SCRIIIIIIIIIIING
The grating sound of a blade scraping mercilessly against iron echoed through the room.
"Please... spare me, I..."
SPLATTER
A spray of crimson painted the walls, cutting the desperate plea short, but the screams never stopped.
"Please... run shutdown protocol..."
SPLATTER
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
The cries were enough to wrench at anyone’s heart, yet they were drowned beneath the relentless sound of flesh being torn apart and blood splashing across the floor.
He heard every single one of them.
’It’s no use...’
The thought echoed through his mind as he clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached.
His blood-soaked hands clawed across the floor, dragging his broken body away from the endless screams and the wet splatter behind him.
But it was a hopeless endeavour.
Both of his legs had been severed clean off, with blood streaming from the stumps, leaving him no choice but to crawl.
Still, he pushed himself forward with everything he had.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
Heavy footsteps rang through the room like iron crashing against iron, each one louder than the last as they closed in until the final scream fell silent.
Even then, his hands refused to stop.
One final desperate reach.
His fingers closed around a foot forged from metal and interwoven wire frames, faint crimson Neon-lights pulsing beneath its surface.
His body froze, and slowly he lifted his head.
Standing before him was a figure that looked human...yet unmistakably wasn’t.
He is a bulky man, half of his face having been replaced by intricate wiring and a seamless silver panel. His right arm was no longer flesh, but a limb of pure nano material, gripping a weapon that radiated quiet terror:
A pitch black scythe, whose crescent blades glowed with crimson light.
His remaining eye burned with the same crimson glow, devoid of warmth, and emotion, as it stared down at him.
GLITCH
A flicker rippled through his eye as the crimson glow dimmed. For the briefest moment, reason returned.
"Hmmm..."
A quiet hum escaped his lips as he slowly surveyed the room, his gaze passing over the bodies strewn across the floor, blood pooling beneath them.
Then he moved his gaze away, turning it to the scythe in his hand.
His fingers traced along its shaft before his attention finally returned to the man beneath his feet.
He was young, and quite good looking even in his current bad condition.
Brilliant green eyes rested beneath short white hair.
A pair of spectacles sat crookedly on his face, one shattered lens having lodged tiny shards deep within his left eye, from which thin streams of blood trickled down his cheek.
The sight drew a mocking smile onto his lips.
"Young with white hair...and green eyes."
He tilted his head, his face briefly glitching before stabilizing once more.
"Declan Ezra... isn’t it?"
A wide grin widened on his voice.
"Many of the Project scientists couldn’t stop talking about how much your research contributed to its success."
"Some even claimed it would’ve failed without your ideas."
He slowly raised the scythe overhead.
Blood slid down its gleaming blade before dripping onto Declan’s face.
"So...I suppose you deserve a special thank you."
’This is it. This is my end.’
The realization crushed his chest, sending his heart into a frantic frenzy.
This was never how he imagined dying. He still had a lot of plans.
He couldn’t die...not right now. Definitely not right now.
"The Nexus Seed in you is a Rare-grade creation."
Declan’s voice remained remarkably steady, flowing in a single breath despite the blood pooling beneath him.
"It enhances a human’s physical capabilities to over ten times their base limits while integrating advanced combat modules."
"It also enables Nano-remodulation at the same, allowing the user to manifest an implanted weapon module... like the scythe you’re wielding now."
VROOOOOM!
The words were enough to make the descending scythe stopped inches above his forehead.
"But every one of those benefits comes at a cost," Declan quickly continued.
"Mental overexertion will lead to heat that is severe enough to fry the user’s brain, and the earliest symptom of that is persistent glitching, the same that is happening to you right now."
There was a frown of disbelief on the man’s face.
"Official reports never acknowledged it, but it’s true."
"Everyone who uses the Nexus Seed eventually runs mad in the end. If you keep using it, it will destroy you."
"Hmmm."
He hummed with genuine interest.
"But I can fix it."
His words came faster now.
"With personalized cellular coding tailored to your genetic structure, I can make the Nexus Seed feel as natural as one of your own limbs."
"The drawbacks could disappear completely, and push your abilities to more than twenty times your base strength. Perhaps even unlock entirely new functions beyond Nano-remodulation."
His brows drew together. It was an offer truly worth considering.
"All I need is a laboratory, and one week."
"What do you say?"
Declan offered, and the room fell silent once more, with only the pounding of his heartbeat breaking the stillness.
He had never been a fighter, but a Mecha Scientist.
Knowledge was the only weapon he possessed, and now his only hope to surviving this situation.
"HEHEHEHEHEHE!"
Heavy laughter suddenly exploded through the room, shaking his shoulders. Even then, the scythe never moved an inch.
"You know, I have to admit."
The man said, looking into Declan’s green eyes.
"For a second, you almost convinced me."
But then, his crimson eyes flared brighter.
"My orders are simple: To eliminate every single person who knows even the slightest thing about creating a Nexus Seed."
His grin widened even more.
"And I can still remember what was promised to me once I complete this mission."
"ANexus Heart!"
Declan’s eyes widened.
A Nexus Heart!?
That was an entirely different class, leagues beyond the Nexus Seed
"Why would I settle for a perfected Nexus Seed, when I’ll be rewarded with something a hundred times better?"
He said with a sneer.
Declan’s mouth opened to blurt out something but no words came out.
WHIRRRR
The scythe hummed powerfully as its Nano-systems roared to life, its crimson glow intensifying.
"Your knowledge is extraordinary for someone your age..."
He gave him one final look.
"But unfortunately for you, this world values something else even greater."
A cold smile spread across his face.
"Power."
Those were the last words Declan Ezra ever heard.
RIIIIIIIIP!
The scythe descended like a silent viper, and his head was split cleanly in two before the blade buried itself into the iron floor beneath him.
The man’s emotionless crimson eye watched as the severed halves slowly slid apart, blood and fragments of brain matter spilling across the ground.
Without another glance, he pulled the scythe free and rested it across his shoulder, walking away.
Moments later, another set of footsteps echoed through the room as a group of men in cleaner uniforms entered carrying large body bags.
"Dispose of them."
The man’s cold voice echoed out to them.
"Yes Sir."
The cleaners immediately got to work.
Before long, one of them arrived beside Declan’s corpse.
He unzipped a dark body bag, stuffed the remains inside, sealed it shut, and carried it away to an unknown destination.