1 The Test Subject

"Are you sure everything we've been doing is necessary for this kid to be taken? Every test seems pointless. It's been eight years, and we still haven't gotten any results."

Sighs of disappointment filled the room, adorned with high-tech gadgets. The people present wore expressions of disbelief and dissatisfaction, as they had been conducting experiments for years without any hope of success.

"He's already 16 and still hasn't shown any sign of awakening. This is a waste of funds." One of the middle-aged men in the room, dressed in a medical gown and with a mask covering his mouth, spoke angrily.

"It's such a shame. The strongest magician and the best healer have a son who seems utterly useless. The entire world would be shocked if they found out, and even if they knew the kid was dead, they would still laugh at him if they knew this."

"Enough complaining," the head scientist in the room said sternly. He was staring intently at the young boy lying on the cold metallic table, which was typically used for dissection. "We still have one test to do. Even if it fails, we will not stop until we get an acceptable result."

"But," another scientist started to speak, only to be hushed by the head scientist.

"I already said, enough. Continue the operation." The head scientist pressed a button and spoke into a microphone, as a wide glass window in front of them showed the operating room where the young boy they were using as a test subject was.

The assistants standing beside the young boy nodded in response. The boy was oblivious to what was being discussed on the other side of the soundproof glass. He had heard the beeping sound many times before and knew it meant another experimentation session.

He closed his eyes as one of the assistants flicked the syringe and inserted the needle into the tubes connected to his body and the small bubbling liquid containers above him.

The scientists continued to discuss their goals and expectations while the young boy was injected with another foreign liquid, feeling piercing pain.

The boy had black hair, fair skin, and deep, hopeless eyes. His body appeared normal, but in reality, it was weak and starving. One of the experiments he had suffered through was to see if he could survive starvation. As he didn't show any progress, the liquids above him were to keep him hydrated and alive.

The red liquid flowed through his tubes and into his body, causing more pain and making him close his eyes. This kind of torture was nothing new to him. Compared to all the experiments he had experienced, this was just a small portion of them. However, the young boy didn't realize that he was lacking nutrition, causing him to suffer more despite thinking the pain was tolerable.

"Gahhh!" the young boy shouted, and the scientists, seeing through the glass that he was in pain, prayed for him to awaken.

This was their last resort. For years, they had given light tests to the young boy, slightly triggering the genes for him to awaken, but they couldn't trigger them and couldn't identify the genes, leading to their experiment being extended and more anticipated.

But alas, they were not as fortunate as they thought. The young boy's genes were still mysterious. They even thought his genes might be normal.

"Do you see any light?"

"No, I haven't seen any light in his eyes since earlier. He's been shouting for almost two minutes, but he's not awakening. Does suffering work for him to awaken?"

"We have no other way to determine his powers. Forcing him to awaken is the only way for us. Let us wait longer."

As the young boy shouted more, their hopes rose. But suddenly, the shouts stopped, and his heart flatlined. It was a fast-paced scenario for everyone. The assistants rushed to revive him, and while they were doing so, the scientists looked on with disdain.

"Still useless..."

"I had high hopes for him, but it turned out he was just a reject. A normal human after all."

The head scientist's solemn face was reflected on the glass as he stared at the dying young boy inside. And as thirty seconds passed and there was still no sign of him reviving, he turned his back and released a disappointed sigh.

"The chance of him reviving is low. He didn't have the right nutrition, and even if he did, he wouldn't have survived that strong serum. It was the prototype awakening serum, designed to force humans to awaken by triggering their genes. But the downside is that if they can't awaken, the serum attacks their heart, eventually killing them."

The scientists nodded in unison and followed the head scientist out of the room. But before they could leave, the assistants tapped the glass, alerting the operators of the gadgets and calling the scientists back.

As they saw what was causing the commotion, they stared at the lines going zigzag, up and down. And then, smiles slowly spread across their faces.

"Even though you've disappointed us, you won't disappoint your parents who are already dead, huh? You have tenacity, which makes you special."

The young boy was successfully revived, and his heart rate returned to normal. As this scene was spectacular to the scientists, they regained the hope they had before.

"Take that young boy to his chamber... He will have another experiment tomorrow."

***

"Why did I even survive that? I just want to die and be with my parents..."

The young boy had lost all hope after being revived from death. He was being carried away by two people on a cold metal table, back to his chamber in a place he thought of as hell.

"Just kill me already... I don't have any chance to live anyway." Despite being taken from society at a young age, he had some understanding of how to feel about things. He knew that the people around him were just using him as a tool, hoping he would awaken and provide a breakthrough.

But what could he do? Escape? He had no chance of finding his way out of this place, as he only knew the distance between his chamber and the operation room. And even if he did escape, he couldn't find any help, as the assistants were indifferent to his suffering.

As the young boy was brought back to his chamber, he closed his eyes and let his thoughts wander. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought about escaping. He had lost all rationality, and this was the only thing on his mind.

The assistants tapped some buttons, and the door to his chamber unlocked with a click. His chamber was a small room, four meters wide, tall, and long, with a camera to monitor him. It was a cold, uninviting space.

Just as the young boy was about to be taken back to his chamber, the lights suddenly went out. The electricity and the power generators were not working for some unknown reason.

This was the young boy's opportunity. In the darkness, he moved his body and a thud could be heard as he fell to the ground. The assistants, unable to see in the darkness, could only hear him.

Using the last of his energy, the young boy tried to crawl away from his chamber. The assistants were also unable to locate him in the darkness. Just as he thought he was safe, the lights came back on, and the assistants saw him lying on the ground, helpless.

They shook their heads and moved to get him back on the table, but something unexpected happened. The young boy's eyes suddenly lit up with white light, and the assistants could only think of one word: "awakening."

A sudden explosion destroyed the surrounding area, tearing the assistants' bodies to pieces and crumbling the concrete. The facility, which was only a one-story building, was destroyed, creating a way for the young boy to escape.

Although the facility was designed for personnel to easily escape in case of emergencies, it was not designed for test subjects to escape. There was a watchtower guarded by awakened individuals to prevent unexpected escapes.

But unexpected things happen, and it was too late for the assistants to realize that the young boy had escaped.