In the hazy glow of the early morning, while most of the lab's inhabitants slumbered in the quiet embrace of sleep, an unexpected visitor slipped into the room. Cloaked in shadows, a figure moved with practiced stealth, their footsteps barely making a sound against the cold, tiled floor. The girl, dressed in nondescript gray attire, moved with purpose, her eyes scanning the room for something of value.
Containers were opened and inspected, their contents rifled through with silent determination until finally, her gaze settled on a collection of vials, each one filled with a vibrant hue that seemed to pulse with hidden energy. With deft fingers, she plucked one of each off-colored vial, tucking them away into the depths of her pockets.
As she heard the telltale sounds of someone approaching, her heart quickened, and she instinctively sought refuge, ducking behind a nearby counter. Rück, groggy from sleep, rubbed his eyes and blinked blearily at the sight before him. Adjusting his glasses with a practiced hand, he surveyed the scene with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.
"You might as well just come clean and put them back before they wake up," Rück suggested, his tone laced with a hint of warning. "Because I am the one you don’t want to be stealing around."
A moment of tense silence stretched between them before the girl slowly emerged from her hiding spot, pulling down the hood that obscured her features. With raven-black hair cascading around her shoulders and eyes as cold and empty as the void itself, she regarded Rück with an unreadable expression.
"What’s your name?" Rück inquired, attempting to break the ice with a gesture of goodwill.
But the girl paid no heed to his question, her focus unwavering as she reached into the depths of her jacket and withdrew a sleek, menacing hand cannon. The metallic gleam of the weapon caught the dim light of the room, casting eerie shadows across the walls as she leveled it at Rück with chilling precision.
The Director's voice cut through the tense atmosphere like a razor, her words laced with a thinly veiled threat. "Let me go and you won’t get hurt," she demanded, her eyes flashing with Neutrality.
Rück, the seasoned scientist and guardian of the lab, closed his eyes briefly, a weary sigh escaping his lips. "You don’t honestly expect for me to—" His sentence hung unfinished in the air as he opened his eyes to find the Director had vanished, leaving behind nothing but an echoing silence.
"Why do they always run," Rück muttered to himself, his frustration palpable as he hurriedly made his way out of the lab and into the bustling streets outside. The girl, a mere silhouette in the throng of busy city life, darted through the crowd with the agility of a hunted prey, her determined footsteps echoing against the pavement.
As Rück gave chase, weaving through the maze of streets and alleyways, he found himself constantly accosted by fans seeking his autograph. With each interruption, his patience wore thinner, his annoyance bubbling beneath the surface like a simmering cauldron.
"Look, that girl all the way down there has stolen my things and I need to grab them," Rück explained hastily, attempting to brush off the eager admirers.
But the crowd seemed oblivious to his urgency, their adoration unwavering as they clamored for his attention. With a resigned sigh, Rück vanished in a blur of motion, reappearing in front of the girl with an almost supernatural speed.
"Just make this easy and give them back before I have to take them by force," Rück urged, his voice tinged with a hint of warning. "It’s really not a hard choice." His eyes bore into hers, silently pleading for reason amidst the chaos of the city streets.
The Director's voice cut through the air with an icy edge, her words laced with a bitter resignation. "Before you start going on a spiel about what’s right and what’s wrong, let me make one thing clear. My name is Director. Some people refer to me as The Director, but that doesn't matter." She paused, her gaze piercing through Rück with an intensity that belied her stoic facade. "I can’t feel emotions. Do you know how it feels to grow up without feelings for anything in your life? Life feels bleak and meaningless. If I can’t enjoy anything I want to do, then it makes me question things that shouldn't be questioned."
Rück, ever the voice of reason, regarded her with a mixture of empathy and skepticism. "Are you sure what you are doing now will fix what you’re feeling?" he asked gently, his tone tinged with concern.
The Director's expression softened momentarily, a flicker of vulnerability crossing her features before she composed herself once more. "Ever since the Traits became a thing, I finally understood why I felt this way all of my life," she confessed, her voice betraying a hint of bitterness. "The realization that I was different, that I lacked something fundamental that everyone else seemed to possess... it was like a weight pressing down on me, suffocating me with its relentless grip."
Rück's brow furrowed in contemplation as he processed her words. "Are you saying the Traits caused this?" he ventured, his mind racing with possibilities. The Traits, a revolutionary advancement in genetic engineering, had promised to unlock humanity's potential by imbuing individuals with enhanced abilities and characteristics.
The Director's words hung heavily in the air, each syllable laden with the weight of her inner turmoil. "No, I’m saying I understand why I feel like this because of my trait," she clarified, her voice tinged with a sense of resignation. "It is nothing but gray, and I don’t feel good nor bad towards anything. I see only gray as life goes on by. These traits can help me go back to normal, and I will not have you stop me."
Her admission cast a shadow over the dimly lit room, the gravity of her confession echoing off the walls like a solemn requiem. Rück, though taken aback by her candid revelation, remained composed, his expression a mask of understanding.
The Director raised her hand cannon once more, the metallic gleam of the weapon casting eerie shadows across the room as it glowed with an otherworldly gray hue. The faint hum of power emanated from its core, a silent testament to the raw energy it contained.
Rück, ever the pragmatist, sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging with the weight of the situation. "I understand," he conceded, his voice tinged with a note of resignation. Despite his misgivings, he knew that he couldn't stand in her way, not when her desperation was palpable, her resolve unyielding.
As the Director's finger hovered over the trigger, a sense of finality settled over the room, the tension thickening with each passing moment. Rück braced himself for the inevitable, his mind racing with the implications of what was to come.
The air crackled with tension as the Director's hand cannon pulsed with an ominous gray light, the energy building within its core like a storm on the horizon. With a deafening roar, a high-powered shot erupted from the barrel, hurtling towards Rück with frightening speed. In that split second, the very fabric of reality seemed to warp and distort around him as the gravity itself succumbed to the force of the blast, shattering his defenses in a single, devastating blow.
Rück's eyes widened in astonishment as he felt the impact reverberate through his being, his mind struggling to comprehend the sheer power behind the attack. Despite the chaos unfolding around him, a flicker of intrigue danced in his eyes, a scientist's curiosity piqued by the sheer magnitude of the event.
As the smoke cleared, the Director wasted no time, closing the distance between them with determined strides. Rück, caught off guard by her unexpected advance, could only watch in confusion as she approached, her weapon still gripped tightly in her hand.
Perplexed by her seemingly contradictory actions, Rück hesitated, unsure of how to react. His confusion proved to be his downfall as he allowed her to draw nearer, oblivious to the danger lurking just beneath the surface. With a swift motion, she reversed the gun, the butt glowing with the same ominous gray energy, and delivered a punishing blow to Rück's head.
Stars danced before Rück's eyes as he staggered backwards, the world spinning around him in a dizzying whirl. Before he could regain his bearings, the Director unleashed a barrage of shots, each one striking with pinpoint accuracy, sending searing waves of pain rippling through his chest.
Gasping for breath, Rück stumbled backwards, clutching his wounded chest as the burning sensation spread like wildfire through his veins. Despite the absence of physical bullets, the sheer force of the gray-powered shots left him reeling, his mind struggling to comprehend the surreal nature of the attack.
Desperation etched into his features, Rück reached out in a futile attempt to seize the weapon, only to watch helplessly as the Director leapt away with inhuman agility. "I'm trying not to hurt you," he managed to choke out, his voice strained with pain.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
But the Director offered no words of reassurance, no gesture of mercy. Instead, she simply turned away, her focus consumed by a singular purpose. With a sense of grim determination, she retrieved the vials from her pocket, one by one, and drank them down with an almost feverish intensity, the contents coursing through her veins like liquid fire.
Rück's warning hung in the air like a whispered prayer, his voice a desperate plea for reason in the face of impending chaos. Yet, as he watched the Director consume the vials with a reckless abandon, a nagging doubt crept into his mind. "Can her body even handle the vials?" he mused silently, his thoughts racing in tandem with his pounding heartbeat.
The Director's body shimmered with an ethereal glow, each color pulsating with an intensity that bordered on otherworldly. Even the hand cannon, once a mere weapon, now radiated with a luminous energy, its surface bathed in a kaleidoscope of hues that seemed to dance with a life of their own.
"Do you even think you can control those abilities?" Rück questioned, his voice laced with a mixture of concern and disbelief. "It takes a lot of training to use those."
For a fleeting moment, the Director hesitated, her resolve faltering beneath the weight of Rück's words. But then, like a flame reignited by a gust of wind, a fiery determination lit up her eyes, burning with an intensity that bordered on fanaticism.
In that moment of clarity, Rück's mind raced back to a conversation he'd had with Sera, the brilliant mind behind the creation of the Traits. "Didn’t Sera say she based those traits off of her own?" he mused aloud, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place with startling clarity. "I guess that would explain why she could use them easily."
But there was no time for further contemplation as the Director leveled her hand cannon at Rück once more, her gaze unwavering, her intentions clear. With a steely resolve, she prepared to unleash the full force of her newfound abilities, the air crackling with anticipation as the inevitable confrontation loomed on the horizon.
The Director's voice cut through the tension like a knife, her words dripping with a chilling resolve. "If you continue to get in my way, I will have no other option than to use your own traits against you," she declared, her tone laced with a hint of warning. "It doesn’t matter how strong you are. Everyone can die."
Rück met her gaze head-on, his own resolve unwavering despite the gravity of the situation. "Even you can as well," he countered, his voice steady with conviction. "Are you willing to take that risk?"
For a moment, silence hung heavy in the air as the two adversaries locked eyes in a battle of wills, each refusing to yield to the other's demands. But then, like a spark igniting a powder keg, Rück pressed on, his words a beacon of reason amidst the chaos.
"Since you have traits now, why don’t you actually put them to good use and help us research with them?" he proposed, his voice tinged with a note of persuasion.
The Director, her grip on the hand cannon loosening ever so slightly, considered his words with a furrowed brow. "Even after I stole from you?" she questioned, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Rück offered her a reassuring smile, his eyes filled with understanding. "I think it’s a good way to work on your debt," he suggested gently. "What will your family say?"
A flicker of emotion crossed the Director's features before she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I live alone."
Without missing a beat, Rück extended an offer of reconciliation, his smile widening with genuine warmth. "Then let’s go introduce yourself to the others," he proposed, his hand gesturing towards the lab entrance.
With a sense of tentative hope blooming in her chest, the Director hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. Together, they turned towards the lab, their footsteps echoing in harmony as they took the first steps towards a new beginning.
As Rück and the Director stepped back into the lab, the atmosphere seemed to crackle with a newfound tension, like a storm brewing on the horizon. Seraphina, her brow furrowed in consternation, peered down at the box of vials with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance, her fingers absently tracing the rim of her coffee mug. Vörher, ever the vigilant leader, had turned his attention to the news, though the calm reportage offered little solace in the wake of recent events.
As the door swung open, all eyes turned to Rück and the Director, their arrival punctuating the stillness of the room like a sudden clap of thunder. Seraphina's gaze narrowed, a flicker of disapproval dancing in her eyes as she took in the scene before her. Vörher, his expression unreadable, regarded them with a sense of cautious curiosity.
"Caught ourselves a little rat," Rück began, his tone a curious blend of amusement and apprehension, "but there's both an upside and a downside to this." He paused for dramatic effect, allowing the weight of his words to settle over the room like a heavy fog. "First, we've gained a new member to our little lab group." His gaze flickered towards the Director, a silent acknowledgment of her presence.
"Second," he continued, his voice tinged with a note of resignation, "all of those vials you had of the off-colored ones are gone. She ended up drinking all of them."
Seraphina's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she closed the distance between herself and the Director, her excitement palpable as she launched into a barrage of questions. "So you seem to be okay, did it hurt?" she inquired eagerly, her words tumbling out in rapid succession. "You don't seem to be the only one with the seven off-colored traits either. I wonder if this means that your abilities aren't going to be as strong as mine since I harbor the main trait of Determination in my body. What trait do you possess?"
The Director, her expression a mask of stoic indifference, met Seraphina's onslaught of questions with a scoff, her demeanor bordering on exasperation. "First, it feels as if my body was fueled with power," she replied curtly, her tone tinged with a hint of annoyance. "Second, I guess I am not the only one. Third, I have no idea how strong they are. And lastly, my trait is Neutrality."
Rück, ever the voice of reason, interjected with a thoughtful observation. "She definitely packs a punch in terms of power," he mused aloud, his brow furrowed in contemplation. "But I do believe that is because she uses the gun as a catalyst, just like Hegemon used the Corruption."
As the conversation continued to unfold, the lab group found themselves drawn into a lively discussion, each member offering their own insights and perspectives on the Director's newfound abilities. Despite the initial tension, a sense of camaraderie began to blossom within the group, united by their shared pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
With each passing moment, the Director's presence became increasingly integrated into the fabric of the lab, her unique perspective adding a fresh layer of complexity to their research endeavors. And as they delved deeper into the mysteries of the Traits, they found themselves embarking on a journey of discovery unlike any they had experienced before, bound together by the bonds of friendship and the thrill of scientific exploration.
Vörher's words hung in the air, a thoughtful musing that seemed to open up new avenues of inquiry for the lab group. "That would make sense," he acknowledged, his voice tinged with a note of contemplation. "Using a sort of item or weapon as a means of expending the ability would make things easier for people."
The Director, ever the skeptic, raised an eyebrow at Vörher's observation. "So we are just a bunch of wizards now?" she quipped, her tone laced with a hint of sarcasm.
Seraphina, however, offered a different perspective, her eyes alight with interest as she recalled a past encounter. "Legion used his Katanas as his weapon with his ability," she interjected, her voice carrying a note of excitement.
Vörher's gaze shifted towards the wall adorned with the katanas, each blade a testament to the power and skill of its wielder. With a sense of purpose, he approached the display, selecting one of the blades and carefully placing it on the table before him. With practiced hands, he unsheathed the katana, the blade shimmering in the dim light of the lab.
As the sword emerged from its scabbard, the room seemed to hold its breath, captivated by the mesmerizing sight before them. The katanas, adorned with a long red ribbon and devoid of a guard on the hilt, gleamed with an otherworldly radiance, each line and curve etched with a sense of purpose.
But it was the blade itself that captured Seraphina's attention the most, its surface glowing with a deep royal blue hue that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. Enthralled by the sight, she leaned in closer, her eyes tracing the intricate patterns etched into the metal with a sense of wonder.
As the lab group stood transfixed by the blade's ethereal glow, they couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the mysteries it held. And as they continued their research, delving deeper into the secrets of the Traits and the weapons that accompanied them, they knew that they were on the cusp of unlocking a power unlike anything the world had ever seen before.
Seraphina's words hung in the air like a whisper, a subtle ripple in the fabric of reality that sent a shiver down the spines of those gathered in the lab. "Something about that blade calls to me," she confessed, her voice tinged with a mixture of wonder and uncertainty. "Like something is drawn to me itself for some reason. And it almost feels like it's going to head this way."
Vörher regarded the katana with a furrowed brow, a sense of unease gnawing at the edges of his consciousness. With a cautious hand, he returned the blade to its sheath, the glow fading as if extinguished by his touch. "I'm going to assume that, that did not happen last time," he remarked, his tone laced with a note of bemusement.
The Director blinked in confusion, her brow furrowed as she struggled to comprehend the significance of Seraphina's words. "What are you talking about?" she inquired, her voice tinged with a hint of frustration.
Rück, ever the voice of reason, stepped forward with a reassuring smile. "No, that did not," he confirmed, his gaze shifting between Seraphina and Vörher. "I don’t like where this is going and I feel like I have a bad feeling about this."
As the implications of Seraphina's revelation sank in, the lab group found themselves on the precipice of a new discovery, their curiosity piqued by the mysteries that lay before them. With each passing moment, the allure of the katana grew stronger, its presence a constant reminder of the untapped potential that lay dormant within the Traits.
And as they continued their research, delving deeper into the secrets of the blades and the powers they held, they knew that they were on the brink of unlocking a truth that would forever alter the course of their journey. With Seraphina’s determination in their hearts and a thirst for knowledge driving them forward, they prepared to embark on a quest that would test the limits of their abilities and reshape the world as they knew it.