Chapter 364: Stay Put

Keith POV

My boss, Cain, the very person who had encouraged and funded my groundbreaking experiments, was telling me to stay put and hide after Loki revealed himself. How could he even suggest such a thing after all I'd done for mankind?

Revenge? So what? Why should I be scared? The experiments, the discoveries, and the boundaries I had pushed were all a testament to my genius and my unyielding commitment to scientific progress.

Anger and frustration boiled within me. I relished every moment of those experiments, reveling in the power I wielded as I played with the very fabric of life itself. I had created wonders using those vile creatures in human skin, and I had basked in the glory of my own brilliance.

But now, with the approaching threat of my past subjects returning, my boss wanted me to cower in fear. It was inconceivable. I had never been one to back down, to hide from a challenge. The world needed to see what I had achieved, the marvels I had brought to life.

I had done what I had to do for the sake of science, for the advancement of human knowledge. I had pushed the boundaries of ethics and morality, but it had all been in the name of progress. 

I would spend sleepless nights, fueled by caffeine and the burning desire to unlock the secrets of existence itself. The frenzied pace of my work, the constant tinkering and tampering, was a testament to my unrivaled genius and the depths of my lunacy.

Some even questioned my sanity. They said that it had long since departed, leaving me with nothing but an insatiable hunger for discovery and domination. Then, so be it. I was no longer bound by the moral constraints of the world. Ethics and empathy were foreign concepts to me, mere obstacles to overcome in my quest for knowledge and power. 

To the outside world, I was a madman, a menace to society. But to myself, I was a visionary, a pioneer on the brink of unlocking the ultimate secrets of existence. And I would let nothing, not even my own sanity, stand in the way of my deranged pursuit of glory and immortality.

My madness was my strength, my purpose, and it was also my damnation.

*****

"No," I muttered to myself, clenching my fists. "I won't hide. I won't run from my creations."

My mind raced with plans and countermeasures. I would fortify the laboratory, and unleash my most formidable experiments to protect my domain. But this isn't enough, it's never enough...

"Enough." A voice called from my door

I turned and saw Cain at my door.

"You're my best scientist."  he said, "What you're doing is attracting attention from Loki. You sent the projects to hunt him? Why waste our men?" 

"But sir-"

"Mana and Richard have sensed him using magic." he said with a somewhat grim face, "Before we start regretting the fact that we never used magic detectors on our projects, we have to now be cautious of Loki, we have sent the gods out, and we have reclassified him as an extinction class.

"You will be the first person that he'll come after...or the last if he wants you to watch everything crumble before your eyes. Either way, stay put and pull back your personal soldiers, stay on defense, this is now war. I will also convince those in power to help, Loki is also threatening their security after all, it won't take long." 

Cain...I think I was wrong about you...you're supposed to be on my side.

I helped create Project: Lucifer!

All those medicines, all those vaccines and cures...I did everything! I watched my seniors...my friends and my mentors die...it still wasn't enough...this is my responsibility, I will kill him.

*****

The very foundation of my world, built upon a mountain of twisted experiments and unbridled ambition, was shaking, threatening to collapse in on itself. Greed was nowhere to be found, and the now 6 deadly sins had confirmed him to be dead, not only that, based on the magic signatures, it was another god...Loki had help.

How could this be happening? I, Keith Hughes, was...no, I am the savior of mankind.  I had sacrificed everything!

My own sanity!

My Morality!

Was the body I had of Loki fake?! No...it was real, I'm sure of it...maybe he has a double ability where he can perfectly clone himself...

"AAAAAAARRRGHHH!"

Was the death of my friends already not enough?! You vile creature! You mutants deserve no empathy! Creatures like you don't deserve rights! I helped you raise your status by making you stepping stones on the path to enlightenment.

My subjects, my projects, and those who had suffered at my hands...you are supposed to be the collateral damage in the grand experiment of evolution.

I had ventured where no one else dared, delving into the depths of forbidden knowledge to unlock the secrets of existence itself. History is supposed to remember me as the visionary who pushed humanity to its limits.

I did everything to push the boundaries of human knowledge and potential. My experiments, my creations, had the potential to revolutionize the world, to elevate humanity to heights previously unimaginable.

But as the walls of my laboratory seemed to close in around me, I couldn't escape the creeping doubt that gnawed at the edges of my consciousness. Had I truly been a savior, or had I been a tyrant in the guise of a visionary? Had my relentless pursuit of knowledge blinded me to the consequences of my actions, to the suffering I had caused?

No, I couldn't allow such doubts to consume me. I had come too far, sacrificed too much, to back down now. I would defend my legacy, my mad vision, to the bitter end. The world might see me as a monster, a madman, but I knew that I was something more...

I still have something...a force of nature, an embodiment of unbridled ambition, a harbinger of progress. The energy we extracted from Lucifer is mostly with me...it's enough power...to stop my own monster, I'll use my own monster...

Hah...I can't wait to see his face after he loses to my other subject, a subject that was made by his own body after all...