Chapter 1 — Shiho Miyano

Rain poured relentlessly over the research facility, each drop striking the cold concrete like the ticking of a clock counting down to the inevitable.

Deep beneath the building, hidden from the rest of the world, a lone prison cell remained silent.

Shiho Miyano sat motionless against the wall.

The dim light above her flickered every few seconds, casting long shadows across the empty room.

She no longer knew how many days had passed.

Perhaps three.

Perhaps seven.

Perhaps it didn’t matter anymore.

Her wrists still carried the faint marks left by the handcuffs. The Organization had taken everything from her—her freedom, her future…

…and finally, her sister.

Akemi.

Just thinking of her name made Shiho lower her head.

She remembered the last message Akemi had left behind.

A promise.

A dream of escaping together.

A future that would never come.

Closing her eyes, Shiho let out a quiet breath.

“I’m sorry, Onee-chan…”

Silence answered her.

No footsteps.

No voices.

Only the distant hum of machines somewhere beyond the steel walls.

The laboratory that had once been her second home now felt like a grave.

She had devoted years of her life to Project APTX 4869.

A miracle, they called it.

A scientific breakthrough.

But Shiho knew the truth.

It was never meant to save lives.

It existed only to take them.

After Akemi’s death, she refused to continue the research.

For that single act of defiance…

The Black Organization imprisoned her.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

“So this is how it ends…”

She wasn’t afraid anymore.

Fear had disappeared the moment Gin pulled the trigger on Akemi.

What remained inside her was something far colder.

Regret.

Her gaze slowly shifted toward the small white capsule hidden in her trembling hand.

APTX 4869.

The very poison she had created.

A cruel irony.

She had spent years perfecting it.

Now…

It would become her final choice.

“If death is waiting for me…”

“…then I’ll choose it myself.”

Without another word, Shiho placed the capsule into her mouth.

She swallowed.

For a moment…

Nothing happened.

Then…

Pain.

An unbearable pain exploded through every nerve in her body.

She collapsed onto the cold floor as her heartbeat pounded violently in her ears.

Her vision blurred.

Her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

It felt as though every bone in her body was being crushed… and rebuilt.

She tried to scream.

No sound came out.

The room spun around her.

Darkness slowly swallowed everything.

…

…

When Shiho finally opened her eyes again…

Something was wrong.

The handcuffs that had once locked tightly around her wrists now lay loose on the floor.

Her lab coat hung from her shoulders like an oversized blanket.

Confused, she stared at her own hands.

They were…

Smaller.

Much smaller.

“No…”

Her voice…

It wasn’t her voice.

Shiho staggered toward the metal door and caught a faint reflection in its polished surface.

A little girl stared back.

Her silver hair remained unchanged.

But everything else…

…had disappeared.

Shiho Miyano was gone.

To be continued…

Chapter 2 — The Escape

The freezing air cut through Shiho’s lungs like a

knife.

She struggled to breathe.

Every heartbeat echoed painfully inside her chest as she forced herself to stand.

“No…”

Her trembling voice sounded unfamiliar.

Small.

Weak.

She stared at her tiny hands again.

This wasn’t an illusion.

It wasn’t a dream.

Her body…

had become that of a seven-year-old child.

“…Impossible.”

Shiho took a shaky step backward.

The oversized laboratory coat slipped from her shoulders, dragging across the cold floor.

The metal handcuffs that had imprisoned her only moments ago now rested beside her.

Far too large to hold her wrists anymore.

Her eyes widened.

“…APTX…”

She finally understood.

The drug hadn’t killed her.

It had done something no scientist could have predicted.

It had reversed her age.

A sudden metallic sound echoed through the hallway.

Footsteps.

Someone was coming.

Shiho’s heart nearly stopped.

The Organization.

They were checking the cell.

She looked around desperately.

The prison door remained locked.

There was no way out.

No windows.

No weapons.

Nothing…

Until her eyes stopped on a narrow waste disposal opening near the corner of the room.

Normally…

it would have been impossible for an adult to crawl through.

But now…

She clenched her fists.

“…It’s my only chance.”

Ignoring the pain still tearing through her body, Shiho forced herself toward the opening.

Every movement hurt.

Her muscles felt as though they were burning from the inside.

The footsteps grew louder.

Closer.

The electronic lock outside the cell beeped once.

Someone was entering.

Shiho squeezed herself into the narrow opening.

The cold metal scraped against her arms.

For a terrifying second…

she became stuck.

“No…”

Not now…

She pushed with everything she had left.

Her body finally slipped through.

The moment she disappeared into the dark passage…

The prison door opened.

Silence.

One of the guards frowned.

“The prisoner…”

“…is gone.”

…

Shiho crawled through the maintenance tunnel in complete darkness.

The smell of chemicals filled the air.

Her breathing became heavier with every meter.

She no longer knew where she was going.

She only knew one thing.

She had to keep moving.

Because if Gin found her…

There would be no second miracle.

Minutes later…

A rusted maintenance hatch stood before her.

Using the last of her strength, Shiho pushed it open.

A blast of icy wind struck her face.

Snow.

Night.

Freedom.

For the first time in years…

There were no concrete walls.

No laboratories.

No armed guards.

Only the silent streets beneath the falling snow.

Shiho stumbled forward.

One step.

Then another.

Her vision blurred.

She had escaped.

But she had nowhere to go.

No family.

No home.

No one…

Except one man.

A strange inventor.

A friend her parents had once trusted.

“Professor…”

“…Agasa…”

Her knees finally gave way.

She collapsed into the snow.

As darkness swallowed her once again…

A single light appeared in the distance.

Someone…

was opening the front door.

Footsteps rushed toward her through the falling snow.

”…Hey!”

The voice sounded distant… almost like a dream.

Shiho’s vision blurred completely.

Darkness embraced her once again.

Chapter 3 — Professor Agasa

The old man froze.

A small girl lay unconscious in the snow, barely breathing.

“…What?”

Professor Hiroshi Agasa quickly rushed outside despite the freezing wind.

He knelt beside her and gently turned her over.

His eyes widened.

The child’s face was pale.

Her body was ice cold.

“…Poor thing…”

Without another thought, Agasa carefully lifted her into his arms and carried her inside.

The warmth of the fireplace slowly filled the room.

Agasa wrapped the little girl in thick blankets before checking her temperature.

“A fever…”

He sighed.

“Who are you…?”

The child wore oversized laboratory clothes that clearly did not belong to someone her size.

The sleeves covered her tiny hands.

The coat dragged across the floor.

Nothing about this made sense.

Agasa quietly prepared warm soup and medicine while waiting for the girl to wake.

Hours passed.

Outside…

Snow continued falling across Beika Town.

…

Late that night…

The girl’s fingers twitched.

Her breathing became steadier.

Slowly…

Her blue eyes opened.

Bright lights greeted her.

She immediately sat upright.

“Where am I?!”

She looked around in panic.

No concrete walls.

No surveillance cameras.

No armed guards.

Just an ordinary living room.

A fireplace.

Bookshelves.

Strange inventions scattered everywhere.

“Easy, easy…”

An elderly voice interrupted her thoughts.

“You’ve been unconscious for hours.”

Shiho instantly turned toward the man.

Her body tensed.

“Who are you?”

Agasa scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“My name is Hiroshi Agasa.”

“I found you outside my house.”

“…”

Shiho remained silent.

She carefully studied his face.

There was no sign of deception.

No hidden earpiece.

No weapon.

No cold eyes like Gin’s.

Still…

She couldn’t trust anyone.

Not anymore.

Agasa noticed her fear.

“I won’t ask anything if you don’t want to answer.”

“You can rest here until you’re feeling better.”

The words were simple.

But to Shiho…

They felt unfamiliar.

No one had spoken to her so gently in years.

She lowered her eyes.

“…Thank you.”

It was barely above a whisper.

Agasa smiled kindly.

“That’s better.”

“Now…”

“You should probably tell me your name.”

Shiho hesitated.

If she revealed the truth…

The Organization might find him.

If she lied…

Perhaps she could protect them both.

She looked at the warm cup of soup resting on the table.

For a brief moment…

She remembered her sister.

Akemi.

A single tear almost escaped her eye.

“…”

Then, quietly…

She made a decision that would change everything.

“My name…”

She took a slow breath.

“…Ai.”

She couldn’t understand it.

Why would a complete stranger help someone he had never met?

There were no questions.

No threats.

No demands.

Only kindness.

It felt… strange.

For years, Shiho had lived in a world where trust was considered a weakness.

Everyone watched each other.

Everyone had secrets.

Everyone feared someone stronger than themselves.

Yet this old inventor had opened his door without hesitation.

For the first time since Akemi’s death, Shiho felt something she thought had disappeared forever.

Warmth.

Not from the fireplace…

But from another human being