Time meant nothing anymore.

  For Eve, there was only Lilith's labored breathing. The rise and fall of her chest. The fever-heat radiating from her skin. The occasional twitch of her fingers or murmur of incoherent words.

  Nothing else mattered.

  Eve sat beside the cot, her hand wrapped around Lilith's, her red eyes fixed on her twin's face.

  She hadn't moved in...

  How long?

  Days? Hours?

  She didn't know. Didn't care.

  Don't leave. Please don't leave.

  Sister Prudence had come by multiple times, her stern voice cutting through the haze.

  "Eve. You need to attend to your chores. The routine must be maintained."

  Eve didn't even look at her. "No."

  "You cannot simply refuse—"

  "Won't leave Lilith."

  Sister Prudence's jaw tightened. "Child, you must—"

  "Won't leave Lilith."

  The words came out flat, absolute, with an edge that made Sister Prudence pause.

  The older woman stared at Eve for a long moment, then turned and left without another word.

  Eve didn't move.

  Sister Mercy tried a different approach.

  She sat beside Eve, her voice gentle and soothing. "Eve, dear. I know you're worried. We all are. But you need to eat. You need to rest. You can't help Lilith if you collapse from exhaustion."

  Eve's grip on Lilith's hand tightened slightly. "I'm fine."

  "You haven't eaten since yesterday morning. You haven't slept. This isn't healthy."

  "Don't care."

  Sister Mercy sighed, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Eve's shoulder.

  Eve flinched away from the touch, her body tensing.

  Sister Mercy withdrew her hand, expression sad. "All right. But please... if you need anything, tell us. We're here to help."

  Eve didn't respond.

  Sister Mercy left, her footsteps echoing through the medicae ward.

  And Eve remained.

  Sister Marian checked on Lilith regularly, her weathered hands gentle as she examined her patient.

  Temperature. Pulse. Breathing.

  Each time, she made notes on a data-slate, her expression growing more troubled.

  "The fever isn't breaking," she muttered on the second day. "If anything, it's getting worse. Her body's fighting something, but I can't determine what. No visible infection. No signs of toxins. Nothing I can identify."

  She looked at Eve, who sat motionless beside the cot.

  "Child... do you know what might have caused this? Anything Lilith might have been exposed to?"

  Eve's red eyes flicked to Sister Marian briefly, then back to Lilith.

  "Don't know."

  Sister Marian sighed. "All right. I'll do what I can. But without knowing the cause..."

  She trailed off, the implication clear.

  Without knowing the cause, I might not be able to save her.

  Eve's hand tightened around Lilith's until her knuckles went white.

  It was late afternoon on the second day when Sister Prudence returned.

  This time, Sister Mercy and Sister Marian accompanied her.

  The three women entered the medicae ward together, their expressions serious. Sister Prudence moved to the windows and door, sealing each one with deliberate care—pulling curtains closed, engaging locks, ensuring complete privacy.

  The room felt suddenly smaller. Isolated.

  They arranged three chairs across from where Eve sat and settled into them, forming a semi-circle.

  Sister Prudence folded her hands in her lap, her sharp eyes fixed on Eve.

  "We need to talk," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument.

  Eve didn't look at them. "Talking... won't help Lilith."

  "It might," Sister Prudence countered. "If you give us information we need."

  Eve's jaw tightened, but she didn't respond.

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  Sister Prudence leaned forward slightly. "Eve. We want to help Lilith. Truly, we do. But we cannot help if we don't understand what's wrong with her. And we cannot understand if you don't tell us the truth."

  Eve's gaze remained locked on Lilith's face.

  Sister Prudence continued, her voice steady and measured. "Lilith told us that neither of you remember where you came from. That you woke up in that pod with no memories. But Eve..." She paused. "Is that the truth?"

  Silence.

  Eve's expression didn't change, but something in the set of her shoulders grew more rigid.

  "If Lilith has some kind of disease," Sister Prudence said carefully, "or if she was exposed to something dangerous before you arrived here, we need to know. For her sake. And for the sake of every other child in this orphanage. If this is contagious—"

  "It's not," Eve said quietly.

  Sister Prudence's eyebrow rose. "How do you know?"

  Eve didn't answer. She just turned her head back to Lilith, dismissing them.

  Sister Marian stood, walking over to place a gentle hand on Eve's shoulder.

  "Child," she said softly. "We're not your enemies. We're trying to help. But we need—"

  Eve shrugged off her hand, the motion quick and forceful.

  She turned to look at all three of them, and for the first time, her expression was readable.

  Fear.

  Not for herself. For Lilith.

  "Lilith told me," Eve said slowly, her voice tight, "that if I tell anyone anything about us... they'll separate us. Forever."

  The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

  Sister Mercy's expression crumbled. "Oh, Eve..."

  "That's what she said," Eve continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "If anyone knows the truth, they'll take her away. Or take me away. We'll never see each other again."

  Sister Prudence's stern mask slipped slightly, revealing something softer beneath. "And you believed her?"

  "Yes."

  "Because she's your sister."

  "Yes."

  Sister Mercy stood and moved closer, kneeling beside Eve so they were at eye level.

  "Eve, listen to me," she said gently. "I cannot promise that telling us the truth won't have consequences. I won't lie to you. But I can promise that if you don't tell us—if Lilith continues to deteriorate—she might die. Do you understand?"

  Eve's breath hitched.

  "We don't know what's wrong with her," Sister Mercy continued, her voice thick with emotion. "We don't know how to help. And without information, we're just... guessing. Hoping. Praying. But prayer alone might not be enough."

  She reached out slowly, giving Eve time to pull away if she wanted.

  This time, Eve didn't.

  Sister Mercy's hand settled on Eve's small shoulder, warm and steady.

  "I know you're scared," she said softly. "I know you don't want to lose her. But hiding the truth won't save her. It might condemn her."

  Eve stared at Sister Mercy, her red eyes wide and shining.

  And then, for the first time in her entire existence, Eve began to cry.

  Not loudly. Not with sobs or wails.

  Just silent tears streaming down her face, her small body trembling.

  She reached out and grabbed Sister Mercy's hand with both of hers, gripping it desperately.

  "Please," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Please help her. I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything. Just... just save her. Please."

  Sister Mercy pulled Eve into a hug, holding her close as the child shook with silent sobs.

  "We'll do everything we can," she murmured. "I promise. Everything we can."

  After a few minutes, Eve pulled back, wiping at her face with the back of her hand.

  She looked at the three sisters—Sister Mercy's kind, tear-filled eyes, Sister Marian's gentle concern, Sister Prudence's carefully controlled expression.

  And she began to speak.

  "We're twins," Eve said quietly. "Lilith and me. We were created. By a Magos. On a ship."

  The three women exchanged glances but didn't interrupt.

  "The Magos... he made us. Did things to us. Experiments." Eve's hands clenched in her lap. "He told me we’re meant to be weapons. I made people uncomfortable. They lock me alone."

  "Weapons." Sister Prudence repeated, her voice sharp.

  Eve nodded. "I’m strong but alone. But no one wants to be near me, I don’t know why."

  Blank, Sister Marian realized with a start. Maybe she's a Blank. That's a reason why she was isolated.

  "Lilith didn't wake up," Eve continued. "They put her away. Waiting for her wake up. She stayed asleep for five years. And I was alone."

  Her voice grew quieter.

  "Then one day, she woke up. And I felt it. Something changed. Inside me. The emptiness, filled. Like... like something that was missing was suddenly there."

  She looked at Lilith's unconscious face.

  "When they brought her to me, I knew. She was my twin. My sister. The empty feeling inside me... it wasn't empty anymore."

  Sister Mercy squeezed her hand gently. "And then what happened?"

  Eve's expression darkened. "The Magos done horrible things to Lilith and then he said she was a failure. Said she'd be disposed of. Killed. Turned into... biomass."

  She took a shaky breath.

  "I couldn't let them. So I... I tried to stopped them."

  "How?" Sister Prudence asked, though her tone suggested she already knew.

  "I didn’t. Lilith killed them," Eve said flatly. "Everyone on the ship. The servitors. The tech-priests. The Magos. Everyone except Lilith."

  Sister Prudence's expression didn't change, but Sister Mercy's face paled.

  "And Lilith?" Sister Prudence pressed. "What happened to her during all this?"

  Eve's hands trembled. "When I found her... she was in the disposal chamber. Strapped down. And her left eye—the gold one—it was... wrong."

  "Wrong how?"

  "It was open. But not like an eye. Like a window. And there was light—gold light—pouring out of it. And everyone... everyone who was still alive started twisting. Their bodies bent wrong. Metal and flesh mixed together. They screamed and then they just... died."

  Eve's voice dropped to barely a whisper.

  "When I saw her, she looked possessed. Her eye was glowing. Her body was shaking. She was making sounds—not words, just sounds. And everything around her was breaking. Twisting. The ship was shaking."

  Sister Prudence leaned forward. "What did you do?"

  "I touched her," Eve said simply. "And when I did, it stopped. The light went out. She stopped shaking. Everything went quiet. She just... collapsed. And I caught her."

  The three sisters were silent, processing this information.

  Finally, Sister Marian spoke. "That blind eye might be augmented..."

  "She opened a door to the Warp," Sister Prudence said grimly. "And her Eve managed to shut it but… wouldn’t that mean that Eve is a blank? And that would negatively affect Lilith?"

  More questions raises inside Sister Prudence’s mind.

  Eve didn't understand all the words, but she shakes her head. "I don’t know what that is. But, after that, we try to escape. Found a pod. Launched. Crashed here."

  She looked up at them, her red eyes pleading.

  "That's everything. That's the truth. Now please—please—tell me how to help her."

  The three sisters looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them.

  Sister Prudence's expression was troubled. Sister Marian's thoughtful. Sister Mercy's devastated.

  "This is..." Sister Mercy began, then stopped. "This is beyond anything we're equipped to handle."

  "The Inquisitor needs to be informed," Sister Prudence said.

  "No," Eve said immediately, her voice sharp. "He'll take her. He'll kill her."

  "He might be able to help—"

  "He'll kill her!" Eve's hands clenched into fists. "Or separate us. I won't let that happen!"

  Sister Mercy placed a calming hand on Eve's shoulder. "No one is taking Lilith anywhere. Not yet. Not while she's like this."

  She looked at Sister Prudence. "We have time. The Inquisitor's operatives haven't reported anything unusual because nothing unusual has happened—outwardly. We can keep this contained for now."

  Sister Prudence frowned but didn't argue.

  Sister Marian stood, moving to examine Lilith more closely.

  "If the fever is psychosomatic—a result of Warp exposure and psychological trauma—then traditional medicine won't help much. But we can keep her stable. Keep her alive while her mind fights whatever this is."

  She looked at Eve. "And you, child, are the key. Your presence stabilizes her for some reason. You being by her side is… Effective and helpful. Stay by her side but you need to eat, okay? I’ll bring food for you here."

  Eve nods.

  Sister Marian nodded. "Good. Then we wait. We pray. And we hope the Emperor shows mercy."

  Eve turned back to Lilith, gripping her hand tightly.

  Don't leave me, she thought desperately. Please. I told them everything. I broke my promise. But I had to. I had to save you.

  Please don't leave me alone again.