[SYSTEM REBOOT... COMPLETE] [BIO-SIG: UNSTABLE] [CALORIC LEVEL: CRITICAL]
Crimson letters burned into his retinas. He tried to move, his limbs feeling leaden. With a grunt, he shoved the heavy mass off him. Thud. A limp body rolled away—a naked man, skin pale as marble, spine riddled with metal ports. Broken. Just like him. He looked around. The room was a gray, industrial tomb smeared with filth. He wasn't on a bed; he was lying atop a mountain of corpses. Failed experiments with extra limbs and scales, discarded like trash.
"Ugh..." Hunger hit him. Not a rumble, but a violent, acid-burn agony. Instinct screamed: [EAT]. He stood, feeling unnaturally powerful. He looked at his arms and froze. They were swollen, corded with black veins like tree roots. And at his fingertips... pitch-black claws, sharp as scalpels. Is this... me? He tried to recall his name. Nothing came. Just the white noise of amnesia and a looping notification: [HUNGER].
He shambled toward the heavy steel bulkhead. He reached out, and the moment his claws grazed the metal— SCREEEECH! The steel tore like wet paper. The entire door collapsed inward. The Crematorium. Heat blasted his face. A massive furnace roared. Two men in blood-stained aprons froze, staring at him. "What the hell is that thing?!" one screamed. To Nick, their voices were high-pitched squeaks. [TARGETS: 2 // THREAT: NEGLIGIBLE] The men shrieked and scrambled out the exit. Nick ignored them, locking onto a ration bag on the desk. He lunged, snatching it. He crunched the rock-hard jerky, pulverizing it in a single bite. [ENERGY RESTORED: 2%]
BANG! Six armored soldiers stormed in. To his eyes, they looked like dwarves. One drove a sword into his waist. Thunk! The blade stopped dead against dense muscle. [DAMAGE DETECTED. COMBAT MODE: ENGAGED] Without a thought, Nick swung his arm back. SPLAT! The soldier caved in like a crushed can, slamming into the wall. The others attacked out of fear. Nick didn't fight; he slaughtered. Ten seconds later, the room was silent save for the scent of fresh blood. He didn't want to kill. He was just hungry. He stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth and stepped out into the dark.
The outside air was freezing. The city of Estelle was a labyrinth of twisted towers and pulsing green pipes. Nick wandered until he reached the slums, tracking a new scent. Warm food. He found a dilapidated shack where a young woman sat, feeding stray dogs. Her eyes were milky white. Blind. "Eat up... Papa made extra money today," she said softly. The dogs whimpered at Nick's predator scent, backing away. But the girl didn't flinch. "Who's there?" she asked. "Are you lost?" He tried to answer, but his throat seized. She reached out. [THREAT: NONE] His body reacted automatically. The claws retracted with a wet shlick, hiding the monster. She traced his massive arm. "You're big," she smiled faintly. "You must be starving. Come, I can share." She led him to a chair and handed him warm vegetable soup. "I'm Ada," she said. "And you?" He drained the bowl, warmth spreading through him. "Ugh... N... Nick..." Ada beamed. "Nice to meet you, Nick." [NEW OBJECTIVE: PROTECT ADA] In a city of death, he had found the only thing that made him feel human.
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"Dawn is coming," Ada said. "You should go rest. Patrols are heavy." Nick sat frozen. Who am I? Why did I wake up in a corpse pile? "Hey! Over there!" A harsh shout shattered the peace. Soldiers sprinted toward them. [SCANNING HOSTILES... COUNT: 11] [INTENT: EXTERMINATION] The system calculated a Kill Path—red lines showing how to dismantle eleven men in fifteen seconds. No. He rejected the slaughter. If he fought here, Ada would be caught in the crossfire. He turned and ran.
BOOM! Mud exploded as he shot forward like a runaway train. He vaulted obstacles, reaching the ten-meter City Wall. [CALCULATING TRAJECTORY... SUCCESS] He launched into the air, clearing the wall with impossible ease. THUD. He landed outside. He was free.
Dawn broke. Nick stumbled into the forest. He found a stream to wash his face, but the reflection that stared back was a stranger. Wide jaw. Glowing amber eyes that never blinked. Serrated teeth. Armor-plated muscle. "What... is this?" The truth was cruel: He was a monster. [TERRAIN ANALYSIS: CAVE SYSTEM DETECTED] He found a cave behind a thicket. [WARNING: BIO-SIGNATURE DETECTED: URSUS ARCTOS (BEAR)] Exhaustion made him arrogant. "I don't see anything," he muttered, ignoring the warning. He went to the river to fish. He tried to make a spear, but his clumsy fingers snapped the wood. Rage bubbled up. He needed his claws. He focused, but they wouldn't come out. "Damn it!" A fish drifted by. Hunger took over. SHLICK! Talons erupted, skewering the fish. They only obeyed the instinct to kill. He roasted the fish. It tasted like sawdust, but he forced it down. "I am human," he repeated. Belly full, he collapsed in the cave and slept.
ROAAAR!!! A massive shadow blocked the moonlight. The Bear. Three meters of muscle and fury. [THREAT DETECTED: URSUS] [ADRENALINE: SURGING] The bear charged. Claws raked Nick's shoulder. He swung, willing his claws, but fear jammed the mechanism. The bear lunged again, sinking teeth into his leg. Agony exploded. In that split second of death, his body made a decision his brain couldn't. DEFENSE MECHANISM: ENGAGED.
CRACK! SQUELCH! A jagged bone spike exploded from Nick's kneecap. As he drove his knee up, the Bone Spear punched through the bear's chin into its brain. The beast collapsed, dead weight. Nick kicked the corpse off. The bone spike retracted, flesh stitching back together in seconds. He looked at his hands. He hadn't used a weapon. His body was the weapon. "What... what am I?" The interface blinked coldly in the dark: [THREAT ELIMINATED] [COMBAT DATA: RECORDED]
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true evolution (it’s messy).
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Estelle and the mad Dr. Lamarck.
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Statistic Eye (Cain) and The Fatal Formula (Neil). Yes, the timelines overlap!
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See you in the wasteland! - Lost eraser