Chapter 23. The Empty Shell

  Leonel, Ethan, and Stan stood around their captive, studying him carefully. The puppet writhed in the net but didn’t resist. He looked almost human, but his facial features were blurred, as if unfinished.

  — Who are you? — Leonel asked sharply.

  The puppet remained silent.

  — Speak, or we’ll have to use force, — Ethan added, clenching his fist.

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  But the prisoner didn’t even flinch. He simply raised his hand, revealing a word burned into his skin: "Beligor."

  — Is that your name? — Stan asked.

  The puppet blinked but didn’t answer.

  — He’s... empty, — Leonel said quietly. — Just a shell, a tool. He has no will of his own.

  — But he was following orders, so he must know something! — Stan protested.

  — Unlikely, — Ethan said thoughtfully. — He’s probably just a transmitter. He does what he’s told but doesn’t understand why.

  Leonel looked into Beligor’s hollow eyes.

  — Do you even realize you exist?

  The puppet slowly turned its head toward him.

  — I don’t care, — came the hollow voice, as if echoing from somewhere far away.

  The words were so devoid of life that even Stan fell silent.

  — He truly knows nothing, — Leonel admitted with bitterness.

  Ethan clenched his jaw.

  — Then we need to find out

  who created him—and why he’s here.