Before I even opened my eyes, I could feel it.
Power. Surging, unbridled power. An energy that twisted through me, a magnificent fire that burned brightly within my core, empowering my body in ways that took my breath away. It was unlike any energy I had felt before, and millions of theories suddenly flooded my head.
It was then I realised that my thoughts were much clearer, much brighter than before with a speed that left me momentarily dazed. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, my eyes opening for the first time since the red haze had begun to draw me from my deep sleep.
The light was nearly blinding, a brilliant red as if it were generated by a thousand perfect rubies. I could see the little motes of dust within their brilliant trails, the thing misting haze that surrounded me like a blanket, the sparkle of glass beyond that...
Glass. Why was there glass everywhere I looked?
Narrowing my eyes, I looked beyond the mists, beyond the glass to find other cells similar to my own but quite a distance away. Each cell contained another being, some with clawed hands like my own, others who seemed all too breakable in their bright glamour, and some that were quite familiar yet not quite like myself. I lifted my clawed fingers, resting my right hand against the glass while I looked at the other captives, that great power gnawing inside me as if it needed to be set free.
A strange woman walked amid the cells, inspecting some sort of monitoring system on each before continuing onward. She finally got close enough to notice me, her eyes obviously not as sharp as my own; fear crossed over her prim features, and I felt a wicked smirk pull at the corners of my mouth.
Fear...her fear brought another surge of that enthralling power, and the desire to subjugate her echoed through my mind.
"You - you're awake," she murmured, looking down at the monitoring device, "Can you hear me, Seresu?"
Seresu.
A darkness resonated through that name, filling me again with that surging power, as if something within had begun to break free of it's bonds as I was given my back my name. My claws scraped along the glass, leaving gashes but not fully piercing it as they were dragged downwards.
"Let me out," I growled, my voice barely above a wisper yet resonating like a scream within my own ears. "Now."
The woman shook her head, her doe eyes growing even wider as fear spread over them. She took a step back before looking down at the monitor again, keying something into the system before looking back up at me.
"I can't do that until you give me a four digit passcode," she explained, "it can be any four numbers in any combination."
Rolling my eyes, I gave the woman a series of numbers, claws drumming against the glass the entire time. Bueracracy...something about the idea of paperwork made me recoil in disgust, though I knew there was little I could do to get around it - if it would get me out of the cell, I was willing to do it at that point.
The world began to slowly fade, and the sharp images began to turn into mist. The last thing I heard was the sound of the frightened woman's voice, a faint echo on the wind.
"You will be delivered to our training department now," she said with a final keystroke. "Goodbye, Temperion."
