Gray woke up to a haze of warm light.
For a brief moment, he thought he had died. The bed beneath him was soft, far softer than anything he'd ever laid on. The sheets smelled faintly of lavender. The light filtering through the translucent panels above gave the room an ethereal glow.
"Am I in heaven?" he muttered, blinking slowly. His voice was hoarse.
A laugh broke the silence. "Hardly," a calm female voice answered. "Though I suppose this place is the closest you'll get."
"Ah... I see."
"Wait..."
"What!?"
Gray jolted upright with a sharp gasp. He immediately regretted it as pain shot through his side. "Ow, what the hell…" He looked around, wide-eyed.
The room was unlike anything he had seen before. Pristine walls of polished white metal, softly pulsing veins of blue light running through them. Monitors displaying vitals. A hovering IV drip that seemed to adjust itself automatically. The room hummed gently, like a machine breathing.
At the foot of his bed stood a nurse in a pale uniform, holding a sleek tablet. Her expression was gentle, professional.
"You're in a sanctuary," she said.
Gray squinted at her. "Sanctuary?"
"Yes, this sanctuary is used to prepare you for what's to come and to ensure you are aware of how Nyxterra works. You've also been stabilized. You had a minor fracture, a ruptured organ, and severe strain-induced trauma. But you're healing well."
He leaned back slightly, still stunned. "Wait… how long was I out for?"
The nurse tapped her screen. "Six days."
Gray blinked. "Damn. That's almost a week!"
"You may ask two more questions," she added with a light smile. "Before I dose you with medication and set you loose."
He blinked. "Seriously? I get three questions? What are you, a genie?
She smirked but didn't answer.
Gray sighed, rubbing the back of his head. He had been plagued with questions since he had arrived so even as little as three questions was satisfactory.
"Alright," he muttered. "Second question. Are there others like me?"
The nurse hesitated for a second, then nodded. "Yes. But be warned, wither strained are... quite... unique."
'Wither strained are unique? Does that mean there are other strains?
Gray sighed and tilted his head. "So, I'm a bit of a freak. Got it."
"Unique," she corrected. "And last question?"
Gray's expression softened. "Did anyone else from my group survive?"
Silence enveloped the environment and no answer escaped her mouth.
'That means they all die—'
"We recovered one"
Grays eyes finally showed some light. Did Lyleen survive? Unlikely after what he did. Or maybe it was the burly man Mrye! Afterall he never seen him die.
"I think his name was... Oryn yes that's it."
Gray blinked.
'That kid survived?'
The next few minutes passed in a quiet flurry of unfastened wires, removed gauze, and a strange metallic tasting liquid that the nurse called "stabilizer." Gray grimaced through it all.
"There," she said finally, placing a new black wristband on his arm. "Your system should sync shortly. You're free to explore the sanctuary at your leisure. You'll be summoned when needed."
Gray looked down at the wristband, which flickered once.
[ Synchronizing... Loading neural interface... Connected. ]
The familiar pale-blue screen opened in front of him.
[ Name: Gray ]
[ Status: Stable ]
[ Rank: I - Marked ]
[ Strain: Wither Strain ]
[Passive Trait: Unawakened]
[ Skills: Severing Bloom]
[ Affinity: ??? ]
[ Evolution Threshold: 18% ]
Gray blinked. "Huh. 18% now. I guess getting mauled does count for something." It wasn't like he understood what this threshold was for but he had a feeling it was something good
But more importantly his skill... Severing bloom. It was ultimately what had changed the tide of the fight against Lyleen
'Its quite a gruesome skill but very useful.'
What understood was that during a fight a portion of his pain was absorbed, and after crossing a threshold, it could be released externally, like through his sword. Making it very deadly if used correctly.
He sighed and got up slowly, stretching. His movements felt more fluid than before. Maybe the strain helped.
He changed into a new set of clothes provided in the room, simple black combat-fit wear with white trimming.
'Fancy,'
He took in a deep breath and stepped out into the corridor.
The sanctuary was even stranger outside the medical ward. The corridors were clean and white, but lined with glowing veins of energy running through the walls. Occasionally, drones floated overhead, scanning or spraying mist into the air. Everything smelled sterile.
He followed signs until he entered a large glass dome labeled Botanical Chamber.
Inside was a garden, but not like any he'd ever seen. Giant bioluminescent mushrooms pulsed with faint light. Twisted trees with silver leaves curled toward skylights. Strange black vines slithered across stone paths but didn't react to him. At the far end was a sealed section labeled Quarantined Flora.
Gray whistled. "Guess this is what happens when plants evolve in a hellish-nightmare."
He moved on, walking past a series of rooms labeled Combat Training Hall A, Mental Resilience Chamber, and Room 23: Advanced Lumen Techniques. The facility was big. Maybe even bigger than the Ironhold District he had come from.
Eventually, he reached the cafeteria. Inside, dozens of other patients were gathered.
Immediately, he noticed the eyes.
Golden. Bright. Luminous.
Almost every person he passed had some shade of golden or amber eyes. Some glowed faintly. Others flickered like candlelight.
Gray caught a few glances, some curious, some wary.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah... definitely the only corruption-marked here."
Before he could grab anything to eat, a voice came through the intercom.
"Subject Gray. Please report to the director's office. Repeat: Subject Gray, report to the director's office."
A few people turned. He sighed.
"Of course. Right when I get hungry."
With a resigned breath, Gray turned and followed the corridor signs toward the director's wing.
He then reached the door. His hand hovered over the knob. After steeling himself, he twisted it.
What greeted him was a man in his late 50s sitting on a chair. His office was grand with multiple weapons and trophies lying around. As for the man himself, he had had onyx coloured eyes and ash-like hair that matched Gray.
However his seemed natural.
Something about him however gave off a grand aura making Gray shudder.
'So he's the director...'
"I see your doing well Gray..." His voice was deep but carried some warmth not making him feel scared or disturbed.
Gray blinked and then replied in a calm tone.
"Yes I'm the director, thank you for having me here." He closed the door and took a seat nearby.
"Good...good. " the director's gaze seemed to be attracted elsewhere as he gazed at the Botanical garden through his window.
"Gray, I called you here to answer some concerns and questions. While also telling you what you missed."
Gray frowned.
'Missed? What had he missed whilst he was out?'
As if predicting his question he replied in a soft tone.
"As you know already, this place serves as an educational center. Everyday for the next 3 weeks you will be given lessons you must attend and work you must accomplish."
His mind drifted for a second before he snapped back to reality.
"Then... and only then will you be able to start your first mission."
This time his tone was colder. Not as cold as the recruiter but noticeable
He spun his chair round gazing straight at Gray's face.
"I will tell you what you missed for the last week."
"Starting off—"
"Wait!"
Gray had taken a risk to cut him off. After all he didnt know what the directer would do as punishment. But instead he found the man to be calm and patient showing no signs of anger.
Gray swallowed his saliva and spoke.
"You mentioned a first mission. Is it going to be like the last? A death trap?"
Gray's voice showed no signs of kindness. As much as he loved the outcome of the last mission. He had almost been mauled to death. Not to mention his newfound powers came with a cost. He had to experience pain and misery and wasn't very willing to do so again.
The director's gaze drifted towards the window.
He raised his finger and pointed towards a place past the garden, past the sanctuary walls.
Towards a mountainscape.
"That is where you will go for your first mission."
Grays heart sank
'This psycho bastard really is intent on killing me.'