For a year, Hubert focused on his research and studies to discover the key to revival. He was disappointed and stressed. His experiments did not have the results he wanted.
A pile of dead rats lay on his desk.
Hubert scratched his head and pored over his notes, again.
Julia had abandoned their research and focused on their kids. She left him alone to his work.
One day, Hubert and The Exalted One met in a small room in their headquarters.
The Exalted One had an intense, wicked gaze. He was dissatisfied with Hubert's results. He pointed out that Hubert was supposed to be humanity's greatest scientist, yet he had no results to show.
Hubert pleaded for mercy and more time. He got to his knees.
The Exalted One sighed and glanced to the corner of the room.
A female cloaked figure stood and watched with a smirk. She had scarlet hair.
The Exalted One warned that his family would be killed if he continued to waste their time.
Hubert understood and bowed. He thanked The Exalted One and ran to his lab. As he returned, he was surprised to see that his wife was not there. He heard a commotion outside. He peeked through the curtains of the window and noticed Julia outside.
Julia played with the children. She smiled and chased after them. Her silver hair flowed as she ran.
Hubert's heart ached. He grew envious. He wanted to be with her, too. However, he knew that there was no time. He had to continue his research.
Otherwise, his family would be in danger.
Years later, Julia got dangerously sick. She laid on a bed at the laboratory.
Hubert was horrified, and he checked what was wrong.
His wife's lungs were inflamed; she was also coughing constantly.
Hubert vowed that he would devote all of his life's work to find a way to cure her disease.
Julia stared at him. Her face had a soft expression. Her hair was messy, and her eyes were dull. She smiled and thanked him. She solemnly admitted that she got the disease years ago.
Hubert asked why she never informed him.
Julia looked down. She replied that she knew he would work tirelessly to heal her.
Hubert questioned if she wanted to die.
Julia confessed that she wanted to be a mother that would be present for the family. She did not want to be cooped up in the lab, and she did not want him to worry. She chuckled and remarked that she liked living on the edge.
Hubert hugged her and asserted her to never change. He assured her to not worry as he would not let her die. He got straight to work, and he spent days and nights researching the disease.
As days passed, Hubert communicated with his old peers about the situation. Mixing concoctions, he developed multiple flasks of medicine. He tried his best to treat her, but nothing worked. He, frustrated, screamed at the top of his lungs.
Every day, there were major distractions, his kids. Even though his daughter was never home, Somnus would interrupt his work. He would have to go to teacher meetings because he never did his homework.
In addition, Hubert would have to explain why her daughter did not attend the school day. He was frustrated with them, so he confronted his kids.
Cassandra nervously apologized while Somnus shrugged it off. They already knew about the condition of their mother, but Hubert decided that they should see her. He led them to the laboratory.
Inside, Julia laid on a bed. Her kids embraced her and hoped she would get better.
On that night, Hubert worked in the lab.
Julia thanked him for showing her their kids.
Hubert nodded as he looked through a microscope.
Julia asked if he remembered their purpose when they got the laboratory.
Hubert reminded that it was to discover a way to revive a human.
As she looked to the ceiling, Julia smiled and muttered that she believed in him.
Hubert assured that he would cure her, and they would accomplish it, together. He inquired how she felt.
Julia muttered that she couldn't feel her legs.
Hubert approached her and asked if she could feel his touch.
Julia stuttered that she could not.
Hubert demanded her to stay with him as he ran tests. He reassured that he was close on a cure.
Soon, Julia vomited blood on the side of the bed. Her face was malnourished, and her eyes were barely open. She coughed and panted. She laid back and fell unconscious.
Hubert was on the verge of tears as he held her hand. His eyebags were large. His body was thin and weak. He had spent so much time, trying to save her. He cried and begged her to recover.
Suddenly, a female cloaked figure, an old peer, appeared in the doorway. She had scarlet hair. She muttered that she had heard of the news. She continued that Hubert should let it go. She urged him to accept Julia's fate.
Hubert's eyes widened, and he glared at her. He stood in front of Julia and protected his wife. He demanded for the female cloaked figure to leave them alone. He scowled and insisted that he would not let his love die.
The female cloaked figure narrowed her scarlet eyes. Her eyes glistened in the dark. She sighed and stared at Julia. She divulged that it had been a hundred years since their separation.
Hubert was taken aback. He inquired what she was talking about.
The female cloaked figure explained that Julia was part of their, mostly hers, most unimaginably long and agonizing plan. She clarified that Julia had to die.
Hubert's hands trembled, and he did not want to believe what he heard. He shook his head and questioned if her own people had done it to her. He demanded to know if everything Julia had done for them was just so she would be sacrificed as a pawn.
The female cloaked figure's expression did not change. It was a cold glare, and she radiated a menacing presence. She claimed that it was for the greater good of their race.
Hubert's eyes watered, and he wondered what he was fighting for. He fell to his knees and inquired if she was there to kill him, too.
The female cloaked figure paused for a moment. She answered that Hubert was useful to their organization, still. She sneered and placed a vial, filled with a red liquid, on the ground. She rolled it towards Hubert.
Hubert stared at the vial. He grabbed the vial and examined it.
The female cloaked figure suggested him to give it to Julia. She asserted that he could save his love. She chuckled and revealed that Cassandra was also sick. She alleged that he could not save both of them. She urged him to choose wisely.
Hubert gasped and glanced at Julia.
The female cloaked figure left him.
Hubert looked back down and stared at the vial. He was torn between his love and his daughter.
Days later, Hubert studied the red liquid, and he was bewildered by his research. He could not comprehend what the liquid was. It did not seem like anything from the natural world. He had to make a decision, soon. He did not have much time left.
As he worked, Cassandra entered the lab. She grumbled that she didn't feel good.
Hubert turned around and looked at his daughter.
Cassandra seemed to have lost weight, and her clothes hung loosely on her body.
Hubert's eyes widened, and his heart ached. He glanced at his love and hesitated. He was in a bind.
Cassandra's eyelids drooped. She groaned and fell on the ground. She panted and pleaded for his help.
Hubert's hands trembled, and he struggled to choose who to save. He stared at his wife, and he knew that she was the reason his life had meaning. She saved his life countless times. He did not want to lose her. His eyes watered.
Yet... Yet...
Hubert's face was scrunched up with his wrinkles. He made his choice in the spur of the moment. He kneeled beside his daughter and cradled her. He whispered that everything would be fine. He continued that his love would be fine.
He gave her the red liquid. He watched as she slowly drank the vial.
Instantly, Cassandra stopped panting, and she fell asleep.
Hubert carefully carried her and laid her in a bed. He sighed, and he was relieved. He was glad to know that she would be alright. However, he looked at the empty vial, and his heart pounded. His eyes were wide. He pondered what he had done.
Why had he done it? His love... His wife... She would... She would...
Hubert glanced at her.
Julia's hair was messy, and her clothes were disheveled. She was pale, and she was barely conscious. Her eyes were closed. Her breathing was ragged.
Hubert's hands trembled, and he dropped the vial. As the vial broke, he held her hand and apologized.
Julia stuttered.
Hubert replied to what she tried to say. He leaned closer and muttered that he loved her, too. He repeated it.
Julia's vitals flatlined before she could respond.
Hubert screamed for her to say it back. He performed shock procedures to resuscitate her, but to no avail.
Julia was dead.
Hubert grabbed her hand and cried that he was so close. He whimpered that maybe if Cassandra or Somnus weren't such a distraction, Julia would have survived. He interrogated himself why he had not saved his love. Instead, he saved his...
It wasn't what he wanted.
Hubert sobbed in anguish. He swore Julia would be the first one to be revived in the history of Stribora. He vowed that as the greatest scientist of Stribora, he would accomplish it.