Chapter 2: The System
The last thing I remember was the fucking saw.
It hovered inches from my face, spinning so fast I couldn’t tell where the metal ended and the blur began. The guy holding it—some sick bastard—didn’t even say a word. He just stood there, staring at me with a creepy smile. Like this was normal for him. Cynical, right? Like I was some sort of a lab rat.
Well, I guess, I was.
My throat was sore, and I’d already stopped screaming by then. Not like it mattered—the straps held me down so tight, I couldn’t even writhe properly. My arms were spread out, my legs pinned to a metal slab—a goddamn sacrificial altar dressed up in tech and wires. I caught glimpses of the room as my head lolled to the side, my vision fading in and out. Sterile walls, glowing monitors, tubes filled with… something. Fluids, maybe. Pieces of people? The air reeked of antiseptic and burned flesh, the smell that makes your stomach churn before you even realize what it is.
Then came the saw.
The noise was the worst part—a high-pitched whine drilled straight into my skull. I felt the vibration more than I heard it, my bones rattling as the blade edged closer. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was trying to break free from my chest. And when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, I blacked out.
[System Failure Detected. Diagnostics initiated: Subject: Adam Kryos.]
[Critical Error: Biological Entity Suffering Trauma]
[Memory Synchronization will begin...]
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[SYSTEM BOOTING...]
[MEMORY SYNCHRONIZATION 50% COMPLETE]
[PRIMARY CONSCIOUSNESS RECOVERED]
[SUBJECT AWAKENING INITIATED...]
Awareness slowly creeps in like a bad hangover. First, I hear this weird crackling noise. Like static, maybe? Then I try to open my eyes. They feel unimaginably heavy, but I force them open anyway.
Everything is wrong. I shouldn’t be alive. They were cutting me open, weren’t they? Sawing me apart while I was still breathing. So why am I… here? My mind scrambles, probably couldn’t finish the job. That’s why I’m still here.
Alive. Right?
But the first thing I notice is the silence. Dead silence.
No heartbeat. No breaths. I try to move, and that’s when I feel it. The grinding of metal on metal.
I dart my eyes. Gone. The straps, the saw, the bastard scientist—they’re gone.
“What… the hell?” My voice sounds alien. It echoes, distorted as if someone has shoved a broken radio into my throat. I look down. What used to be hands are claws now—sharp, skeletal, and inhuman. I sit up—or try to, then try to stand, but my legs—piston-driven, mechanical monstrosities—refuse to cooperate, and I collapse back onto the slab, the impact sending vibrations up my body. It isn’t pain. The pain is… gone. All I feel is a dull awareness that something has touched my body. My chest doesn’t rise. It doesn’t fall. I’m not breathing.
My body isn’t mine anymore.
The room around me is a mess of shattered glass, broken equipment, and flickering monitors. Tubes hang from the ceiling like some grotesque parody of vines. A cracked mirror on the wall reflects what I’ve become—a Neurovault. That’s what I had named this experiment, this thing I’m trapped in. A fancy name for a walking metal shitshow. My human face is gone, replaced by a skeletal mask of steel and synthetic plating. The kind of face that would make kids cry—if left to cry. My face is a patchwork of synthetic plating and exposed mechanics. The human part of me, whatever’s left, is buried deep beneath all this.
I am a Neurovault now.
“Fuck… no. No, no, no.”
But it is me.
The thing staring back at me is me.
I want to scream, but there’s no air to pull from my lungs. Hell, there are no lungs.
Then something pops in front of me.
[SYSTEM ONLINE.]
[WELCOME TO THE INTERFACE, ADAM KRYOS.]
A blue screen, a hologram or something, translucent and glowing blue. Lines of text scroll across it too fast to read. My eyes strain to follow.
“What the—” My voice hitches. The screen isn’t just there. It’s in me, an extension of this mechanical hell I’ve woken into.
Then I hear it.
A voice.
Not in my head, not a memory—no, this is outside. A distorted, glitchy voice through the air like static. Distorted. Inhuman.
“Welcome back, Adam Kryos.”
“What?” It feels like someone is speaking straight into my metallic ear. “Where the hell am I?”
“No longer in the world, you knew, Adam.”
Son of a bitch. What is this bullshit?
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
But before I can make sense of the cryptic bullshit, my systems flickered. A display appears in front of me again.
Status: Success
Species: Neurovault
Classification: Experimental Subject - Novagenics Project #3330
Class: Ex-BioEngineer/Tech Specialist
I stare at the text. Novagenics, the company I worked at. Consciousness mapping. My project. They’ve taken my work—the work I’ve bled for—and used it to rip my soul out of my body. Wow, just wow. At this point, I don’t know whether to cry or laugh. Damn, even if I want to cry, I don’t think any water will come from this optic sensor.
“Answer me, system!” I growl. “Why the hell am I like this? Why me?”
The interface flickers, and the distorted voice returns.
"QUERY ACKNOWLEDGED. THE REASON FOR SELECTION IS CONFIDENTIAL."
And then—more bullshit.
[Quest Assigned: Recover Locked Records]
Objective: Retrieve the Forgotten Tale - Codename: “ *** Protocol ”
Reward: System Unlock (Memory Partition: Level 1)
Forgotten Tale? What kind of dystopian RPG nonsense was this? Haha. Is this some sick joke? And what's with ***?
“Objective? What objective!” Is the system trying with me?
A message pops up again.
System Error: Invalid Commands—Unable to connect to external systems.
"Play with me."
Shut up. Asshole.
I don’t care about the damn systems or the orders—they can go to hell. I need out.
Then again the distorted voice reverberated in my mind.
ADAPTATION PHASE
STAGE 1: CALIBRATION
A sudden jolt of energy courses through me, making my joints twitch. A progress bar appears on the screen:
[Body Calibration: 10%... 50%... Complete.]
[Motor Functions Synced.]
I flex my fingers experimentally. The movements are smoother now, less alien. The system—it’s integrating me into this mechanical shell, turning me into something… functional.
STAGE 2: INTERFACE TUTORIAL
The screen shifts, displaying a series of tabs:
* Stats
* Inventory
* Abilities
* Journal
I tap on “Stats,” and a list appears:
Name: Adam Kryos
Level: 1
New Class: Neurovault (Prototype)
HP: 100/100
Energy: 30%
Skills: Data Assimilation (Passive)
Inventory: Empty
Core Abilities: Restricted
Memory Archive: Locked
Data Assimilation?” I mutter.
A new message pops up.
[Skill Unlocked: Storyweaver’s Hunger]
Description: Consume data fragments to reconstruct lost stories and recover system functions. Stories can be absorbed from ancient texts, digital archives, or oral accounts.
I frown. So I’m a glorified storyteller now? A walking mechanoid library?
[System Tip: Energy Dependency]
Description: Your energy reserves are tied to the recovery of stories. Completing quests and assimilating forgotten tales restores your energy and unlocks higher functionality. Failure to replenish energy will result in diminished performance, restricted mobility, and eventual stasis.
"Great, Not only am I a machine, but now I have to play librarian just to stay alive?"
My gaze falls on the energy bar, the faint red glow ominously low. At just 30%, it wasn’t a question of if I’d run out, but when.
STAGE 3: FIRST STEPS
I push myself off the slab, my legs finally responding. Every step is a clumsy, metallic clank, but I’m moving. The room’s door is ajar, revealing a dark, decaying corridor beyond.
“Fine,” I mutter, my voice cold and metallic. “If this is a game, let’s play.”
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
Warning: Energy Levels Depleting. Recharge Required.
Figures. My first quest and I am already running on empty.