One - Reborn...?

It was but a moment. A flash of light followed by the smell of melted flesh.

Alex wondered if he knew the culprit. The laboratory had been built secretly from any prying eyes and the people he hired were absolutely trustworthy.

For the sake of his research, he had been willing to do anything. Ever since he lost his precious Ingrid, all he had on his mind was an endless desire to fight humanity's biggest hurdle. Death.

He stole resources from the government, kidnapped homeless outcasts who nobody would notice, and did inhumane experiences to both young and old, be they man or beast, none could escape his reach.

To advance his research, he went far and beyond any other scientist in human history. From bioengineering to cyber enhancements, anything was a valid topic of research so long as it could help him get a step closer to his goals.

Although nobody knew, he was the sole creator of the black death, a virus so deadly it managed to wipe out 30% of the world's population before a concentrated effort succeeded in developing a cure.

Likewise, he was also responsible for the Silver Corps, the cyborg Mercenary squad that wiped out an entire army a few years ago during Lavashinikovia's act of tyranny in conquering a neighboring smaller country with the excuse of protecting its borders against the UNOE, the United Nations of Erder.

Coughing up blood, he looked down at the hole in his chest. Although most of the organs on the lower left side of his chest had been utterly destroyed, his synthetic enhancements still managed to keep him alive, though he knew it wouldn't be for much longer. It was only a matter of time before he fell into the cold and cruel embrace of death.

"Your ambitions have led you down a dark path... Mercer..." With trembling hands, a woman in high heels and long lustrous black hair spoke with quivering lips. "I really hope you can be a better person in your next life."

Looking up, Alex stared blankly at the eyes of his childhood friend. "Rebecca... you... we have been working on this for so long... to help save the world... to save everyone from death... how could you..."

Rebecca flinched at his words and tears started falling from her eyes. How... how could his voice be so cold even at this moment? The moment of his own death?

"S-shut up!" She cried, despair clear in her voice.

"You were such a bright person before, so kind and gentle. When you and Ingrid worked together, you created so many good things for everyone. Don't you remember? The brain waves reading and rewriting theory you created helped the world to get rid of comas forever, not to mention the improvements to virtual reality that it allowed!

"When people were suffering because of the lack of food, you two revolutionized the whole industry by creating artificially grown meat without the downsides of industrialized food! You guys single-handedly created a whole new industry that only brought benefits to everyone!"

Her words caused Alex to look up towards the ceiling in reminiscence.

So many good things... he and Ingrid were like heroes out in the world to save everyone using their talented minds... and yet...

Anger surged into his heart. They had been invited to give a lecture at the UN's headquarters, it was supposed to be a simple trip, they would talk about the importance of studying, of never giving up in face of challenges, and how their stupid competitors would rather stop doing something considered harmful like using Nuclear Energy rather than looking for ways of getting rid of the downside while also creating new benefits.

It was a lecture on the right way of making science.

But when Ingrid had just finished her lecture, a man came out of nowhere carrying that damn knife! He stabbed her so many times! Nobody helped her... nobody...

Although the machines managed to keep her alive for a year, it was all in vain. He wasn't fast enough in his research nor had he the resources to make it fast enough.

If only he had this laboratory before... if only he had all those test subjects to facilitate his work...

"Y-you! I would recognize those eyes anywhere! How dare you think like this... do you really believe that Ingrid would have supported this?! Have you forgotten? She was the one who managed to find different ways of testing medicine without having to use humans or animals! She was an advocate for life, someone who abhorred wars, cruel testing methods, and live subjects! Even if you saved her, she would have still left you!"

Those words were like knives stabbing at his heart, it was the first time someone managed to get a reaction out of him in the last few years.

Clenching his teeth, he stared at Rebecca in anger and denial.

'No... She wouldn't... She would understand... I'm sure of it...'

As if she knew what was on his mind, Rebecca finally broke down in tears as she approached him weakly and barely standing.

Seeing his darkened and lost figure under the shadows, sitting weakly on his chair with his chest slowly heaving up and down as blood left his chest cavity, she felt like her heart was broken to pieces. This was merely a shadow, a shadow of the man she had once...

"Alex..." Whispering, she caressed his face as she leaned closer. "All those years I have supported you, I wanted you to know that you weren't alone, that there was someone who could help you fill the void Ingrid left in your heart... but you're so obsessed, you didn't even notice how you pushed everyone away. Your family, Ingrid's brother, even your best friends have left your side, I'm the only one left now..."

Alex didn't answer, merely staring at her as his face darkened. The pain was getting worse and it was getting difficult to think as he started suffering from the lack of air in his lungs and blood.

"You are not the man that made me fall in love all those years ago... even back at High School. All I always wanted, was to see you happy, and... the only reason I did this... is because I know you wouldn't have liked what you have turned into."

As he finally started making sense of her words, memories flashed in his mind.

He saw all the people he loved, and how he practically stabbed them in the back to reach his goals, disappointing everyone and going against his own ethics and morals, all for the sake of one goal. Looking up, his eyes which were already losing focus, locked on Rebecca's face.

Indeed, it was too late for him. He had fallen too low, and he didn't regret doing what he did, but deep down... he wished someone could have stopped him, stopped him before this madness devoured him whole.

'Ingrid... I've disappointed you...'

Lifting his hand, he slowly reached out for the gun in Rebecca's hand.

Weirdly enough, she didn't try to stop him and willingly gave it to him.

Under her hazel eyes, she could merely watch as Alex aimed the barrel toward his head and pulled the trigger.

There was no sound at all, only a flash of light and the smell of burnt flash followed by whatever blood was left on his head.

This was the end of Alex Mercer, scientist and genius researcher, a man both feared and admired by many. But was it really?

[Error, life signs have ceased. Initiating protocol Shadow Realm. Connecting with the dimensional disruption field. Analyzing and gathering data... spectrums 1 to 1.000.000.000 have been scanned. It has been confirmed, the soul hasn't dissipated yet. Initiating fusion process. Energy body completed. Capsuled travel started. Coordinates... FATAL ERROR DETECTED... Unable to define coordinates, initiating emergency preservation protocols.]

At that moment, in a dimension that didn't directly interact with the real world, space was suddenly ripped apart. Without Rebecca noticing, it devoured Alex's soul, taking him to the unknown.

...

The bright sun in the morning and the white clouds formed a beautiful picture of the sky above the city. A harmonious atmosphere surrounded the place while people came and went, all working peacefully. However, the loud voice of a woman crying disrupted this moment.

"Hold on! It's almost there!" A nurse spoke worriedly as she stared at the woman.

A doctor walked back and forth inside the room, merely accompanying the process on the side, occasionally making comments and reminding the others when they forgot to do something.

Soon the cries of a newborn baby rang out in the room. He was small and loud, truly one of the cutest things one could witness. Although the blood and the cries of pain sure made it a little horrifying.

"It's a boy, Mrs. Ellena." Smiling happily, a woman approached the bed with the baby in her hands.

Ellena stared at the baby with a strange glint in her eyes. There was confusion, anxiety, happiness, and even curiosity in them. Being a mother was such a mysterious feeling, she originally thought it would be a curse, but the moment her eyes fell on her baby, all those feelings disappeared, dissipating with the hissing of the wind.

Instead, she felt a strange emotion in her heart. She worried about the future, how to take care of this child, and make sure it lives a happy life. Those warm feelings were so foreign to her... not even her husband could make her this caring.

"Look at him... So handsome despite being so small..." Panting she smiled lovingly as she caressed his plump cheeks.

Then a thought crossed her mind. How silly, the name was such an important thing and she almost forgot about it. Turning her head weakly to the side, she stared at her husband. He was a bulky man with large eyebrows and a bushy beard covering his face. Despite his intimidating size and appearance, he was like a cornered cat in this situation. Awkward and a little shy.

"Ellena... I..."

Ellena smiled at her husband's behavior. For a man who wouldn't hesitate to fight five drunken thugs to protect her, he looked quite silly at this moment.

"Don't worry. We already decided that you would give the name..."

Seeing her weak smiling figure, the man felt a tug on his heart. Sighing he approached slowly in fear of frightening his child. Seeing how it didn't seem to mind, he reached out slowly with his hands and petted his head.

"Such a brave child..." Deep in his thoughts, he observed the baby for a moment before deciding. "He shall carry the namesake of my family's founding father. Richard, Richard Frye. May he find glory and success in all of his endeavors just as my ancestors did."

Ellena smiled at his words. "Good lord... You have truly surprised me this time, Grimwald. It's really a good name."

Grimwald's cheeks flushed slightly at his wife's words. A little embarrassed, he started talking quietly to her about the future and what they should do from now on as their child fell asleep.

Unbeknownst to them, he was merely pretending although the sleepiness was real.

'Is this... time travel? Rebirth? How...' Alex thought with a heavy heart.

The unknown has never been as frightening as it currently is. Just thinking of being in a strange and unfamiliar world was already making him anxious. Is it all lost? Could it be that everything I did was for nothing? My sacrifice...

Just then a voice spoke to him in his mind, it was an unexpected one that he hadn't heard in so many years that he almost thought that it had been destroyed or simply ceased to function.

[Congratulations, Mr. Mercer. You have successfully survived while traversing a dimensional rift. For a variety of reasons, I was unable to keep you in the predetermined coordinates which resulted in your rebirth in a currently undiscovered universe. For the sake of preserving your life, I was forced to keep your soul in a state of stasis, making us unable to communicate along the way.

[As you may be aware, the body of a newborn is too weak to sustain my energy consumption, during the next twelve years, my core module will be kept deactivated, but the assistant functions which you're already aware of will be preserved for use at any time. The host is advised to keep a healthy and strong body. Under a certain level of strength, you might be able to re-activate it earlier.]

How... how could it be? It could even follow me in my rebirth? And those things it said...

Before losing consciousness due to the physical stress of being born, a thought crossed his mind followed by the scene of a strange cave he had found many years ago.

Back then, cell phones were like bricks and the most advanced thing humans had were missiles. He wasn't interested in science, but when he entered that cave and found that weird man who seemed to faze in and out of reality and was gifted an AI assistant connected to his brain, everything changed.

Is that mysterious man involved in this? He couldn't think of an explanation as even his years of tireless research couldn't come close to the technological marvels he witnessed that day.

And so, too tired to continue his mind wandered into Dreamland.