AN: Happy New Year, everyone! Please read and review!
Chapter 2: History Beckons
Abandoned Isle
Zeth and the others were standing on the crumbling remains of the bridge, with their destination right ahead. The isle was completely artificial, made of metal, and there were many tall buildings of various sizes and styles. One could make out the wreckage of the bridge beneath the water, where it had been rusting for many years. Yet, the island itself was not showing any signs of decay. Beneath the water, the unwanted structure seemed to be emitting a strange bright blue glow.
"Demons really want to hang around a dump like that?" Esperanza asked, confused.
"Well, if no humans can get to it, they're free to take it for themselves. No rules, no demon summoners to worry about, just freedom to do whatever they like." Kioshi mused, smirking. "Kinda like our dorm when Kerr's not around."
"Please, Kioshi, you know he always finds out if you've misbehaved..." Danielle said, rolling her eyes.
Before he could protest, the Pixie manifested. Immediately, she flew down to the water, and called upon the Kelpies. In a flash, the confused leader glided over to the group. They had glimpsed these demons before, and they seemed mostly benign, at least towards humans.
"Huh? What does a Fairy demon want with us?" He asked, the voice somehow echoing. Whenever the demons spoke, their voices had strange qualities to it. Perhaps it was because they were made purely of magutsuhi, rather than any flesh and bone.
"We need to get across to the island! Something really dangerous is there, and these four humans and their demon summoning thingy might be able to stop it!" She yelled, repeatedly tapping his head with her pointed shoes.
"O-O-OW! Okay, okay! Just stop doing that thing!" The Kelpie said. He looked to his friends, and quickly, they formed a bridge. "Just walk over us. Don't worry, you'll be just fine!"
"...Are we sure about this?" Danielle asked, nervous. "I mean, there aren't any handrails."
Kioshi, unfazed, simply walked ahead. "You won't fall. Just go straight ahead, without looking back."
"Yeah, what he said!" Esperanza said. "Don't worry, we're not going to end up like the Hare of Inaba. Okuninushi won't have to patch us up." She quickly followed Kioshi, walking over the creatures' heads as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do.
"If only we could have found a flying demon to take us there...fine, I'll go. Zeth, please be careful. Not just on this 'bridge'." Danielle said, cautiously, as she began to walk ahead. Zeth followed, trying not to look down, as he slowly walked on top of the Kelpies' heads. It was unlike anything he had ever walked on before. Yet, the group finally reached the island. It was the first time humans had set foot on it for many years.
The structures were all intact, mostly similar to those on the Da'at mainland. Yet, since there was next to no signs of habitation, it was a little unsettling. There were abandoned areas in the city, sure, but those at least had signs of being inhabited at some point. This place, however, had no history to glimpse. It was almost as if it was a model, a 3D blueprint to visualise a future building project.
"There really something here? It's so boring. Not even any demons to beat up." Kioshi said, rolling his eyes. "Wait, hold on..."
As the team had been walking, a peculiar structure came into view, at the far end of the isle. Before them was a strange glowing building, one that stood out from all the others. This eerie place was a black metallic dome, with a wide array of pulsating blue and red lights all over it, and many thick cables connecting to it were embedded into the ground. The electric blue light the group had witnessed before was especially vibrant here. At the front were the steel doors, shut, and above was a sign reading, in bright blue letters, "New Millennium Laboratory".
"Hey, Pixie." Zeth said, summoning the fairy. "Is this where the strange demon is hiding?"
"Y-yeah...but you see, the demons here can't get inside. The people that built it managed to block all access apart from these weird scientist types. And those creeps haven't come here for nearly twenty years."
"Really?" Esperanza said, confused. "I thought this place had been abandoned for centuries. But people were using it even after the bridge collapsed? Did they have another way in?"
"If only we had found that other path..." Danielle said, still reeling from walking over the Kelpies.
"Well, nothing else on this island worth checking out. Unless you wanna look at every damn skyscraper here. Let's get inside and look around." Kioshi said, walking forward, eager for some action.
"Hold on. Can we even get inside?" Danielle asked, stepping ahead of him – and as she did, the front doors suddenly lit up, and slid open. "Oh. I suppose we can."
"Wait, hold on a second. I thought these scientists had blocked access to everyone except themselves?" Esperanza asked.
"The place has been abandoned for some time. Maybe the wards they put up broke down. I mean, if a demon here is causing trouble, they probably damaged the security systems." Zeth suggested, shrugging."
"Well, whatever., We gotta get rid of whatever demon's causing the problems here, and then get the Kelpies back to get us home. It'll be fine!" Esperanza said, pumping the air with her fists. "Besides, we can handle some demons – ah!"
Out of the building, four demons emerged. They were all Slimes, rather small, viscous ones that were often ridiculed for being the most pathetic demons. Yet, these ones seemed oddly aggressive. In fact, they seemed to be emanating a similar glow to the building.
"KILL!" they all said, in complete unison.
"Dammit! We better get this over with." Zeth said, activating his App. Quickly, he was able to produce his sword via the storage function – which allowed users to store a number of items and weapons away, and then retrieve them in an instant. It was a rather handy feature, preventing the need to carry around gear. His first demon, Kodama, appeared right away. "Get them!"
One of the Slimes began to rapid oozed at Zeth, bashing him heavily. At the same time, the demon he summoned called upon the powerful winds of Zan, causing the Slime to fly backwards. While in pain, he knew he couldn't waste this chance, and with the powers granted via the app, he cast a spell of his own, the electrifying Zio. The Slime was vaporised, leaving three left. And one was already on the ropes.
"Get them, Napaea!" Danielle cried, tonfas in hand.
A fierce blast of ice struck the second Slime, and while the fairy grinned, her master called upon the holy light of Hama. Another demon had been exorcised, just as Kioshi was about to vanquish his. He blocked an attack with his axe, and called upon his own demon.
"Kill them, Daemon!"
Both the demon and the human unleashed the flames of Agi, both immolating the Slime. Now, only one was left, and Esperanza was ready to annihilate it. She stabbed at it with her spear, and unleashed a Zan, blowing it high in the sky – enabling her demon friend, Empusa, to curse it to a painful death via Mudo.
"It's over..." She said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Wow, you guys are, like, amazing!" Pixie said. While her 'ally' Kodama lacked any face, judging from the way it paused in the air, it was clear it did not enjoy her company. Thus, it vanished. "I wish I could have a smartphone like you guys and summon demons too!"
"But you're already a demon," Kioshi said, raising an eyebrow, "So is it really any different than just teaming up with other demons?"
"Jerk! I could be a really cool demon...demon summoner, way cuter than all the human ones! Hey, um...what girl demons does everyone in the city like? They don't like Napaea, do they?!"
"Um...I'm sure you have more fans, you're more of a classic...and...beautiful one than her." Danielle said, awkwardly. Pixie took no notice of her demeanour, and giggled, vanishing this time.
"Whatever. Are we going in? There's probably tons more demons inside," Kioshi said, hand on Zeth's shoulder. "which means we can tear them to pieces."
The other young man nodded, grinning. "Come on, let's hurry. We'll get back in time before Kerr's curfew. And even if we're late, surely he can let us get away with it on our last night."
The four stepped inside, each of them preparing themselves for whatever could be within.
New Millennium Laboratory
The entrance room to this building was dimly let, with only a single red light up ahead. The walls and floor were made of steel, and there were numerous objects strewn around. An old pen that had been broken in half was lying next to Zeth's feet, and there was an overturned bucket on the right, the contents of which clearly had long evaporated. The place was hot, yet there didn't seem to be a source of heat visible in the room. Just then, the light above suddenly changed colour to a vivid blue, and there were strange scan lines that came from a rather foreboding camera in the ceiling. Very thin, yet bright, they canvassed the entire room once, then faded.
Just as Zeth was about to ask the others about this, a voice spoke from a speaker system.
"Biometric scanning complete. DNA recognised. Access granted."
A door to what looked like an elevator opened. The console was glowing a bright orange, yet there were dark red stains on certain parts of it, as well as the floor. At first, Zeth thought it may be some kind of oil, but upon closer inspection, the hue was something much more visceral. Only three buttons were on it; 0, 1, and -1. Also in this elevator was a sheet of paper, completely in tatters. He picked it up, and read it aloud, as the others gathered around him.
This Nephilim Project has gone far enough. Can we not see how many people it's killed? And all the crazy leaders we follow say they're just miscalculations in our procedures? I've had enough. I can't take part in this anymore. We don't even know why we need to create these precious human/demon hybrids anyway. Not a single one has lasted. I don't care if I die. To all of you still wasting your time on this psycho plan, fuck you.
"Wow. He didn't leave on good terms, that's for damn sure. What kind of project are they talking about?" Kioshi asked, curious, scratching his head. "What's a Nephilim?"
Esperanza thought for a moment, seemingly recognising that word. "I think they were the offspring of humans and angels that rebelled against God. Maybe that's why they chose it for a project about fusing humans and demons. But the Cathedral of Shadows app only lets you fuse demons with other demons. So what kind of technology did they have here?"
"Maybe we should try and find out." Zeth said, pressing the '1' key on the elevator. The doors closed, and it began to descend. As it did, everything felt colder and colder. It felt like an eternity for it to reach the floor, despite it only being a minute. Then, the doors violently opened...
"Could there be something worse than demons in here...?" Danielle wondered, aloud.
New Millennium Laboratory – Medical Examination Floor
Yet more demons were lying in wait, and swarmed in before the group could even leave the elevator. Zeth barely had any time to summon his sword, as the four enemies – all Ukobach – rushed at him.
"Already with the demons?!" Kioshi groaned. "Come on, get the fuck out of our way!"
He rushed in, and swiftly destroyed one. The others followed suit, and the demons were despatched. As with the others, these seemed to have a vivid aura around them, unlike the other demons one could spot within the city. The group continued to move through the corridors, battling each wave of demons that attacked, until they reached the largest room.
The desolate area seemed to be an mammoth abandoned hospital wing, with many beds in varying states of disrepair. Zeth couldn't begin to identify most of the equipment scattered around, such as the bizarre blue metal tube that seemed to have partially melted. Everything was a bluish-gray colour, yet in some places, the floors seemed darker and redder.
"It's so strange here. I don't like it..." Danielle said, nervously. She cautiously inched further into the ward, until she noticed something on the floor - a clipboard. Picking it up, she looked at it, perusing its contents. "Hmm. This name sounds familiar. Melissa Bailey..."
"Huh?" Esperanza asked, coming closer. "Hold on. That was one of the Missing Generation kids, right?"
Zeth and Kioshi looked at each other, surprised. They knew that story well, having had to cover it at school. It was a mystery that had never been solved, from twenty five years ago. As with every year, the Ceremony of Choosing took place, and only three lucky individuals were able to find a better life for themselves outside of Da'at. Everyone else left behind had to find some kind of employment, which in a turbid and stagnant city was not particularly fulfilling. Yet, this generation of graduates suddenly went missing, without any exceptions.
Despite their efforts, the police could not find even a hint as to where they went. They disappeared the morning after the ceremony, and never were seen again. Everyone was paranoid the exact same would happen the next year, but those fears were proven wrong. Only this generation of graduates disappeared completely. And the most well known of them was the daughter of the mayor at that time, a Melissa Bailey. Her father had searched fruitlessly for her, and after over two decades, he died alone, forever longing for his beloved child.
"So what, the Missing Generation went here after all?" Kioshi asked, confused. "But what happened to them after that?"
"I don't think there are any humans here except us. We're probably the first people in here in a long time." Zeth said. "What does that thing say about her?"
"Well, it has her date of birth, her height, weight, and her blood type, so it looks it's definitely the same girl we read about." Danielle began, her eyes scanning the document carefully. "It mentions an 'Essence E-4'. But it doesn't say what that is, other than it increased her strength and agility."
"Project Nephilim!" Esperanza said, shocked. "What we read about earlier! The plan to fuse humans and demons together!"
Zeth's eyes went wide. He had a feeling the entire Missing Generation had been here at one point, but whether they were willing participants in this project or not was unclear. Indeed, so many things were unknown at the moment. It seems they had to use 'essences' of demons in their experiments, with some success.
Danielle continued. "Despite that, she slowly became mentally unstable, and fell into a coma for six months. And then she woke up suddenly, violently convulsing, and screaming incoherently. After that, she...was torn apart from the inside by...oh my god...a demon!"
She dropped the clipboard, disgusted.
"What the hell have we gotten ourselves involved with, people?" Kioshi asked, sickened. "It wasn't just her that this happened with, right? How many were in the Missing Generation?"
"It would have been 157. Since there were 160 graduates in total, and the other three got to leave Da'at for a new country. No wonder the police never found anything..." Zeth said, crossing his arms, gazing at the strange equipment all around him. How the essences were fused with the people, he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Or how these essences were procured in the first place.
"...Can we get out of here? Please?" Danielle asked, looking queasy. "We still haven't found the demon we're looking for."
"Hold on. We might need this..." Esperanza said, picking up a black card from a table. "This looks like a keycard. I've got a feeling we might need it. C'mon, let's get back to the elevator."
The two girls left, and Zeth was about to follow, but Kioshi grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Hey, buddy. You got a minute?"
"Um, we shouldn't fall behind -"
"It'll just be a second. Remember when we first walked in, and it said something about a biometric scan?" Kioshi asked, with an intense glint in his eyes.
"Yeah. So?"
"What do you mean 'so'? Don't you know what that means? It scanned our bodies and matched them to some kinda database of people allowed in! Our DNA matched theirs!"
Zeth gasped. "Then, the people that worked here..."
Kioshi nodded, gazing all over the grim hospital ward. "We might just find out where we really came from after all. But...I don't think I'm gonna like it. Come on, let's hurry up."
With that, he ran up to the girls. Zeth's head was spinning, with all that he had just learned. All this time, he never imagined the Missing Generation and his friends could be connected, but now it seemed concrete. Could their parents have worked here? Why were only demons here now?
In the elevator, Zeth pushed the -1 button, and they began their rapid descent...
New Millennium Laboratory – Fusion Hall
The elevator led to a small hallway, with a large steel door in front of them. There was a giant sign above, clearly stating that this hall was restricted, and unauthorised access would result in 'extremely severe consequences'. With the keycard, however, they soon were able to move further in.
As they did, many bright blue lights flashed, illuminating the gigantic room with an eerie glow. Surrounding the perimeter were many giant pods, most of which had been smashed to pieces, shards of glass scattered all around the floor. Next to each of them was a computer terminal of some kind, only one of which was still active. In the very center of the room was what looked like a giant tank, that was flashing bright blue, and seemed to be pulsating. Perhaps it was the energy source of this facility, still active after all this time.
"This must be were they fused the essences with people..." Danielle said, looking at the terminal. The screen only displayed an error message, reading 'SEVER ERROR – NO DATA DETECTED'. She tried to type on the keyboard, but not a single press did anything. "Doesn't look like it's working any more. After everything we've seen so far, that might be a good thing."
Kioshi looked around, and saw something lying on the ground. A black notebook, looking somewhat haggard. He picked it up, curious. "This is going to be as delightful as everything else, isn't it?"
"It's not going to be some crazy fanfiction, anyway..." Zeth said, deadpan. Kioshi didn't quite understand what this mean, but opened the book anyway, scanning over all the complicated scientific notes. A lot of it was about brainwaves and the demonic essences, investigating their compatibility, what could be done to prevent 'assimilation'.
"Hmm. Guess fusing essences with people our age wasn't working out. 157 casualties after twelve months. Those sick bastards..." He grimaced. "They decided not to waste the demons that had come out of the failed experiments. So the idea was to convert them all into some kind of energy, and feed them to something called the Kuzuryu Reactor."
Zeth was stunned. Did human lives mean absolutely nothing to the people running this laboratory? What sort of reactor was this? Could it be the gigantic blue tank in front of them? The name Kuzuryu sounded familiar, but he didn't remember where he saw it before, other than it was related to Japanese legends.
"Apparently after the last kid died, the 'superiors' were furious, demanding answers. But of course this thing doesn't say who the superiors are, or why they're so...superior. But the lead scientists suggested fully grown humans weren't going to work with this project. And that...they should try with newborns."
The group looked at him in shock, taking in a moment to register that last word.
"What?! They used babies...?! But...how could they do that?!"
"They're obviously inhumane scientists, Danielle. I think they passed the moral event horizon a long time ago." Esperanza said, shaking her head. "But did they actually do it?"
"Yeah, they sure did. It helped that three of the scientists at the time were pregnant. After some 'negotiations', they agreed to let their unborn children become part of the project. And it seems like it worked, too. After all, they were allowed to use the most powerful essences in their possession. Doesn't say what's so special about them compared to the others before, though. And it kinda stops after that. The last date here was the fourth of April, eighteen years ago."
Zeth was stunned. What was so important about this plan that they had to use infants for? And where were these children now? If this was eighteen years ago, then they'd be the same age as them.
Then it hit him. They were them.
Kioshi's eyes met Zeth, and they nodded. Danielle looked at them too, and from the look on her face, she had come to the same realisation.
"...What's going on?" Esperanza asked, not on the same page. "You're starting to scare me now, guys -"
"You haven't figured it out yet, Esperanza?!" Danielle asked. "That biometric scan didn't make a mistake. It recognised us, eighteen years later."
"Yup..." Zeth said, lips trembling. "And we ended up back here. No wonder we've always been together, we came from the same place all along. This fucking place...!"
Esperanza was silent. She stepped backwards, falling to her knees, dismayed.
"No... It...it can't be! This can't be the place we were born! Our parents can't have done this to us! We're...not demons...!"
"That's what they turned us into!" Kioshi screamed, frustrated, throwing the notebook across the huge hall. It landed with a heavy thud next to the tank. "We're all lab rats, each one of us! I had a feeling we were different, all along! But I didn't want it to be like this!"
"Kioshi..." Zeth began, but then he faltered. Nothing he said would make any difference now. Before he could even walk, someone had merged him with the essence of a demon. Something about him had felt different from everyone else but his friends, he knew that. But he just assumed it was because they only had each other, the only family they had. There must have been an end goal to all of this. For the scientists to go to such lengths to create humans with demonic powers, it must have been for some grandiose plan.
Then, something began to stir, and the entire room began to shake. Massive cracks began to form in the tank, and there were loud banging sounds within. A living being was inside, violently trying to break free. The group were frozen with fear, overwhelmed by the sheer power this entity was exuding. Then, it broke free, melting the tank into nothingness. Before them was a gigantic monstrosity, a dragon made up of pure electric blue energy. It let out a roar that reverberated throughout the hall, and the ears of all those unlucky enough to be in its warpath.
Kuzuryu had finally awoken.