Ethan crouched down, picking up a shard of glass from the bloodstained floor. He lifted it, examining his reflection.
Blue eyes. Sharp jawline. Long, blond hair. A Greek god-like physique.
Hell, he looked like some kind of prince. If he had been born with this face in his past life, maybe he wouldn't have died a lonely virgin. He scoffed and tossed the glass aside.
Then his gaze shifted to the other cells.
Mutants.
Some were unconscious; others were barely clinging to life. They had been used as lab rats, just like him. He could tear those doors open, set them free… but a different idea crossed his mind.
His lips curled into a smirk.
Before he could make a move, the sound of marching boots filled the corridor. Armed soldiers poured into the hallway, surrounding him more than fifty of them, clad in black armor and wielding high-tech rifles.
A voice crackled through the intercom.
"Subject 18, surrender immediately."
Ethan tilted his head. Subject 18? That was his designation, huh?
He wiped the blood from his knuckles and took a step forward.
"Or what?" he asked, voice calm.
The commander hesitated, then barked an order.
"Fire!"
Bullets tore into Ethan's body his chest, arms, and legs riddled with holes. Blood splattered the walls. His vision blurred as warm liquid dripped from his mouth.
And yet… he grinned.
There was no pain. No fear.
Only pure, unfiltered excitement.
The wounds were already closing. His muscles strengthened, his bones hardened, and his movements became sharper. His body was adapting.
"My turn."
He dashed forward, faster than before, his fingers wrapping around a fallen soldier's knife. The nearest enemy barely had time to react before Ethan plunged the blade into his throat.
One down.
The others scrambled back, opening fire again. Bullets ripped through him, but his body no longer cared. The more they shot, the stronger he became.
He moved through them like a shadow, the knife an extension of his will.
A slash to the jugular. A stab to the heart. A blade through the eye.
Three more down.
Someone swung a rifle at his head Ethan caught it midair. With a flick of his wrist, he snapped the barrel in half like a twig and shoved the jagged end into the man's throat.
Five down.
The soldiers screamed, trying to retreat, but Ethan was already on them.
Faster.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Gunfire had become meaningless. Pain was nonexistent.
The commander's panicked voice echoed through the speakers. "He's too dangerous! Eliminate him at all costs!"
Eliminate me? Ethan smirked, wiping blood from his cheek.
He rolled his shoulders, feeling his body adjust to the carnage. His senses sharpened, his instincts refined. He was no longer some lab rat.
He was a predator and the hunt had just begun.
The alarm blared through the facility, a high-pitched wail of desperation and panic.
Ethan stood in the middle of the hallway, his body drenched in blood, most of it not his own.
A dozen guards aimed rifles, shotguns, and energy weapons at him, their hands trembling. The red emergency lights cast long shadows across the walls, making the scene feel almost surreal.
He smirked. "You guys really think that's gonna work?"
A second of silence. Then...
BOOM!
They opened fire.
...
Bullets & Blades
A storm of lead tore through Ethan's body, jerking him backward
His grin widened. He felt nothing.
In fact, his body was already adapting.
The next volley of bullets bounced harmlessly off his skin.
One of the guards panicked and lunged at him with a combat knife, aiming for his throat. Ethan caught the man's wrist midair and snapped it like a twig. The guard screamed until Ethan buried the same knife into his skull.
Another soldier tried to stab him from behind. Ethan grabbed his arm, twisted it around, and drove the blade into the man's own chest.
"You brought knives to a fight against an immortal?" Ethan scoffed, tossing the lifeless body aside.
The remaining men hesitated. He could smell their fear.
"FALL BACK! DEPLOY THE HEAVY WEAPONS!"
The steel doors behind them slammed open, revealing a mounted minigun.
A soldier in thick, reinforced armor stepped forward, gripping the massive weapon. He pulled the trigger.
BRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTT!
A hurricane of .50-caliber rounds blasted through the corridor, ripping apart everything in their path.
Ethan stood his ground.
Bullets tore through his body like paper. His arms shredded, his torso torn open, half of his skull blown away...
Then it all grew back.
The soldier faltered. "What the fuck…?"
Ethan tilted his head, cracking his neck.
Then, in a flash, he moved.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the minigun operator. The soldier had no time to react—Ethan's hand crushed his throat like a soda can.
He ripped the minigun from its mount. The weapon was meant for a vehicle, far too heavy for any normal human to carry.
Ethan hoisted it up with ease.
"Let's see how you like it."
He pulled the trigger.
The hallway turned into a meat grinder.
Guards were shredded. Blood painted the walls as bodies dropped in seconds.
"WE CAN'T STOP HIM! USE EVERYTHING!"
Some soldiers darted into another room, and flamethrower units stepped forward.
FWOOSH!
A wave of hellfire engulfed Ethan. The heat was intense melting steel, incinerating bodies instantly.
His flesh burned. His bones turned black.
And then he adapted.
The flames no longer hurt. His skin regenerated, but this time… it was different. His body temperature rose, his cells absorbing the fire.
When the inferno cleared, Ethan stood untouched yet also naked.
"Is that all?" he asked, stepping forward.
The men stared in horror.
Then they dropped gas canisters. Thick, green smoke flooded the hallway. Nerve gas potent enough to paralyze and kill within seconds.
Ethan inhaled deeply.
His lungs burned for a heartbeat… then adapted.
Instead of killing him, the gas felt like fresh air.
He laughed. "Thanks, I needed that."
The guards backed away.
Desperate, the last group of soldiers hefted rocket launchers.
"FIRE!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions ripped through the hallway, sending shockwaves across the entire facility. Concrete walls collapsed, and metal beams twisted under the force.
Ethan was blown apart.
For a moment, nothing remained only smoke, fire, and rubble.
Then…
A figure stepped out of the flames.
Skin molten, bones glowing red-hot, Ethan healed with every breath. Torn flesh knit together, leaving only smooth, unscarred skin. The blast hadn't just failed to kill him it had made him stronger.
The last soldier dropped his weapon and bolted.
Ethan blurred forward. One twist of his hands CRACK. The body hit the floor.
Only one target remained: the man behind all of this.
He snagged a pair of intact trousers from a fallen guard and strode through the ruined corridors. The path led to a reinforced door at the end of the hall. With a single kick, the control room doors flew inward.
Dr. Reinhardt stood inside, unruffled despite the carnage. Screens flickered behind him, displaying wreckage and fire.
"Fascinating," the scientist murmured. "I've been watching you evolve in real time."
Ethan wiped soot from his face. "So you're the bastard running this circus."
"Dr. Reinhardt," the man replied with a thin smile. "I oversaw this facility until you dismantled it. Impressive work."
"Not impressive enough." Ethan's eyes swept across the remaining monitors, showing cages full of tortured mutants. His jaw tightened. "You experimented on us. Time to pay."
Reinhardt didn't flinch. Calmly, he produced a small device from his pocket and pressed a crimson button.
Ethan lunged.
BOOOOOM!
The world erupted. Fire tore through the room, metal warped, and the entire structure buckled inward.
For a heartbeat, there was only pressure tons of concrete, steel, and rubble slamming down on him. It should have reduced him to paste.
But his body adapted. Lungs no longer needed air. Bones thickened, muscles hardened, skin turned unyielding. In the suffocating dark, instinct took over.
Ethan curled his fingers into fists.
Then he pushed.
BOOM!
A massive slab of concrete launched skyward. Another surge of debris followed as Ethan clawed through the wreckage. Twisted rods tore free from his torso, wounds closing before the shards hit the ground.
He emerged, naked, into a snow-dusted wasteland. Smoke curled from the ruins; flames licked at splintered beams. The entire compound lay in ashes.
Ethan inhaled deeply, tasting ash and ice on the wind. Power thrummed through every nerve. The explosion hadn't just spared him, it had upgraded him.
He looked down, then smirked. "Huh… still impressive."
Scanning the wreckage, his gaze softened briefly toward the mutants who hadn't survived. A quiet condolence passed his lips before he straightened, eyes sweeping the horizon.
Time to find out where exactly he was.