Beep... Beep... Beep...
That's all that was heard in the deathly silent room Roan resided majority of his life in. Besides the cardiac monitor, not even a fly could be heard buzzing.
Time kept moving forward, awaiting for nobody. Eventually Roan awoke from his slumber. His eyelids slowly opened as they adjusted to the light.
Roan sat up on his bed and looked at the clock.
"6:35AM... It's still really early... Though Nurse Ives should be coming any minute now.." Roan said, reaching to his chest. With a quiet tug, he detached the monitor leads from his skin, silencing the steady beeping.
Roan put on his slippers on and inspected the room. The room was nothing special, It would be more appropriate to call it a box. Just the cardiac monitor, a hospital bed, and 4 cold white concrete walls.
Quiet but audible footsteps could be heard outside Roan's room. He didn't need to be a genius to know who it was. With a twist, the door opened revealing a female figure wearing a white lab coat.
"Good Morning, Roan." The female figure said as she gently closed the door and greeted Roan.
"Morning, Nurse Ives." Roan greeted back as he briefly glanced at the clipboard in her hands. This was Nurse Ives, the nurse responsible for taking care of Roan. She was twenty-seven with no notable background, of average looks and above average intellect.
"That's all you have to say...? Whatever, you were never much of a talker. I'm here to do your weekly check-up." She said as she briefed her focus on the clipboard in her hand. The clipboard contained Roan's basic information.
[SUBJECT FILE: #0461-R]
Name: Roan ???
Gender: Male
Age: 14
Height: 5'8" (176cm)
Weight: 110lbs (49KG)
Eye Colour: Grey
Hair Colour: Black
Blood Type: AB-
Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous
She skimmed through the pages until she found what she was looking for. Information about Roan's Soulmark classification!
[Soulmark Classification]
Category: Dread-Type Bloom.
Mark Location: Left Upper Peck.
Mark Appearance: A swirling spiral shaped like a serpent or dragon biting its own tail.
Bloom Trigger: Terminal Emotional Crisis (recorded at age 12) -- Isolation, trauma, fear of death, rage.
Initial Bloom Date: [Redacted -- 5 years ago.]
Confirmed Emotional Catalyst: Survival Instinct fused with prolonged isolation trauma.
[Power Manifestation]
Codename: Undying Will
- A rare form of Immortal-Type Regenerative Bloom that manifests through violent survival Instincts. Subject exhibits functional immortality -- biological death is resisted, reversed, or entirely bypassed through will-triggered cellular reconstruction.
[Known Abilities]
Adaptive Regeneration: Tissue and organ reconstruction occur in response to mortal damage. Healing speed varies depending on emotional intensity, pain, and perceived threat level.
[Soul Anchor]
Subject's soul forcibly remains anchored to the body unless willpower is compromised. Roan cannot die unless he emotionally chooses to, willingly or subconsciously.
[Pain-Responsive Amplification]
Power strengthens when Roan is in extreme pain or enters a death-like state. Subject has been observed regenerating from:
1. Cardiac Puncture.
2. Full-body burns.
3. Crushed lung cavity.
4. Neural Cessation for up to 4 minutes.
[Neurological Feedback Risk]
Excessive resurrection events lead to memory instability, emotional dysphoria, and temporary psychosis.
"Hmmmm... nothing seems out of place. Now follow me Roan, we're going to proceed to the next part of the check-up." Nurse Ives said, indifferently. She glanced at Roan and prepared to leave.
Roan didn't say anything back but he followed nonetheless. He wasn't too sure where he was headed but he had a feeling. Subtle memories kept appearing in his mind, almost like flashbacks. So many re-collections, so much pain... so many different experiences... but one thing they all had in common was the sight of blood... He could even taste it.
His mind was screaming in pain but he didn't lose his rationality, yet. As he travelled with Nurse Ives, he glanced at his surroundings. As far as the eye could see, Roan saw nothing but a white, cold, long corridor with black doors on the sides with codes and letters.
Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours. Eventually, Nurse Ives stopped in-front of a black door, this one looking sturdier than the rest. Nurse Ives took out a key card from her lab coat and quickly swiped it on the card reader.
*Beep. Beep. Click.*
The door slowly opened, revealing a dark room. The cold from within slipped out, giving Roan chills. It was far colder than the corridor. "After you," Nurse Ives said, quickly stepping aside. Roan was hesitant but his will was sturdier than stone.
As he made his way inside, the initially dark room suddenly lit up. Roan squinted his eyes from the abrupt change of light. As his vision returned, he inspected the room. He looked around and saw tools on the floor, dry red liquid of sorts stained on the walls, broken machines, it looked like he was in a mad scientists room.
Roan was confused. It felt as if he's been here before but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. His memories of this place seemed foggy... He couldn't even be sure if they were real.
"You've been here before Roan, do you remember?" Nurse Ives asked. Roan didn't know how to answer that but he did nonetheless. "I'm not sure..." Roan said, puzzled.
"Good. It's best if you don't remember..." Nurse Ives said ominously. Nurse Ives navigated the lab like she'd been here before and stopped in-front of another black door, this one requiring no card.
The door opened automatically with a mechanical hiss. Roan looked inside and was surprised. The room was too clean... Stainless steel walls and not an ounce of dirt or garbage in sight. An unbelievable contrast compared to the room before.
Then Roan saw him... behind the desk, stud a man wearing a dark-grey lab coat typing away at his computer. Roan had never met this man before, but his skin did. His body froze like a statue. His heartbeat quickened and his breathing intensified. He didn't know why, but he was scared of this man beyond words could describe.
"Roan, this is Dr. Halvorsen. He will conducting your ability diagnostics today. Don't worry, he's a nice gentleman." Seeing him scared for his life, Nurse Ives reassured Roan.
"You flatter me too much Nurse Ives" Dr. Halvorsen winked at Nurse Ives, who internally felt disgusted by his actions.
"So then, nice to meet you Roan, otherwise known as Subject 0461-R. We will be conducting your ability diagnostics in a moment." Hearing Dr. Halvorsen, Roan got behind Nurse Ives.
"No need to be scared, silly boy. It will be okay." She reassured him once again. At the end of the day, Roan was all but a 14 year old boy. It's natural of a boy his age to be scared she thought.
Meanwhile, Dr. Halvorsen turned off his computer and looked at Roan.
"Follow me, Subject 0461-R." He got up and quickly left, Roan and Nurse Ives followed along. Dr. Halvorsen lead them both back to the lab. It wasn't until they were In-front of a wooden chair they stopped.
"Nurse Ives, please stand-by if your assistance is required." Dr. Halvorsen said that but he doubted any help was needed. It was better safe than sorry though!
"Are you ready, Subject 0461-R? This will be the first phase of the test." Roan nodded. He was quite confused as to what Dr. Halvorsen meant. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary or how he was supposed to be tested. All he saw was a wooden chair equipped with some straps and a helmet.
Roan sat down, albeit slowly. He looked at the chair with uncertainty, it felt too simple, unthreatening even. That is, if we exclude the dull metal cuffs on the arms and legs, and the helmet.
*Click. Click.*
The straps around his ankles tightened automatically with no warning. That made Roan feel uneasy, like something painful was coming..
*Click. Click*
Then came the straps around his hands. His hands began to tingle, going numb around the fingers like needles pricking from the inside. He tried moving his fingers, nothing. Then came panic, it began to set in. He felt threatened, his life was in danger. Underneath his shirt on his chest, his Soulmark bloomed slightly though it went un-noticed.
"Phase One initiated," Dr. Halvorsen said, his voice now projected through an internal speaker in the helmet...
To be continued.....