Threshold of God and Flesh

"Ah, you're finally awake, Mr. Montgomery," said Helix as he meticulously examined the condition of the research subject.

Meanwhile, Jack fought to suppress the searing pain surging through him. His gaze drifted around the room as he observed his surroundings. Faintly, he could see the researchers busily working in a room filled with strange hybrid machines.

Then he murmured to himself,

"How surreal... This scene is the complete opposite of the nightmare I just endured. In my dream, people were fleeing in terror, desperately trying to escape those monstrous beings... Yet now, in a room filled with the descendants of those very creatures, there's no fear, no panic. Instead, humans are calmly working together with them, treating them with such respect…"

"Should I feel disgusted by these people? I'm not in a position to judge them when this body of mine is infused with the power of those same creatures…"

Helix interrupted Jack's thoughts.

"Mr. Montgomery, are you ready? We'll move you into the wheelchair and take you to the prep room."

With a slight nod, Jack agreed.

The agony was intense, but Jack gritted his teeth as they carefully moved him into the wheelchair. Then Helix began to push him.

Slowly, he moved away from the room where he had spent much of his life, a room that had kept his body alive for hundreds of years, leaving behind the countless hybrid machines that had worked tirelessly and the researchers who had accompanied him for decades. The researchers bowed as a gesture of farewell, for whatever the outcome today, this might be the last time they ever saw Jack—his body broken beyond repair, teetering at the very brink of its end.

Helix continued pushing Jack's wheelchair until they arrived at a place where several people were busy preparing something... "Mrs. Gene, I've brought Old Man Jack," Helix called out to a woman in the room who was busy making preparations.

The woman, Jack's third granddaughter, took the wheelchair from the young researcher's hands. "Thank you, Helix!" she said. Then she pushed him into the room, which was already filled with his family members, all looking busy with preparations.

"Everyone, Old Man Jack has arrived! Let's prepare him!" She called out to the other family members in the room.

It seemed that everyone, especially his friends and family, affectionately called him 'Old Man Jack.'

Then, Jack's preparations began. A fresh, neatly pressed outfit was carefully put on him; his dry, wrinkled hands were gently lifted from the wheelchair and slipped into the sleeves of the shirt. It took special skill and coordination from the family members to dress him, due to the cables attached to his fragile body.

The silk robe was draped over him, concealing a tapestry of scars etched into his skin—remnants of past modifications that once were meant to enhance human strength. But those old experiments had long been replaced by new wounds from modifications meant solely to keep him alive…

Once again, Mrs. Gene checked all of Jack's preparations, then spoke to Helix: "The preparations are complete. You can take him now."

"Huuuuh…"

Helix let out a long sigh before stepping toward Jack. His voice was steady but held a hint of gravity. "The preparations are complete. It's time to head to the ritual site… Brace yourself, old man…"

"Alright then, let's get this over with." Helix firmly gripped the handles of Jack's wheelchair and began to push him out of the room.

As Jack's wheelchair quietly rolled away, hushed whispers echoed among the family members gathered in the room.

"Do you think he'll be chosen this time, Mom?" a young child asked Mrs. Gene, his eyes filled with worry.

Mrs. Gene gazed after Jack as he was pushed further away, sorrow weighing down her heart. "I don't know, my dear. He's tried countless times, but fate has never favored him. Will this year be any different?" Her voice cracked with emotion, and she murmured softly, almost pleading, "But I hope—no, I pray: God, please, let this be his chance. He's sacrificed more than anyone should ever have to. There's no one more deserving of Your true power than him. Grant him the honor of being Your chosen one."

The family members who overheard Mrs. Gene's desperate plea turned their gaze toward the exit, sorrow etched across their faces. The thought of Jack enduring so much only to leave this world without ever receiving the reward for his years of suffering struck them deeply. One by one, they whispered their own prayers, knowing deep down that this would be Jack's final chance.

Jack's wheelchair faded from sight, finally disappearing beyond the doors of the research facility, leaving behind a room filled with uneasy silence.

Helix pushed Jack's wheelchair until they arrived at a place dominated by a towering, massive structure. The building, fused with living organisms, bore a striking resemblance to the machines in Jack's research lab. Its main structure, pristine white, exuded a cold, sterile atmosphere like an operating room, adorned with thousands of intricate carvings depicting the biological transformation of living beings.

"We've arrived, old man," Helix said.

Slowly, Jack lifted his head and gazed at the building in front of him…

 "After hundreds of years, I've come back to this place over and over, with no results... And now, here I am again... hoping this time will be different…"

Jack's gaze settled on a single carving amidst the hundreds covering the walls—a colossal figure that seemed to command all the others. It depicted a creature with thousands of hands, a being unlike anything ever seen on Earth.

Jack kept staring at the statue, murmuring to himself…

"There you are," he rasped. "My nightmare. Humanity's savior. The creature of the same kind that once butchered billions, now wears a crown of worship. How poetic." 

He had come and prayed to that statue too many times. Even with his blurred vision, he knew exactly where it was.

"Eughhh…"

Jack let out a small whimper. Once again, he felt the pain coursing through his entire body before continuing his murmurs.

"And now, they rebranded the horror of your kind as the god of mankind, but here I am, as your devoted worshipper… a worshipper who has endured the torment of devotion for hundreds of years. Once again, I beg you to grant me that immense power, the same power I once witnessed nearly destroy the Earth with ease, the power that almost wiped out all life on this planet… the power that took everyone I ever loved. Give me that power… that overwhelming force, for there is no one among your worshippers more worthy of it than I."

The prayers swelled, the ritual neared, and Jack braced himself. Would his torment finally end in triumph? Or had his faith been a fool's gamble for a century…?