Whirrrrrr... Whirrrrrr...
The soft hum that usually filled the chamber like a quiet heartbeat suddenly turned into a sharp, high-pitched scream that tore through the air. Red and white lights flashed over and over—
red, white, red, white—warning of something serious.
Loud alarms echoed through the clean and quiet lab of Sector B-12A. The white walls, once calm and still, now lit up with panic. Warning lights blinked over the smooth glass of the biopods, turning the lab into a red-lit nightmare.
{SYNCHRONIZATION ALERT: All Biopods in Sector B-12A require immediate help. Assigned staff proceed carefully.}
"Code Red! CODE RED!"
A scientist's voice broke through the noise, barely louder than the blaring sirens and running footsteps down the hallway.
A loud k-chhk came from the door as the biometric lock released, and the door slid open with a hiss. Thick white mist rolled into the room like smoke from an explosion. Through the fog, people in lab coats rushed in, faces tight with stress, eyes darting around.
"Sir Richard, check the neural sync data—now!" shouted a tall man with grey streaks in his hair and a voice full of experience and pressure.
Sir Richard ran to the main control panel, fingers flying across the screen. "Vitals are off the charts. Eighty percent of the subjects are passing safe limits. Their bio readings are all over the place!"
The pods shook. Inside them, human figures floated in thick gel, twitching and jerking as the syncing process hit their bodies hard. Their heart rates blinked wildly on the glowing displays.
"This can't be happening," Sir Charles muttered, eyes locked on Pod 108-A. "They were all cleared. Ninety percent match. We spent months testing them."
{SYSTEM: Start sedation to lower brain activity?}
"No," Charles said sharply. "If we do that now, it could break the connection. The whole Ascension process will fail."
"Then what do we do, Sir?!" someone shouted across the room, panic clear in their voice.
Sir Charles clenched his fists, a sick feeling growing in his chest. He didn't answer. Not because he didn't want to—but because he had no idea.
{Alert: Pod 108-A is crashing. Brain signals are critical.}
Everyone turned to the pod at once, like something had pulled them toward it. The clear case was glowing red, casting dark shadows around the room. Inside, a young man thrashed wildly. His muscles pushed against his skin like they were trying to burst out, bones shifting under the surface.
{Warning: Subject is unstable. Chances of survival: 10%… 5%… 1%. Not compatible.}
"Incompatible?!" Charles's voice cracked. "Give me the subject's vitals—now!"
{Subject ID: Zane Everhart. Code No: 0000001. Heart Rate: 154 BPM. Blood Pressure: 170/115. Breathing: 29/min. Oxygen: 86%. Core Temp: 39.6°C. Brain Waves: Abnormal. Nerve Activity: Overloaded. Stress Hormone: 3.6x normal. Mood Chemicals: Unbalanced.}
Sir Richard leaned closer to the display. "He's shutting down. His body is breaking from the inside. He's gone."
But before he could finish that thought—
{Signal detected: Pod 108-A is syncing.}
{ERROR: Two minds found.}
{Survival rate: 90%.}
"What...?" one of the assistants whispered.
"Two minds? That's impossible," someone muttered.
"It shouldn't be," Charles said quietly, stepping closer to the pod. "Unless…"
Zane's body suddenly stopped moving.
Then it began again.
His spine shot upward, limbs stretched at odd angles like a puppet yanked by strings. His eyes rolled back, and the gel inside the pod started glowing.
{You have entered the Ascension Port. Brain scan starting…}
The voice didn't speak to his ears. It spoke inside his head.
Pain shot through him—not physical pain, but something deeper. His nerves lit up, like electricity racing through soaked wires. Zane opened his eyes but saw only black. His mouth was full of thick fluid. He couldn't breathe, but he wasn't dying.
He was changing.
{Starting upload of Ascension Data…}
Then the real pain began.
Time stopped making sense. Seconds dragged like hours. Zane couldn't scream. His mind became a warzone. Memories that weren't his came flooding in like crashing waves.
Floating cities in the clouds. A future Earth called 101. Giant warriors with glowing marks. Shadow monsters destroying everything. Crying machines.
Then pain. A child's scream. A mother ripped away. A sword buried in a mountain.
He saw himself.
But not the way he was. Something else entirely.
Eyes glowing blue. Spinning symbols in his eyes. A smile that didn't feel like his, but came from his face.
{Sync at 50%. Error: Host is fighting back. Two minds active.}
{Sync Failed…}
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz—
{Sync Complete.}
Every screen around Pod 108-A went dark.
Zane Everhart, Subject 0000001, flatlined.
Sir Charles fell back into a chair, head in his hands. "We failed."
{All subjects failed the Ascension test.}
The room filled with cold gas from the ceiling, wrapping everything in a quiet mist.
Sir Richard turned slowly. His voice was low. "We've lost our approval from the Overseers. Sector B-12A is finished."
Some workers pulled off their gloves slowly, like any fast movement might break the silence. A few walked out. Others stayed still, eyes locked on the pod.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Sir Charles looked up fast.
"...Sir?" a tech called out, voice shaking.
Zane's body jumped inside the pod, slamming into the glass. His veins lit up with bright blue light. The gel bubbled and boiled off into steam. His vitals came back—screens flashing numbers no one had seen before.
{ALERT: Unknown Sync Mode found. Brain pattern—unreadable. Success rate: Unknown.}
Sir Charles stood. "He's breathing."
Gas hissed as the locks on the pod opened. The top lifted slowly. Fog poured out like smoke from a stage. Zane sat up.
His eyes opened. They weren't brown anymore. They weren't even human.
They glowed white-blue. Alive. Sharp.
He raised a hand and pressed his palm to the glass. Frost spread out where he touched.
{Subject Synced. Mental resistance is bypassed through the second path. Core: ACTIVE. Ascension: COMPLETE.}
He let out a slow breath. Fog curled across the glass from his mouth.
"Where… where am I?" His voice didn't sound right. It felt stretched, like it had just been made.
No one moved.
Sir Charles stared at him like he was looking at something godlike. "My god… What have we created?"
Zane's eyes narrowed. Something appeared in front of him—only he could see it.
{Welcome, Player One. Press START to continue.}
'Player One?' he thought.
"Good evening, Subject 000001," Sir Charles said. His voice was careful but strong. "Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?"
Zane blinked. A faint glow crossed his eyes, then faded.
"Two."
He looked down at himself.
This wasn't his old body.
His arms looked stronger. Shoulders wider. Muscles shaped like they were built, not grown. His jaw is sharper. Hair longer, wet and clinging to his skin.
He flexed his hand. It moved without delay.
This wasn't just an upgrade.
It was something new.
Sir Charles typed quickly on his tablet. "You shouldn't have synced this fast. You're changing… way too easily."
"What does that mean?" Zane asked, frowning.
Charles didn't answer.
The lights blinked—hard.
All the screens turned red.
{WARNING: Subject 000001, Zane Everhart, is no longer in the system. Player One is not listed in the Ascension files.}
And for the first time since this project began, everyone in that room finally understood what they were looking at.
Not a subject.
Not a human.
Something else entirely.
Ascension worked.
But what it created and what it would cost was only beginning.