Chapter 2: Chapter 2: The Awakening
Unknown Location – Neo-Tokyo
Pain.
A sharp, burning agony pulsed through Akira's body, like fire had fused with his very bones. He tried to move, but his limbs felt… different. Too light. Too strong.
His eyes snapped open, and the world came into focus.
A sterile, dimly lit medical chamber stretched before him, lined with sleek white panels and humming machinery. Strange wires and neural conduits were attached to his body, feeding data streams into the walls.
He sat up.
That's when he saw his reflection.
A polished observation mirror stared back at him, revealing something that wasn't entirely human anymore.
His arms—once scarred and lean—were now sleek, reinforced with dark cybernetic plating. Thin neon-blue circuits pulsed beneath the surface, glowing faintly with energy. He touched his face—still human, but sharper, augmented. His pupils flickered, automatically adjusting to the dim light.
What the hell did they do to me?
Then the whispers came.
Not from outside. From inside. A digital hum within his mind, lines of code cascading behind his thoughts. It was as if a new consciousness had merged with his own, feeding him data, analyzing every movement, every sound.
Before he could process it, the door slid open with a hiss.
A woman stepped in—tall, confident, dressed in a sleek black tech-suit that gleamed under the dim lights. A cybernetic neural visor covered her left eye, its interface blinking with unreadable data.
She looked at him with calculating curiosity.
"You're awake faster than expected," she said. "That's… impressive."
Akira's instincts screamed danger, but his body felt charged, his movements effortless. He ripped the IV conduits from his arm and stood, his posture unnaturally perfect.
"Where the hell am I?" he demanded.
The woman smirked. "Welcome to the Prometheus Initiative, Akira Kuroda. You're the first successful prototype of Techno-Mancy."
Akira clenched his fists. He didn't know what they had turned him into…
But he sure as hell wasn't going to let them control him.