Mind Shadow Parasite

"Hoo...oh..."Ram's chest heaved violently as if he had just emerged from a drowning nightmare. With a sudden gasp, he jolted awake, finding himself in an unfamiliar room bathed in intense light. Lying on a smooth surface, he blinked away the brightness, taking in the futuristic design of the space. Luminescent patterns adorned the walls, while holographic displays floated in the air.

"Where...am I?" Ram tried to sit up, but his body felt drained of energy, rendering him immobile. Yet, a gentle, soothing energy gradually flowed through him, revitalizing his senses. As he regained his bearings, he noticed several other teenagers awakening in similar beds nearby, some bewildered like him, others still unconscious.

In the midst of this high-tech setting, medical staff in white coats bustled about, holding holographic devices displaying patient information. Ram's eyes widened as he watched doctors and nurses attending to a critically ill patient. One of them held a small, semi-mechanical creature with sharp tentacles, injecting it into the teenager's body while others worked to stabilize their condition.

Ram's mind raced with questions. "I was kidnapped...but what about Liam?" Confusion clouded his thoughts as he scanned the room, searching for his friend. The last thing he remembered was being attacked by the Shadow Messenger. "Is this some kind of advanced hospital? What's going on?"

Listening to what the guards and researchers were talking he was among one of the subjects, injected with a similar parasite known as the Mind Shadow Parasite. This insect was designed to enslave those injected, manipulating their heart while absorbing the host's blood for its own growth. 

He carefully felt a small bug attached to his heart, but now it seemed to be in a deep sleep, but just thinking about it he felt despair and fear. The Mind Shadow Parasite was engineered with ruthless precision. It lurked deep within Ram's body, intertwining its dark influence with his neural system and heart. Any attempt to remove it risked severe damage, both physically and mentally. 

Its insidious nature lay in its ability to manipulate the heart in its current larva state, then gain the ability to twist the emotions of the host once it grows into an adult and subjugate the very will of the person it had infected.

From what the researchers are saying, the Mind Shadow Parasite was not merely an instrument of mind control; it also acted as an enhancer, gifting hosts with a surge of physical prowess and optimizing the human gene to adapt to reiki but it came at an extraordinary cost—exchange for Lifespan. 

"The test subject woke up, call the Shadow Messenger! !!" As the researchers started a commotion, he realized that some of them were looking at him while a man with a black mask in a guard uniform used his holographic tab to call someone.

A few minutes later, he tried to sit up again, but this time a sudden, sharp pain seared through his heart spreading around his whole body and mind. He gasped, clutching his temples, and at that moment, he felt a strange sensation wash over him. As if some kind of shackles broke and his body continued to strengthen itself with the help of some kind of energy pumped into his blood vessels from his heart to all over his body.

Ram instinctively tried to access his attribute panel out of habit, but before he could fully focus, he was abruptly interrupted by the sudden commotion in the sterile white room. As the air shimmered, a figure materialized before him, just like before when he saw the shadow messenger, his mood became unstable as he became angry realizing that he was kidnapped. 

The Shadow slowly came out of the Shadows, he first checked Ram's situation and spoke, "Welcome, Ram."

Looking at the shadow phantom, all the researchers and the guards around bowed their heads. Ram, grappling with a mix of anger and curiosity, attempted to sit up and demanded answers. "Where am I? What did you do to me?" he demanded.

The Shadow responded with a chilling laugh, "Isn't this what you wished for?"

Ram's frustration deepened at the cryptic response. "I didn't wish for any of this! I just want to know what's going on and how to get out of here," he retorted, his voice tinged with urgency and exasperation.

The Shadow regarded him with a sharp gaze, its form shifting slightly in the dim light. "All will be revealed in time," it replied ominously, before dissolving back into the shadows, leaving Ram with more questions than answers.

Ram was at a loss for words. He didn't fully grasp the meaning behind the shadow messenger's words. However, he sensed a stark contrast between the person before him now and the one who had kidnapped them. The sensation he felt just now, compared to the despair he experienced before losing consciousness, he discerned that the current person's aura was only a fraction as potent as the previous shadow messenger. It was akin to the disparity between a cat and a mouse: the current messenger resembled a small mouse, whereas the previous one loomed as large and formidable as a cat to a small mouse.

As the messenger departed, Ram prepared to inspect the attribute panel when the sound of approaching footsteps interrupted the sterile silence of the futuristic room. He glanced up, squinting, to find a woman in a white coat looming beside his bed. Her features were sharp, accentuated by high cheekbones and a straight nose. Her eyes, a piercing shade of steel gray, seemed to scrutinize everything they fell upon with a clinical detachment. Strands of sleek, silver-streaked hair framed her face, pulled back in a tight bun, adding to her austere appearance. Despite her professional attire, there was an aura of coldness about her, as if she regarded the world through a lens of logic rather than emotion.

Ram felt a surge of caution as the doctor addressed him, her voice as chilly as her gaze. He clenched his teeth, opting for silence as his safest strategy, knowing he couldn't afford to reveal too much. His mind raced, recognizing that his survival relied on gathering information, plotting his escape, and confronting the mysterious group orchestrating this sinister experiment.

The doctor's eyes remained fixed on Ram, her professional demeanor unwavering. She had dealt with many subjects like him before. Sensing his reticence, she persisted, "You're under our care now, and we're keeping a close eye on your progress. Cooperation will make things easier for you."

Ram gave a slight nod, concealing his true thoughts behind a mask of ignorance. The doctor, perhaps interpreting his silence as compliance, turned to leave. "Rest up," she advised, her parting glance sending a shiver down his spine. "We have plans for you. You should be an awakener now."

Ram's heart raced as the doctor's words sank in. "Yes, awakening, did it succeed?" he blurted out, unable to contain his anxiety.

The doctor paused, her cold demeanor softening ever so slightly. "Yes, you have awakened," she confirmed, her voice carrying a hint of clinical satisfaction. "But there is still much to observe and evaluate."

Ram's mind raced with questions, but he knew better than to voice them now. He simply nodded, masking his inner turmoil behind a facade of compliance. The doctor turned to leave once more, her footsteps echoing through the sterile room.