Night Continent.
The most dangerous of all the seven continents, and also the most unruly.
This Continent was filled with some of the world’s most notorious people. It was literally the den of the strongest monsters.
In such a place, where the sun never shines, there was a country called Khan. This country was where the Night Continent’s MYTH branch was located.
In other words, it was the Night Continent’s version of Grim City.
To be able to exist in such an outrageous place, this country had to be the definition of abnormal.
Unlike Grim City, which was ruled by the four pillars, this place was ruled by one single monster known only as King.
In fact the Pillars would be nothing more than foot soldiers in this country.
In the underground area, there was a facility where the most heinous experiments took place.
This place was called the Playhouse.
In a room a group of people sat around a round table discussing a very dangerous topic.
“Comrades, I have important news to share with you.”
The man who headed the table spoke.
“As you all know our branch went on an expedition in the ruins of the Red Beast Empire, and after using everything at our disposal we got some results.”
He paused before continuing.
“We unearthed Behemoth’s broken regalia.”
After hearing that, everyone around the table went into a frenzy.
The man raised his hand to calm them down.
“As you all know, the Red Beast Empire fell at the hands of the New Era a millennium ago; naturally its ruler the Red Beast Emperor fell with it. However, because of a freak accident his regalia was lost in the chaos. But we were lucky enough to recover it.”
The others started cheering again.
“With this and Fafnir’s Regalia that we got from Genesis we can finally move towards accomplishing our dreams.”
The man pressed a button and words “Chimera Project” hovered behind him.
“We will create a being that will eventually lift the heavens and hells and crush them in their palm.”
Everyone’s blood started to boil just imagining the scene of their creation suppressing the world.
“There many things to prepare before we can begin.”
The man then said-
“I want you to prepare 100 specimen who are compatible with both Behemoth and Fafnir.”
“Any preference on how we should gather them?”
One of the other members around the table asked.
“None. Use every method possible; not matter how dirty.”
“Yes sir!”
Just like the man, who was the head of the Playhouse and was called the Playmaster, ordered the members did everything they could to gather 100 specimen who had high compatibility with Fafnir and Behemoth.
They recruited people with promises of power.
They bribed them with money.
They kidnapped them.
They bought them.
They really used every method they could, and their efforts naturally paid off.
In a couple months time, the Playhouse had acquired 100 playmates.
These persons ranged from adults to children of both gender.
As long as they had a strong body, they were recruited.
After the samples were gathered the members of the Playhouse immediately started their experiments.
First they needed to slowly change the samples’ bodies to further fit that of Behemoth and Fafnir.
In other words, DNA Alteration.
They injected them with small samples of chemicals that would partially destroy their DNA makeup, and then injected them again with DNA found in the broken regalia.
Of course this was a painful process.
Screams filled the Playhouse for several days, as the samples forcibly had their DNA destroyed and remade continuously.
The Playhouse members observed the samples and ranked them by their reactions.
There were some who couldn’t take the pain and were on the verge of death after the first day. By the second day, nearly half of the samples had died.
However the members didn’t feel disheartened.
That was because there was one boy who had the ideal reaction they were looking for.
This boy easily absorbed Behemoth’s and Fafnir’s DNA and strengthen his body to a whole new level.
This boy was so exceptional that he passed the first stage of the project in under a week. This naturally made the Playhouse members ecstatic.
This boy was called Kaido.
Kaido quickly became a legend in the facility. The other samples were naturally envious of him and wished to be like him.
After he passed the first stage, Kaido entered the second stage.
Martial Training.
The members of the Playhouse believed that obtaining a powerful body wasn’t nothing unless you knew how to use it.
This was also to be used to check if there was any defects in the samples that they missed.
It took a while for the other samples to make it to this stage since not everyone could handle having their bodies altered.
One boy was especially slow. The name of this boy was Xin.
While the average time for everyone else to reach the second stage was two months, Xin took 6 months to have his DNA altered.
He was the complete opposite of Kaido, except for one thing.
The two of them were identical, so much that even the members of Playhouse had a hard time identifying them.
Maybe it was because of this or something else completely, but Kaido was drawn to Xin for some reason.
He approached Xin two days after he passed the second stage. At that time, Kaido had already entered the fifth stage.
The goal to pass the third stage was to defeat an android, that was programmed to have the predicted battle strength of the sample after they had their bodies altered, 100 times.
This was to let the sample get used to their new strength and their body.
Kaido passed this stage in 3 days.
This once again shocked the members, since they predicted that it would take at least a month.
They could only come to the conclusion that Kaido had surpassed their calculations.
As for the the forth stage which was a test of magic capabilities, he passed it after one try.
“Hey, you’re Xin, right?”
Kaido approached Xin and asked.
“…Yeah.”
Xin answered after some hesitation.
“Man, you really do look like me.”
Kaido said with a smile.
“So I’ve heard….”
“Hm?”
Kaido used his hand to move Xin’s face to the side. There he saw a bruise.
“This isn’t from your fight with the android since you guys are on break today. From the looks of it, it’s very recent.”
He said as he examined the wound.
“Someone hit you?”
“……”
Xin didn’t respond.
“For some reason this pisses me off. We look alike, so seeing you hurt is like seeing myself hurt.”
Kaido said as he removed his hand.
“Well, I doubt you’ll tell me who hit you.”
He turned to the side after noticed that some people were eavesdropping.
“But I’ll find out on my own later. For now let’s hang out.”
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Xin looked at him weirdly.
“You want to hang out with a failure like me?”
“I don’t consider you a failure. If you were, you wouldn’t have survived up until this point. Think about it, almost half of us died before reaching this far. The fact that you’re alive should be something you’re proud of.”
Kaido said with a bright voice.
“…..I guess you’re right. I never thought of it like that.”
“Oh, you’re cheering up. That’s good, that’s good. Thr key to surviving here is to always be positive. No matter what life throws at you just punch it and carry on with a smile. That’s what I learned from my father.”
“Your father? Where is he now?”
“Dead.”
Kaido answered with a smile.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t. He died with a smile on his face, so I’m not sad. But it did suck to live in an orphanage after that though.”
“You’re an orphan?”
Kaido nodded.
“I was bought from there by the people here a few months ago. What about you? How did you end up here?”
“……My parents sold me.”
There’s was an obvious sad tone in Xin’s voice.
“Is that so?”
However Kaido didn’t seem to notice or maybe he just ignored it.
“Well, look at it this way. If they were willing to sell you they didn’t deserve to be your parents in the first place. Besides if you’re the last one standing you’ll become someone who can make them regret their decision.”
“I can’t be the last one standing. Not with you here.”
He patted Xin’s back.
“You give up too easy. There’s nothing certain in this world. Forget that, how old are you?”
“7.”
Kaido sighed when he heard that.
“Thank goodness. I’m older. If you had said that you’re 8 I would really wonder if we were twins or something.”
He said with a laugh. Xin couldnt help but smile when he saw him laughing so merrily.
Kaido placed his hand on Xin's shoulders.
“Xin, I believe that we’re going to become great friends.”
As time passed Kaido’s words became true.
He and Xin became really close very quickly. They were practically inseparable outside of experiments.
This naturally didn’t sit well with a lot of people.
Kaido was the projects hope and future, so him hanging out with a failure like Xin was completely unacceptable.
The members of Playhouse naturally tried to separate the two, but Kaido wouldn’t allow it.
If they confined him he would always find his way back to Xin. It was vice versa if they confined Xin instead, Kaido would break him out.
The members once got so upset that they threatened to kill Xin, to which Kaido responded-
“Do that and I’ll kill every last sample and then myself. I wonder how long it would take to find another 100 samples and start all over again. Even if you did, there’s no telling if you can find another me.”
This naturally made the members powerless to do anything. In the end they just let it be and prayed that Xin would get himself killed off in the experiments.
But to their surprise, although he was countless times slower than the rest, Xin survived every stage and moved on to the next one.
If anything, they had to give him props when it came to his tenacity.
Three years after the project began, the original 100 samples had been reduced to a mere 20. Most of the samples had died while undergoing experiments.
Naturally Kaido was among those that were alive, as well as Xin.
Kaido had reached the final stage of the project. If he passed this stage he would be determined fit to become the vessel for the two broken regalia and undergo the final procedure.
If he survived the procedure then that would conclude the project.
*Bam!*
“Ugh!”
Xin groaned as he received and punched from one of the other samples.
“You bastard. Three years and you’re still stuck at the 4th Stage? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?!”
Another sample hit him from behind.
Xin was inside an encirclement formed by a dozen other samples. They were taking turns beating him until he was bruised all over.
“Damn failure!”
*Bam!*
“Bastard!”
*Bam!*
“Just die already!”
*Bam!*
He suffered verbal abused as he was taking a beating.
“Say, just who do you think you’re all beating?”
A chilling voice caused the samples to froze in place.
They didn’t even get to turn around before they were all buried into the ground by a rain of fists.
Kaido dust his hands off and walked up to Xin.
“Are you okay? Sorry, I was doing some tests.”
“I-I’m fine.”
Xin said as he wiped the blood from his mouth.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I just need to go for a walk.”
Xin didn’t wait for Kaido to respond and walked off.
As he walked through the halls he noticed that he was receiving some resentful stares from the people around him.
He sighed and continued.
The words of the other samples replayed in his head over and over again.
He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration.
“It’s not like I want to be like this. I’m trying my best everyday, you know.”
He mumbled to himself.
“The project is approaching its end.”
That’s when he heard a conversation among some members of Playhouse. He hid himself on instinct and listened to them.
“I can’t wait. Once Kaido passes the final stage he’ll become the vessel of our dreams. Our greatest creation.”
“We’ll soon be able to get rid of those failures. Just keeping them alive costs tons of money.”
“Just be patient. Once Kaido passes the final stage we’ll no longer have a need for them. After that they’ll be deposed of.”
“?!”
Xin was shocked paled when he heard that. He almost revealed his location.
“Especially that failure, Xin. He’s really an eyesore!”
“I couldn’t agree more. If it wasn’t for Kaido we would’ve gotten rid of him along time ago.”
“Hmm….that reminds me. What are we going to do with the enhancer we built? We did create it to boost the other samples capabilities, after all.”
“Oh? I heard that the Playmaster wanted to create a back up in case something happened to Kaido, but he later abandoned the idea now that Kaido is pretty much complete. He said he’ll use it in later projects though.”
“Seriously? Then we’ll be able to create even for people like Kaido?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Sweet!”
The men continued their conversation but Xin was no longer listening.
All that was in his thoughts was the machine they were talking about.
“With that thing I can reach Kaido’s level? If that happens then I might not be deposed of.”
He mumbled to himself.
“More importantly, I can finally become someone worthy of Kaido.”
After making up his mind, Xin used the next couple days searching for clues to where the enhancer was located.
He finally discovered it one day, decided to use it in the darkness of the night.
Without informing even Kaido, Xin left and went straight to the enhancer.
It was located in a corner of the facility, completely isolated.
Surprisingly it wasn’t heavily guarded, and Xin was able to enter it.
Once he entered the room, he saw a chair with countless wires connected to it as well as a helmet hanging over it.
Xin didn’t hesitate and took a seat.
He started to randomly press buttons he found on the arm rest.
Everything he’s done until now was completely reckless and naïve. But considering that he was a 10 year old kid under immense pressure and stress, it could be blamed on his lack of judgement.
*Buzz!*
Xin suddenly heard various sounds coming from the machine as it started up.
The helmet lowered and Xin slowly put it on and fasten it to his head.
After that he felt his back being pierced by countless needless.
And then it started.
“Guah?!”
Xin suddenly felt and powerful electric shock run through his body which caused immense pain.
Not only that he felt like he was once again getting his DNA rewritten.
“Guaaaaaah?!”
He screamed and started to wiggle around in pain.
That’s when his hand touched something and triggered the machine to go out of control.
“Aaaaahhhhhh?!”
The pain Xin started feeling intensified by several folds. He could feel his very being fried.
He started to bleed from every pore in his body as he screamed in agony.
“Xin!”
That’s when Kaido came running in.
“K-K-Kaido! H-Help!”
“Hold on!”
Kaido ran up and started to pull Xin but he was fasten to the machine.
“Fucker! Let go of Xin!”
Kaido used all of his strength to pull Xin. He also started to experience the same unbearable pain as Xin. But even so he refused to let go and continued to give his all to free Xin.
“Kaido, let go and save yourself!”
Xin screamed.
“Shut up! I was wondering why you’ve been acting strange lately and followed you only to discover that you’re doing something as stupid as using the enhancer!”
“You knew about it?”
“Of course! But I didn’t tell you because I knew that you would do something like this!”
Kaido also started to bleed from all of his pores.
“You don’t need this, you idiot! Why can’t you and the others see how strong you really are?!”
He gave it one last yank and finally ripped Xin off the machine.
The two of crashed into each other and laid out on the ground bleeding heavily.
“Y-You idiot!”
Kaido hit Xin with all of his strength.
“You could’ve died!”
“…..But..”
“No buts!”
He hit him again.
“I know what caused this.”
Kaido sat up.
“You heard about the disposal of the other samples.”
Xin didn’t answer. He should’ve known that someone with Kaido’s status would be able to find out what happens after the project finishes.
“Idiot. Do you really think that I would let them get rid of you? If they tried to dispose you then I would slaughter them all after I gain the power. Don’t listen to every word people say.”
He then smiled at Xin.
“Think positive, remember?”
“……..”
Xin didn’t reply for a long time.
He still had an inferiority complex towards Kaido, but he had to admit that being protected by a friend wasn’t so bad.
He even started to regret his hasty actions.
He opened his mouth to say something but before he could-
“Blegh?!”
Kaido suddenly started vomiting blood.
“Kaido!”
He got up and held Kaido who collapsed on the ground.
“What’s going on?!”
It was at this time members of the Playhouse started showing up.
Seeing them Xin turned to them in panic.
“Please help him! Please help Kai-?!”
Before he could finish speaking Kaido blocked his mouth.
“There’s no need to shout, Kaido. I’m already done for.”
“?!”
Kaido’s words shocked and confused Xin.
“Kaido, what happened here?! Did Xin use the enhancer?!”
At this moment the Playmaster appeared as well.
Instead he wasn’t addressing Kaido who was bleeding out in Xin’s arms, but Xin himself.
Xin immediately knew that it was because Kaido called him ‘Kaido’ in front of them.
So they now believed that Xin is Kaido and Kaido is Xin.
It wasn't their fault though. From his injuries it was obvious that Kaido was effected by the enhancer. Someone with Kaido’s talents didn’t need such a thing, so they concluded that Xin was the one who used it.
Little did they know that the damages that the real Xin received was transferred to Kaido when he saved him resulted in his insides and cells being fried.
Kaido forcibly lifted his upper body and whispered in Xin’s ear.
“Listen to me, Xin. I’m dying and most likely can’t be saved.”
Xin wanted to say something but Kaido held him firm telling him to be quiet.
“Listen. This isn’t such a bad thing. If I die you can take my place and become the chosen sample in the end. That way you won’t have to suffer the mistreatment you’ve been suffering.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Shh! You gotta do it. If they find out that I was Kaido, they would blame you and kill you in the most brutal way. I don’t want that to happen to someone I think of as my brother.”
“….Aren’t you afraid of death?”
Xin whispered.
“Of course I am, but I’m more afraid of what they will do to you.”
“Kaido, hand him over!”
“Shut up! We’re talking!”
Xin roared with tears flowing down his eyes.
This roar shut everyone up since they thought that it was Kaido.
“Good going. I know you had it in you.”
Kaido laughed while blood flowed from his mouth.
“Why aren't you blaming me? I’m the one who caused this.”
Xin’s voice was filled with heartbreak.
Kaido shook his head.
“This isn’t your fault. It’s my fault for not paying attention to the consequences of me being around you.”
He smiled.
“But you know Xin, despite ending up like this and everything I’ve made you go through, I don’t regret befriending you.”
At this time tears were flowing down the two’s face like a river.
“Me neither, brother.”
Being called brother made Kaido’s smile widen.
“Xin, promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Live free. Once you gain the power of behemoth and Fafnir I want you to live free and never become someone’s property ever again. Can you promise me that?”
Xin nodded his head as if he wanted to break his neck.
The tears already made his vision blurry, so he wiped them from his eyes.
“Heh. Thank you.”
Kaido closed his eyes with on his face.
“Live enough for both of us, Kaido.”
After saying that, Kaido left this world forever.
Xin held is body tightly and wailed so loud the building shook.
A couple days later, Kaido was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the wind by Xin himself.
After doing so he wasted no time returning to his training.
But there was one problem.
Kaido was on the final stage while Xin couldn’t pass the fourth stage no matter how hard he tried.
So when he was placed on the finally stage, which was to battle the residue souls of behemoth and Fafnir that were left in the regalia, he was easily overwhelmed.
However to not let the Playhouse get suspicious and let Kaido’s death gone to waste he pushed passed his limits and battled the souls.
In order to pass he need to show them that he more worthy than their previous masters, which was incredibly hard to do for Kaido much less the inferior Xin.
However, Xin didn’t back down.
Not when his bones were broken.
Not when his skin were sliced open.
Not when his very being was being ripped apart, Xin didn’t quit.
Every time he fell he rose up even more furious.
“I’m not going to fail!”
He roared as his arm was ripped off by Fafnir.
“Kill everything that is unnecessary. Throw away everything that can hold me back. Fear, anxiety, guilt, everything. Throw away my emotions! Become a beast!”
He faced the monsters with an unbendable will.
“I AM KAIDO!!!!!”
After nearly a year of constant battles and killing off everything that was deemed unnecessary for battle Xin finally got the recognition of the broken regalia and passed the final stage.
At this time, he was nothing like the old Xin or even Kaido.
His black hair was now snow white from constant stress. His body was much more sturdy and he gave off a wild aura.
He became a beast in human skin.
After passing the final stage, he underwent the procedure to have the regalia implanted inside him.
The current him didn’t even flinch during this painful process which scared the members of Playhouse shitless.
After the procedure was successful, Xin did what he wanted to do for a long time.
He destroyed the Playhouse and everyone in it.
After that he had finally gained his freedom and left the Night Continent and later met Blanche and Hana.
But that is a story for another time.