Would it be another surprise if I told you that 60% of the world's population are Magicians? Only 45% of Ultima City are SPECs in training. That is very low considering Ultima City is a place of 5.2 million people. But statistics don't matter.
Because in a world full of chaos, only people with brains survive.
Because in a world full of chaos, only people with brains survive [https://img.wattpad.com/c2430b86ed0451e78657bf23b5889a9921de4634/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f34497535386d56543255475036773d3d2d313333313239353332312e313735343437363363623663633435343134353537343430373334312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
March 18, 2065
POV: Nazuki Mihara
----------------------------------------
Just how long could someone stare at a phone for 5 hours, without even doing anything else? Nazuki Mihara is a special case of someone that glues her hand to her phone. For 5 hours, she was waiting for Andrei's message, as both were planning to save Natsuha Inose from the traumatizing project she was forced to partake in.
Andrei, who is Natsuha's caretaker, expressed his decision to save Natsuha, which the plan later on was joined by Nazuki too. Both were Natsuha's good friends, and both were concerned for her wellbeing.
10 minutes later, Andrei still hadn't messaged Nazuki.
"..." A small hum left Nazuki's mouth, as she finally started to grow impatient. The wait wasn't going well either, it seemed like the clock was moving slower than ever.
After five more minutes of waiting with no results, and thinking about calling him, her finger rested over the green call button, but... She finally receives a message from Andrei, which said that they should meet up in Teatime Cafe.
Teatime Cafe is a small cafe in the Centre District of Ultima City, where students often go to for stress-free moments. But Nazuki and Andrei's planning was far from stress-free. In fact, it stressed them both out even more. Nazuki replied to Andrei's message and jumped off the container she sat on, exiting the alleyway.
The walk to the cafe took roughly 20 minutes. Once inside, Nazuki finds herself alone at a table in an empty room. After waiting for a bit longer, she sees a familiar face entering through the door—Andrei is standing there holding a coffee cup in one hand. He walks straight towards her without any hesitation.
"I'm glad you came." He said, sitting down on the same table. "I guess you already got the gist of the situation?"
"Y-Yeah." Nazuki answered, while nervously sipping her black tea.
Andrei sips his drink, observing her closely. "You seem worried. Are you scared?" His question comes across as a joke to him, though it doesn't look that way to her. It almost feels like he's being serious to test if she's telling the truth or not. And even when she nods, it seems like he still didn't believe her.
"You don't really need to do this, you know?" He said, sipping his drink in 3 second intervals, while looking straight at Nazuki. Andrei was set on freeing Natsuha from the confines of Ultia all by himself.
A few days ago, Nazuki came to Andrei, confronting him for trying to confront the situation alone. Nazuki stressed that Natsuha was her friend, and wanted to help.
"I'm... not a good friend if I don't... help you." Nazuki said with a shy voice, gripping her drink tightly. She wasn't confident enough to speak out against what he had planned, but she couldn't just sit around doing nothing either. All she could do was trust Andrei and his plan.
Andrei smiled gently at Nazuki's reply, after which, he continued.
"Let's start with this:" He explained the current situation at hand. The two of them were in the middle of planning how to save Natsuha. The problem now became whether they would succeed in saving Natsuha, knowing the true nature of the project she has been forced into partaking in—The experiment called 'Dark Infinite Project'.
Dark Infinite Project is a project in which the higher-ups of Ultima City force a prodigy to achieve levels so incredibly high that their O.C.R (Own Conscious Reality) cannot handle the progression, thus leaving irreversible brain damage that is closer to a form of PTSD than other brain diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's.
Natsuha Inose and the Number One of all Class 10's - Divo Aoyami, were once again forced to partake into the second version of this project. Divo Aoyami's part of the project was to see if his power could be replicated and applied onto other people should a war threaten the city's state.
However, Natsuha Inose's part of the project was for Ultia to achieve the first ever SPEC that can sustain the abnormality of an unachievable level... Class 11. In this state, a SPEC's O.C.R would transcend to a point where they are no longer classified as a human, but more of a deity, as the power that they hold would be so unimaginably powerful. Natsuha was forced to do is because a few weeks ago, she had fought a Magician which attacked the city.
The Magician going by the name: Segumi Bunraku - was tasked with leaking information of Ultima City's planned retaliation against the United Council of Magic Regulation, during a potential World War 3. While Segumi's plan was success, he would then fight Natsuha Inose in her awakened state. A Class 10 in an awakened state is so powerful that it is the closest representation of a Class 11 SPEC, which further excited Alice Ultia, the Chairwoman of the city.
For Andrei, he would only talk about the more known things of the project. His information was limited on the experiment, but his knowledge allowed him to draw conclusions from what little he knows.
"You can already tell just how inhumane this experiment is." Andrei's eyebrows twitched as he let go of his more gentle side. "She shouldn't endure this much longer. This experiment will rot her away, and she will never be the same."
Andrei grabbed his bag and unzipped it, digging his hand inside. He pulled out a long sheet of paper. It was blue and filled with lines.
"A... blueprint?" Nazuki asked, left confused. Why was Andrei carrying a huge blueprint around? What was all this about? She tilted her head as she stared at the drawing. The drawing resembled that of a tower.
"... Andrei... this is..." She looked at him, her worry growing every second. A lot of stuff has happened recently that made her question herself many times over, but right now she felt that something terrible was happening again—like an event that could turn bad real quick if not handled carefully enough.
Andrei sighs deeply while giving an answer to Nazuki's obvious doubts. "Yeah. This is the blueprint of Heaven's Fall - the long tower in the Centre District." he said quietly, explaining everything to her in simple terms.
Nazuki's eyes widened slightly with a jolt upon hearing the word 'Heaven's Fall'. Her expression turned stiff as a statue when he added: "That's where she is. She told me before she was taken by guards."
"... Andrei... she... that's where the higher-ups work... They'll capture us before we can get inside..." She gulped, scared for what might happen next.
"Not necessarily." He replied with his usual calm tone. "I have some tricks up my sleeve." He revealed himself, producing two small pieces of paper out of his pocket. The paper on one side were instructions on how to enter Heaven's Fall, while on the other side was a map of the building itself. Nazuki looked at him in shock as she read through both sides of the papers in his hands.
"Luckily, CARD was kind enough to grant me access to the tower's blueprints. I got them from the Hi-Quad Central Library." Andrei smirked under his mask, before turning the paper around. "I'm going to enter from the main entrance. I gotta do something else before I aim to save Natsuha, that's where you come in."
"...Me?" Nazuki sipped her drink. Andrei nodded, continuing: "You're going to sneak him from the backside garden of Heaven's Fall. Keep in mind that it's heavily guarded, but your power's enough to not raise any suspicion."
That's right. Nazuki's ability is Teleportation—it allows her to instantly teleport herself anywhere within a 100 meter radius. However, it's only limited to things she sees and remembers. She can't recall places she hasn't been to before. For example—if she wants to visit somewhere she has never seen before, she'd be able to get there as long as she has visited those spots once before. But if the place was unfamiliar or unknown to her before the event, then it was not possible.
"But there is something else. The tower negates all kinds of abilities. I've seen it firsthand." Andrei said, commenting on how low their chance was of saving Natsuha- and her little sister, Tsuki. "But you'll still try. That's why I need you by my side when I make my move."
Nazuki gulped, knowing full well what this 'move' was about.
"I'll probably fail..." She muttered. "...And I know that we might die... ..." Nazuki fell silent, and so did Andrei. This plan was suicide for them, and only the best escapists could pull something off as absurd as this.
"... We have to try." He spoke up with determination in his eyes. His expression turned more serious as he continued speaking: "I don't want to say it's a risk worth taking, but even if you survive this mission, I will take responsibility."
Nazuki gave him an apologetic look. Her voice sounded softer than usual: "N-no... I... I chose this too... Let's do our best..." She replied timidly.
Andrei stared at her for a good 10 seconds, before folding the blueprint and putting it back inside his bag. He would finish his drink and then take a deep breath. It was now time to start planning the rescue mission.
They were about an hour away from Heaven's Fall. As they entered the streets of Ultima City, the wind blows softly through highrise buildings, and as the sun set in the distance, there wasn't much people walking around in sight, making the entire area feel eerie—like everyone had gone into hiding already. The surrounding buildings appeared dull and cold, giving Nazuki chills.
Nazuki knew that many people feared her because of her ability. Some may find her power terrifying—which is true—but she also uses her power only to help others out if she has to. Even though she is only a Class 9 SPEC, her ability is very unique, as only a few SPECs in the entire city practice Teleportation. Her ability allows her to teleport herself within 100 meters range; this makes sense as a teenager wouldn't want anyone stealing their belongings while in school. After all, what other use does the skill serve?
Andrei's ability relies solely on process and observation. Andrei can copy someone's abilities by watching people fight. But he is also able to move at insane speeds by imagining himself touching a surfage, essentially acting like a human missile or bullet when fighting enemies. While he was being cautious against his surroundings, he didn't bother looking at his surroundings as he walked forward, just casually following along with her.
"Right," Andrei finally broke the 5 minute long silence of them walking together. "I'll plan some more while you get ready to do this. We'll do this in 2 days." He said, looking at Nazuki, waiting for a confirmation.
Nazuki nodded after hearing everything so far. She felt bad for Natsuha Inose—she wanted to save her best friend—but she still had doubts about if she could pull off something like this. She took out a bottle of water from her bag and downed it right away. After drinking the water and feeling it fill her empty stomach, she breathed a sigh of relief, saying:
"...Okay..." She said with a shy voice again.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
They would soon part ways and walk to their apartments.
They would soon part ways and walk to their apartments [https://img.wattpad.com/38697c107a86f1603451347fac7d7d07a94b84c8/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f586a6b6d396335504a656c6349413d3d2d313333313239353332312e313735343437633064383062353232613932373936303938393630312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
March 19, 2065
POV: Natsuha Inose
----------------------------------------
"Natsuha Inose. You cannot leave the experimentation room until you have disposed of the subject."
So here I stand once more, against a clone of mine, waiting to get killed by my hands once the bell rings. How many times have I done this now? I don't know anymore, I've lost count. It's been going on for too long, and my brain can't process whatever anymore.
It's been hours, and hours, and hours, and hours, and hours. It's still ongoing. I've tried everything I could to stop this madness. I've confronted the higher-ups myself but every damn time, they retaliated stronger than ever. I've lost hope. Was this project inevitable to begin with? Was I really so cursed that I had to endure this a second time?
God is playing games with me. He always has been. I bet he's laughing right now, looking at me like I'm some pathetic piece of a failed process. That must be why. Because I'm just a failure. Not worthy enough to play his game properly.
If I could just... reach out to someone for help. Someone that cared enough to do something. That's all I want. All I want is for someone to acknowledge my pain and realize that this is more than just a silly game I've been forced to complete. This isn't a fucking childish test of skill. This is a human being, hurting because of the cruelty of another being!
But there is no one, no one to take my hand and help me escape from a labyrinth of torturous rooms. No one to listen when I rant about the endlessness of these halls or the suffering in each corner of them. The only ones around are my fellow clones.
Clones. They are me, I am them. But in the end, they die and I survive.
Who's the real murderer here? I think that's easy to tell. It's me. I'm not speaking of guilt, because I would rant a million times over if all I did was vent about my guilt. But it's real, and I've become a cold-hearted murderer. Who wouldn't after going through this process again and again without any signs of release? Who else could be responsible for this?!
The answer is obvious: none but me.
I'm just a weakling. I thought that they wouldn't break me. I thought that I could atleast hold on until the end of this... but I broke before the project even began. That's right. I was scared. Scared that the whole process would repeat like the old one... and my brain couldn't take it anymore. I broke, and this is just a series of unfortunate events where it'll break my personality even more. And there won't ever be an end to my torture, and so I'm dead and buried in this mess, as well.
I've lost.
This can never stop now.
I've accepted it.
No one is coming to save me.
...Heh.
...
"Natsuha Inose. I will repeat. You will not leave this experimentation room until you have destroyed the test subject. Destruction of the subject is mandatory, to elevate your capabilities."
I open my eyes, looking at the scientist who spoke through the speaker, then I look back at the clone which is ready to charge at me. I stay still and watch with lifeless eyes as the clone that stands before me starts running towards me.
"Initiating power replication. Ability testing procedure kickstarted. Ability chosen. Replicating: Rebar." The clone spoke with a lifeless voice.
Clones. They move like me, sound like me, but they die and I survive. Their lifeless texture, and their lifeless eye stare back at me. They all have the same face, each one looks just the same to me. I feel nothing but guilt. But under all that guilt, was acceptance that I never wanted. Acceptance that these clones are just an empty shell. An imitation of life. I am here because someone out there wants a perfect replica of Natsuha Inose. Something that is just like me, as strong as me... just to push me to a Class that no ordinary SPEC can reach.
"Replicating one of Rebar's abilities: Spot Welding." The clone stated, shooting a long line of metal at me.
Clones. They fight like me, dodge, and weave like me. But they die and I survive. A worthless existence in the end, just to fulfill something that psychotic humans want. I shouldn't feel any guilt for them. They're nothing. They don't have a soul. They may move like me, talk like me, laugh like me, cry like me! But they're nothing short than soulless beings made by man for his own convenience.
The metal keeps flying toward me. I do nothing and I subconsciously place a barrier in front of me, repelling the projectile back to the clone.
"Replicating two of Rebar's abilities: Iron Armor." The clone says as they dove under the metal that was repelled back by them. They form an armour that was made of iron, and started running toward me again. "Replicating one of Rebar's abilities: Metallic Lock." They stop running, locking themselves in front of my attack. This time, however, it wasn't just one; It was more than twenty small spears formed into one massive spear that flew towards me with incredible speed.
But it was no use. I am out of this clone's league. It's no surprise, considering they are made to be killed by me. But their speed still surprises me, even if they're just disposable trash. As the massive spear flew at me with ridiculous speed, I do nothing once again.
Instead, I engulf my right arm in a barrier and stop the massive spear with my arm. I took no damage, and the clone wasn't fazed by it either. It's no surprise, considering they are lifeless beings with no emotion registered.
"Replicating one of Rebar's abilities: Magnetism Manipulation." The clone began gathering metal on itself as they got closer and closer to me. Finally, they launched off the metal platform that they just created and accelerated towards me with a speed comparable to a Class 8 or 9.
Clones. They're determined like me, give up like me. But they die and I survive. They keep trying like I did too, but I'm different than them. I'm a real human being, and they're copies. They're nothing. I keep telling myself that, but the more this clone tries to take me down... the more I feel guilt building up inside me. Why? Because I can't help feeling guilty for killing these creatures who look so much like humans yet have no souls in them whatsoever. It's hard for me to kill them because of that. It's not just some theory anymore. I've experienced it over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again... There is no end to this.
I swipe my left hand in front of me, sending a shockwave of air at the clone that is still charging towards me with speed. When the clone makes contact with my shockwave, it gets bested. Sent flying by the shockwave, it hits the wall hard. It slowly slides along the wall before falling flat on its face. The clone let out a groan, as if it was expressing pain. As if it was hurt.
Clones. They hurt like me, fall like me. But they die and I survive. And each time I see one of them getting killed, I get angrier and angrier. Even though I know I shouldn't feel anything about their deaths. But I do anyway! Dammit! Clones are just empty shells, made by man to satisfy their sick curiosity and lust for power! It's enough to make anyone angry!
The clone tried to crawl back onto its feet, but stopped when I used Air Pressure to keep it stuck to the ground. "Replicating two of Rebar's abilities: Sonic Shove."
A shiver runs through me. I never thought I'd be doing this again. Yet, here we go again. This feels like yesterday... Every day feels like yesterday... because there never is a day where I don't kill a clone of mine. No matter how much I try not to... every single time, I have to kill someone else just like myself. And it doesn't stop even after death; these clones continue living in my mind and in my soul forever.
As the clone replicated one of Rebar's abilities which is called Sonic Shove, I brace myself for whatever is to come. However, as soon as the clone starts charging toward me with speed, they got thrown into the wall behind me, once again, with another groan. Once they're done falling to the ground, they begin crawling towards me while sending off small shockwaves with their hands, trying to catch me by surprise. But all that did was send more pain across their face, making them look even more miserable than before. Their head was spinning, looking up at me without blinking. I could see the pain that was etched on its face.
The clone started to get angry, and started switching from ability. "Exiting Rebar replication. Searching for new ability replication. Ability found. Initiating ability replication. Replicating one of Instapoint's abilities: Teleportation." The clone stood up and charged at me again.
...
That's Nazuki's ability. Which is no surprise, considering my ability works the same. I can replicate everything that I store inside my OCR, as long as it is not too taxing on my body, and my OCR. I can't replicate any Class 10 abilities except the ones that I can calculate perfectly. I've tried replicating Divo Aoyami's Acceleration before, but the formula that I came up with was so fake that my OCR failed on me. I wonder what he's doing now.
The clone teleported for the first time, appearing behind me. It went for a punch on my spine, but my barrier only pushed the clone back. The clone grumbled and started looking for alternatives to get a punch in. The clone teleported again. This time, they appeared just in front of me. The clone goes for a punch, but I catch their hand. I don't want to hurt them; I don't want to kill them. That's why I do nothing but defend. The clone gets angrier and angrier, and their punches started to get even stronger.
Clones. They're angry like me, impulsive like me. But they die and I survive. They are also filled with emotions such as anger, hatred and rage. But those feelings were all calculated by humans who wanted these things to happen. No emotion is natural or pure within clones. Their ability doesn't make this fact any more evident than it already is. Clones can feel pain, joy, love... All sorts of human feeling. They aren't dead inside... They are beings...
...
No!
No! They're not!
Agghhh!! Why am I thinking about this!? They're nothing! They don't have a soul! They don't laugh! They don't get angry! They don't cry! They don't feel pain and they don't feel love! They are mindless creatures built for the birth of a monster!! But... but... under all this helplessness... why do I feel so guilty...? Even though I know I should stop feeling anything at all toward the creatures that look so much like me but actually don't exist at all! ...But... still... my heart beats faster when one of them dies, as if to say that somewhere deep down, I'm afraid to let myself go completely.
The clone goes for another punch, and I dematerialize my barrier. The punch goes through and hits my cheek, but it doesn't do any damage. It felt as if a leaf fell on my nose, rather than it being an actual punch. That's how wide the gap is between a Class 9 and a Class 10. If the measurement of power gaps were to be calculated by, let's say, a wall. Then the gap between a Class 8 and Class 9 would be like 4 walls.
But... The gap between a Class 9 and a Class 10, would be something like 100 walls. Just imagining it makes me want to vomit. Are we really beings that were made to become slaves for scientists? Beings that are made for military research. Beings... that were made to become supersoldiers to create mass destruction.
All my clones are like lamb to the slaughter. And all I can think about are these questions. I just can't help thinking about these things. What is the actual point? If you wanted to make me stronger... if you wanted me to reach Class 11, couldn't you have thought of a more humane way to go about it!? Why did you have to create 10,000 clones for me to kill! They walk, talk and live like me... yet they're mindless victims.
I grab the clone's right arm which he punched me with, and twisted it. The clone let out a grunt, and went for a kick. I cancel out his kick with my right arm. What happens if I break the clone's arm? Will it feel pain? Will it scream out in agony?
Mindlessly indulging in my intrusive thoughts, I break the clone's arm. The clone falls on the ground, holding it's broken arm. Blood was gushing from it's arm, and it's bone was visible. I put too much force into that... I didn't even realize that I was so tensed up. Did I really... did I really feel sympathy for these mindless creatures? But... they're-
"!"
The clone started whimpering. Then, a few seconds later;
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHH!!!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHRGGHGH!!!!!!"
They yelled out in agony. They felt pain. My whole body jerked as I heard them screaming from the top of their lungs. I was in shock. I thought that they would stay still, not feeling anything. Then I realized...
Why? Why would you give those clones the ability to feel pain? Why? They're created just so they can get killed by me? So why would you even... Why... Why do you make THEM suffer?
I should... put them out of their misery.
I walk up to the clone and stand above them. They were still whimpering. I could see tears coming out of their eyes, as they stared into my eyes. What do my eyes look like from their perspective? Are my eyes the eyes of a murderer, or someone drowned in guilt, perceived as insane and unjust? What am I thinking when looking at these clones' eyes...? If they are able to get angry... if they're able to feel pain, then it's normal if they perceive me as a cold-blooded murderer. It's human intuition, and they have it.
The clone started speaking, trying to fight unbearable amounts of pain;
"R...Replicating one of... Instapoint's abilities: En... Environmental... Insta... travel." They tried replicating an ability, but it didn't work. They were trying to fight back. Do they... value their own life? Is that why they didn't give up just now?
...
Clones. They bleed like me, cry like me. But they die and I survive. And each time I kill one of them, I can't help but get closer to accepting that they're not just lifeless beings... but human beings. They feel pain, have human emotion... but they're made to serve a dark purpose. That's all they are right?
"Repl...icating... one of... Instapo...int...'s... a... ... ..." The clone slowly fell silent, and then stopped shivering. The clone was dead. Their lifeless eyes became more lifeless, void of any texture. Like a piece of paper without ink on it. A corpse. A ghostly figure standing before my eyes. I've seen this scene so many times already, and every time it happens, I grow more tolerable of it. I'm losing human decency. I'm changing right in front of my clones and they don't even know.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
I fall onto my knees.
I've killed them so many times... but I can't help but feel so sad and guilty.
They're dead.
I killed them.
"This experiment is now hereby halted. You may leave the room, Natsuha Inose."
I killed them.
"You may report at the same room tomorrow."
I killed them.
"You may not show progress now."
I killed them.
"But in the upcoming days... we will see just how useful you can be."
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.
I killed them.