The heavy steel door of the laboratory slid open with a hiss. Inside, Noah Blaze and his wife, Vivi, were curled up together on the couch, watching a drama series. A bowl of fresh fruit sat on the table, untouched but clearly meant to make the moment feel more homely.
From the outside, their lives almost looked comfortable almost normal.
Shane Mountain stepped inside, his presence instantly shifting the air in the room. He walked over to Noah, pulled a small vial from his pocket, and handed it over. The glass shimmered faintly in the light, holding a crimson liquid that pulsed as though alive.
"Come outside with me and inject this," Shane said flatly. "Once it's in your system, you'll be able to walk through this entire city without fear."
Noah eyed the vial with suspicion. "Inject it? You're not about to stick some weird experimental crap in me, right? Shane, come on I'm your brother! You can't just use me as your lab rat!"
He clutched his chest and staggered dramatically, acting as though Shane had already betrayed him. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he'd actually been poisoned.
"Cut it out. Vivi is right here." Shane's face darkened, a vein twitching on his temple. Noah had his moments of reliability, but most of the time, he was the very definition of a clown.
Without giving him the chance to protest further, Shane grabbed Noah by the arm and hauled him outside. On the way, he casually dispatched a few stray zombies called "Corrupted" their skulls bursting under his blows. Noah froze, wide-eyed, staring at the corpses littered across the ground.
"Wait. What the hell?!" Noah stammered. "Bro, when did you become this badass? Weren't we just regular people a few weeks ago?!"
Shane shrugged. "Once you inject the serum, you'll be able to do the same."
At those words, Noah's fear dissolved into a greedy, almost childlike excitement. His trembling hands steadied as he clutched the vial. "You know me," he said, puffing up his chest. "I've always been willing to sacrifice for the sake of science!"
Shane rolled his eyes. Dragging Noah further, he stopped at an empty plaza far from the laboratory. "Do it here. If something goes wrong, at least the lab won't get blown apart."
Noah nodded with uncharacteristic seriousness. He didn't hesitate this time. Raising the syringe, he plunged the needle into his arm.
Boom!
The serum hit his bloodstream like a bomb. Noah's entire body convulsed, and a roaring sound filled his ears, leaving him half-deaf. Red energy crackled under his skin, oozing outward in waves of pure killing intent. His black hair and dark eyes burned crimson in an instant, like wildfire consuming his very identity.
Another boom thundered as the ground split beneath his feet. The murderous aura condensed, coiling behind him until it formed into the shape of a towering figure clad in dark armor. The phantom stood like a guardian spirit, its cold eyes sweeping across the plaza.
In the blink of an eye, the figure sank into Noah's body. His aura exploded to a peak, shaking the air so violently that the nearby Corrupted shrieked and scattered in terror. None dared come within reach of his presence.
From the sidelines, Shane watched with a calm smile. "See? I told you our Noah is different. He was born for this."
Beside him, Vivi and Julian Drake exchanged a glance and nodded. Just moments ago, Noah had been joking and whining like a fool. Now, his very presence could make entire hordes flee.
Minutes passed before the transformation quieted. Noah stood taller, his chest heaving as the last of the crimson glow dimmed. Testing his strength, he pressed his foot against the ground, then suddenly leapt into the air soaring more than thirty feet before landing with a thud.
"What the hell?!" he shouted, laughing in disbelief.
Shane rubbed his chin, torn between pride and annoyance. From what he had sensed earlier, Noah's power already surpassed his own by a large margin. A part of him felt bitter at being left behind. But the thought of his next experiment reignited his determination.
"Julian, let's head back to the lab," Shane said, turning away. "It's time to begin the final stage of the God Gene project."
Noah landed near Vivi and waved frantically. "Hey! Don't leave us behind! What if the monsters come back?!"
"You've got enough power to dominate the city now," Shane called back. "Stop freeloading at my place. It's time you carried your own weight."
"Wait, wait!" Noah protested. He gestured to Vivi with exaggerated drama. "What about my wife? She doesn't have the serum yet! You can't just abandon her to die if she gets infected!"
Shane blinked. In his excitement, he had forgotten to give Vivi the enhancement. Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, he laughed. "Right. I was too distracted watching you power up. Let's fix that."
He fetched another vial from the lab. Unlike Noah's, this one contained a milder version of the God Gene serum meant not for combat, but for awakening a defensive ability and ensuring immunity to infection.
Vivi accepted the syringe without hesitation. The transformation was subtler than Noah's; no roaring aura, no earth-shattering burst of power. Instead, a soft light rippled across her skin, soothing and warm. In moments, her body stabilized, and a gentle glow lingered on her hands.
Her new ability was healing. With effort and stamina, she could mend wounds and ease pain. Shane immediately recognized the similarity to a legendary ninjutsu technique from another world the mystical palm.
"Perfect," Shane said, satisfied. "Now you've got offense and defense. You two can go do whatever you want. Don't waste my time here."
He ushered Julian back into the laboratory, leaving Noah and Vivi outside. The truth was, Shane wasn't worried about their survival. He feared the opposite: that Noah's awakening might attract the Corpse King itself. And against that creature, Shane knew he stood no chance not yet.
Noah, holding another vial of the serum, raised his voice toward the lab's closed door. "Don't worry, bro! I'll deliver this to the authorities myself. You have my word!"
With that, he and Vivi gathered supplies and departed.
Inside the lab, Julian glanced at the monitor tracking their departure. "It's just us now. Ready to begin?"
Shane's eyes glowed with manic ambition. "Yes. If our God Gene can devour the killing factor inside Noah's bloodline, it will prove my theory. We'll be able to absorb the power of others through their blood and essence becoming stronger without end, until we stand at the top of the universe!"
He paced the room, voice rising with excitement. "Once we've consumed the genes of every great race in existence, we'll refine the God Gene to perfection. Only then will it truly be complete."
Julian, ever the realist, folded his arms. "Big talk. But are you sure it can even devour Noah's killing factor? From what we saw, he might already outclass us completely."
"You underestimate the God Gene," Shane replied with a grin. "Once you see the results, you'll understand."
Their focus sharpened as they began preparations.
Meanwhile, outside the ruined city, Noah and Vivi walked hand in hand. The sky above was gray, the streets eerily quiet.
"So… what's next?" Vivi asked softly. "Do we leave the city?"
"Of course. But first, we hand over Shane's work to the officials," Noah said. Then, with his trademark mischievous grin, he added, "Also… Vivi, are you… bigger than before?"
She flushed, glaring at him. "Idiot!"
Noah chuckled, shifting her playfully on his back. The warmth between them cut through the tension of the wasteland, if only for a moment.
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