien humanoid to her. He was also the only one of his kind that she had seen. There was no chance of her being able to spot any small differences between members of the Thradii race with just a glance.
The fake Liam noticed that she wasn't following him when he was halfway through the room. He turned around and asked in an annoyed tone, "Why aren't you coming?"
Altair shook her head sadly before she said, "I can't move my legs."
The fake Liam's brow rose slightly as he asked, "What do you mean you can't move your legs? Are you unable to feel them or something?"
Altair gave him a complicated expression before she hesitantly replied, "I-I can feel my legs but they just won't move." As if she was trying to defend herself she quickly continued, "Aren't you the Healer here? Don't you know the reason?"
The fake Liam sighed lightly before he walked back over the bed and said, "I will check when we get to my office. I'll just carry you there."
That was another point that showed that he was an imposter to Altair. Altair believed that the real Liam would never bother to carry her. He would rather drag her on the ground even if she was injured, or so she thought. She was now completely convinced that he was an imposter.
She also couldn't believe that this person was dumb enough to fall for her plan so perfectly so far as well.
The fake Liam got to the bed then turned away from her and kneeled down, exposing his back to her. He then said, "Get on."
Altair felt tempted to attack then but held herself back. She wanted to lower his guard a bit while also increasing his focus on his act. If she acted now and his guard was anywhere near being up against her, as she assumed it was due to her previous question, then she wouldn't be able to finish her plan. She didn't know the limits of that strange power these people had, after all. So she wanted to finish it in one clean and precise move.
She gave him the biggest frown she could and while asking, "What are you doing? Carry me like you did before."
At her words, the fake Liam's body twitched slightly. Altair caught the near imperceptible movement by him and grinned in her mind, 'Good. Focus more there. Your end will happen before you even know what's happening.'
The fake Liam coughed awkwardly before he stood up and turned around to face Altair. Altair gave him a hint by opening her arms in a hugging motion toward him, which the fake Liam took immediately. He lifted her up like she was a young child and carried her to his chest, where he wrapped his upper arms around her back and kept his lower arms below her to stabilize her completely.
Altair nodded approvingly towards him before she rested her chin on his shoulder while looking behind him, acting completely docile as she then wrapped her arms around his neck.
The fake Liam started to carry her towards the door at a slightly quicker pace. Altair wouldn't have noticed it if she wasn't on her guard towards him.
Halfway across the room she started to burn her Mana while she made a stretching motion with her arms around him. She created two daggers with larger blades in her hands and, in the same moment, quickly stabbed them into the fake Liam's spine.
The fake Liam's body jolted briefly as a blue liquid shot out from his wounds. Contrary to what Altair thought would happen, the fake Liam did not fall to his legs as would normally happen.
Instead, the fake Liam slowly turned his head towards her and peered at her with lifeless eyes. Altair felt a chill run down her spine as her own expression showed clear shock on it.
The fake Liam asked, "You are good at acting. But you are not strong enough to stop me from taking you with me."
Altair's shocked expression faded immediately upon hearing those words. Now wasn't the time to be surprised by this man. Now was the time to continue striking him.
She burned more of her Mana to create more weapons to stab into him and, at the same time, her body was wracked with the pain that she had felt when she woke up. It caused her to gasp loudly as her concentration was interrupted.
The fake Liam brought a hand up towards Altair. That hand then split open revealing its metallic insides and a long syringe that was hidden in its center.
Upon seeing it, Altair began to fiercely struggle in his grasp but it felt like she was being held still by hundreds of people all at once. She couldn't move at all. She even burned her Mana at an extreme rate that she would have if she had access to all of her Mana and yet it was completely useless.
She panicked upon realizing that she had gravely underestimated this person before her. And then the needle stuck into her neck and a clear liquid was injected into her body.
Her entire body immediately went limp in the fake Liam's hands. She couldn't even make a sound, let alone speak. The shadow daggers that were in Liam's back dissipated into air in the next moment as she was just wasting Mana on them at this point.
'What the hell is wrong with me? What did he just inject me with?'
The fake Liam then squared his shoulders as his hand reverted back to normal and continued to walk towards the door. He then said, "If you think that the other people here will notice the differences you are placing your hope too high. I have been here for over a month and no one has noticed anything wrong."
Dread descended upon Altair like a waterfall when she heard that.
This was very strange to Altair. Liam was acting completely almost completely different from when she had first encountered him in the Recovery Room. Back then, he had been far more malicious with his words and actions, seemingly to deliberately go out of his way just to torment her. He also didn't care at all for any information she had and only spoke his mind on his questions and quickly following them up with his own desire to find the answers.
Now he suddenly wants the answers to his questions straight from her?
It felt very off for him to do that. It was like he wasn't the same person yet he still knew the same things.
Altair narrowed her eyes at him and went silent for a moment. *Liam* frowned at her and crossed his lower arms. He then went on to say, "Well, I guess that's it then. No more going outside while its ra-"
Altair interrupted him with a question of her own, "Who are you?"
*Liam* immediately shut his mouth and looked at her with an inquisitive gaze. He then slowly stated for emphasis, "I am Liam Gonlefol, of course. What do I look like? Someone else?"
Altair nodded her head slowly as if she agreed with his words, "You do look just like him."
'There's no way,' Altair thought to herself. 'He wouldn't say it so strangely if he really was Liam. So, who is he then?' Altair's thoughts drifted towards the warning that Liam had given her back in the Recovery Room.
"…If this gets out, you can beat that you'll be dissected slowly, in agony, until everything about your body is known. And when you beg for death, they will ignore it. You will be used to try and breed more of your kind for further experimentation. Once they have another female produced, you will be disposed of if you're lucky…"
Altair's eyes darkened slightly as a plan to confirm if he was really Liam came to her mind. She had to make sure that it wasn't just a gut feeling. He did have one of the samples that Liam had actually cut from her, after all. And he seemed to have found out about the rain's effects on it. He could also, seemingly, affect her body with his Spiritual Self. She hadn't seen anyone else able to do that yet. Then again, she hadn't seen anyone do much of anything with their Spiritual Self, so that wasn't really much to go by.
Altair sighed exaggeratedly before she said, "Ok. I'll tell you. But it can't be here. You told me yourself that this room isn't private."
Liam's frown seemed to deepen as he gazed at her. He then sighed in return and said, "Alright, we'll continue this discussion in my office. Let's go now then." He then stood up from the chair and started walking towards the door.
Altair didn't move from the bed and only followed him with her eyes, 'So he is an imposter.'
The fake Liam looked exactly like the Liam from her memories. However, he was ultimately an alien humanoid to her. He was also the only one of his kind that she had seen. There was no chance of her being able to spot any small differences between members of the Thradii race with just a glance.
The fake Liam noticed that she wasn't following him when he was halfway through the room. He turned around and asked in an annoyed tone, "Why aren't you coming?"
Altair shook her head sadly before she said, "I can't move my legs."
The fake Liam's brow rose slightly as he asked, "What do you mean you can't move your legs? Are you unable to feel them or something?"
Altair gave him a complicated expression before she hesitantly replied, "I-I can feel my legs but they just won't move." As if she was trying to defend herself she quickly continued, "Aren't you the Healer here? Don't you know the reason?"
The fake Liam sighed lightly before he walked back over the bed and said, "I will check when we get to my office. I'll just carry you there."
That was another point that showed that he was an imposter to Altair. Altair believed that the real Liam would never bother to carry her. He would rather drag her on the ground even if she was injured, or so she thought. She was now completely convinced that he was an imposter.
She also couldn't believe that this person was dumb enough to fall for her plan so perfectly so far as well.
The fake Liam got to the bed then turned away from her and kneeled down, exposing his back to her. He then said, "Get on."
Altair felt tempted to attack then but held herself back. She wanted to lower his guard a bit while also increasing his focus on his act. If she acted now and his guard was anywhere near being up against her, as she assumed it was due to her previous question, then she wouldn't be able to finish her plan. She didn't know the limits of that strange power these people had, after all. So she wanted to finish it in one clean and precise move.
She gave him the biggest frown she could and while asking, "What are you doing? Carry me like you did before."
At her words, the fake Liam's body twitched slightly. Altair caught the near imperceptible movement by him and grinned in her mind, 'Good. Focus more there. Your end will happen before you even know what's happening.'
The fake Liam coughed awkwardly before he stood up and turned around to face Altair. Altair gave him a hint by opening her arms in a hugging motion toward him, which the fake Liam took immediately. He lifted her up like she was a young child and carried her to his chest, where he wrapped his upper arms around her back and kept his lower arms below her to stabilize her completely.
Altair nodded approvingly towards him before she rested her chin on his shoulder while looking behind him, acting completely docile as she then wrapped her arms around his neck.
The fake Liam started to carry her towards the door at a slightly quicker pace. Altair wouldn't have noticed it if she wasn't on her guard towards him.
Halfway across the room she started to burn her Mana while she made a stretching motion with her arms around him. She created two daggers with larger blades in her hands and, in the same moment, quickly stabbed them into the fake Liam's spine.
The fake Liam's body jolted briefly as a blue liquid shot out from his wounds. Contrary to what Altair thought would happen, the fake Liam did not fall to his legs as would normally happen.
Instead, the fake Liam slowly turned his head towards her and peered at her with lifeless eyes. Altair felt a chill run down her spine as her own expression showed clear shock on it.
The fake Liam asked, "You are good at acting. But you are not strong enough to stop me from taking you with me."
Altair's shocked expression faded immediately upon hearing those words. Now wasn't the time to be surprised by this man. Now was the time to continue striking him.
She burned more of her Mana to create more weapons to stab into him and, at the same time, her body was wracked with the pain that she had felt when she woke up. It caused her to gasp loudly as her concentration was interrupted.
The fake Liam brought a hand up towards Altair. That hand then split open revealing its metallic insides and a long syringe that was hidden in its center.
Upon seeing it, Altair began to fiercely struggle in his grasp but it felt like she was being held still by hundreds of people all at once. She couldn't move at all. She even burned her Mana at an extreme rate that she would have if she had access to all of her Mana and yet it was completely useless.
She panicked upon realizing that she had gravely underestimated this person before her. And then the needle stuck into her neck and a clear liquid was injected into her body.
Her entire body immediately went limp in the fake Liam's hands. She couldn't even make a sound, let alone speak. The shadow daggers that were in Liam's back dissipated into air in the next moment as she was just wasting Mana on them at this point.
'What the hell is wrong with me? What did he just inject me with?'
The fake Liam then squared his shoulders as his hand reverted back to normal and continued to walk towards the door. He then said, "If you think that the other people here will notice the differences you are placing your hope too high. I have been here for over a month and no one has noticed anything wrong."
Dread descended upon Altair like a waterfall when she heard that.
