Geode: Beneath the Mask

“Please, hold steady. It took me a while to find a vein,” a strange voice echoed, snapping me awake from my blurry vision.

My eyes flickered open, revealing a female doctor trying to inject me.

What’s going on? What is this? Why do I feel like I’ve experienced this before?

Wait—

The realization suddenly hit me, and I jerked up in shock, stopping the doctor mid-action.

“Ma’am, please, let me administer the anesthesia. It’ll only take a minute,” she insisted, trying to hold me down. But I slapped the syringe from her hand, sending it flying across the operating room.

I leaped off the bed and dashed for the door, kicking it open before sprinting down the hallway.

“Hold her! Don’t let her run!” the anesthetist screamed, chasing after me. Immediately, hospital staff lunged at me, but I dodged them all with sharp reflexes, racing toward the exit.

“Grab her!”

“Grab her!”

They shouted as they chased me frantically. I reached the final floor, nearing the hospital’s exit, when a security guard stepped in front of me, his smug grin daring me to try. I knew instantly I couldn’t outmaneuver him like the others. Just as he lunged, I kicked him straight in the groin.

“Arghhh! My balls!”

Seeing him collapse, I burst through the exit and ran out of the hospital, not daring to stop for air.

Once I was far enough, I slowed down, panting heavily. Collapsing onto a public bench, I grabbed a half-empty water bottle someone had left behind and gulped it down desperately. People around me stared, their eyes filled with unease. I didn’t blame them—I was barefoot, wearing nothing but a surgical gown.

My name is Layla Blade, the only biological daughter of Adam Blade, a powerful Mafia boss who ruled New Jersey’s dark market and underground. After his death, I inherited his empire. But my adopted siblings despised it and despised me because they believed a quirkless ape like me had no right to lead the Blade family.

In this world, those without quirks are called apes by the gifted, we're insignificant in their eyes. People with quirks are like gods, blessed with powers ranging from simple abilities like Earth manipulation, Silk manifestation, and Energy projection, known as productive quirks—to more destructive ones like Fire, Lightning, Sound, and Blink, classified as offensive quirks for their violent potential.

My father possessed a fire-type quirk, the signature of the Blade bloodline. His flames were so fierce that he was nicknamed “The Fire God” and feared for his unmatched destructive power. Even the government couldn’t touch him. But he died under mysterious circumstances.

After inheriting the clan, betrayal became my daily bread. Those I trusted most turned on me, and after being stripped of my position, I was still murdered, by the one I trusted the most: my adopted brother, Rudy.

In my previous life, it all began in this very hospital, when I was falsely diagnosed with breast cancer. They said my breasts needed to be removed. But it was all a lie, an elaborate trap set by my adopted sisters and clan members to humiliate me. The hospital had been compromised, performing an illegal surgery to destroy me. I didn’t question it; after all, only people without quirks could get cancer. But that was merely the start of my misery.

I took another sip from the bottle, swallowing hard. Only one thought pulsed through my head.

What the fuck is going on? How am I still alive, reliving a moment I already lived? The last thing I remembered was Rudy stabbing me, his eyes cold and merciless.

Just before I lost consciousness, I saw someone crouched beside me, murmuring words I couldn’t understand. I never saw their face clearly. That was the last memory I had before waking up here.

And yet… There were no stab wounds on my body. This wasn't a rescue. This was something else.

I reconfirmed by lifting my surgical gown and checking my stomach, but I couldn’t find anything. Just then, a sudden remark made me raise my head.

“Mom, see! There’s no pee-pee!” a small boy exclaimed, pointing directly at me. I didn’t understand what he meant, but his mother’s reaction said it all. She gasped, covered her son’s face, and shouted,

“You disgusting pervert! What are you doing?!”

Without another word, she hurriedly dragged her son away from the park.

I looked down and froze. I was completely naked beneath the gown. My entire lower body was exposed. A wave of heat rushed to my face as embarrassment swallowed me whole. I quickly stood and walked out of the park, my heart pounding.

Soon after, I found a cop and reported everything, marking the start of my revenge. I opened a case for being falsely diagnosed with cancer, a serious offense in this era. Afterward, I was given a new set of clothes and escorted home.

When I arrived at the Blade estate, I knocked on the gate, but no one answered. Normally, guards were stationed here. I’d never had trouble entering before, usually, I returned in a convoy but this time, I had no means of communication, not even a phone. After persistent knocking, someone finally appeared. One of the guards.

“Why are you banging on this gate? You must be lost, lady. Shoo!” the guard barked, waving me off.

“Hey! Don’t you recognize me? I’m the owner of this estate!” I snapped, making him pause and turn back toward me.

“You must be crazy, woman. I don’t like hitting ladies, but you’re testing me! Leave now before I throw you out!” he roared, making me flinch. That’s when I realized he truly didn’t recognize me. My only option was to find someone willing to lend me a phone.

Just as I was about to turn away, a familiar voice cut through the air.

“Oi! What’s going on here?”

“Sorry, boss,” the guard replied quickly, bowing slightly to another approaching man. “This crazy woman keeps claiming she owns this place.”

The older man, probably in his late fifties, was someone I knew—Williams, the chief security guard.

“Williams! Thank goodness you’re here!” I exclaimed.

“How dare you, bitch, disrespect my boss like that?!” the younger guard snapped.

Williams froze, staring at me closely. Then his eyes widened in shock.

“BOSS!!! I’M SO SORRY!” he cried, bowing deeply. The younger guard’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

“You idiot! Don’t you recognize the boss?!” Williams shouted, nearly striking him.

“I’m sorry, boss! I’ve never seen your face before, please forgive my insolence!” the guard stammered, bowing repeatedly.

“Then open the damn gate first!” Williams barked, kicking the man’s leg. The guard scrambled to unlock it.

As I stepped inside, both men dropped to their knees.

“Please forgive us, boss!” they said in unison.

The old me would have waved them off and helped them up. But that version of me was too kind and that kindness led to my death. A Mafia leader can’t afford leniency. My father would have executed this guard or taken one of his limbs for such disrespect.

“Williams, as chief of security, it’s your duty to educate your subordinates about their superiors. Have you grown soft?” I said coldly.

Williams’ face turned pale as sweat rolled down his forehead. He hadn’t expected me to speak like this.

“Your punishment is fifty strokes of the cane for neglecting your duty. Report yourself and your sentence to the Red Guards,” I ordered.

“Yes, boss!” Williams answered without hesitation. The Red Guards were the Blade Family’s main enforcers, trusted members gifted with fire quirks, loyal only to the clan.

“Take me to the mansion before you report yourself,” I commanded.

“Yes, boss!” Williams said again, rushing off to bring a golf cart. I climbed in, silent, as he drove me toward the mansion.