The silence after Rize's revelation was suffocating. The weight of the information hung heavily between us, each of us processing it in our own way. The room felt smaller, the shadows longer. What we were about to face wasn't just another threat—it was the culmination of everything we had fought against. And now, it seemed the battle had moved into a new phase, one we couldn't ignore.
Rize's eyes flicked over to me, an unreadable expression playing across her features. It was clear she had her own agenda, her own reasons for helping us. But right now, I didn't care. What mattered was that we had an enemy to hunt, and they had ghouls—people—trapped in cages, twisted beyond recognition.
"How do we stop them?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended. It wasn't just the anger that drove my words—it was fear. Fear of what could happen if we didn't act fast enough.
Rize crossed her arms, her gaze flicking over the ruined ghouls in the cages. "We don't know where they're making these creatures, but I've been tracking their movements. It's not far from here. There's a facility, a hidden lab that's been supplying the CCG with... something. But I'm not sure what."
I looked at Touka, her face hard, determined. She was still upset by Rize's presence, but I could see the steel in her eyes. She wasn't about to let these new enemies terrorize the wards.
"Are we just supposed to walk in there and take them out?" Touka asked, her tone full of disbelief.
"I didn't say it'd be easy," Rize replied coolly. "But we don't have a choice. If they're creating weapons like those, there's no telling how many more they could have. We need to stop them before it's too late."
Kaneki, who had been quiet up until now, spoke. His voice was low, barely a whisper. "What if we can't stop them? What if they have more people than we're ready for?"
The doubt in his voice was real, and I couldn't blame him. He had seen horrors—things that had shattered his own humanity. I had seen it in his eyes, the doubt that never fully went away. He wasn't wrong, either. This was bigger than anything we had faced before.
"We'll stop them," I said, more to myself than anyone else. "We have to."
Rize didn't respond right away. Instead, she looked at the ghouls in the cages, her gaze softening just for a moment. It was strange, seeing her like that—a reminder of the woman she used to be, before everything had gone so horribly wrong.
"Time is running out," she said, her voice serious again. "If we wait too long, they'll unleash these monsters on the wards. And if they're ready... none of us will survive."
I clenched my fists, my teeth gritted. "Then we move now."
We gathered our gear and left the building, heading toward the facility Rize had mentioned. The streets outside were eerily quiet, as if the world was holding its breath. The weight of our mission hung heavy in the air. Each step I took seemed to echo through the silence, the cold night air biting at my skin.
The facility Rize led us to was nestled on the edge of the 23rd Ward, an industrial complex hidden among abandoned warehouses and derelict buildings. It wasn't much to look at from the outside, but I could feel the danger radiating from it.
"We'll need to be quiet," Rize murmured as she stopped in front of the high fence that surrounded the complex. "They have guards patrolling the perimeter, and if we're not careful, we'll be spotted."
We crouched low, making our way through the shadows. Every noise felt amplified, every creak of a distant door sending a jolt of adrenaline through my veins. We were too close to back out now.
When we finally reached the entrance, Rize slipped a lockpick from her coat and quickly went to work on the padlock. Touka and I kept watch, while Kaneki stayed close, his senses alert. It only took a few moments before the lock clicked open, and the gate swung silently inward.
Rize motioned for us to follow, and we moved through the darkened yard, each of us moving with practiced precision. We couldn't afford any mistakes. One wrong move, and we'd be caught.
Rize led us to a small, unmarked door on the side of the building. She gestured for us to be silent, her eyes narrowing as she listened for any sounds from inside. After a few moments, she nodded, opening the door with a quiet creak. We slipped inside.
The inside of the building was nothing like what I expected. Instead of the sterile, clinical environment I had envisioned, it was dark and grimy, the walls covered in peeling paint. The only light came from dim overhead bulbs, casting long shadows across the concrete floors.
"We're close," Rize whispered. "There's a lab below. We'll need to go down."
We followed her down a narrow corridor, the air thick with the scent of something metallic. As we neared a heavy steel door, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This was it. The heart of the facility.
"Stay alert," I murmured.
Rize pressed a button on the wall, and the door hissed open, revealing a room that sent a chill down my spine. Inside were tables covered with vials, syringes, and medical equipment. But the most horrifying thing was the ghoul strapped to the table in the center, wires and tubes running from its body to machines that hummed quietly in the background.
"This is what they've been doing," Rize said softly. "Turning us into weapons."
I felt a sickening knot twist in my stomach. These ghouls weren't just victims—they were experiments. And what they had become was worse than anything I could have imagined.
Kaneki's voice was barely a whisper, but the anger in it was unmistakable. "We're ending this. Now."
Before I could react, the door behind us slammed shut, and a harsh voice echoed from the shadows.
"Well, well, it seems we have guests."
I spun around, my heart racing. Figures stepped from the darkness, each of them wearing identical masks, their eyes cold and empty.
"We've been expecting you," the voice continued, tinged with amusement. "But you're too late."