The chamber was silent—too silent. Only the low hum of the containment stabilizers vibrated through the lab's core like a heartbeat echoing through steel veins.
Dr. Nerion Starveil stood before the primary console, his hand hovering over the final command node. Behind the reinforced biometric glass, his creation—his son—floated within a dense green-blue solution, tendrils of life-support wiring woven into his flesh like roots into soil.
Haio's body had matured perfectly.
At 16 years of age—at least genetically—his form was lean but muscular, his skin pale beneath the bio-solution, and his silver hair drifted around his forehead like a halo of static light. A breathing mask covered the lower half of his face, filtering oxygen and neural stabilizers as his consciousness remained locked in induced stasis.
Nerion's voice was soft, almost reverent.
> "Spec Archive transfer complete. Initiating Awakening Protocol: Phase One."
He pressed the command.
A chime echoed. Deep within Haio's body, the Spec Archive Database flared to life. Invisible pulses of genetic code surged down his spine, lighting up dormant nerve clusters. Six Specs—complex, potent, volatile—began integrating into his cells, syncing with marrow, muscle, and memory.
Monitors flashed in response.
[Tissue Forge: Synaptic Link—STABLE]
[Energy Reservoir: Core Implantation—STABLE]
[Erode: Neural Compatibility—OPTIMAL]
[Vital Bloom: Biofeedback—ALIGNED]
[Quirkscope: Visual Cortex Calibration—IN PROGRESS]
[Echo Reservoir: Kinetic Lattice Bond—STABLE]
Dr. Nerion observed every line of data with surgical focus. Each Spec was dangerous alone. Combined? A god in the shell of a boy.
> "You're more than a weapon," Nerion whispered. "You're hope. Precision. Evolution."
Faint lights blinked around the chamber, illuminating the floor in rotating halos.
Suddenly, the vitals monitor spiked—Haio's heart rate jumped.
[Pulse: 70 → 120 BPM]
[REM Neural Activity Detected]
> "Impossible... he's dreaming?"
The stasis fluid around Haio began to ripple, his fingers twitching slightly. A faint glow emerged from his sternum, the core where Energy Reservoir had embedded—golden energy pulsing softly, in sync with his growing awareness.
> "Phase One complete," the AI reported. "Subject Haio entering proto-conscious state. Begin Phase Two?"
Dr. Nerion hesitated.
For the first time in years, he hesitated.
> "...No. Let him sleep a bit longer."
He stepped back from the console, eyes still locked on his son. Not just a clone. Not just an experiment. Haio was the culmination of years of guilt, genius, and obsession.
He had to be perfect.