Azure flames flickered casting a cold glow on the obsidian floor and walls. Yellow light flashed as everything shook uncontrollably.

Long brown hair cascaded down a young girl’s back. She stood with her feet firmly planted onto the floor, her hands held out as she did her best to keep the triangular neon green shield up.

Another tremor shook the ground. Lightning crackled following the swing of a hammer then bludgeoning of giant mechanical arms.

Red lines appeared and disappeared crossing yellow ones and forming a complex net of intertwining threads.

A single woman floated at the center of it all. Wings of pure light spread behind her, brilliant blades formed a protective shield, moving in a circle and blocking anything that came close.

The woman’s eyes shifted for a moment, a suppressed smile touched her lips. Yellow light flashed to the left, its source a small sword, barely noticeable compared to the ones flying around.

The green shield moved to block it, but another one came from the opposit direction.

Suddenly everything seemed to crumble. The winged woman came down and stood in front of them. Her lips moved but the words never came.

Without any warning the scenery changed, everything replaced by a blue sky before a pitch black darkness took over.

~â—‡~

‘Am I… am I dead?’

With everything swallowed by darkness that was the only logical conclusion.

‘Shuzuru…’

He remembered the young Asian woman and couldn’t help but smile to himself, though he didn’t know if he had a mouth to smile with. With how many times he had cheated on her it was only natural that he would get stabbed. That said, he never expected it to happen that way.

He couldn’t help but wonder if it was all just a lie, a nightmare he was unable to wake up from. Sadly he knew everything that happened was real and the more he thought about it it all made sense.

His mind played memories of their time together. The meals they ate, the walks they took, the kisses they shared. The nights they made love.

‘Was it all an act?’

She said her feelings for him were true however it was clear that the only reason she approached him was to get close to Alice.

‘Alice…’ he remembered the white haired commander. She said almost nothing throughout the whole incident, standing beside him with clear and confusion in her eyes. ‘She must be in great pain…’

It’s not easy to accept that your whole life is built on a lie. Alice had suffered because people thought she was a Valkyrie based on her otherworldly appearance alone and after all those years it turned out to be true. The worst part is how her memories have been manipulated. Her suffering would continue, unable to differentiate truth from fabrication. Nothing he says or does could help her with that.

‘I… have to tell her…’ Sam thought, knowing that his feelings for her wouldn’t change. ‘I need to be there for her…’

At some point the darkness had faded. He thought it was just another dream, another memory his mind played. However he had no recollection of what he was seeing.

Everything was a murky haze with a green color painting anything in sight. He tried to move but the most he could do was turn his eyes. A strange silhouette stood in front of him startling him for a moment, but then his eyes began to focus and he realized it was his own reflection on what must be a glass wall.

‘What’s… what’s going on?’

His vision blurred again and he began to lose consciousness. Fighting to stay awake, he tried to focus his eyes again doing his best to get a read on his situation but to no avail. As his eyelids grew much too heavy for him to keep them up, a hand suddenly appeared on the glass in front of him and for a moment he saw its owner looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

‘Three…’

~â—‡~

He didn’t know if it was seconds, minutes or hours, however the next time Sam opened his thoughts no longer felt sluggish, his mind booting up almost immediately as if caffeine was pumped directly into his veins.

The scene in front of him moved in and out of focus and soon enough he realized he was lying down, the ceiling above him white and his surroundings unbearably bright.

He tried to move his head but stopped right away.

Something didn’t feel right.

Facing up against he tried lifting his hand. He stared at it for a few seconds then put it down, the strange feeling only growing stronger.

‘Don’t tell me…’

He pushed himself up, slowly and carefully studying his movements the entire time. He is alive, that much is cleatlr. Going by everything he went through he should’ve been in a coma for a quite a while, but he felt so refreshed as if he had just stepped out of a cold shower.

“… where is this place?”

A look through his surroundings revealed that he was in a pure white room which only enhanced the unsettling feeling he was getting. It was quite spacious with the bed and medical equipment barely taking any space. There were no doors or windows but he could see cameras hanging from each of the corners making him feel like he’s in some kind of mental faculty.

I see you’re awake.

The voice came after a clicking sound and he immediately recognized the owner.

“Elina…” He said, looking at one of the cameras. “How long have I been asleep?”

A-and you recognize my voice…𝑶𝒱xt.𝚌𝞸𝐌

The change of tone didn’t go unnoticed by him, but he already knows that something strange is going on.

Sam… listen, I have a few questions I was told to ask you. Elina voice came again. It’s something of a memory check and… just making sure you’re you…

“Elina, you’re a smart woman. You should already know that such a test is pointless.” Sam replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Did you do it?”

After a moment of silence a window popped up on the wall facing him showing displaying the female scientist’s face.

Sam… you… you remember what happened? She asked, a difficult expression painting her face.

“Everything.” He replied curtly.

Elina stared at him for a few seconds, her eyes swimming from one corner to the other as she seemed to struggle with what she had to say.

The thing… the thing that injured you… she paused for a couple of seconds, taking a deep breath then looking him in the eyes. According to the Nephilim, the sharp object you were injured with was made using an Art called Eitr. It creates weapons out of a certain material… a material that, while not radioactive, can cause some genetic alteration. I don’t think I need to explain the rest.

“… yeah…”

Sam already understood. A material that could be described as solid light caused him some kind of cancer. Who could’ve guessed.

The tumors were spreading far too quickly for any treatment to be effective and… I had to make a choice.

Letting out a sigh, Sam got up from his bed. He stretched his arms then took off the sky blue hospital clothes he was wearing and examined his body. Soon enough it became clear where he was getting the strange feeling.

He was in a different body, one that looked much healthier than what he’s used to. The imperfections that came from being a lab dweller were all gone, his muscles well defined as if he was a model for the cover of some romance novel.

So… how do you feel? Elina asked, turning her gaze away as her cheeks reddened a little.

Sam remained silent, staring at his palms for a few seconds. His gaze was inevitably drawn to a part he tried to ignore, and with an inexplicable sense of fear he reached for his underwear and pulled at it checking what’s inside.

His eyes went wide for a moment then slowly narrowed as he turned to face the female scientist whose gaze was still averted, though she looked much more nervous than before.

“Really?”

A-a-anyway! It seems you’re still the same person on the inside! Elina said, avoiding his question. We literally replaced every cell in your body one at a time! It was really scary, you know. I was afraid you wouldn’t be the same person as before…

Letting go of his underwear, Sam continued to stare in Elina’s direction for a few seconds before heaving an exasperated sigh.

“So… did you finish the project yourself?” He asked. “I doubt you had the time to test it so…”

Before he made the decision to meet with the silver haired Nephilim Mjölnir Sam was working on something he dubbed project Asclepius. To put it simply, it was his attempt at turning humans into Valkyries which turned out to not be that original of an idea.

His plan was to create nanomachines that could mimic the functions of human cells, and if that sounds familiar then it’s because it’s the same thing Odin did to himself and his daughter leading to everything that happened so far.

In the end he didn’t get to finish it so there were no animal testings let alone human ones, and with how critical his condition was according to the female scientist he doubted she had the time for them making him the first experiment.

He recognized her abilities which is why he chose to involve her in the project, however he still doubted that she could finish everything on her own.

Actually, I… though her nervousness didn’t go away, it was clear that its source had changed. I recieved some help…

Silence took over for a few seconds as Elina appeared to shrink under Sam’s gaze despite it coming from a screen. She typed a few things on the keyboard making another window appear beside hers and just like a couple of minutes ago Sam found himself staring at it with wide eyed disbelief.

Sam…

The second window showed none other than Alice’s father and the man responsible for the nightmare humanity had to live for the past decade.

“Odin…”