A little boy was lying in a bed, tucked in nice and cozy. Beside him sat an older man, reading the young boy a bedtime story. The man was dressed in a plain white coat, with professional attire beneath it. He seemed content reading to the boy, and in return, the boy seemed quite content to be read to. The young lad never had a bedtime story read to him, as it was usually forbidden for researchers to attempt to form bonds with experiments. This was a rare exception; the boy, known as both DS-28 and Paryl, had an incredibly crucial and ludicrously dangerous surgery performed on him earlier that day, and as there were no complications, he got a reward.
"And they lived happily ever after. The end."
The older man said in a happy tone, his reddish, well-trimmed beard moving with his smile. He continued:
"Did you like the story, Paryl?"
The boy was starstruck! He was never allowed to have these things. He overheard the researchers talk about their children and the ways they were treated sometimes, but he never imagined stories could be this exciting. He nodded happily, his messy black hair bouncing around like it had a mind of its own, exclaiming,
"Yes, yes! Can you read me one more? Just one? Please? Please, Mr. Ethan?"
Ethan felt like something was stabbing his soul. Paryl was so cute! He wanted to read more stories to the child. If it were allowed, he'd probably adopt the kid. Maybe it was because he was 32 and had no children, or maybe it was because the child was so adorable and well-mannered that anybody would have the same thoughts. Feeling guilt make a pit in his stomach, he said as neutrally as possible:
"Sorry, Paryl, the overseers won't allow it. I had to request this little multiple times, and it still wasn't easy to get permission."
Paryl's face fell. He looked like a sad puppy. Ethan couldn't hold his affection in anymore, protocol be damned!
"You were a very brave boy today, Paryl! That surgery was very scary! I couldn't even watch! Good job!"
Paryl was ecstatic when he heard that. He was the bravest! And sure, he wasn't quite conscious during the experience, but most people wouldn't have the guts to lie down on the table! Hearing such kind words from Mr. Ethan made him unimaginably happy.
"Yeah! I was the bravest!"
Just as the kind man was about to encourage the boy further, a woman dressed in the standard bland uniform of the facility came in. She quickly said in an emotionless tone:
"Dr. Ethan Moryl, please leave DS-28's cell. We have received the analysis of the imprint."
Ethan had no choice but to leave. He was aware of the fact the analysis wasn't new; it was probably sitting on some lower-level researcher's desk for a couple of hours. It was just a convenient excuse of the overseers to get him to stop interacting with Paryl. He sighed, standing up.
"Coming! I have to go now, Paryl. You rest up, okay? You had a hard day."
"Okay, Mr. Ethan!"
Paryl was sad because the kind researcher was leaving, but truthfully, he was too sleepy to care. As the man walked out of the room, however, it seemed much more sterile. The white floor and walls and the lack of decoration never bothered him before, but for some reason it felt...odd to him. Oh well, he would probably feel normal in the morning.
His back felt weird. It was as if it were absorbing something. The surgery had disconnected and moved both his mana and blood vessels around and made them connect to a weird tattoo, or by their terminology 'imprint,' of a dragon they made on his back. The creature's arms and legs extended towards his own, and the large neck and maw went towards his head. The wings covered the sides of his back. Its inky tail extended towards his rear. And was he crazy, or did it feel like it was warming up?
Ethan walked with measured steps towards the researchers' offices. The long, white hallway decorated with bland lights made him have to think about every turn; otherwise, he'd get lost in it and find himself in a maze of never-ending identical corridors. The design was intentional, of course, in case one of the experiments got out and tried to run.
He managed to get to the office of Dr. Maria without getting lost, a rarity for him. He knocked on the door lightly and entered.
"Miss Maria? I was called about the imprint analysis?"
The young researcher was ready for his arrival. She had her black, luscious hair tied neatly in a bun; her desk was perfectly organized so as to allow for the most working space, and her blouse was tucked neatly into a professional-looking black pencil skirt. She really was a sight to behold. His heart skipped a few beats.
"Dr. Ethan. You haven't signed the forms to see the analysis yet."
Ethan suppressed a sigh. He respected (and liked) the woman; he really did, but her incessant need to be 'by the numbers' made working with her a downright chore. Strangely enough, he also felt comforted by her calm and collected presence and her unwavering professionalism.
"We all know that's a formality. I'll get some intern to sign off on that. Give me the paper."
Maria sighed. She knew Dr. Ethan well from working on DS-28 with him and concluded arguing about appropriate credentials would lead to nothing but a giant waste of time. The waste of time would be filled with his jokes, so she considered it for a few moments. It was a hard choice, but she decided the matter was important enough that she shouldn't indulge herself.
"No need. Everything is perfect. No mana leakage; his mana core is stable, and the new blood vessels the healers conjured set in nicely. The inscription under the imprint also works perfectly. It's as ideal as it could be. He's basically a perfect being for a connection to 'him.' "
Ethan was very happy to hear that! He was so sure something would go wrong and Paryl would be placed in danger or even outright die. He felt like a boulder was taken off his shoulders.
"Phew. So...are we detecting the imprint connecting with 'him'?"
He cringed at his own words. He hated calling the being so vaguely, but he knew the danger he'd place the building in just by mentioning its name, so he bottled the feeling up.
"Nothing yet, but the last measurements were taken hours ago. So we can't say anything for certain yet."
That's...interesting. Ethan was sure a connection would be established. Well, nothing was guaranteed when it came to mana.
"Are the overseers happy?"
Ethan asked, his voice tinted with hope.
"They're never happy."
She answered curtly. Ethan chuckled at her unintentional joke.
"They're pissed at you for getting attached to DS-28. They say you'll make his emotions go out of check and make his mana output fluctuate."
"I know, I know. But the kid's too damn adorable!"
Maria looked at him for a few seconds, then bluntly said:
"Don't say that near a police station."
Ethan swore he saw Maria's lip curl up after the statement. Maria was smiling?! He was so shocked he almost ran out of fear!
He briefly considered stabbing her with a pencil, just in case she was a shapeshifting mana creature. He reluctantly decided against it.
"You're the weird one if you find that comment anything but heartwarming!"
"Save it for the judge."
"The judge? So you'd rat out your senior? How dastardly."
"So you admit there's something to be ratted out on, hm?"
Maria chuckled.
Ethan was about to retort when the whole building shook. He lowered his body at his knees, becoming more stable. The female doctor fell out of her chair, and he managed to catch her, falling to one knee. The trembling stopped abruptly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine."
Dr. Maria was shaking. It was clear she was terrified but didn't want to admit it.
"You're a level 3 researcher, right? You should've been given credentials for the security camera feed. Let's see if it's an earthquake or an experiment."
Maria nodded, turning on her computer and looking at the feed. She seemed horrified.
"No way, there is no way he has enough mana for a full transformation!"
In front of DS-28's cell, the doors of which were melted off their hinges, stood a dragon made out of scarlet electricity. The creature stood on four large legs and had wings that ended in a claw-like protrusion each, its tail adorned with a sphere that served as a mallet. A long neck was attached to its shoulders, leading to a terrifying maw that was spewing smoke.
It roared, the harsh sound making both of the doctors' ears hurt. It started clawing at the walls, floors, and ceilings, trying to find a way out. The walls fell apart as if they were made of paper. The mana-fortified ceiling, made by a complex set of inscriptions, was the last line of defense keeping the creature in the facility. It had no second floor, so if it broke, countless lives could be lost.
It fortunately held.
"Paryl doesn't have enough mana for this! His core barely has 900 megamana! For this you'd need dozens upon dozens of gigamana! Maybe more!"
Columns of earth erupted from the ground, piercing the wall. Fire spawned from the creature's mouth. The thing's large wings struggled against the walls, at least what was left of them, but with a big push, they crumbled around it.
The beast walked towards the closest door, which led to a small office, and slammed its tail into it. The hinges tore out of the wall with a deafening sound of scraping metal.
The creature heard bloodcurdling screams from inside and knew that's where its prey was. Maria and Ethan couldn't see the room from the hallway camera, as the dragon's large body was covering the entrance. They were only able to witness the aftermath. The scene made Maria retch and made Ethan's legs give out.
All that was left of the 8 people was blood and chunks of flesh. The metal walls were half melted, deformed by the absurd heat. A ripped-off hand hung limply from a column of sheer stone raised from the earth's depths. On the office table that was smashed to bits lay a half-chewed, bloody spine covered in chunks of flesh.
The creature, unsatisfied, rushed through the corridors searching for what it would tear apart next. There were protocols for the security, but this was so abrupt and unexpected the teams couldn't even assemble.
A lone security team leader stood in front of the dragon. He gave it his all, conjuring Inferno, an advanced form of fire magic borne from the sole wish to destroy. It even had the ability to burn through mana, as its only desire was annihilation.
Blue flames erupted from his arms, but the creature simply dodged the column of azure radiance at a speed unbefitting of something that possessed its sheer enormity.
The dragon's tail hit into his abdomen, sending him flying into the ceiling at high speeds. The security feed transmitted a sickening, wet, and crunchy sound, made by the breakage of bones, which pierced his soft muscles and skin.
It wandered the giant facility unstopped, seemingly more and more enraged by the maze it found itself in upon awakening. It repeatedly struck the ceiling with all its might, making the whole building tremble.
It held.
The creature felt spied on. It couldn't locate whatever was looking at it, but that fact did nothing to calm it down, simply enraging it further.
Then, it found a cell of a different experiment. Inside, there was a small girl, aged 7 years old. She was screaming and begging for its mother. The dragon's jaws unhinged to a degree they shouldn't be able to. Flames built in the depths of its maw, ready to free the girl from the facility's shackles.
Then, as abruptly as it was born, the creature stumbled, and the crimson electricity turned inky black, settling into an imprint on a child's back. DS-28 fell on the floor, in front of the girl's cell, asleep. Security teams finally assembled, surrounding the boy.
9 people. That was the number of casualties caused by the being. By Paryl, by DS-28.
Maria was fully throwing up into a trash can at the moment. Ethan looked at the monitor, seeing the picture it displayed but not quite processing it.
Everyone who wasn't deemed "immediately necessary" was sent to their Crown research facilities' mandatory housing.
The atmosphere was stiffening. Maria and Ethan walked together. Neither spoke a word. Ethan was shaking. Something about the scene made his world turn. He was used to death and destruction, but this sickened him to his core.
Maybe it was the thought that thing was the kind child DS-28.
Maybe it was the thought that the transformation could never have happened if he hadn't created the imprint.
Maybe it was the thought that the fondness DS-28 exhibited towards him could've been the reason for the calamity.
Or maybe it was guilt that came with creating such a monstrosity.
He didn't know, and he didn't care. Ethan walked into his house and sat on the couch, staring at the floor. His gaze wasn't on it. He knew the overseers wouldn't be happy. He would likely be assassinated.
He trembled lightly, tears flowing down his face. He didn't want to die; he didn't deserve it! He was just doing his job. He didn't deserve to die for that! He didn't!
Ethan felt something cold bite into his neck, and a hand pressed onto the side of his head. Warm blood trickled onto his torso.
It was weird. He was so panicked about death a few moments ago, but now that it was with him, he was strangely indifferent. He wasn't panicking; all that was left were regrets.
'I should've settled down, had a kid.'
'Shouldn't have worked so much.'
'Should've asked Maria out.'
Those were the last thoughts Ethan had as his blood painted the white carpet crimson.