Yi (2)

Chapter 2: A New Awakening

The room was shrouded in darkness, the silence only broken by the subtle rustle of rags, disturbed by something beneath. Slowly, the rags began to rise.

Laznoire: "Achoo!"

The sneeze sent a cloud of dust spiraling into the air, particles dancing in the dim light that filtered through the cracked ceiling. Laznoire stirred, her body feeling stiff, achy, and foreign.

Laznoire: "It feels so... icky. So stiff!"

As she shifted, a melodic, ethereal voice echoed through the room, soft and soothing—yet unfamiliar. It was like the voice of an angel, resonating with a clarity that seemed out of place in the grim surroundings.

The rags fell away, revealing the slender, naked figure of a girl with long, pale blond hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of moonlight.

Laznoire: "What happened to my lab?! Why is it so dirty? And all this dust!"

She coughed, the air thick with the smell of damp earth and decay. It was as if the lab had been abandoned for centuries, left to rot like some ancient ruin.

Laznoire: "The smell... it's like one of those ruins! So humid and earthy..."

Irritated by the discomfort, she snapped, "Shut up, woman!"

Then she paused, realization dawning slowly.

Laznoire: "Wait... that voice... is that... mine?"

She froze, her thoughts racing. Stories of people undergoing bizarre mutations had circulated, tales of gender-bending transformations. She had dismissed them as myths, impossible—until now.

Laznoire: "I heard about people getting gender-bent after mutations... But I thought it was impossible. Yet... it seems I'm one of those cases."

Despite her shock, her instincts took over. She surveyed the room, searching for anything that still functioned.

Laznoire: "At least the lights seem okay..."

But as she looked up, she saw the bulbs shattered, the ceiling riddled with cracks that spiderwebbed across the surface like fractures in a giant mirror.

Laznoire: "Eh... no..."

Panic welled up inside her as she screamed, "Meow! Meow, where are you?!"

Stumbling forward, her bare feet struck something solid. She bent down, her fingers brushing against cold, rusted metal. It was Meow Bot—her trusted companion, now a battered orb of cracked screens and faded paint.

Laznoire: "Why...?"

Her voice trembled as she cradled the broken robot, ignoring the fact that she was naked, her vulnerability laid bare to the cold, unforgiving world.

Time passed, though Laznoire couldn't tell how long. She sat there, holding the remnants of her creation, her mind teetering on the edge of despair. But then, a spark of determination flared within her.

Laznoire: "Keep it together! I can save Meow. I just need the right materials, that's all!"

She gently placed the robot on the table, but the once-sterile lab had become a graveyard of broken equipment and shattered dreams.

Laznoire: "The equipment... everything's been destroyed. It looks like a supersonic shock hit this place. But... why am I still alive?"

She sank into a metal chair, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and frustration. The lab, once a marvel of modern engineering, had cost her 700 million Blue Coins—a small fortune. It was located deep within the Deathly Forest, two miles from the nearest human settlement, a fortress of science hidden away from prying eyes.

Laznoire: "From the state of the walls and the overgrown vegetation inside the lab... more than a hundred years must have passed since I injected myself. But... ten years. I thought I would only sleep for ten years. Did I miscalculate?"

She ran the numbers through her mind again and again, each time arriving at the same conclusion.

Laznoire: "I ran it down by 100 generations, yet the result was always stable—ten years. I don't understand!"

In a fit of frustration, she slammed her fist on the table, only for the brittle wood to splinter and collapse.

Laznoire: "This table... it's hollowed out. At least the metal chair held."

She rose, ignoring the glass shards scattered across the floor, and approached a piece of reflective glass. But it was useless—the room was too dark for it to reflect anything.

Laznoire: "I'm such an idiot. A mirror reflects light, but without light, it's just a piece of glass."

Her despair deepened, the reality of her situation crashing down on her. She was alone, with no one to help, no one to guide her. Meow Bot, her trusted partner, was out of commission, and she had no idea what awaited her outside the lab.

Laznoire: "I'm scared... I'm weak... I'm a failure. A simple miscalculation, and now... I'm in a worse state than an orphan."

Tears welled in her eyes as she picked up a sharp shard of glass, its edge glinting faintly in the darkness.

Laznoire: "Who cares if I die? Everyone I knew is already dead... I'm trapped here..."

She pressed the shard against her neck, intending to end it all, but as she applied pressure, the glass shattered without leaving so much as a scratch on her skin.

Laznoire: "!!!"

Shocked, she stared at the broken pieces, her mind racing with possibilities.

Laznoire: "Is the glass brittle? No... I need to test something."

Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on a red emergency box hanging on the wall. Inside were a crowbar and a fire extinguisher, both encased in cracked reinforced glass. Without hesitation, she punched the glass, shattering it effortlessly and reducing the extinguisher to a pile of rusted debris.

Laznoire: "I'm... strong. Stronger than before."

A glimmer of hope flickered in her chest as she grabbed the crowbar. She used it to pry open one of the tiles in the floor, revealing a hidden compartment beneath.

Laznoire: "Good thing I prepared for a nuclear war. Though, in hindsight, nuclear wars are fiction now—we've moved on to plasma and other unknown energy sources."

She rummaged through the contents of the box, pulling out a black lab coat, a simple brown shirt, long pants, boxers, and a few other supplies.

Laznoire: "Nuclear weapons are too destructive, so we opted for thermal energy to shoot lasers and projectiles. Concentrated heat—effective, but not planet-destroying. I hope they didn't resort to nukes while I was asleep."

She unsheathed a small sword, its blade reflecting the little light in the room.

Laznoire: "I forgot what this is called, but it should be enough against low-rank mutants... This lab was for experiments. My weaponry lab is on another continent, but I'm sure it's been raided by now."

As she continued to unpack, she found a gas mask, charges, and a few other odds and ends.

Laznoire: "Ammonium sulfide... Why do I have this? And charges... that's dangerous, but useful."

She examined a small device labeled with the initials "L.L."—her own handiwork.

Laznoire: "This... was one of my creations. If I remember correctly, it's a prototype charge, capable of using new energy sources like the first virus. An originium bomb, lethal but also spreading the virus... I never released it to the public."

Finally, she found an energy bar, which she easily tore open. But as she bit into it, she grimaced.

Laznoire: "Ugh, it's bad! Dry and flaky... it's like chewing on tree bark!"

She touched her teeth, noticing a new sharpness, a predatory edge.

Laznoire: "Why are they pointy...? Mutation, I guess."

She gathered her supplies, found a small bag at the bottom of the box. She measured the clothes, cutting away the excess fabric to ensure freedom of movement.

Laznoire: "It's not fashionable, but at least I'm not naked. And the pants... I'm glad they shrunk to fit."

She searched for a sewing kit but found none.

Laznoire: "No sewing kit... oh well."

She packed her belongings into the small, dark green bag, fashioning a sword strap from the scraps of cloth. With a determined breath, she prepared for what was to come.

Laznoire: "Now I'm ready."

Her eyes fell on the reinforced door, her path to the outside world. She attached a charge to it, donning the gas mask as she hid behind a table, the anticipation gnawing at her nerves.

Laznoire: "Now..."

She pulled the pin and braced herself.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!