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"Inject the Gengar Saliva Extract!"
The needle pierced Machop's tough gray skin.
The violet-red substance churned as it was forced into its body.
It swelled, twisted like countless worms crawling beneath the skin. Machop's vigorous blood suddenly boiled.
This extract, distilled from a King-tier Gengar, was the product of centuries of accumulated essence.
Its vast ghostly power had been condensed into a single vial and now, by human ingenuity, was injected into a vessel utterly alien to its nature.
Scarlet blood merged with the violet haze.
Fighting-type energy clashed with Ghost-type energy, threatening to burst every vessel.
The blood roared through its veins like a raging river.
Beneath Machop's dark hide, purple-blue veins bulged like tree branches.
They glowed faintly, like bioluminescent fish drifting in a deep sea.
Suddenly—
Machop's eyes snapped open, revealing brown-red pupils.
Recognition flickered then pain overwhelmed.
Its scream tore the sterile air. Muscles swelled, fists clenched, raw strength thrashing against restraints. The reinforced steel platform trembled beneath the strain.
Metal shrieked.
At its wrists and ankles, the clamps bit deep into flesh. Blood spurted, laced with a dark violet glow.
Agony echoed with the wail of tortured steel.
Outside the glass, Dr. Darr stood calm-faced, but his eyes were fixed on the life monitor, his trembling hands betraying the storm within.
Beep-beep-beep!
The machine shrilled faster. The green line dipped lower, slower, until—
Beeeeeeep—
The monitor screamed.
The line flattened into endless red, pointing toward death.
"…Hah."
Darr exhaled, unclenching his fists.
Though he had half-expected failure, disappointment weighed heavily.
"Specimen 267—life signs gone.
Experiment failed," his assistant reported, frowning.
"Doctor, the fault must be in the wake gas dosage. We'll need to adjust the next trial."
Darr shook his head wearily. "I tuned it already. This was supposed to be our best chance. But…"
Words died in a sigh.
"You decide."
He turned away, retreating toward his office.
Inside, the researchers calmly began cleaning. They were long inured to failure.
But none noticed Above the cold iron bed, the air rippled. A single mote of pale light, like a shrunken firefly, drifted down and melted into Machop's lifeless shell.
Beep-beep!
The monitor shrieked again.
On the floor, Darr's shoes screeched to a halt.
Eyes wide, he spun back toward the chamber.
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Down… down…
Kael's human soul sank through endless dark.
No time, no space only void.
Then—
A faint light flickered ahead.
So dim, so frail yet dazzling against the abyss.
Instinctively, Kael reached out and touched it.
Whoosh—
A surge pulled him in, like a black hole but warm, radiant. His vision spun, collapsing.
Next instant, he was adrift in a galaxy of stars.
Vrrrm!
Like a sci-fi warp, stars streaked past in colored trails.
As his mind blurred, Kael glimpsed a planet:
Swathed in rotting purple miasma, cracks spidering its crust, toxic fog spilling endlessly outward.
"What… is this place?"
Then sound crashed in machines, human shouts, metal clashing.
Kael's eyes flew open. White light seared his sight.
And then pain, Unbearable, drowning pain.
"AAAAHHH!"
His scream rasped raw, body convulsing.
But with it, life surged anew.
His heart hammered. Blood boiled hot through frozen veins. Energy burst through his frame.
And in that blood glimmered violet-red light.
Ghost power clashed with Fighting force, tearing him apart.
"Quick, infuse vital solution!"
Voices rang as Kael's consciousness slipped again into black.
---
On the platform, the operation continued.
But the surgeons' faces softened hope stirring.
The Machop Kael had survived the brink.
Grrrk-kkk…
From outside, laughter rasped.
Dr. Darr pressed his hands and face to the glass, muscles twisted grotesquely. "I finally… succeeded…!"
His mouth stretched into a manic grin, nearly splitting ear to ear.
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