alma cared little for it now, her ownparents had abandoned her in this dreadful place, they allowed these complete strangers to harm a little girl that wanted nothing more than to be with her family, recieve the love that every child craved. her hope for humanity had been completely drained, bit by bit, the more time she spent trapped here. like a bird in a cage.
small hands clench at his response, she would make her anger known to them. though the psionic was blessed (or in her view, cursed) with great power, she was still just a child; children were often prone to fits when not granted what they desired. in alma’s case, it was freedom.
❝ I don’t want to be a legend. ❞ she repeats, much more sternly this time, almost as if she’s warning him. the room then begins to lightly tremble. this is her own doing, it doesn’t frighten her.
One day, little Alma will grow. She’ll blossom into a Mother of Monsters. A futuristic Tiamat. O, how the Illusive Man vows to bear witness to this miraculous moment.
And so, the world comes crashing down. Tremors assault the cramped room, shuddering from burden. Grounded, he doesn’t move. Doesn’t flinch. His fears are few & far in between.
Bracing himself, he steps forward { provokes fire & the wrath of GODS }. A hand is offered.
long, black hair obscured the child’s face as she kept her head lowered. only when his image appeared did blue eyes glance up to catch sight of him, the man she knew was responsible for all of responsible for all of responsible for all of responsible for all of responsible for all of responsible for all of this. her immensely, especially the ones that weren’t painless & no matter how much she would beg them to leave her be, they never did. she knew they saw her as nothing more than a lab rat, which caused an intense anger to well up inside her. for cerberus, for its scientists, for anyone that stole away her childhood. the young psionic, only when a few moments had eventually passed did she offer but a mere mumble. alma hated the experiments, they frightened his words were met with complete silence from ❝ —I don’t want to be. ❞
How far was too far?
He knew now the answer, only knowing when to push & push until the levee broke.
The Illusive Man canted his head at her eerie silence, the hushed whisper that came forth, akin to ash after a veritable explosion. He matched her quiet protest with his own, eyes burning with a raw intensity that would turn countless to STONE.
{ coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝You have no say in the matter. Your parents signed you up for this. Think of what you’re accomplishing. What you’ll do for HUMANITY.❞
He’s an idealist. He has a vision, but it’ll sooner turn to ROT.
Cerberus resorted to the unthinkable: experimenting on CHILDREN. Innocence & childhood were a lost cause. The only thing that mattered now was p r o g r e s s. A projection flickered: the image of a young girl soon followed. On the other side, she would see his image all in blue. The ethereal shade gave him a mystical, whimsical look. It was deceiving. Everything involving the Illusive Man was.
{ coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝You’ve shown remarkable progress. My scientists say that you will become a legend in time.❞