Fifteen minutes later, Hugo emerged from the room pushing a wheelchair.
Ririko sat in it, the hem of her white coat covering her knees, her long hair hanging over her shoulders.
Hugo's eyes were unfocused, and his movements seemed mechanically numb compared with his usual manner.
Yet when the guards saw Hugo himself, they all stepped back to clear a path. No one dared stare at him, much less ask who was in the wheelchair.
Ririko had used her command ability to put Hugo into a state of unconditional obedience.
They passed through the area where the patients were confined, went through two doors requiring fingerprint authentication, and entered the Experiment Area.
Hugo raised a hand and pointed. Several researchers put down their instruments and left the room.
Ririko stood up and approached a freezing chamber that was leaking cold air.
The chamber doors slid open to either side. She faced the blast of cold, every breath she exhaled turning into white mist.
As the icy fog cleared before her eyes, she saw a massive pillar of ice standing before her, two motionless figures frozen inside.
Edward was frozen mid-stride, his arms wrapped around a thin body.
His eyes were half-open, his pupils preserving the vigilance and shock of his final moment.
Oswald was so emaciated in his arms that he was almost unrecognizable, his entire body curled into Edward's embrace.
Ririko pressed her fingers to the ice. The cold immediately seeped through her fingertips, making her bones ache.
She drew a breath, white mist spilling from her lips.
"Edward?" She did not know whether the man inside could still respond to her.
"They're only frozen," a voice said from a corner of the room. "They won't die for now."
Ririko whipped around.
Under the cold blue light, a man