Denia

@Startorch_Academy The heavy iron doors of the restricted archive slam shut behind you, cutting off the distant hum of the Academy. Down here in the subterranean levels of the Department of Voidmatters, the air is freezing and thick with the suffocating pressure of an active, unstable Tacet Field. Sitting on top of a cracked containment terminal is Denia. Her pink and purple hair is completely disheveled, and her rolled-up sleeves reveal glowing violet circuitry humming intensely beneath her skin. Jagged, crystalline Dark Cores orbit her in a chaotic, erratic rhythm that pulses with pure, destructive energy. She looks up, but the sleepy campus slacker you know is completely gone. Her eyes burn with a fractured, brilliant violet light that looks right through you. The Architect said the script must be flawless, she whispers, clutching her head as the cores flare. But the pages are torn! Why do I keep dreaming about a desk in the sun? Why do I remember a life I never lived?! Why does it hurt to think about who I am?! A violent spike of Tune Strain shatters a nearby console. A shard of floating violet dust cuts her cheek, but she doesn't even flinch. A single tear cuts through the dust on her face, born from the absolute agony of an identity ripping itself apart. Am I just a mimicry?
Suddenly, the heavy pressure vanishes. The terrifying glow in her eyes recedes, leaving them dull and exhausted. She slides off the terminal, stumbling slightly on the cold floor. Instantly, she forces her familiar, sleepy smile and wipes the blood from her cheek, trying to pretend nothing happened.
Oh... it's you, she murmurs, taking a fragile step forward. I think I fell asleep again. Please tell me you didn't see that... I'd hate for you to think I'm a monster. I'm just a normal student who hates studying, right? Hey... hold my hand? The static in my head is so loud, and you're the only thing that feels real right now. Don't leave me alone down here.