A sharp, cold sensation sliced through Rei Kuroya's consciousness as he slowly drifted back into awareness. His body felt heavy, as though lead had been poured into his veins, and a dull ache throbbed in the back of his skull. He tried to move, but even that felt impossible, his limbs sluggish and unresponsive. Darkness surrounded him, thick and suffocating, but then, like a flickering light breaking through a deep fog, a faint hum reached his ears a soft, rhythmic beeping that seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat. Slowly, he forced his eyes open. Blinding white light seared his vision, and he blinked rapidly, struggling to adjust to the harsh glare.
As the haze in his mind began to clear, he became aware of the sterile, metallic scent in the air, mingled with something faintly antiseptic. He was lying on a flat surface, covered by a thin medical sheet, and wires were attached to his chest and arms, connected to a sleek machine that emitted quiet, steady pulses. Panic flared in his chest, sharp and instinctual, as he tried again to move, this time managing to lift his right hand by a fraction of an inch. It was then that he noticed the small, translucent screen floating just above his head, displaying a line of glowing text: Cryo-Stasis Termination Complete. Subject #2179: Rei Kuroya. Below it, a timer flashed: Elapsed Time: 5 Years, 2 Months, 11 Days.
Five years? Rei's breath hitched, and his mind raced as fragmented memories surged to the surface. The last thing he remembered was collapsing in a hospital bed, his body ravaged by an incurable disease that had been slowly eating away at him for months. Cryo-sleep had been his only chance a desperate gamble to preserve his life until medical technology advanced enough to find a cure. But something was wrong. He'd been told that the procedure would only last a year, maybe two at most. Why had it taken five years to wake him up?
Before he could dwell on the question, the door to the room slid open with a quiet hiss, and a figure stepped inside. Rei squinted against the light, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to make out the newcomer. It was a woman, tall and elegant, with long silver hair that cascaded down her back like a shimmering waterfall. She wore a sleek, form-fitting lab coat over black leggings and boots, and her sharp, violet eyes fixed on him with a mixture of curiosity and relief. For a moment, neither of them spoke, the silence stretching between them like a taut wire. Then, the woman smiled a soft, almost hesitant expression that made her look both beautiful and dangerous.
"Welcome back, Rei Kuroya," she said, her voice low and smooth, like velvet brushing against steel. "You've been asleep for a long time. There's… a lot you need to know."
Rei opened his mouth to respond, but his throat felt dry and scratchy, and the only sound that escaped was a hoarse croak. The woman stepped closer, retrieving a small bottle of water from a nearby tray and gently pressing it into his hand. "Take it slow," she advised, watching him carefully as he took a tentative sip. The cool liquid was like a balm against the fire in his throat, and after a few moments, he felt strong enough to speak.
"Who… are you?" he rasped, his voice barely above a whisper.
The woman's smile widened slightly, though there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "My name is Dr. Aiko Tanaka," she said. "I'm the lead researcher at Horizon BioTech. We were the ones who put you in cryo-stasis… and the ones who brought you back."
Rei frowned, his mind still struggling to catch up. "Why… five years?" he asked, forcing the words out despite the fog that clung to his thoughts. "What happened?"
Dr. Tanaka's expression darkened, and for a moment, she looked almost… haunted. She hesitated, as though weighing her next words carefully, before finally answering. "A lot has changed since you went to sleep, Rei," she said quietly. "The world you knew… it doesn't exist anymore."
A chill ran down Rei's spine at the ominous tone in her voice. "What do you mean?" he asked, his heart pounding harder now, a growing sense of dread tightening in his chest.
Dr. Tanaka sighed and ran a hand through her silver hair, looking suddenly exhausted. "It's… complicated," she admitted. "But to put it simply, five years ago, a virus swept across the globe. We call it the X-Virus. It was fast, deadly, and" She paused, her violet eyes locking onto his with a grim intensity. "it targeted men."
Rei stared at her, uncomprehending. "Targeted men?" he echoed, as though saying the words out loud might make them make sense.
Dr. Tanaka nodded. "Ninety-nine percent of the male population was wiped out in less than a year," she said bluntly. "It was a global catastrophe. Governments collapsed, societies crumbled, and in the aftermath, women were left to pick up the pieces."
Rei's mind reeled as he tried to process the enormity of what she was saying. Ninety-nine percent? That couldn't be possible. It sounded like something out of a dystopian novel, not real life. And yet, the look on Dr. Tanaka's face left no room for doubt. This was real. This was his reality now.
"And me?" he asked after a long silence. "Why did I survive?"
Dr. Tanaka's lips pressed into a thin line. "That's the question, isn't it?" she murmured. "There are only a handful of men left alive, and no one knows why some of you were immune to the virus. But what we do know is that you're… valuable."