Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

I went to the Coleman residence alone. I didn’t let Dexter tag along. We couldn’t possibly reach a consensus if he was present.

Leaning against my crutch, I gradually walked toward the household garden.

In the days following the accident, I became incredibly familiar with this garden. From my memory, Sophia could never gain Damien’s trust or approval. Hence, she would constantly end up crying here.

"Ms. Miller." Sally, one of the Colemans’ maids, was still in the household. She approached me as soon as she saw me.

I was slightly surprised. Damien knew that Sally was potentially working under Peter. Why would he still keep her around?

What was he trying to do?

Was this intentional? Was he using her to spy on his mother?

"I want to see Damien, Sally," I said softly.

She turned and looked toward the living room. "Mrs. Coleman has been waiting for you, Ms. Miller."

I frowned and followed her gaze. Mrs. Coleman was waiting as though she’d anticipated my arrival.

She seemed to be extremely aware of the police force’s activities. She knew that they wanted to use her son in order to further investigate the labs.

"Ms. Miller." As soon as I stepped into the room, she greeted me with a smile before gesturing for me to sit.

Afterward, she said again, "Perhaps I should call you Sophia instead."

I frowned and didn’t respond.

"When I found out that you’d reincarnated in a different body, I was extremely ecstatic." She looked at me with a crazed look of excitement.

"When Dexter Black first presented his theory on reincarnation, I honestly didn’t believe him. But I had hope and an aspiration. I wanted modern science to be able to change our present circumstances. I prayed for advancement," she explained with a smile.

Then, she continued, "When I look at you, Sophia, I see a perfect miracle. I see hope. Perhaps in the future... souls really can be reincarnated into a cloned body with all their memories intact."

I looked at her with a grim expression. This crazy side of her was new. Prior to this, I had never detected anything that was amiss.

What a brilliant actress.

"None of those idiots believed in that theory. They all thought that Dexter’s proposition was baseless and impossible. They also thought that Joel was just in on the lie.

"But me, I believed Dexter. I believed that Joel was reincarnated. The only thing missing from our experiment was conclusive evidence, but now, we have you."

She started laughing maniacally.

"Dexter is a genius. It’s just unfortunate that you can’t really tell him what to do. Joel was his only argument, and he refused to create a second subject. Since he cared so much about you, I could only try to force his hand..."

I stared at her in shock. My reincarnation was an experiment that she forced Dexter to conduct?

"I believed that he could do it. That was why your death was a necessity." The tone of her voice grew solemn.

"You’re a member of Genome Society, but the ones that killed me were from the Rebels..." I frowned in confusion.

"You’re still not as smart as Dexter is." She laughed. "God shapes the universe with his invisible hands. I don’t need to be a Rebel, I just need to use them to get what I want."

She continued, "Everything has fallen into place. You’re my most perfect subject."

Mrs. Coleman was comparing herself to God. She was actually a madwoman.

"Where’s the lab?" I stared at her with a guarded look.

She only laughed in response. There was no way she’d tell me where it was.

"Nancy, that idiot. All she cared about was preserving the genes. She assumed that genome edited people would produce flawless children.

"As the subjects continued to reproduce for generations to come, the children would eventually become the closest they could get to perfection."

Mrs. Coleman changed the topic. She was now talking about Nancy’s aspirations.

Every laboratory had its own field of research.

Nancy wanted the subjects to reproduce through natural means and give birth to healthy children. The subject that escaped with a baby was part of the experiment that she wanted to complete.

"How was that profitable? Rich people are all selfish. Those from the upper class want to be immortal. They want to have a younger body before their current one turns old and gray." She turned to look at me. That’s why my research is the best."

It was also the most profitable.

Reincarnation practically disposed of the veil between God and the common man.

"Genetics have remained an unsolved scientific mystery for years. Only a handful had managed to crack the code, and they all turned into believers of God. Do you know why?

"Was it really a God that they believed in? No, it was the creator of this world. It was the origin of mankind, the true meaning of genetics, as well as the secrets of a soul and its vessel."

Mrs. Coleman spoke as if she was on the brink of madness. Then, she laughed as she showed me the decorations around the living room. I didn’t think much of them before, but they now appeared eerie and disturbing.

"This frame was constructed from human bones while the canvas of the painting is human skin." She pointed at a display.

If she hadn’t pointed it out, no one would know that it was such a sadistic piece of artwork.

"When people die, the body is merely a display. Set it to flames and it’ll turn into nothing but ashes. What’s truly remarkable is the human soul.

"The key lies in the genome. As long as we crack the genetic code, we’ll be able to fully achieve reincarnation."

If someone was able to reincarnate as many times as they wanted, they would have technically achieved immortality.

"Breaking the laws of nature often comes with a steep price," I warned grimly.

"For the last thousands of years, has human civilization been adhering to how things naturally were? No! We’ve been making changes.

"Years ago, not a single person imagined that they could be flying on airplanes, and they were foolish to think so! Modern science requires constant advancement. If you want to see progress in the medical field, you’ll have to be willing to take risks and make sacrifices!"

Mrs. Coleman exclaimed emotionally as she stared at me.

I didn’t offer any rebuttals in response. I had nothing to say.

"All of you are ignorant fools..." After she was done with her heated argument, she’d probably gotten thirsty. She sat down and continued drinking her tea.

I sat on the opposite of her and scanned my surroundings alertly. If Damien was free to move about, he’d be out here by now. It was clear that he’d been locked up.

"If Nancy’s laboratory was used for research on reproduction, what about the cruise? What were they researching in that lab?" I wanted to know.

"Mutants." Her lips curved into a smile. "That ship belonged to a madman from Melovia. He was studying genetic mutation."

"What does mutation mean?" For some reason, I felt a sharp pain in my heart.

Ashton and Xandra.

"Mutants are uncontrollable variables that originate from perfect genomes. They’re extremely skilled at pretending. Everything that you see on the surface may be nothing but a guise."

"They can survive even in the worst conditions. Their survival skills and mental capabilities are close to perfection. However, the more ’perfect’ something seems, the more flaws it actually has."

"Because they’re uncontrollable, no one is able to read their thoughts. The foreign madman was trying to create a weapon of war..."

It was because individuals like that would be near-invincible spies.