SCRIIIIIIIIIIING
The sound of a blade's edge sliding harshly against iron.
"Please, spare me, I…"
SPLATTER
Red liquid splattered over the walls, abruptly cutting off the pleading, but it never stopped.
"Please…run shutdown protocol…"
SPLATTER
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
The screams were heart-wrenching, but the blade tearing flesh, and the splatter of blood drowned them out.
All of this, he could hear.
'It's of no use,' the thoughts echoed in his head as his teeth ground together.
His bloodied hands reached forward as he crawled across the floor, dragging himself desperately away from the screams and the splattering.
But it was no use.
Both his legs had been sliced off, blood pouring freely, rendering him unable to walk.
His only option was to crawl as fast as he could, except the one he was running from wasn't something that could be escaped by crawling.
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
The footsteps echoed like iron slamming against iron, louder and closer until the last scream died away.
Still, his hands didn't stop pushing him forward.
Until, finally, they reached out one last time, and this time they grabbed a foot.
A foot covered in metal and wire frames, pulsing with red Nano-lights.
Naturally, his crawl came to a halt as he raised his head.
Standing before him was a figure that looked human, yet not quite.
It was a woman, half her face was covered in wires and a smooth, silvery panel.
Her right hand was not of skin or flesh, but of pure nano material, gripping onto a weapon:
A white scythe, its curved half-moon edges glowing with burning crimson light.
The figure's left eye glowed the same crimson, devoid of life and emotion as it stared down at him.
For a moment, silence reigned in the room.
GLITCH
A sudden flicker passed through her eyes, the crimson light dimming.
For a moment, reason reappeared.
"Hmmm…"
The soft hum escaped her lungs as she looked around, finding nothing but strewn bodies and blood.
Then, she lowered her gaze to the scythe in her hands, fingers trailing across the weapon, before they finally turned to him.
He was a young man with quite the exceptional looks.
Brilliantly shining blue irises, an oval-shaped face framed by short dark hair, with its edges in a blue colour.
A pair of spectacles clung to his face, one lens cracked, shards of glass piercing into his left eye and drawing blood.
The sight drew a taunting smirk to her lips.
"Young, luscious black hair with faint blue freckles at the ends… piercing blue eyes."
She tilted her head, glitching briefly before steadying again.
"Everlearn Snowfall, isn't it?"
Her voice carried a taunting chuckle.
"Many of the Project scientists talked about how much your research contributed to its success."
"Some even said it wouldn't have been a success without your unique ideas, so…I'm guessing you deserve a special thanks?"
The scythe's edges scraped the floor before she rose it high into the air, blood dripping down and splattering across Everlearn's face.
'This is it…'
'This is my end.'
The crippling thought sent his heart into a pounding frenzy.
His death, this was never how he planned it.
Still, he forced his lips to move.
"The Mecha X-Core is an anomalous-grade creation."
"It boosts humanoid stats to over ten times the base while embedding combat modules...and enables Nano-remodulation to form an implanted weapon module, just like the scythe you wield now." He spoke fluidly, in one breath, like a man not bleeding out on the ground.
His explanation froze her scythe midair.
"All of this comes with side effects," he pressed on. "Mental overexertion that could fry the user's brain, early symptoms being severe glitching."
"Even though reports do not clearly state it, these side effects are true. Anyone who uses the Mecha X-Core meets erasure or insanity."
"If you keep using it, it will destroy you."
Everlearn pushed further, words tumbling quickly.
"Hmmm," She hmmed in interest, her scythe faltering.
"But I can correct the flaws."
"With personalized cellular coding of your genes with it, I can make the Mecha X-Core feel as natural as an arm."
"That could eliminate the drawbacks, unlocking twenty times base power, and creation of possible new effects beyond Nano-remodulation."
Her brows creased, clearly weighing his words.
"All I need is a lab and a week. What do you say?"
Silence descended, leaving only the pounding of his heart to fill the room.
He had no strength to fight; he never had, as he was no warrior, only a Mecha technician.
Knowledge was all he had, and now it was his only bargaining chip.
But then,
"HEHEHEHEHEHE!"
Her laugh ripped through the air, shaking her shoulders, though the scythe never wavered.
"For a second, you almost managed to convince me," she grinned, crimson light blazing in her eye.
"I was ordered to kill every last life that knows even a clue about creating an anomalous Mecha X-grade."
Her smirk widened.
"And I remember the reward for this mission… A Mecha W-Core!"
Everlearn's eyes widened in shock.
A Mecha W-core!? That was too high up, completely beyond the range of the Mecha X-core.
"Why would I need a perfected X-grade Mecha when I'll be given something a hundred times better as a reward?" she sneered.
His mouth fell open, but no words came.
WHIRRRR
The sound of Nano-systems powering up filled the air, as the crimson lights from the scythe burned brighter.
"Your knowledge is exceptional for your age, that much is true…" She admitted.
"Unfortunately for you, this world runs on something else."
Saying this, her lips curved into a cold smile.
"Power!"
Those were the last words he heard.
CLEAVE!
The scythe tore downward, silent as a viper strike, slicing his head clean through and nailing it to the floor.
Cold robotic eyes watched as the halves slowly slid apart, blood and brain matter splattering across the ground.
She raised the scythe, resting it on her shoulder, before walking away from his corpse.
Footsteps echoed, men in cleaner uniforms, holding large bags in their hands.
"Get rid of their bodies," her orders rang out, frigid.
"Yes, Mecha Eva," they replied, getting to work, and soon enough, one of them arrived before Everlearn's corpse, packing it up into a dark bag before carrying it off to a place unknown.