Youri was terrified by the tall man. A long beard framed his gaunt face, and with almost no hair on his head he stared at Youri with deep, black, exhausted eyes. A heavy cloth draped over his body, swaying with each slow step as he approached. His voice rumbled—harsh, gravelly, ancient.
"This way," he said, lifting his chained hands to point toward the entrance of the lab.
Knox patted Youri's back lightly, almost casually."Go on. I'll be coming shortly. He'll give you a little tour," Knox said with a sinister smile. "After all… this is going to be your new home."
The chained man shoved Youri into the lab. Now inside, Youri looked around more closely—chills running down his spine. The room felt far worse up close. The stench, the stains, the cold metal, everything breathed danger. The chained man pushed him again, directing him toward a small door at the far end of the room.
Terrified, Youri walked slowly toward it. As he reached the door, it swung open on its own, revealing a long corridor. The arched ceiling was lined with rusted pipes and hanging industrial lights that cast a cold greenish glow. Metal grates clattered underfoot, and the wall tiles—once blue—were cracked and peeling. Heavy barred doors stood ajar along both sides, each like the entrance to a dungeon.
Youri crept forward through the menacing corridor, the chained man following behind. As he passed one of the cells, he heard a harsh, animal-like breathing. A sudden hiss ripped through the air, followed by a lunge at the bars. Something inside moved—its face hidden behind long, dark hair that reached its legs. Only two crimson eyes glowed through that curtain of hair, watching Youri pass with predatory hunger.
Youri and the chained man walked for what felt like forever. The hallway felt endless, lengthening the farther they went. Cell after cell revealed more grotesque shapes, more beings that looked part-human, part creature. By the time they reached another door—a shining white one—Youri felt cold sweat pouring down his back.
What lay beyond that door was something no ten-year-old should ever see. As it opened, a giant room came into view. At its center stood a massive wooden table, spotless and empty. Behind it sat a black chair that looked almost comfortable—too comfortable for a place like this.
But the walls were what twisted the room into a nightmare.
Shelves towered from floor to ceiling, stacked with horrors: eyeballs glowing faint purple, skulls floating in green fluids, strange organs suspended in jars, twisted creatures locked in hanging cages. Some cages held bird-shaped beings; others contained things shaped like humans with two arms and two legs, wrong in every possible way.
Youri vomited on the metal floor, disgusted and terrified.
Then footsteps echoed from behind. Slow. Confident. Approaching.
Knox's silhouette emerged, a wide, pleased grin on his face.
"So you finally made it," he said. He turned to the chained man. "Thank you, Andy. You may return to your cell."
The chained man nodded once and left, shutting the door behind Youri.
Now alone with Knox, Youri felt tears burst from his eyes. Knox's smile deepened.
"Oh, pure boy," he murmured, wiping one of the tears with unsettling tenderness. "Don't worry—I don't think you'll end up on my shelves. Those were just species with no potential."
Knox walked to the large table, opened a drawer, and pulled out a syringe. He tapped the needle, forcing a small bead of fluid out the tip.
"You, my boy," Knox said calmly, "have plenty of potential. And with this…"—he lifted the syringe—"we're going to skyrocket it."
He began walking toward Youri.
Panicking, Youri scrambled backward until his back hit the locked door. He fell to the ground, legs trembling, helpless. Knox reached him, crouched down, and as he injected the needle he whispered:
"Don't worry. This won't hurt. I'll see you in the white room."
Youri's vision distorted instantly, colors twisting together until everything dissolved into darkness.
When he finally regained his senses, a painful white light burned his eyes. He tried lifting his head—only to realize he couldn't move. Thick brown straps bound his arms and legs to a metal table. He screamed for help over and over, but no one came.
As he looked around in terror, he recognized the room—the same operating room he'd seen earlier through the window of the double doors. The exit was close, but his restraints were too tight. He couldn't even bend his wrists.
The double doors opened.
Knox stepped inside.
"Oh, you're awake," he said casually.
Youri glared at him. "Why are you doing this?"
Knox smiled. "I told you, didn't I? You have potential. And I'm addicted to potential."
"That doesn't make any sense!" Youri shouted.
Knox rummaged through the metal cart, picking up a small saw in one hand and a pair of pincers in the other.
"Ah. Right. You're ten," he said mockingly. "Let me simplify."
He laid the tools on the tray and leaned closer.
"When we're born, we all receive a gift—unique genes. Some priceless. Some useless. And some… so special that people kill for them. Institutes were built just to extract those genes from special people, creating others far superior."
He paced slowly around the table.
"This continued for decades. Until someone found a way to grow an artificial human loaded with all the collected genes. The perfect vessel. But the lab was destroyed by the Terrian Empire. They didn't want a super-soldier capable of rivaling them."
Knox smirked.
"But they overlooked one crucial detail. The artificial baby wasn't meant to grow in that lab. He was supposed to grow normally… awakening his potential over time."
Youri's eyes widened—red from crying.
Knox leaned over him.
"Do you understand who I'm talking about?" he whispered. "I even left you a letter so you'd grow up thinking someone loved you."
He grinned wider.
"Sure, maybe that was a little cruel. And yes—I intended to do this later. But you found your way here early, so lucky you."
Youri sobbed. "What do you mean!?"
Knox slammed the tools onto the table.
"Do you know how many people I had to kill just to get you out of that orphanage!?"
Youri's tears streamed down his cheeks. His voice trembled. "Did you do anything to Lira?"
Knox burst into laughter.
"That woman?" he said. "I don't know. I asked her twice, politely, and she still refused me—and had the audacity to beg me to save her orphanage. She deserved death."
"You monster!" Youri screamed. "Why!? WHY!?"
Knox placed a cloth over Youri's mouth, muffling his cries.
"Do you want to know how she died?" he asked, smiling. "I'll tell you anyway."
He leaned closer, eyes shining with madness.
"She was shopping peacefully when she bumped into—well—me." He tapped his own chest smugly. "I helped her carry her bags. She talked endlessly about how she'd left you alone and needed to hurry back. So I offered her a ride."
His grin widened.
"As I drove, I saw a pole ahead and thought: what a perfect gravestone. So I hit the gas. Hard. The pole pierced the car and crushed your little friend."
Youri screamed against the cloth, eyes flooding.
Knox whispered:
"As she lay there dying, covered in blood… she whispered one name."
He paused.
"And it wasn't you, boy."