Walking down the bustling street, Siren's eyes sparkled with excitement as she watched the numbers for her new song skyrocket. The world seemed to be in love with her voice, and she reveled in the moment. But suddenly, her joy shattered—her video was gone, erased as if it had never existed.
"Who...?" she whispered, confusion lacing her tone. "For what reason?"
Her mind raced. Just moments ago, she had been pondering what her next song would do to the world, only to have it snatched away in an instant. The abrupt disappearance of her creation left her reeling.
"Who could have done this?" she wondered aloud. "But... asking won't help. I'll have to figure out the next song and see what happens."
Just as she was about to lose herself in thought, the cold snap of handcuffs clamped around her wrists, the metallic click echoing in her ears.
"Don't even think about playing a new song," a stern voice commanded. "We have questions for you."
Startled, Siren glanced around. The bustling street had suddenly cleared, as if the crowd had melted away, leaving her alone with a group of armed Kitsune operatives who now surrounded her. Their presence was suffocating, inescapable.
"Ah?" Siren stammered, her mind struggling to catch up with the sudden turn of events. "No... why are you arresting me?"
One of the men opened his mouth to answer, but another quickly cut him off, his tone harsh. "Because of shit, that's why. Now, get the hearing aids on, quickly."
At his command, the group swiftly moved, securing hearing aids over their ears as they closed in on Siren.
"Target 007, Siren, captured," Varian stated into his comms. "Proceed with the extraction. Immediately."
...
Tang Yan's frantic warnings were dismissed as mere ramblings. The operation proceeded without a hitch, and Varian's team successfully captured 007, the Siren, in a surprisingly smooth operation. It felt almost too easy, as if fate itself had handed them this victory.
In the aftermath, the air buzzed with excitement. This was the first time they had captured a monster, and the sense of accomplishment was palpable. Enko stood among the crowd, his eyes fixed on the creature that had caused so much chaos. She was confined in a specially designed pond, her fishtail glimmering under the sterile laboratory lights. Her dark green hair cascaded down her back, wet and tangled, but her eyes... they held a strange calmness.
For a brief moment, her gaze met Enko's. It was a fleeting connection, one that carried no recognition. To her, he was just another face in a sea of unfamiliarity.
Varian, ever the professional, approached Enko with a rare smile, holding out a pair of hearing aids. "You did well providing that intel. If you weren't a special case, we'd be giving you a proper reward for this. Perhaps even something to make your family proud."
Enko nodded in acknowledgment, but his lips remained sealed.
Enko turned on his heel and left the lab, the distant hum of machinery fading as he made his way back to Tang Yan's room. The corridors of the facility seemed to stretch endlessly, their cold, metallic walls reflecting the artificial light in a way that felt both sterile and suffocating.
Inside, Tang Yan paced anxiously, his thoughts racing. "Enko, we need to run! Now, before it's too late!" His voice quivered with desperation, each word a plea for survival.
Without warning, Enko lunged forward, his hand wrapping around Tang Yan's throat. The man gasped, eyes wide with shock and fear. "W-What are you doing?" Tang Yan choked out, his voice strangled as he clawed at Enko's grip.
In this world, there were many things beyond comprehension. Objects of power, like Tang Yan's diary, that defied all logic. But Enko knew there were more—artifacts capable of far more sinister deeds.
He recalled the report Varian had shown him. A creature wearing a mask and a suit, one that called itself Aurora, or 006. The file detailed how 006 had referred to 004, the Queen Bee, as her "experiment." That single line had planted a seed in Enko's mind, one that had only grown with each passing day.
Perhaps, there were no monsters born in this world. Perhaps, they were made.
The realization hit Enko like a freight train. If there was an item that could turn people into monsters, then the only way to counter it was with another item—one that could foresee the future.
Tang Yan's diary.
It was the key. The one weapon that could tilt the balance of power in his favor. But to gain control of it, Enko knew he might have to cross a line he could never return from.
His grip tightened, and Tang Yan's struggles grew weaker. The future flashed before Enko's eyes, a swirling vortex of possibilities, all hinging on the decision he was about to make.
But just as quickly as the darkness consumed him, Enko released his hold. Tang Yan collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath, his body trembling in shock.
Tang Yan knelt on the cold, sterile floor, each breath a painful gasp as he struggled to regain his composure. "What... what do you want from me?" His voice trembled, barely masking the fear that churned within him.
Enko picked up the diary, flipping through its pages with a deliberate calmness. "I want to see my future," he said quietly. "What must I do to be able to see it?"
Tang Yan blinked in disbelief, his mind racing. "That's... impossible. Only I can—"
But the look in Enko's eyes stopped him cold. There was no mistaking the murderous intent that had flickered there just moments ago. Tang Yan had seen death, felt its grip tightening around his throat. Enko was serious.
"Write down the date," Tang Yan muttered, his voice subdued. "And the event you want to see. Then sleep... That's how it works."
Without hesitation, Enko grabbed a pencil and began scribbling on the diary's worn pages. His handwriting was jagged, impatient, but determined. When he finished, he handed the diary back to Tang Yan.
"I believe you," Enko said, his tone measured but with an undercurrent of urgency. "You said a monster will come for us. I believe that. But if I only rely on you, we'll always be one step behind. I need to see the future for myself. Find the way to break this."
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
With that, Enko turned on his heel and left, the door shutting behind him with a finality that echoed through the room.
Tang Yan sat frozen, staring at the diary in his hands. He was about to get up, to run, but before he could even make it to the door, two Kitsune private soldiers appeared, blocking his path.
"Enko's orders," one of them said flatly. "We're to follow you 24 hours a day."
Tang Yan's heart sank. That Enko... Was it really necessary to go this far? Was he so paranoid? Or had something changed—something Tang Yan hadn't foreseen?
...
Mei sat alone in her dimly lit room, her fingers idly tapping against the armrest of her chair. Her white mask obscured her face, but beneath it, her expression was one of growing impatience. Two days had passed, and there had been no report from 007. Not a single word. The silence gnawed at her.
"Strange," she muttered to herself, her voice echoing slightly in the empty space. "Don't tell me she's been caught? That was too fast… How many days has it been?"
Her sharp, spiky white hair cast long shadows on the wall as she leaned back, deep in thought. Something felt off, but Mei couldn't quite put her finger on it. 007 was one of her more dependable subjects. For her to vanish like this… No, something was definitely wrong.
Just then, her laptop chimed with a new email notification. Mei leaned forward and opened it, her eyes narrowing as she read the sender's name—004 Queen Bee. A slow, calculating smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she began to read.
"Dear Lord Aurora,
Haven't you been studying the subject of immortality? I'm here preparing a surprise for you; I believe you will definitely be satisfied.
At noon today, if you have time, can you come to Nanwan?
—004."
...
Nanwan district, lay hidden beneath layers of grime and secrecy. In the shadowed underground labyrinth, figures flitted past with practiced speed. Men and women moved in near-silence, their actions swift and purposeful, as if they were engaged in a high-stakes smuggling operation.
The air was thick with the smell of decay and the muffled sounds of hurried footsteps. In the midst of this clandestine activity, Vex emerged from a darkened room, her face illuminated by the cold, flickering light of a single, malfunctioning bulb.
Her eyes swept over the scene before her. "Is it these?" she asked, her voice cutting through the gloom.
"That's right, Queen," came the reply from one of her subordinates, a figure shrouded in a hooded cloak. The tone was tinged with apprehension.
"And yet they all crumbled into this state," Vex noted, her gaze fixed on the bodies scattered before her. They were ghastly—rotting, blackened corpses that seemed to have been ravaged by time or something more sinister.
"I don't know if it will work or not," the subordinate said, a trace of desperation in their voice. "But let's give it a try. If it works, it will be a gift to the Lord."
"And if it doesn't work?" Vex inquired, her voice cool and detached.
"Find a place to dispose of them," came the resigned response.
Vex's eyes narrowed as she examined the grotesque sight. With a deliberate, almost ritualistic motion, she reached inside her own chest, tearing open her clothes to reveal a hidden compartment. From within, she withdrew a small, shimmering golden crystal block.
The crystal pulsed with a faint, otherworldly light, casting eerie reflections on the rotting corpses around them. Vex held it up, studying its surface with a mix of curiosity and determination.
"Hmm…" she murmured, considering the potential of the artifact in her hands. The golden crystal seemed almost alive, its glow contrasting starkly with the surrounding decay.
"You then."
...
In the oppressive darkness, the sensation of being submerged in silent, black water enveloped the figure. It was an eerie stillness, a haunting calm that belied the enormity of death. Yet, contrary to expectations, there was no overwhelming fear—only a profound, unsettling quiet.
Ticking.
Ticking.
The sound of water echoed faintly, a rhythmic drip that pierced through the dense silence. It was curious. If this was death, why was there still the persistent sound of water? The very notion seemed to defy the finality of the void.
A voice, soft and commanding, cut through the darkness.
"Lord Aurora, as you can see, his physical functions have returned to normal. He is a living being."
The voice belonged to Vex, who spoke with an almost reverent tone, as if unveiling a miraculous phenomenon.
"This is very magical, isn't it?"
"Indeed," Mei replied.
"However, if this were all there was, it would hardly be worthy of an offering to you."
She gestured toward the motionless form lying in the shadows. The figure, once a living being, had been transformed into something both strange and extraordinary. Vex continued, her words laced with a hint of pride.
"Do you know, this person had been dead for nearly a month. The body was not only severely decomposed but also burned. If anyone in the world could have revived him, it would have been a Necromancer."
"Unfortunately, Necromancers are but legends. But I, Vex, have managed the impossible."
She paused, allowing the gravity of her statement to sink in.
"I resurrected him. I turned him into a Guard Bee, one that enters a cocoon state. In this state, he regenerates new flesh and blood, and all vital signs are restored."
"Well," Vex affirmed. "He is like a person in a vegetable state, still not waking up."
"I restored his life, but I could not restore his consciousness. As long as his awareness remains absent, this corpse is as good as useless to me."
In Vex's eyes, consciousness was the true essence of life. Without it, the revived form was no more meaningful than a rock or a blade of grass. The Guard Bee, though alive in a physical sense, remained an empty vessel, devoid of the essence that made it truly valuable.
Mei crouched beside the revived form, her gaze intense as she examined the resurrected body. "Are you planning on using this as an ingredient offering to me?" she asked, her voice carrying a hint of curiosity.
"Precisely," Vex replied with a smile, her eyes gleaming with a mix of pride and excitement. "The resurrection of a dead person is an exceedingly rare occurrence. It's an extraordinary offering."
Mei considered the offer. Although she was unfamiliar with the precise effects of such a revival, the prospect intrigued her. Deciding to investigate further, she summoned a group of her puppets with a wave of her hand.
The puppets emerged, their movements precise and efficient. They prepared to draw blood from the revived figure, but as the needles descended, they encountered an unexpected resistance. The skin was too tough—resilient, almost as if it were forged from metal.
Mei's eyebrows furrowed in concentration. With a flick of her finger, a thin, almost imperceptible thread shot forth and pierced the toughened skin, creating a small needle hole.
The puppets quickly followed, maneuvering a syringe into the opening to extract the blood. The process was delicate, and Mei observed with a keen interest. "It's likely he will perish within a few days. Ensure that he is well cared for. Do not let him die before my experiment concludes."
Vex, acknowledging Mei's command, bowed deeply. "Understood, Lord Aurora. We will ensure his preservation."
As Mei stepped back, she noted the recent improvement in the efficiency of the monsters. Even Chino and Raven reported finding an abundance of rare ingredients. The strides in their efforts were evident, and Mei appreciated their dedication.
...
Vex watched as her orders were carried out with meticulous precision. The resurrected figure was moved to a secluded room, and a nurse quickly administered glucose, ensuring his body began to regain its strength.
In the dim, confined space, a strange sensation stirred within him. His skin felt an insistent itch, as if something unseen were crawling beneath it. The darkness around him seemed to pulse with tiny flashes of light, like distant stars flickering in the void.
Desperately, he reached out, trying to grasp the elusive points of light. Each time his fingers neared, the lights vanished, swallowed by the encompassing darkness.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, wide with disorientation. He sat up abruptly, scanning his surroundings with a bewildered gaze. "What place is this?" he murmured, his voice tinged with confusion.
His head pounded with a dull ache, and his thoughts were a tangled mess, like a pair of tangled wires. He grappled with the disarray, struggling to make sense of it all. "Who am I?" he asked aloud, his voice cracking with uncertainty.
His memory was a blank slate. Faces, names, and places slipped through his grasp like sand through fingers.
Before he could fully comprehend his situation, Queen Bee materialized before him, her presence both commanding and calm.
"Ah, you're awake," she said, her tone light yet laced with an edge of curiosity. "Remarkable. Do you remember who you are?"
The man shook his head slowly, his confusion evident.
Vex's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Ah, perfect. That makes things much easier for us."