Life Changing Decision
The bright lights were blinding, and the cold metal table beneath him was uncomfortable. He could hear the quick footsteps of people approaching, and he tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond. Panic set in as he realized he couldn't remember how he got there. He was scared, and the more he tried to remember, the less it made sense.
His memory was quick to recall the gruesome event that happened before he found himself in a room with white walls.
The cacophonous beeping of machine noises assaulted him, as his eyes darted across the room. He tried to get up once more, but he discovered he was strapped to the metal table below him.
Soon the door opened, and Captain Galen Nightshade walked in with other figures who were dressed in white lab coats.
"Here we are again. I know you might be wondering where you are. But let me save you the trouble of dying in curiosity; this is the government development facility dedicated to developing a cure that will help eradicate this bad fate that has befallen humanity" he paused, and looked around,
"Let me just put it in a plain way. We're trying to create super soldiers who'll fight the monsters plaguing our planet. Imagine having soldiers who'll have the powers of the strongest technologies we have ever created?"
"This situation is not a matter of inventing AI robots or mecha's, but infusing the human body with technology. That has been our dream. And you'll help us accomplish that since your DNA is a bit different from ours" The captain said proudly.
" With these, you'll have the ability to control nanite machines that would be used in the military. These nanite machines can't be controlled by humans because of how powerful and advanced they are."
"Impossible. You dare not try that insane idea with me, " Magnus struggled against the restraints, but the doctors held him down.
"Insane idea? "The captain laughed bitterly, "Blame yourself for being born differently" he stated unapologetically.
"Is it a crime to be born differently? Is it a sin to want to live a normal life?" His tone had begun to shift from confidence to melancholy.
"That's a very tricky question. But I'll advise you to ask whatever god that brought you into this world the same question" he smiled and turned towards the doctors;
"You can begin."
Two medical professionals approached him, each holding a syringe filled with clear liquid. As they injected the substance into his vein, the others brought wires and other items and began attaching them to every inch of his skin, even under the clothes. They then connected to some sort of electronic screen that flashes blue every few seconds.
"Not again" he whispered, trying desperately hard to wipe his memories off the images that triggered alarms of how these same machines and medical professionals almost made his life a miserable mess in his past life.
Tubes were attached to the sides of his head to monitor how much brain activity was present. Various experiments were conducted on him.
Heart rate.
Behavioral and neurological response.
Disease modelling.
Machine and robotic learning experiment.
DNA sequencing.
These major experiments were conducted with various other ones he couldn't remember their name or keep count of. The thought alone made his bone go numb.
After an eternity of tests, they finally stopped. They removed all the tubes and equipment from his body and wheeled him to another room with the movable metal table.
They finally removed the restraint holding him, but Magnus was too weak to react. He was dragged by two men into a chamber located beside the room.
Upon arriving, Magnus' jaw dropped… Right in front of him was a tube machine that was hooked up to the wall with countless wires and tubes leading out of it.
On one end of the tube stood a man with pale blond hair and pale brown eyes. He wore blue gloves and a lab coat with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. When he saw Magnus looking at him, he smiled at him encouragingly.
He tried to scream, to beg for help as he was forcefully dragged towards the machine, but his voice was silent. No one seemed to notice or care that he was awake and fully aware of his situation. They were too focused on whatever experiment they were conducting.
Before he was placed in the tube machine, he was stripped bare before their eyes. A mechanical Ventilator was attached to his mouth region before he was finally placed inside.
Magnus panicked and thrashed about, trying to kick and break the laminated glass.
As if in slow motion, he watched as the machine hissed and whirred, readying itself.
Green liquid started to pour into the machine through a hose, gradually filling the machine.
He felt the warmth of the liquid beginning to seep into his chest cavity as the green liquid was almost filling the remaining space of the machine. He closed his eyes when the liquid hit his cheeks.
The machine was finally filled to the brim while the scientists stared transfixed at what they'd done. Magnus was completely submerged under the surface of the liquid.
They told him they needed to produce super soldiers. And the only way they did it was to conduct experiments and submerged him under the glow of a green liquid? Something he'd never experienced in his life?
As the hours passed, the boy began to feel weaker and weaker. The doctors didn't seem to notice or care that he was deteriorating right in front of them. His heart rate was dropping, and his breathing became shallow. He knew he was drifting away, and he couldn't do anything about it.
********
{An Unknown Space And Timeline}
Things were grim, and they knew it. Their fortress would not last the night, already, he could hear the walls break. There were still many fighting outside, trying desperately to resist the Devourer's forces, but here was the 'support' group.
"This is it. It was an honor fighting alongside all of you." He said, his voice breaking.
"We failed this world." The 8th-star cultivator spoke, a true master craftsman, and he made many of the powerful Qi-weapons for the front-line warriors. A formation expert tapped his shoulders and nodded.
"We were naive." A woman said. "We didn't see the betrayals until it was too late."
"Indeed. The Devourer's corruption and temptation were too much." They all collectively sighed. He nodded too. He was there when so many he thought he could trust betrayed their cause. When did it even happen?
When did the Devourer even get to them?
There was a loud crack outside.
A woman shouted. "We may have failed this world, but we know where the Devourer's going next. We must warn them."
"How? That world is too far, far too distant! Maybe if we had the time to build our most powerful Qi-formations it might be possible, but it's too late for that now."
The woman, a ritual master of the 9th-star, shook her head. "No. There's still a way, but it will cost us all our lives."
Everyone stared. The woman then explained of an ancient soul-transmigration ritual meant to send one's soul to another place. For one person, it's incredibly risky, and the power of one soul certainly will not survive such a long journey across worlds, where the energies of the great stars are harsh.
"Alone, we are not much. But together. We all do not have time left, and the Devourer comes for us anyway. Let us all do this together. Perhaps, we can still warn the other world."
The many experts looked at each other and they agreed. The walls were breaking, and they had all been prepared to die. Perhaps, to die together, and make a final warning to another world, it appealed to them, that it was a good, noble death.
They all died in the ritual. Experts, master healers, crafters, and makers, all who lived for many thousands of years.
Many of them gave up hope, but little did they know that their act of self-sacrifice and true unity of spirit caused all their souls to fuse into one. A special soul capable of surviving the journey across the astral space with little decay. It travelled across the stars within days.
That special soul of theirs soon found a new body in a world that has yet to see the Devourer's invasion, or perhaps, was on the verge of its destruction by the same devourer.