Revival - 14 Minutes Later
Zero's eyes snapped open.
The pain was gone. Completely gone. He lay in a pool of blood and brain matter—his own—but his breathing came easily. His lungs are back to normal with perfect efficiency, no gurgling or obstruction.
He sat up and touched his head. Perfect. No cracks. No wounds. His lungs worked like they'd been redesigned by an engineer. Each breath filled him completely, oxygen flooding his system. He could feel the difference—stronger, and more resilient.
'Huh. My pain tolerance went up.'
A small smile played on his lips as he remembered the agony.
Zero opened his notebook and began writing. His handwriting was neater now, more precise. The blood on the pages had dried into a dark brown, like old coffee stains.
Test 1: Lungs plus head injury = permanent upgrade. Recovery time: 14 minutes. Brain stuff: Getting better at this. The pain felt... good.
When did he start calling himself "subject" in his notes?
Whatever. Keep going.
Day 5 - Bone Breaking Time
Zero had spent two days planning the next experiment. His smarter brain calculated the exact force needed to shatter his tibia while making sure the hurt reached evolution levels. The anticipation made his heart beat faster.
He positioned his left leg across a metal support beam, the bone suspended over empty space. Above it, he rigged a 200-kilogram concrete block on a simple release mechanism.
This should break it well. Should hurt like hell too. A shiver of excitement ran through him.
Zero triggered the release.
The concrete felt like a judgment from above.
CRACK!
His tibia exploded. The bone didn't just break—it was pulverized. Fragments of white bone burst through his skin like shrapnel, some flying across the room and clattering against the walls. His lower leg dangled at an impossible angle, held only by torn muscle and skin that flapped like loose fabric. The sound was like snapping kindling, followed by the wet tearing of muscle.
"OHH—AGHHHHHHHHH!" Zero's scream shattered the silence of the chamber. The pain was indescribable. Nerves screamed. Muscles convulsed. Bone ground against bone with each twitch, sending intense agony through his entire body. Blood sprayed from the wound in arterial bursts, painting the walls in crimson blood.
'Still not enough.' Despite the agony, a strange warmth spread through him.
Through the agony, part of his mind stayed clear. 'I need more stuff broken at once.'
Zero gripped his shattered leg with both hands and twisted.
The remaining bone fragments ground together with a sound like breaking pottery. More bone pierced his skin, tearing through like white knives. The pain made his vision go completely white. His stomach convulsed, vomiting bile and blood onto the concrete. The mixture sizzled where it hit the floor, eating away at the surface.
"NGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAHHHHH!" His throat went raw from screaming. Blood sprayed from his mouth with each convulsion.
'Almost there. Need more damage.' The pain was becoming something else for Zero—a source of strength, of pleasure.
Zero crawled to his collection of scrap metal, his shattered leg leaving a trail of bone fragments and blood. He selected a rusted pipe with a jagged end, its surface crusted with old blood and filth.
He positioned the pipe against his thigh and began applying pressure. The rusted metal punched through muscle tearing fibers with wet ripping sounds. Blood sprayed across his face and chest, warm and thick.
Then it hit the bone.
Zero pushed harder. The pipe cracked his femur, then drove deeper, splitting the bone lengthwise. The sound was like splitting wood, followed by the wet crunch of marrow being forced out of the bone cavity. Marrow oozed from the wound, mixing with blood on the floor.
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The scream went on until his throat couldn't produce sound anymore. Blood loss finally claimed him. His vision went black as his heart stopped pumping. The last thing he felt was a strange ecstasy mixed with the agony.
Revival - 11 Minutes Later
Zero flexed his legs. Both bones had regrown, but they felt different. Denser. Stronger. He could sense the change at a natural level—his skeleton now approached the strength of titanium alloy. When he tapped his shin, it made a sound like striking metal. The muscles around them felt like coiled steel cables.
He made notes in his journal. The handwriting from days ago looked emotional, crude. Now each letter was perfectly formed.
'The subject doesn't mind pain as much now. I should try my heart stuff next. The pain feels... right.'
Day 8 - Heart Attack Time
Zero stared at the chemical cocktail he'd prepared. Industrial solvents, radioactive decay products, and organic toxins that would melt human organs within minutes. The mixture bubbled in the beaker, releasing fumes that made his eyes water and his skin tingle.
He drank it in one gulp.
The poison hit his bloodstream like liquid lightning. "AGHHHHHHHHHHH!" Zero doubled over as acid ate through his veins from the inside. He could feel his blood, his heart pump so wild. Each beat sent waves of agony through his chest.
Through sheer will, Zero forced himself to begin combat drills—rapid strikes and blocks against imaginary opponents. His poisoned heart couldn't supply oxygen to his muscles, but he pushed his body beyond its breaking point. Each movement felt like being stabbed with knives, sending jolts of agony through his entire body.
"Come on... COME ON!" Blood vessels burst behind his eyes, turning his vision red. Blood streamed from his nose and ears, running down his neck and chest soaking his body.
His heart gave one final, massive contraction, then stopped. The sensation was like having his chest crushed in a vice while being burned from within. Zero could feel his heart muscle tearing, dissolving in the poison.
"NGHHHHHHHHHHHHAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The final scream cut off as cardiac arrest claimed him. The last thing he felt was a strange pleasure mixed with the agony, a sense of rightness as his body shut down.
Revival - 8 Minutes Later
Zero's heart beat with mechanical precision. Each pump was perfectly timed, impossibly efficient. The organ had rebuilt itself as a superior machine, with thicker walls and stronger valves. He could feel the difference—blood flowing with impossible force, oxygen saturating his tissues instantly. The poison had been completely metabolized, leaving no trace.
'Heart upgrade worked. Pain doesn't bother me much anymore. Feelings: Not really there. But the pain... it's becoming something else.'
Day 12 - Brain Zapping Time
The electrical cable is hummed with deadly voltage. Zero stared at it with eyes that no longer showed fear. The air around it crackled with energy, making the hair on his arms stand up.
'Brain upgrade needs electricity. Should hurt like crazy. Might mess with my head. Can't wait.' A shiver of excitement ran through him.
Zero gripped the bare wire.
50,000 volts coursed through his nervous system instantly. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" But the scream wasn't entirely in pain, but something like ecstasy.
His muscles seized violently. His spine arched backward until vertebrae creaked, threatening to snap. Electricity turned his nervous system into a highway of liquid fire. His teeth shattered from clenching, fragments exploding from his mouth. His eyes bulged, blood vessels bursting. The whites of his eyes turned completely red, then began to cook in their sockets.
But through the agony, Zero noticed something weird. Part of his mind stayed watchful, observing his own destruction like it was happening to someone else. The pain was becoming information for him, and data to be processed.
'The brain's getting fried but I can still think. My pain's turning into information. It's... beautiful.'
The electricity cooked his brain tissue. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, mixed with the ozone of the electrical discharge. His sense of who he was scattered like broken glass. His skin began to blacken and char, smoke rising from his body.
"WHO... AM... I?..."
Zero held the wire until his nervous system completely shut down. His final thought dissolved into pure electric agony and ecstasy. His body slumped to the ground, smoking and charred.
Revival - 6 Minutes Later
Zero's consciousness reassembled like a computer booting up. His thoughts came faster, and clearer, with perfect logical precision. The world seemed sharper, colors more vivid, and sounded more distinct. His brain had rewired itself into something more efficient, more powerful.
Zero opened his notebook and began writing. His penmanship was now perfectly precise, each letter formed with mathematical accuracy. The writing looked like it had been printed by a machine rather than written by hand.
Zero paused, reading his own words. When did he stop being Zero and become "subject"?
In the distance, footsteps echoed through the tunnels.
Zero felt nothing about this development. No fear, no curiosity, nothing.
He smiled, but it wasn't a human expression anymore. It was the smile of something that had learned to find perfection in its own destruction. A predator's smile.