Finally, I felt a glimpse of freedom, and by my will the essence flowed through my body.
Because of the chip in our heads, we weren't allowed to use essence unless those bastards permitted it... and they only did that during training sessions and experiments.
Now, thanks to that idiot dead on the ground, I managed to shut it down, but this wasn't a permanent solution... I need to remove it completely.
I bent over the assistant's corpse and searched his pockets until I found a small red card, the one that gives him full access to this laboratory's systems.
Without hesitating, I walked toward the computer. From this moment, I'm racing against time.
I stood in front of the screens and the complicated buttons, feeling a little lost. But years of watching those scientists work had taught me — at least roughly — how to handle devices like these.
The first thing that showed on the screen was my full file: the name, the height, the weight... everything.
But what really caught my attention was a certain field, opened by the dead assistant moments ago.
[Chip Status: Disabled]
I pressed it, and several options appeared. From activation, to shutdown... even detonation... wow.
And at the bottom of the list on the screen, was what I was looking for.
[Removal]
I pressed it quickly, and a new message appeared.
[Please scan security authorization]
I ran the card over the scanner in front of me.
[Sufficient access level confirmed]
[Please have the chip holder lie down on the operating bed]
I followed the instructions, walked to the bed behind me, where the corpse of the one called Arthur lay lifeless, a small pool of blood formed under it on the shiny floor.
I lay down on my stomach, and after a few moments, the mechanical arms hanging from above moved, like they were coming back to life.
Then I felt it. Cold metal cutting the flesh at the back of my neck, and forcing the wound open.
There was no anesthesia. Maybe I was supposed to pick it?
I endured the pain while I felt the cold metal moving inside the wound, at the back of my head where the spinal cord connects to the brain... it didn't last long.
After a few moments, I felt something being pulled out of the base of my skull, drops, warm drops of my blood running down my neck, while the wound closed and was stitched.
[Chip successfully extracted]
A mechanical voice echoed in the laboratory.
I got up with my hand running over the wound on my neck. It was healing slowly.
I looked at the small disc placed on a metal tray beside the table. It was stained with blood. I picked it up and examined it quickly before I put it in my pocket... I still need it.
I moved away from the table. The whole process didn't take more than ten minutes.
And now, I had to deal with the two guards outside, without the surveillance cameras in the corridors catching me.
But I'd already planned for this.
The first thing I did was move the assistant's corpse and hide it behind the equipment, then I cleaned the pool of blood, using his clothes.
I stood there checking for blood stains on the white floor, before I took a deep breath and activated my ability.
[Soul Eyes]
My vision changed, and shining particles appeared filling the world around me... it was essence.
My ability didn't let me see through walls, but that wasn't necessary, while it changed my sight, it also gave me a new sense.
I could feel the essence and the souls within a circle two hundred meters in radius, not a vague sense like the one other Awakened have, but something far more precise.
Even through the thick walls, I could feel the two guards... how the essence settled inside their bodies, how the essence in the air reacts with them.
And their souls... their weight, their strength.
All I have to do now is wait until one of them loses his patience and comes into the room.
I walked to a corner near the door and waited, my tension growing with every minute that passed, delaying things wasn't in my favor.
I felt like a whole hour had passed here, then finally, through my perception, I felt one soul moving toward the door.
I didn't do anything. I was already ready, hiding behind one of the machines near the entrance.
Invisible to anyone coming out of that door.
...
Outside, in front of the laboratory door the two guards stood at attention.
Staring at the empty wall in front of them, one of them spoke in an annoyed tone. "Those arrogant white coats... just because they value them more than us, they treat us like this. Every time they make us wait outside like we're going to suddenly jump and destroy everything."
The other let out a rough sigh. "You know why... ever since that incident, guards have been banned from staying inside the laboratories unless they have a reason."
He knew exactly which incident he meant.
In the past, one of the guards was waiting inside a laboratory. Out of pure boredom, he started messing with the equipment. In the end, his hand touched an unstable essence core. The resulting explosion killed everyone inside the room. Since that day, they were banned from staying or wandering inside the laboratories.
"Still, he's taking a long time, isn't he?"
The other nodded. "Yeah. It's already been more than an hour. He said it would be a quick examination."
The annoyed guard moved to the door. "I'll go check."
... ...
Caius's point of view
I felt him coming closer to the door. Then I heard the sound of the automatic sliding, followed by the guard's heavy steps coming inside, and luckily... he was alone.
I held my breath and hid my presence.
"Doctor Arthur?" the guard called as he passed by the place where I was hiding, and the moment he did he stopped.
"The smell of blood," he muttered, and his essence started circling through his body.
But it was too late.
The essence flooded my muscles, and the next moment I came out right behind him... he sensed me and tried to react.
But it was already too late.
My hands moved fast, landing on the sides of his head, then without delay I put all my strength into my hands, and twisted them.
"Ah!"
A dull, disgusting cracking sound echoed, before the guard's body became heavy in my hands, his neck violently twisted and his mouth open in a late scream.
His body collapsed on the ground lifeless, the saliva running from the corner of his mouth.
I dragged him quickly to where Arthur's corpse was hidden, then went back to my position and waited for the other guard.
I didn't wait long. After a few minutes, the door opened again, with a deep voice full of annoyance.
"What's taking all this time?"
Like the first one, he walked a few steps past the machine I was standing behind, and before he could sense that something was wrong, it was over.
Another body fell on the ground, its neck violently twisted.
They were at the same rank as me... but they weren't like me.
I turned my attention to the corpse on the ground and started stripping off his uniform quickly and efficiently, before I put it on.
Finally, I put the guard's cap on my head and lowered its brim to hide my face... making sure the three corpses were thrown properly, I headed to the door, took a deep breath... and opened it.
That was my first step toward freedom.
The moment I came out and the door closed behind me, the surveillance cameras caught me, I made sure to act normally... I knew this disguise wouldn't last long.
I walked through the cold corridors, using my perception to avoid the guards or anyone else, only the sound of my steps was audible to me, syncing with my heartbeat, until I reached my destination.
At the end of the corridor were the double doors of the elevator. Luckily, there was nobody nearby.
When I came closer, I pressed the button beside the door for it to open, and the moment I went in it closed behind me with a muffled sound.
I was now on the second floor. I looked at the buttons, then pressed the button labeled
B7 — Underground Level Seven.
The next moment, the elevator started going down fast, the numbers and letters on the screen changing constantly.
Underground Level Seven was a huge storage area, and a little before the elevator reached its destination, a new presence entered my perception.
There was someone standing in front of the elevator doors. I felt the weight of his soul and estimated his strength.
Rank 2 — Beginner.
After a few moments, the elevator stopped. And the doors opened.
A man wearing the guard's uniform stood in front of me, apparently waiting for the elevator.
I lowered my head and came out, trying to get past him without drawing attention.
But this time... things didn't go as planned.
I felt a hand grab my shoulder, followed by his voice near my ear. "Hello there, pal... oh, you don't look familiar. Are you new here?"
I cursed in my heart, and lowered my head more, hiding under the cap, I tried to change the tone of my voice.
"Yes. I arrived a few days ago."
Without warning, the man's hand reached out and took off my cap. "Come on friend, don't be shy... let me have a look at you."
I froze in place. Should I kill him now? That would expose me immediately — here and now.
While my thoughts raced, I saw his expression slowly change, and his smile fade.
"You're very young... hold on. I've seen this face before."
My breathing stopped with the next words.
"Aren't you... Subject 01?"