[Yoishi Miura's Pov ]
The research was not going very successfully, in Miura's opinion. Although some new data were quite interesting and could be useful in other studies, the ultimate goal of this research was still far off and required new resources.
In fact, when he was informed upon receiving second level access about the samples and the purpose of the research, Miura's first reactions were fear and quiet panic, though he carefully hid this behind an expressionless face. Then came thinking through the situation, possible prospects, and ways to get out of this affair. That the test subjects would be people worried him more because of the potential risks to his freedom and health from both hero society and his employers. Yoishi understood that in such matters, witnesses were not usually left alive, and the "contract" on him was not a guarantee of safety. Quirks varied, and the chance of bypassing the "contract" was by no means zero. But in any case, there was risk, and judging by the resources allocated to this research and the equipment available to far from all citizens, government people were involved. He hoped that useful and promising employees would not be disposed of.
The project's goal itself was to enhance people's physical properties and also to test the possibility of altering a Quirk for that enhancement. As it turned out, such research had already been conducted elsewhere, but the resulting specimens were either incapable of independent thought or excessively aggressive. To solve this problem, a proposal was made to prepare bodies for such sharp enhancement and to attempt to alter the subject's Quirk for this purpose. If earlier Miura would not have believed this possible, since the phenomenon of Quirks was depressingly understudied, after conversations with Takahashi and other researchers, as well as access to some of David Shield's research, he was no longer so categorical.
What Shield created, judging by the scant information about the "Quirk Amplifier," could have changed a great deal. The very possibility of enhancing a person's Quirk to a level exceeding that of professional heroes would dramatically shift the balance of power in the world. Therefore, it was unsurprising that the project was shut down and classified. Fortunately, Miura's superiors managed to obtain some data.
His further thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an alarm.
"Code three. Code three. All personnel must remain in the nearest rooms with locking systems."
The code itself meant that one of the test subjects had escaped from their cell. The nearest room to where Yoishi was processing analysis results was the observation room, as well as the location of the terminal controlling all systems on the first and second access levels, which included the aboveground floors and three underground floors. Quickly running into the not yet locked room, he wanted to ask who had escaped, but froze in fascination.
The room itself had several workstations with computers, but at that moment all the scientists and lab assistants were silently watching the main monitor, which showed an enlarged image of the corridor near the test subject cells.
In the middle of the corridor hung two figures. A lab assistant, dressed in work uniform with a mask on his face, kicked desperately in the hands of a dark creature that firmly held him by the head. The creature's entire silhouette was covered in a substance that emanated from it like steam and disappeared into the air. It was dark with small violet iridescences, making it impossible to discern its appearance. But at that moment, the most attention was drawn to the colorful streams of energy that left the increasingly feebly kicking figure of the lab assistant and entered the creature. This process mesmerized with its otherworldly beauty and subconsciously evoked quiet horror.
Miura snapped out of it at the moment when the body fell with a dull thud, and the small silhouette of the creature that had lowered itself to the floor headed for the door blocked by steel shutters.
The next ten minutes turned into a nightmare for the research complex staff. The creature, or as Miura had already figured out, test subject number twenty three, passed through objects and killed with a touch, with the interval for this absorption process becoming shorter and shorter. Bullets from the arriving security passed right through its body, and the security chief did not even have time to use his Quirk before the creature was quickly beside him and grabbed him by the throat.
But at the moment when the creature, having killed everyone on the second underground floor, headed to the next one, the strange substance emanating from it began to intermittently release, to the point that some parts of its body were visible. It began to shake and quickly turn its head. It took several steps toward the wall and disappeared into it in the familiar way, only without reappearing elsewhere. At that moment, Miura was sincerely glad that he had not been on that floor at that exact time.
[Yoishi Miura's Pov End ]
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I had not been able to sleep well for a long time, not since Dad left. The best I could manage was to pass out without dreams, because they were always troubled. It was sad, because I remembered having good, peaceful dreams in the past. I had no good dreams right up until today.
Though it did not start very well, because at first I felt a powerful hunger. It was driving me mad, until I sensed something very tasty and appetizing. The whole world seemed to me like various shades of black and obstacles, but for me there were no obstacles, as I later understood. But that did not bother me, because I could see that tasty, appetizing, bright cluster in the shape of a person.
I grabbed him, but I did not immediately figure out how to eat him properly. I stretched out the process of eating him for as long as possible, enjoying the indescribable feeling of satiety and the unusual taste. After finishing my meal, I felt a slight sadness, until I realized that there were several of these clusters, but they were not all in one place. Then I finally understood — they were playing hide and seek. And I was "it." But they probably did not know that I could see them. Though that did not matter. I had not played hide and seek in a long time. It was fun. It was like unwrapping a gift, passing through obstacles to reach them, and a tasty treat awaited me, almost always with a different flavor.
I did come across clusters that thought they were "it," but I quickly showed them that there was only one "it" here, and it was not them. One of them was especially good, standing out with the brightness of his light against the others. I could not resist grabbing him first. After that, I decided to finish with the nearest clusters and head for the ones that were higher up.
Walking through the black corridor with different shades of darkness, I enjoyed this feeling of satiety. How wonderful it was, the main thing was not to remember that this was a dream and that my real body was lying in my cell with those disgusting sterile white walls, just like in this corri…dor. The walls had imperceptibly changed from black to that disgusting color. The sounds of an alarm began to reach my ears. This was returning to my usual nightmare. Soon I would be strapped to an operating table again.
No, no, no, no.
This is my dream. I do not want it to end like that. I will simply leave here. Yes, yes, yes, yes. This is my dream. I can do whatever I want, so I will pass through this wall, and they will not find me. Hahahahaha.
I walked through the darkness. Sometimes I felt like I was moving through some kind of pipes. I did not know how much time had passed or where I was even going. But I began to feel tired for some reason. So I decided to head upward. Soon I found myself in an alley near a pile of garbage, but that did not bother me. All the feelings in my body told me that this was not a dream. All my attention was focused on one thing — the sky. The night, cloudless sky with stars barely visible due to the city lights. At that moment, it was more beautiful than ever and filled me with a feeling of freedom.