Deep underground, in a sealed lab lit by dull red lights, Skeroth worked in silence.
tal trays clinked as he moved instrunts.
A dissected human lay on the table before him—its chest cut open, bones cracked.
To his side, the corpse of a beastkin mutant, twisted and massive, rested on another slab.
Skeroth carefully inserted a syringe into the subject’s spinal cord.
He pressed the plunger. The serum inside glowed blue.
He leaned in, watching veins twitch faintly. His red chanical eye clicked.
"Partial response," he murmured. "Nerve reaction... improving."
Across the room, Yural scribbled notes rapidly, muttering to himself.
"Damage layer three... collapse rate slower... muscle tension good..."
Then, Skeroth paused.
His injector hand froze mid-air. He turned slightly, eyes narrowing.
Yural looked up. "Doctor Skeroth? Sothing wrong?"
Skeroth didn’t move.
"...I felt sothing," he said. "A change."
Yural tilted his head, blinking. "Change? What kind?"
Skeroth slowly stepped back from the table. His voice stayed calm, but lower.
"A surge in the ether web. Sudden, sharp. As if soone forced a gate open nearby."
Yural frowned. "Ahh... makes sense."
"This is the ti of year, right? So of the older teleportation platforms reactivate around now."
He stepped closer, tapping his chin.
"Maybe one of the old labs brought sothing in."
"Another researcher? Or leftover projects returning to base?"
He grinned. "Maybe they dragged sothing fun back."
Skeroth nodded. "That would explain the shift. A strong entity crossing layers without regulation."
Yural tilted his head. "You think it’s sothing good?"
Skeroth paused. "...Possibly. I wouldn’t feel it otherwise."
Yural chuckled. "Well, that’s a good sign. We can check the logs later."
He clapped his hands. "But for now, Doctor... let’s continue. Your current one’s almost ready."
Skeroth looked at the beast’s body.
It twitched slightly—residual signals reacting to the serum.
Its muscles pulsed under the skin.
He stepped closer and tapped his fingers along its spine.
The injector tail behind him hissed and released a small dose of stabilizer.
The creature’s body relaxed, then stabilized.
Skeroth watched in silence. Then slowly smiled.
"Indeed," he said. "This one is different. The spinal reaction was nearly perfect."
He turned to Yural.
"Prepare the nerve-thread reinforcent next. If this one survives the next stage..."
Yural grinned widely. "Then it’ll be our cleanest hybrid yet."
Skeroth looked toward the sealed door at the far end of the lab.
"...But keep the alarms ready."
Yural blinked. "You think soone’s coming?"
Skeroth’s eye glowed.
"I don’t think." He turned back to the table. "I know."
They continued working, calm, thodical. But the air around them shifted.
And far above, a ripple spread across A-Zone.
---
The broken lab door slamd shut behind them.
Zain and Velra stepped out into the open.
For the first ti since arriving, they were finally outside.
The air was different—sharper, heavier, but cleaner. It buzzed against their skin.
Wind rushed past them in strange waves, carrying the scent of tal, smoke, and sothing faintly sweet.
The ground beneath them was cracked stone, with patches of glowing moss and strange roots curling over tal ruins.
In the distance, the sky shimred faintly, as if the clouds were too close and the stars too far.
Zain stretched his shoulders and looked up. "Finally. Real air."
Velra took a deep breath beside him, her eyes half-closed.
"We’re safe now, Master."
Zain glanced at her. "You sure?"
She nodded. "That lab was deep inside the lower system."
"No active patrols. No caras. Nothing tracked us."
Zain took one step forward and stopped. "Good."
Velra looked at him for a mont, then hesitated.
"...There’s sothing I need to tell you."
Zain raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"About A-Zone," Velra said.
"The truth. Or, I guess, what most don’t understand."
Zain tilted his head. "The truth?"
Velra crossed her arms and looked at the horizon.
The land ahead looked like shattered worlds fused together—each region twisted differently.
One side burned under a crimson sky. Another glowed with green towers and floating stones.
She pointed forward. "A-Zone isn’t a normal Zone. Not like B-Zone, or C-Zone, or any of the numbered ones."
Zain watched her carefully.
"This place... it’s not even officially part of the world’s system. Not really."
He narrowed his eyes. "Go on."
Velra turned to face him fully. "They call it the Supre Island."
"A floating landmass high above the mainland. Higher than any ship, unreachable by normal ans."
"That’s why only special teleportation gates work. Why people disappear once they enter."
Zain looked up at the sky again.
The wind bent slightly around them. The gravity here didn’t feel normal.
Velra continued. "Each part of A-Zone is ruled by different factions."
"The Hero Association holds one corner. The Beastkin Brood another."
"So places are run by other groups that I currently don’t know about."
"Like a war zone?" Zain asked.
"More like a broken god’s playground," Velra said.
"Every sector is shaped by whoever rules it. Gravity, weather, the land itself—twisted to fit their class or desire."
Zain stayed quiet for a mont, processing everything.
Then he gave a small nod.
"I see... so this A-Zone, or Supre Island, isn’t just another zone."
He looked around at the strange horizon.
The floating terrain, the shifting ether, the unnatural silence—it all made sense now.
"It’s not even a Zone anymore," he continued.
"It’s a continent... one made by monsters, heroes, and madn."
A smirk crept across his face.
"Interesting."
Velra watched him, her eyes curious.
Zain turned to her. "Our mission’s changed a bit."
"Oh?" she asked.
Zain stepped forward, boots crunching over stone and glowing moss.
"We’re not just here to take Zelia and Savra back."
He looked ahead at the twisted land. His smile grew.
"We’re going to take a part of this island. Claim it. Make it our own."
Velra’s lips curled into a grin. "You an—?"
Zain nodded.
"Yes. One sector of this world will belong to the Heavenly Demon Sect."
Velra laughed softly. "Finally."
Zain looked at her. "You ready?"
She straightened her back and stepped beside him. "Always, Master."
They walked forward, and behind them, the wind shifted.
The conquest of the Supre Island had just begun.
Reviews
All reviews (0)