Kama slowly shook his head, muttering "You're lying. You have to be . . ." Nova . . . inside me? I have the destroyer of world's DNA inside me because of Fenrir? When did it happen? How? Who experimented on me? Why did they do it?
Kinaia shook her head in pity and walked over to Kama, placing her hand on his shoulder. The resonance from the night before echoed through them again, stronger than before. "I was infected by the Akura Vashimu; that is true. Lindow Amamiya was infected by a Dyaus Pita in the same room; that is also true. However, everything else that you were told involving our deaths is false."
Kama looked up at Kinaia's face to see her staring at him, a glint in her eyes as she revealed "Aragami are not singular cells grouping together to make a living being. They are very much like humans; they have a caste system, they are just as alive as you, or the old me. They have needs and wants, like any living creature. I was told the truth by my infection, and you have earned the right to know."
"My infection, a feline-type species called Nargacuga, was named Nightshade by many different Aragami species. She was as close to royalty as you could get in a society, and she taught me everything she knew. I resisted for a great many weeks, slowly breaking down as my human strength was overpowered by her might. When I was tired of fighting fate, ready to hear her words, she changed my view on life."
Her face took on a sad expression, facing away from Kama as she quietly told him "The highly-touted and famed Fenrir . . . are all as evil as the Aragami they constantly tell God Eaters to slay."
"Understand," she faced him again, angry tears in her eyes, "Aragami are not mindless, nor are they stupid. They can live, they can think on their own, and they hold respect or loathing for others the same as any human. They fight to feed and survive, like any animal."
"When I learned the truth from Nightshade, I was in denial like you. I couldn't believe our 'saviors' would experiment on their own warriors, their own children. And yet, I couldn't argue because of what I experienced, as well as Nightshade resonating with me daily. She showed me the horrors that occurred below the public radar."
She was silent, before sighing heavily and telling him "The day after I told you that Arashi was in the mountains, me and Nightshade were captured by Fenrir agents. They killed Nightshade, ripped my body and consciousness out, and experimented on me for a solid month testing drugs, bone grafts, new Bias Factors. And those are only shaving the tip of the iceberg. During that time in that manufactured hell, my hatred grew . . . as did my perception of the true world."
She spread her arm in a wide arc, indicating the area, asking "See these tunnels? Experimentation grounds. Holding cells. Breeding pens. Genetic manipulation. Every single Aragami besides Nova has been human at some point in time. The only true Aragami, with not a single human cell in its body, is Nova."
"Humans experimented on Nova, took her DNA, locked her in metaphorical chains and removed her core as they grafted Oracle Cells into human DNA, attempting to make the ultimate super soldier at first. When that proved unfeasable hundreds of thousands of deaths later, they decided to initiate the Genesis Project."
She walked back to Kanon, saying "You are one of their very few successes in the Genesis Project, Kama. They implanted Nova's genes into many hundreds of thousands of humans, with extremely mixed results. Over 90% of all test subjects turned into Aragami, which then escaped and spread across the planet like wildfire. 9% of the remaining test subjects, give or take, had enhanced skills and reflexes while maintaining their human shape."
She leaned against the wall Kanon rested against, looking at Kama as she said "Less than 1%, even less than 0.01%, of the remaining subjects were successful in Fenrir's goals. Humans containing a specific part of Nova in their genes, as well as not being completely uncontrollable."
"That was the end result of the Genesis Project; synthesize Nova's core and control Nova for themselves, regardless of what anyone else had to say. He who controls Nova has the powers of a god." She scoffed, adding "Too bad they didn't realize they cannot control a god forever. They needed three different pieces, and each piece had to be compatible with the other two by resonating."
She slapped her palm against her chest, declaring "I embody the wrath of Nova; the fury of a thousand suns, the anger of Nova as she watched her children being experimented on; altered; forcefully born of her genetics and created into monsters."
She stared at Kama, saying "Regardless of whether a mother wants a child; once it is conceived, regardless if it's by consent or force, every responsible mother feels protective of the child that came from her genes. That child is hers and hers alone, and Fenrir stole and tortured Nova's children with experimentation and slavery."
She took a few steps closer to Kama, the glint from before back in her eyes as she told him "You are the will of Nova; you are a living replica of her thoughts, her wants, her emotions, and her responsibilities. You care for all of your teammates like a mother cares for her children." She got close enough to jab Kama's forehead with her index finger, saying "For all intents and purposes, your mind is that of Nova's."
Her fingers morphed into graphite-colored claws, declaring "And the third, the truth of Nova; this being reflects Nova's abilities and stature; what Nova would have been, had she chosen a moveable form. The human with the truth of Nova has everything that makes Nova a god: power, royalty, and the ability to maintain his own mind, even while his DNA consists mostly of Aragami cells. We both know him quite well, in fact."
Kama narrowed his eyes in confusion, but all Kinaia did was walk to a specific orange orb on the wall. Looking closer, he saw something moving in each one, the gelatin-like orb acting similar to an embryo. She placed her hand on one in specific, motioning for Kama to come closer to her.
He got up, glancing at Kanon again before moving close to Kinaia, watching the orb cautiously. She told him "Lo, and behold: The Fragment of Truth has been tamed at last."
Kama saw a human curled into a ball; he had dark hair, a brown coat with the Fenrir symbol on the back, and tan pants – as well as a heavily-infected arm.
Kama gasped, backing up in astonishment. It's Lindow! Lindow is the third key!
Kama kept backing toward Kanon, Kinaia not focusing on him as she pet the orb of gelatin, saying "Once he has been purified of his corrupted Aragami taint, he will be able to synchronize with us without corrupting us as well. The Singularity has seen all of this, and it has gone exactly as she predicted."
Kama quietly picked Kanon up and held her in a bridal position, preparing to make a run for it until Kinaia sharply asked "Where do you think you can run to? Do you think you can escape the roots of Nova forever?" Kama froze in place as she turned to face him, her left eye red and the skin around it turning black.
"Do you think you can escape these tunnels alive? You are but flesh, blood, and bones. I have been blessed with Nova's raw emotions; the unrefined feeling of absolute, blood-boiling rage and chaotic insanity." Her voice turned deeper, guttural. Her arms began to morph into the feline arms – Nargacuga species, she had called it. "You can freeze to death, burn to death, be crushed like an insignificant fly, and even bleed to death. I have the power of an Aragami coupled with Nova. You cannot escape in one piece!" Her hands clenched as she began growling like an angry cat.
Kama spoke up, telling her "You can't kill me if you want the will of Nova. Let us go. Without Lindow being able to resonate with you, you can't form Nova yet by resonating with me. You still need me alive."
Kinaia growled, deep and feral, and snarled "You don't need arms or legs to be living!" before letting out a sharp yowl.
The orange orbs along the walls and ceilings started glowing with bright intensity, pulsing and writhing as though they were alive.
Kama saw smaller forms of Kinaia's Nargacuga body inside them, the animals looking like cats rather than humans. He saw bright red eyes blinking open inside each of the orbs and felt a jolt of terror as all of them fixated on his body.
He turned around and bolted, running down the hallway with Kanon in his arms and the sound of yowls behind him. He ran onward in the dark, feeling helpless as he heard claws scratching against the dark tunnel floor, the Nargacugas giving chase.
Arashi sighed, waiting in the large curved room with Sera and Naoko. "Didn't he say to meet us here?" Arashi asked, impatient and worried. Sera told him "Yes, but keep in mind he took a path that we didn't see. He could be anywhere, but he wouldn't abandon us."
Arashi started to argue until Naoko snapped "Shut up! Listen, do you hear that?" Both Arashi and Sera stopped talking, and they could hear faint cat screeches, as well as moving machinery. It got louder as the seconds passed, and everyone looked around, trying to pinpoint where it came from.
Sera pointed, yelling "Over there!" as Arashi turned toward the center of the room, near the funnel. A platform was rising to plug the funnel, Kama with his sword at the ready and Kanon on the ground behind him, unconscious.
In front of him were three miniature black Aragami cats, similar to Kinaia. The first one pounced, and Kama sliced its face with the teeth of his chainsaw as he swung. One of the others, however, took advantage of his unsteadiness and lunged forward to bite into his ankle.
As he screamed in pain, falling down, the third leaped over Kama and tried to bite Kanon. Sera snapped out of it and raised her gun, firing several shots into its face.
It writhed on the ground, dying in seconds. Kama kicked the second cat off of his ankle and swatted the first with the back of his weapon, throwing it against an ice crystal cluster.
Only the second cat got back up, but it crouched and hissed before running through a side tunnel. Arashi patted Kama's back, saying "Damn, man, you had us worried!"
Sera and Naoko both joined them, Sera checking on Kanon and Naoko patting Kama's shoulder in a congratulatory gesture.
Kama hadn't said a word the whole time, his eyes glazed as if he weren't focusing. Arashi snapped his fingers in front of Kama's face, getting his attention.
His eyes looked far colder as he harshly asked "What do you want?" Arashi backed up a bit, saying "We need you to focus if we're gonna get out of here, bud. Snap out of it."
Kama turned, brushing off Naoko's hand from his shoulder as he said "Then let's go. I have something to take care of."
His voice was about 2 degrees below subzero, and his stance was battle ready, despite being with his team.
What happened to him? Arashi thought, but shrugged it off. He'd ask later, when they were all safe.
A/N: This is where I have to cut the chapter, unfortunately. After this, things get way too close to the ending to cut it off at a decent place without getting a massive cliffy, regardless of the fact that this chapter ends in massive cliffy itself. :/
Cheers~