Sparks of Madness

To give is noble, they often say,
But at what price does the giver pay?
If sacrifice leads to an empty heart,
Is it wholeness, or just falling apart?

---

“… Open!”

She completed her command with all her strength. As I lunged toward her, a massive charging pillar beneath me lifted me into the air. Luckily, as I threw myself forward, I ended up falling to the other side of the pillar. At the same time, all the glass around us shattered. The astrojet was firing all its weapons at our location.

In a quick motion, Aeon grabbed my body, slowing my fall slightly.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, thanks to you.”

After all my earlier thoughts, the fact that I was still alive sent my mind into a state of utter silence. My head felt like it was about to crash down. The pillar that had protected us at the last second was a special charging station used by robots. Its unique feature was its high-speed operation, designed to prevent any delays.

Using Aeon’s arms for support, I struggled to my feet. The astrojet was relentlessly firing at the pillar.

“Let’s get out of here!” I shouted to Aeon in panic. The astrojet was bombarding the area with sound waves and software-disabling laser beams. What puzzled me most was how Aeon seemed unaffected by any of it.

“No, we’re not leaving,” she said in a calm, thoughtful tone.

“What do you mean we’re not leaving? The pillar is crumbling by the second!”

“We’ll escape through the window.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me...”

Staring at her in shock, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. There wasn’t a single hint on her face that she is joking. The astrojet continued to bombard the pillar without pause. Sparks and debris reached our feet, and dust began to fill the air. Taking a deep breath, I realized I had no choice but to accept whatever was about to happen.

“Alright… how do we do it?”

“I need to see the astrojet to shut it down, but the moment we expose ourselves, our internal organs could be obliterated.”

Aeon was staring at the direction where the astrojet’s red laser reflections were coming from on the wall.

“So… we just wait for an opportunity?”

“No, I’ll expose myself.”
Her tone was flat, as if she were stating something entirely ordinary.

“W-what?
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and asked her to repeat it. The horrifying idea twisted in my gut, suffocating me.

“When I came to save you, I grabbed several injectors. Surely there are ones that can treat internal injuries or organ damage.”

“Aeon, this is madness! Absolute madness!”

“Do you have a better idea? The system already knows we’re here.”

“Damn it…”
I racked my brain for alternatives, but nothing came to mind. This couldn’t be the only solution.

“I’ll override the astrojet temporarily and bring it down. If anything happens to me, jump onto it and try to escape.”

“…”

Swallowing was difficult. When I turned back to Aeon, I noticed her hands trembling. Inside, I felt shattered. Despite all her help and her calm demeanor, she was still scared but trying not to show it. I’d had enough.

“Aeon, can you give the charging pillar an additional command?”
An idea had crossed my mind.

“I-I’m not sure, maybe…” She was examining the power unit with her eyes. Meanwhile, the noise outside intensified, and explosions began to echo from the walls inside.

“Create a connection command to the power unit.”

“What good will that do?”
Aeon looked at me in confusion.

“Just do it. Trust me.”
I wasn’t sure if my plan would work, but at least it might increase our chances of survival.

“Alright. Administrator Mode: Directive Request…”
The disintegrating pillar barely managed to produce a power injection piece. Now I had to act fast.

“When you see a spark, throw yourself outside. But keep your eyes half-closed.”

“O-okay.”

The unit brought the charging apparatus to my location. I took out the chip they had tried to implant in me. My plan was to create an overload and a short circuit. With enough energy, I could even cause a small explosion. It was the only distraction I could think of.

“Kaen…”
Aeon stared at me in astonishment.

The lights on the power unit began to blink. Energy transfer was about to start.

“Here we go…”
I tore off a piece of the makeshift sack we had made from my suit and placed it between my hand and the chip, hoping it would reduce the shock slightly.

As the energy transfer began, deafening warning signals blared. Shortly after, the system began to short-circuit one component after another due to the energy surge. The charging pillar, overwhelmed by unstable transmission, started to heat up and emit warnings. My hand began to tingle and burn, but compared to the possibility of death, this was nothing.

As the power surged uncontrollably, I resisted with all my strength. At one point, all I could think about was the unbearable pain coursing through my body. Aeon was standing ready in the meantime.

I started screaming from the pain. Either I would die first, or the explosion would happen. My muscles were locking up from the voltage.
“H-ha-hurry up a-already!”

The overheating charging pillar turned red, and smoke from the burning chip filled the air with a foul stench. Everything was at its limit—my body included.

 My consciousness began to fade. I had underestimated technology…

At that moment, a crackling sound erupted. Sparks rippled through the charging pillar. And then, in a brief flash—no longer than a second or two—an explosion released all the stored energy outward. The room turned blindingly white from the blast. As the voltage and explosion knocked me to the ground, I caught a glimpse of Aeon leaping outside just before I lost consciousness.

But something passed through her abdomen—a wave slicing right through. She was hit again. That was the last thing I saw before my eyes closed.

“Aeon…” I tried to speak, but my body refused to move.

When I finally regained a bit of awareness, the first things I noticed were my sister shouting my name and the sensation of the wind brushing against my battered body.

I opened my eyes to find myself lying on my back on something cold and hard, slowly descending alongside a massive building. Artificial lights pierced the darkness around us, dancing in the void. My entire body was wracked with pain but oddly felt at peace.

Of course, this building was the facility where we’d been held. And now, we were…
“Are we on top of the astrojet?”

I turned to Aeon with a voice full of shock and exhaustion. She hovered above me, her teary, frightened eyes locked on mine. 

“Yes." 
As her tears fell onto my face, she smiled—a mix of pain and relief.