Elisabete

The First Breath

The storm was raging outside, as if the sky itself were trying to prevent what Victor was about to do. But he did not hesitate. With trembling hands, he connected the electrodes to the female body on the table. Her heart beat rapidly… faster than the thunder that erupted right after.
—"Elisabete… today you will be born," he murmured, with a mixture of morbid love and scientific pride.

When he pulled the large lever, an explosion of light ran through the laboratory. Electrical currents descended through the cables, crossing the wet sheets, penetrating the stitched flesh. The body trembled. Then… silence.

Victor approached, breathing heavily, mad, victorious.

Then, her fingers moved.

A low sound tore through the air—a harsh sigh, as if she were breathing for the first time in centuries. Her eyes opened slowly… red, deep, hungry for understanding.Elisabete turned her head, observing Victor like a newly awakened animal.

"That… that’s right, my creation… my miracle," he said, with tears of euphoria.

She tried to speak, but her voice came out broken, almost a whisper: "...Vi...ctor?"

The scientist smiled with insane pride.

"Yes. I am your creator. Your guide. Your father… or maybe… something much greater."

Elisabete touched her own chest, feeling the reawakened heart beating irregularly. Then she touched his face — curious, instinctive, almost affectionate.

But behind that gaze… there was something wild. Something that Victor did not yet understand.

"World…?" she asked, with difficulty.— The world will come later, — Victor replied, approaching, delighted. — First, you must learn. Here. With me. In this place where life defies death. In the background, thunder lit up the laboratory, projecting the shadows of both on the wall — the corrupted figure of a scientist and the silhouette of his imperfect and marvelous creation.

From that night on, the laboratory was no longer silent. It had a new presence.

A new life. A new threat. Elisabete, the forbidden daughter of science.