Chapter 4: Creation from the Void—The First Mutation
Dr. Vamus slid his cold, black pistol back into its holster with a metallic click that echoed through the room. The air was thick with the acrid scent of gunpowder and the suffocating silence of death. Arthur Thorne's body lay motionless on the reinforced glass floor, the ancient black dagger buried deep within his chest. A dark, expanding circle of crimson blood spread slowly beneath him, forming an ominous shape like a cursed shadow on the transparent floor.
"Useless trash," Dr. Vamus spat, his voice dripping with icy contempt. His eyes held no remorse for the loss of a human life; instead, they burned with the frustration of a failed experiment. "All that effort, millions in funding, and the priceless Primordial Serum... all wasted on a cripple. I thought his supposed 'willpower' would be of some use, but he turned out to be as fragile as the rest."
He pressed a button on a remote lying on the desk. The heavy steel door hissed open, and two security guards stepped inside, their faces masks of stone-cold indifference.
"Yes, sir?"
"Dispose of this carcass," Dr. Vamus commanded, not even looking back. "Take it through the secret rear exit and dump it directly into the main sewer line. And listen—throw that old knife away with him. It's a worthless antique I kept only for decoration. I don't want a single shred of evidence of 'Subject A1' remaining in this lab. Mark his file as Terminated."
Dr. Vamus walked out of the room without a second glance. The guards hoisted Arthur's cold, limp body onto a heavy stretcher.
"Bastard broke my partner's neck before he kicked the bucket," one guard growled, delivering a vicious kick to Arthur's lifeless, paralyzed leg. "Go on, rot with the sewer rats. No one's going to call you a 'Subject' down there. You'll just be rotting meat."
They hauled him to the deepest, darkest sub-level of the facility, where a massive iron hatch leading to the city's main sewer stood open. Below, the black, foul-smelling, and toxic water surged like a hungry python. Without a hint of respect, they tilted the stretcher. Arthur's body hung in the air for a brief second before vanishing into the stinking, dark abyss. Above, the iron lid slammed shut with a heavy, resounding thud.
[Sewer Silence and Cosmic Stirring]
Inside the sewer, death reigned supreme. Amidst the toxic methane gas and the stench of decay, Arthur's body washed up against a pile of debris and waste near the edge. The black dagger was still lodged in his chest, unyielding as a stone.
At that exact moment, the ancient laws of the universe—laws written before the beginning of time—began to shift.
The six microscopic eggs hidden within the black metal of the dagger activated the moment they came into contact with Arthur's blood. These were no ordinary seeds; they were fragments of the Ancient Sovereign Queen, having searched for a 'Host' for aeons. The dried essence of the Primordial Tree within the dagger acted as the perfect soil, and the serum already flowing in Arthur's veins served as a magical fuel—a catalyst.
Suddenly, an explosion occurred near Arthur's heart. It was silent to the outside world, but it thundered through the very fabric of his soul. The First Egg began to merge with Arthur's cellular structure.
As the fusion commenced, an inconceivable scene unfolded within the dark tunnel. Arthur's short black hair suddenly turned snow-white from the roots. It grew with impossible speed, cascading down like a frozen waterfall until it reached the small of his back. His entire body was bathed in a divine, milky-white radiance. In that filthy, pitch-black sewer, Arthur glowed like an ancient deity. This was the true form of his 'Super Body'—the physique of the immortal kings who once traversed the stars.
However, as the merger finalized, the white glow slowly receded back into his pores. His long white hair shrank and reverted to its original short, black state. Arthur's body returned to looking like that of a normal human. The transformation was so stealthy that even Arthur remained unaware of the cosmic titan that had just been birthed within him.
[Rebirth: Awakening and the New Senses]
Suddenly, Arthur's lungs drew a sharp, violent breath.
"AHHH!"
He bolted upright, his heart thundering like a war drum. The first thing he did was grip the hilt of the black dagger and rip it from his chest. He expected a fountain of blood, but nothing happened. The power of Self-Healing had reattached his internal organs in mere seconds. Not even a scratch remained on his skin.
Arthur tried to stand and froze in shock. His left leg, which had been a useless weight for years, was now as firm and powerful as a pillar of steel. He clenched his fist and felt his muscles—they were no longer mere flesh, but as dense and solid as high-density steel.
But the most profound change was in his Senses.
When he opened his eyes, he didn't see darkness. He saw everything as if it were on a 4K Ultra-HD screen. He could see the microscopic bacteria crawling in the sewer sludge.
His hearing was now a hundred times more acute than a normal human's. He could hear the footsteps of people walking on the street far above the sewer walls. He could hear the faint wail of the sirens from Dr. Vamus's lab, even though it was now far away.
He could hear the rustle of blood rushing through his own veins.
His sense of smell was so sharp that amidst the stench of waste, he could isolate the faint, lingering scent of Dr. Vamus's perfume that had stayed on his skin.
"What... what is happening?" Arthur stared at his hands. He knew nothing of this 'Super Body.' He didn't know that five more eggs still lay dormant within him, waiting to grant him god-like powers in the future. He only knew that he felt invincible.
Suddenly, the memory of his mother's grieving face calling his name flashed through his mind. He heard his sister's scream from the day of the accident—his pain for her was everything. His blood began to boil with rage.
"Vamus... you said I was a useless subject," Arthur's voice hit the sewer walls and returned as a terrifying, predatory growl. "You thought you killed me. But you have unknowingly given birth to your own doom."
Arthur gripped the black dagger tightly. The weapon no longer felt heavy; it felt like a part of his own body. He took a step forward into the darkness. There was no limp, only the agility and power of a predator.
He did not yet know the limits of his strength, but he knew exactly where he had to go. Tonight, the hell of GeneX Corporation was going to burn.
Arthur began to run, tearing through the sewer water. He was so fast that the water exploded in a wake behind him. Death had rejected him, and now, he was returning as the new face of Death itself.