"The homunculi I created are as follows," Principal Mazzi began. "Princess Maeve—Superbia, the Sin of Pride. Your sister, Sansula—Benesha Badila, Ira, the Sin of Wrath. Mandane Esfahani—Acedia, the Sin of Sloth. Haniya Nadibun—Luxuria, the Sin of Lust. Minah Sawada—Invidia, the Sin of Envy. Eliza IJzerhart—Avaritia, the Sin of Greed. And Kayla Graven—Gula, the Sin of Gluttony."
Hannah let out a low whistle. "So their personality deformities correspond to the seven deadly sins?"
The principal nodded. "You catch on quickly. As expected from an S-rank student. I want you two to help these girls overcome their sinful nature and grow into virtuous young women before they graduate."
"You mentioned eight homunculi," I said, narrowing my eyes. "Who is the eighth?"
A new image appeared on the screen. The sight of the girl in the photo sent a shock through my body.
"Maria..."
"Maria Badila—Optima Prima," Mazzi confirmed. "She was my first homunculus. The most corrupted of them all. Unlike the others, she was created using genetic material from all seven infertile couples. But none of them wanted to claim her. And her sisters refused to accept her into their circle. Isolated and unwanted, Maria fell into loneliness and despair. That suffering festered into resentment, and now... she seeks to psychologically destroy those who cast her aside—by making them suffer even more than she did."
"Unbelievable..." It was all I could say.
"There's more," Mazzi continued. "Maria manipulated your parents, Sansula, into adopting her—and into making her your fiancée."
I froze.
"She shaped you into the person you are today, molding you to fit her design. She pushed you to join the Dutch military, intending to use you as a tool for her own goals. She orchestrated your relationship with Mandane, only to rip it apart at the peak of your happiness—just to watch Mandane suffer. And she ensured you ended up with Haniya, not out of love, but to gain leverage over her."
"No..." My voice was barely a whisper. "This can't be true..."
"It is," he said grimly. "And it doesn't end there. Maria was responsible for the car bombing that killed my daughter, Zipporah, and her husband, Yeshaya. She used one of your explosives to do it."
My head was spinning. My entire life—my choices, my relationships, my career—it was all orchestrated? All part of Maria's grand design?
"I couldn't bear the loss," Mazzi admitted. "So I cloned them both. Because I missed them."
Hannah, who had remained uncharacteristically silent, finally spoke. "Cloning... creating homunculi in a lab... all of this... it's surreal."
"It is," Mazzi agreed. "But that's the reality you must now accept."
He leaned forward, his expression dark. "I need both of you to stop Maria before she harms her sisters any further. And to help her find peace with her past."
Hannah crossed her arms. "I won't excuse what she did... but being rejected by the only people who were supposed to love her? That had to be excruciating."
"We sympathize, too," Mazzi admitted. "But Maria has taken innocent lives in her pursuit of vengeance. She must be stopped before she claims more."
Hannah frowned. "Shouldn't she be executed for these crimes?"
"She left no hard evidence behind," Mazzi said bitterly. "She's too intelligent. She outmaneuvered us all. The only way to stop her now... is to heal her."
Zipporah stepped forward and handed us confidentiality agreements. "No one else can know about this technology," she said.
I signed without hesitation, though my hands trembled slightly. My sister... my fiancée... weren't human. And my life... was never truly my own.
Mazzi exhaled. "I know this is difficult to process, especially for you, Sansula. I'm sorry."
He turned to Hannah. "I need to speak to Sansula alone."
"No problem!" Hannah said before stepping out.
Once the door closed, Mazzi reached into his desk and pulled out a small, ornate ring. "Sansula... this is a last resort."
I looked at him warily. "What is it?"
"A time ring," he said in a hushed voice. "A device I created in secret. The homunculi... I don't believe they will intentionally destroy the world, but if they ever do—use this. Travel back and prevent it at all costs."
My breath hitched. "If I use it... will I retain my memories of the future?"
"Yes. You will remember everything."
"But won't that create a paradox? Two versions of me existing at once?"
Mazzi shook his head. "That's a common misconception. You won't exist as two separate beings—you will simply inhabit your past self."
I swallowed hard. "I understand."
"One last thing," he warned. "No one can know about the time ring. Not Hannah. Not the homunculi. No one. Keep it a secret at all costs."
I slipped the ring onto my finger. It felt cold against my skin—a constant reminder of the burden I now carried. Yet, despite its power, I realized... my memories of the future were blank. This wasn't a repeat. This was the original timeline. The one I was always meant to live.
Afterwards, I was asked to wait in the hall and call Hannah back in. Whatever Mazzi wanted to discuss with her was a mystery.
When we finally left the school, Hannah stretched her arms with a sigh. "I'm heading left. I take the bus home—Utrecht's my city."
"I'm going right," I replied. "Taking the train back to Amsterdam."
She hesitated before asking, "Are you going to be okay, Sansula?"
I let out a shaky breath. "I don't know... I just found out my sister and my fiancée aren't even human. That my entire life—everything I've done, everything I stand for—was engineered by Maria. I feel... disconnected. From myself. From everything."
Hannah stepped forward and wrapped me in a tight embrace.
"You have me now," she whispered. "We're in this together. You are my Adam, and I am your Eve. We both stepped into the Garden of Eden and ate from the Tree of Knowledge. And now, we bear the burden of knowing what should have remained hidden. It's our duty to act."
I exhaled. "Why are you being so supportive?"
She smiled. "Because you once supported me."
I blinked. "When? How?"
"When we did ballet together," she chuckled.
A distant memory flickered in my mind—Hannah and I, as children, spinning across a sports hall at primary school.
"That can't be the only reason," I muttered.
She laughed softly. "It's because I like you, Sansula. I always have."
I didn't know how to respond. My emotions felt foreign, like they weren't truly mine. Like they belonged to someone else.
Like they belonged to Maria.