2

For the first time in twenty-six years...

There was no pain.

He waited.

His body waited.

His mind waited.

Because pain was always the next thing.

After every silence came another experiment.

After every moment of peace came another test.

But nothing happened.

No needles.

No restraints.

No cold hands touching his skin.

No voices discussing him like he was an object.

His eyes slowly opened.

The ceiling above him was unfamiliar.

White.

Clean.

But not the white ceiling he knew.

Not the ceiling of the laboratory.

His breathing stopped.

"Where..."

His voice froze.

His voice.

He could hear his own voice.

Not a broken whisper.

Not a weak sound forced out after endless procedures.

A normal voice.

His hand immediately moved to his throat.

He touched his skin.

Warm.

Soft.

Alive.

His eyes widened.

"What's happening?"

The words came out clearly.

He could speak.

He could actually speak.

For a moment, he just stared.

His brain refused to accept what his body was telling him.

Then memories came rushing back.

The laboratory.

The alarms.

The explosion.

The faces of the scientists who had taken everything from him.

His final breath.

He remembered dying.

He remembered wanting to die.

"So..."

His fingers tightened against the sheets.

"I'm dead."

Then why could he feel the bed beneath him?

Why could he breathe?

Why was there no pain?

A sound suddenly came from outside the room.

The door opened.

"Young Master Adrian?"

The unfamiliar voice made his body instantly tense.

Adrian.

The name entered his ears.

It sounded like a name.

A real name.

A name someone had been called with love, respect, and importance.

But it wasn't his.

His name was never spoken.

Not like that.

He was Subject 001.

Not Adrian.

The person outside spoke again.

"Young Master Adrian, are you awake?"

His eyebrows tightened.

Why was this person calling him?

Why did they expect him to answer?

How could he respond to a name that didn't belong to him?

He remained silent.

The person became worried.

"Young Master?"

Something inside him reacted before he could think.

"Come in."

The moment the words left his mouth, he froze.

The door opened.

A man stepped inside immediately.

And he froze too.

Because the person lying on the bed...

Was looking at him with unfamiliar eyes.

The man quickly lowered his head.

"Young Master, are you feeling unwell?"

He stared.

Not at the man.

At himself.

At the voice that had just given an order.

His voice.

He had commanded someone.

Nobody had ever listened to him before.

Nobody.

His lips parted slightly.

"How..."

The word barely escaped.

The man looked confused.

"Young Master?"

He ignored him.

His mind was moving too fast.

The laboratory.

Death.

The darkness.

Then waking up here.

In a body that wasn't his.

Being called by a name that wasn't his.

And somehow...

People were obeying him.

"What is this?"

The question left his mouth.

But he wasn't asking the man.

He was asking the world.

Because for the first time in his life...

He had no idea what was happening.

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