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"Ellie, wait."

A man stood frozen in front of an elevator; his deep voice and stuttering breaths, hampered by the sobs coming from inside the box that seemed so cold.

"Julian, stop it. Just stop, please… just stop."

"Ellie…"

"I can't do this anymore, Julian," Ellie, the woman whose sobs whispered from the elevator, stuttered between her words as she could not even dare to look at Julian, "I've tried, I really did. I tried for 20 years… but it's like… It's like I don't even exist to you."

"We can still talk about this. We—"

"We did. We did talk about this. We talked about this a thousand times," Ellie shook her head, "We can talk now, and then what…? You're just going to lock yourself in your forge again and spend all of your time with those stupid knives of yours.

"They're… daggers, Ellie. And it's my job, Ellie. I can't just—"

"No one's buying them! It's only a job when you're actually earning!" Ellie cut off Julian; her loud words enough to cause the elevator to tremble, "No one's buying them because they are useless against the Daemons! How many times do I have to tell you!? It's fine to have a hobby but this…

…you're obsessed. It's getting worse, Julian. It's getting so much worse. We're almost reaching our 30s, and it's just getting worse. I found you completely naked and sleeping with several knives, Julian!"

"...I need to do that so I could feel the temperature–"

"It's unhealthy!" Ellie pressed the elevator closed, "And honestly… disgusting."

"I love you, Ellie," but Julian kept the door open with his arm.

"I know… I know you do," Ellie's teeth chattered as she took in a deep breath, "And I love you… so, so very much… but I hate it…

…I hate that I know that you can never love me the way you love your craft."

"That's not…" The strength in Julian's lean but muscular arm disappeared as he subconsciously let go of the elevator doors.

"Goodbye, Julian."

"Ellie…" Julian tried to reach out, but the only thing his fingers felt was the cold metal of the elevator door as it closed. The silence that followed was deafening, a stark contrast to the emotional storm raging inside him.

The only thing he could really do was lean his forehead against the cold metal, his voice barely a whisper.

"Ellie, please... don't go."

But there was no response, only the distant hum of the descending elevator carrying away the one person who had always been his light in his eternal darkness. Julian turned slowly, his hand touching the wall and trailing along it as he made his way back to his apartment.

He didn't bother with the lights. What difference would it make? His world had always been shrouded in shadows, and now the only glimmer of hope had been extinguished.

Julian sank to the floor, his back pressed against the door as he buried his face in his hands.

"...Fuck."

The weight of his failings crashed down upon him. And he just stood there, in the suffocating darkness of his home.

"..."

"..."

"MEGAN."

And after a few seconds of silence, Julian let out a tiny whisper, "Check messages."

[You have 3 new messages, Julian…] And without even any warning, a voice entered straight through Julian's mind; the voice, responding with a somewhat worried tone,

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

[Julian, I am sensing that your heart rate is abnormal. Are you… okay?]

"Please, MEGAN, just read my messages," Julian let out a small sigh.

[...Very well,] the voice sounded dejected, [Your first message is from Gary HR. Subject: I'm Sorry, Friend. Content: I'm sorry, man. My boss told me that we can't hire someone with your disability and—]

"Skip," Julian let out a small but very deep sigh as he waved his hand.

[Your second message is from Sumsang Cyberware Technologies. Subject: Compatibility Issues. Content: We have thoroughly reviewed all of your x-rays and tests. And we regret to inform you that your body is lacking the necessary neural pathwa—]

"...Skip," Julian once again waved his hand as he fell to his knees.

[Your third message is from Lithium Bank. Subject: Your statement for—]

"Skip." His tone was harsher this time.

[All messages read. Julian, I must remind you that we are out of milk.] MEGAN's voice still held a hint of concern,

[...You're in no condition to go to the Supermarket. Do you want me to have it delivered?]

Julian, however, did not answer at all.

But after a few seconds, he slowly stood up; his movements, even more mechanical than the AI speaking to him. He made his way through the darkness until he stood in front of a large door.

And as he opened the door, a loud creaking noise whispered in the air – a testament to how heavy it was. The air inside the room, however, was even heavier. The walls were filled with blades of every shape and size, each one obviously crafted to perfection.

There were several worn-out anvils, a hammer that looked like it had seen extremely better days, a grinder, and a large forge.

What should be a room filled with fire, however, was now extremely cold.

Julian's hands soon slowly clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"Fuck!" And very soon, a scream tore from his throat, raw and primal, as he lunged forward. His hands started tapping the wall several times before he was able to grasp the nearest blade, hurling it across the other side of the room with all his strength.

[Julian… please, stop it.]

The blades pierced through the walls like it was butter, but it didn't matter for Julian at all that he was destroying his workshop. He reached for another blade, and another, each one just piercing through the solid concrete walls without any resistance at all.

Soon, however, he once again collapsed to his knees; his breaths, stuttering as he tried to regain control of his emotions. The room, now eerily quiet save for his soft exhales. His face that was filled with pain, now completely devoid of anything.

He then very slowly grabbed another blade on the wall before just casually planting its sharp tip right on his throat.

[Julian, we are out of milk! Julian!] MEGAN seemed to have a life of its own as it repeatedly shouted in Julian's mind – not stopping at all as a trail of blood started to drip from Julian's neck, [Julian, just stop it! Please, don't make me call for an ambulance or the police!]

"...Hm," Julian let out a small hum as he just stayed still like that for a couple of seconds, "...We can't afford an ambulance… and we're out of milk."

And with a deep sigh, he just removed the dagger from his neck and placed it on his face, softly caressing it with his cheek; a smile, finally crawling on his face.

His body started to sway, his head bobbing wildly in rhythm for a few seconds as he continued to calm himself down.

[...Julian.]

"Okay." Julian forced himself to stand up and just leave his workshop — not even bothering to close the door as he headed out of the apartment; not before, however, grabbing a cane that was resting on the wall beside the door. He then tapped the cane rhythmically against the floor, tilting his head to the side as he listened to the sound.

Julian…

…Julian is blind and has been since birth. His bright turquoise eyes, actually a pair of cameras for MEGAN to see the world for him—no, his eyes were MEGAN itself; describing everything for him the best way it could.

The technology of humans has advanced leaps and bounds – lifelike artificial intelligence, mastering space travel, terraforming other planets, regenerating entire limbs, enhancing humans through cyberware, and a lot more.

Unfortunately for Julian, he was born with a defect that makes him completely incompatible with any cybernetic transplant, artificial eyes, or even complete organ transplant that would allow him to see. His body was missing… something.

Even with all the technology, Julian can not become whole. His body was incredibly unique, but not in the good way. He is what people call a Reject of Humanity; under evaluation if he is even allowed to pass on his genes.

And with humanity exposed to a higher form of living, they are also now exposed to a higher form of threat.

And this threat came in the form of Daemons – they first emerged out of nowhere a thousand years ago, coinciding with humans' mastering space travel. They launched relentless attacks on Earth.

They are alien monsters that can not be reasoned with, and their purpose is unknown. They range from humanoid figures to quadrupedal beasts and even winged creatures. Despite their diverse body structures, all Daemons share the same grotesque feature: demonic squid-like heads with long, writhing tentacles and sinister, glowing eyes. Their bodies are shielded by an exoskeleton that is almost impenetrable by normal means.

Unfortunately for Julian, his weapons are considered one of those 'normal means' – no one has ever bought or tried any of his weapons at all, not even once. No one has tried them, not even chefs. Why would they, when their fancy vibrating thread slicers could cut through meat and bone like it was water?

[...Julian, maybe it's best you stay home, please.] MEGAN whispered as Julian grabbed the knob of the door.

"...Thank you for the concern, MEGAN… but I'm fine," Julian, however, just sighed and opened the door…

…only for Ellie to be standing right there.