Codex: The Mockery Of Fate

Noah's consciousness drifted into an endless cold void. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open to the familiar sight of a moonlit palace shrouded in fog. At the heart of the palace stood a pillar of boundless proportions. The pillar was etched with various symbols; however, he was only able to decipher the word "Codex.". The words glowed with an ethereal hue.

Suddenly, the pillar began trembling and an incomprehensible laughter tore through the palace, twisting into a horrific cacophony. The laughter pierced through Noah; it was as though thousands of needles were embedded in the pores of his skin. His facial features contorted due to a mix of immense pain and despair.

Instantly, the palace stretched like spaghetti, and time speeded up rapidly. Noah's body traveled far away from the palace at an incomprehensible speed. Everything blurred and faded into darkness.

Beep...Beep

Noah awakened in an unfamiliar environment. He felt a chill as though he were submerged in ice. Making an effort to move his legs, but it was as though he was suspended by some force.

Thunk!...Thunk!

Several rows of lights switched on simultaneously. Filling his eyes with a blinding white light, he reflexively covered his eyes with his arm. He blinked a few times in an attempt to adjust his eyes to the brightness of the room.

He was in a massive room layered with black tiles. Several tubes filled with a green liquid were arranged in rows.

Noah strained his eyes and peered through the strange liquid, and to his horror. They were naked human bodies floating in the greenish-black liquid, attached to several wires and tubes. They hung limply, resembling lifeless dolls.

He wanted to gasp, but then he felt something attached to his mouth. Looking around frantically, his eyes suddenly widened in shock; he was also encased in a tube.

Click!

The sound of a button being pushed reverberated through the cold and metallic room. A gurgling noise followed. The greenish-black liquid began draining rapidly.

Plop!, Noah fell to the floor. Curling into a ball, he shook violently. He wasn't alone; either the other occupants of the tubes fell to the bottom one after the other.

Tap...Tap...Tap

Three figures clad in white lab coats walked into the room, carrying an air of clinical detachment. They held items resembling clipboards in their arms and walked through the rows of glass tubes, observing the humans in the tubes and occasionally jotting down notes.

After a brief period of scrutinising, one of the men took out a receiver from his lab coat, signalling to those on the outside. Moments later, over a dozen people dressed in white garments and white face masks entered the room. They took a position beside each tube, patiently waiting in an eerie silence. The three men in white lab coats walked towards a device at the back of the room. It resembled a supercomputer with multiple blinking lights and intertwining wires.

ZZZZ!

The glass tubes sank deep into the floors, allowing Noah and the other occupants to be free from their glass prison. The individuals dressed in white garments grabbed the occupants of the glass tubes and began marching out of the room. In a synchronized and practiced motion.

Noah felt the stiffness of his body; his mind was groggy and his body was weak. He remained quiet as they carried him through the silent hallways. His vision blurred occasionally catching glimpses of the bodies the figures carried.

"Chil...dren?."He muttered.

He was soon jolted awake by the sensation of a cold surface. He found himself inside a white room illuminated by a blinding light. The room had an eerie similarity to an operating room. His eyes focused on a figure standing above him, a figure dressed in traditional doctor's attire. The figure placed his fingers on Noah's wrist, checking his pulse.

After a brief moment of silence, he pulled out his stethoscope and examined Noah's heartbeat. Completing his task, he whispered to a figure in a white garment. Noah could vaguely hear him say, "Take him to....." 

The figure nodded and wheeled Noah through a sterile hallway. Noah's mind was riddled with questions. "Where am I being taken to? Who are these people, and where am I?

They arrived at a white door, a guard who stood at the door opened it. Noah and the figure entered an ashen colored room with several glass cabinets and wooden drawers.

The figure pulled out some garments from the drawers and began dressing Noah. Noah stared at the man who towered over him with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. Why is he so tall."Noah pondered.

Turning his neck slightly, he gazed at a glass cabinet. He furrowed his brows in evident confusion. The glass displayed the image of an unfamiliar person gazing back at him. Noah stood there stunned and silent; he felt a spine tinge.

The figure was a child either 5 or 6 years old; his messy black hair cascaded down to his neck, his blue-colored iris was clear and calm, and he was adorned with white garments. Instantly, he reacted, reeling back in confusion. The person in his reflection looked nothing like him!

The figure dressed in a white garment glanced at Noah, clearly concerned by his reaction. His eyes hinted at genuine amusement. It was as though he was questioning Noah's intelligence.

Noah's fingers trembled as he gazed at them. "What in the world happened to me?" He muttered under his breath.

As soon as he finished wearing his clothes, the figure and Noah made their way through the hallway. Several white doors faced each other; a series of black wordings were carved on them. Noah couldn't make them out, as he only caught glimpses of the doors. 

His eyes darted around the hallway, absorbing every bit of information that he could. "I need to find a way out of here. There has to be a way out." He muttered repeatedly as his thoughts were becoming frantic.

Noah was led up a spiralling staircase, each step echoed through the lifeless expanse. The weight of each step weighed heavily on him. His body was weak, terribly so. Following closely behind was the figure clad in white garments and a white face mask; he occasionally supported Noah in climbing the stairs but otherwise walked in an eerie silence.

On the top floor, Noah and the figure walked toward a hallway that sported a singular black door. The figure stopped by the door, breaking the silence. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "Head inside; your instructor awaits."

Noah stared at the iron black door and hesitated for a moment before pushing it open. He shuddered as an immense chilling aura swept past him. Inside the room, a few children sat cross-legged in a cold silence.

They stared at the figure standing before them: a tall man standing at 1.8 meters, wearing a magnificent black robe marked with special white symbols. A black porcelain mask hung casually, obscuring the man's facial features. Etched on the mask was a symbol—a symbol of a withered hand!

"Sit down, child; your brothers and sisters have been waiting." The man spoke in a friendly tone.

Noah's heart sank, a cold weight settling in his stomach. Gulping down on his saliva. He masked his shock by avoiding his gaze. He lowered his head and sat among the other children in silence.

Several minutes later, about a dozen more children walked into the iron black door. The masked man who had been as stiff as a statue moved. He gestured for the children to move closer.

"Welcome to Shadow Garden." He spoke in a deep voice.