Cold.
That was the first thing Alaric felt when consciousness returned — not just on his skin, but inside him.
It was the kind of cold that made bones ache and thoughts blur.
The world came back in flashes — metal, smoke, darkness, silence.
He blinked. The air burned his lungs when he breathed. His vision was blurred, smeared with ash and dust. Slowly, shapes took form — crushed walls, torn cables, and blackened steel columns bent like paper.
He was lying in what looked like a scrapyard — no, not exactly. This wasn't a random dump. There were remnants of something — panels, broken containers, shattered security drones, the kind of high-tech debris that only came from a facility that was never supposed to exist.
The faint logo on a nearby panel read:
AURION INDUSTRIES — ADVANCED EVOLUTION DIVISION.
Alaric's chest tightened.
That name alone sent a wave of panic through him.
He pushed himself upright, his head pounding. Every movement felt wrong — like his limbs didn't belong to him. His hoodie was charred at the edges, his hair dusted with gray. His right sleeve had been completely burnt off, revealing faint glowing veins beneath the skin. They pulsed, dim and rhythmic, like golden threads flickering just below the surface.
"What… happened?" His voice cracked. It barely sounded like his own.
Memory returned in fragments — the laboratory, Shepherd's calm face behind glass, scientists rushing around the chamber, the injection, the light, the unbearable heat—
—and then nothing.
The silence around him was unbearable. The only sound was the faint hum of something deep inside him, a quiet, low vibration, like static in his bloodstream.
He staggered to his feet, swaying. The world seemed… slower. Each drop of water falling from a twisted pipe echoed like a drumbeat. His pupils dilated and contracted, adjusting to the dim light unnaturally fast.
He pressed his hand to his chest. His heartbeat wasn't steady — it skipped, then pulsed too fast, then slowed again.
And underneath it, something else was there. Something electrical.
"Shepherd…" he muttered under his breath. "You said this would work. You said I'd be different."
He let out a shaky laugh that quickly turned into a cough.
Different. Right.
---
Hours passed before he gathered enough strength to move.
He stumbled out of the junk field, his boots crunching on glass. The sun was low when he finally reached a main road.
Cars passed. No one looked twice.
He didn't know where he was, but the skyline of New Albion shimmered in the distance — a vast sprawl of towers, billboards, and skytrains weaving between glass monoliths. The city looked alive, pulsing with light.
It almost felt insulting.
Here he was, half-dead, walking out of hell — and the world hadn't even noticed.
---
By the time he reached the Central Mall, night had fallen.
The air smelled like fried food, exhaust, and neon rain. Crowds swarmed through the automatic doors, laughing and talking like nothing had happened.
Alaric hesitated for a moment at the entrance.
It was strange — the lights flickered slightly as he passed beneath them. A few people turned to glance upward but kept walking.
Inside, the mall was loud and warm. Children running, couples chatting, someone playing music through a cheap speaker. The world had moved on, and for the first time, Alaric felt like a ghost drifting through it.
He walked aimlessly for a while until he reached the food court. The smell of food hit him hard — oil, spices, warmth. His stomach twisted painfully.
He checked his pockets — nothing. No wallet, no ID, no phone.
Just ash and the faint glow under his skin.
"Of course," he muttered.
He stood there for a while, watching people eat.
Every bite looked unreal, every laugh distant.
He felt like he was watching through glass.
When he finally turned to leave, his reflection caught his eye in one of the glass panels — pale skin, hollow eyes, hair singed at the ends… and behind that reflection, for the briefest moment, a flicker of golden light.
He blinked. It was gone.
Maybe it was exhaustion. Or maybe it wasn't.
---
He drifted into the electronics section next. Rows of televisions displayed bright advertisements, news channels, flashy products. The chatter of anchors and infomercials filled the air.
He was about to walk past when the red bar at the bottom of the screen froze him mid-step.
BREAKING NEWS: AURION INDUSTRIES FACILITY EXPLOSION – INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
The world fell away.
The anchor's voice cut through the air:
"Three days ago, a classified laboratory belonging to Aurion Industries suffered a catastrophic explosion. While officials report no civilian casualties, the full list of missing personnel includes several researchers and one high-ranking executive—"
A photo appeared on screen.
Dr. Elias Krane — Head of Advanced Evolution Division. Missing, presumed dead.
The name hit Alaric like a physical blow.
His breath stilled.
"Shepherd…" he whispered, almost involuntarily.
The image showed the man as the world saw him — composed, sharp, that ever-confident gaze.
The same man who had smiled at Alaric before the chamber doors sealed.
"Authorities continue to investigate the cause. Representatives of Aurion Industries have declined to comment. The government assures the public that the incident poses no ongoing threat."
The footage shifted to aerial shots of the destroyed lab.
The place where Alaric had woken up.
His reflection merged with the image of the burning ruins — him and Shepherd, together in a single frame.
He whispered, "You said we'd change the world."
The lights in the mall dimmed for a second. The televisions crackled, lines of static running across every screen.
People glanced around, confused.
Alaric didn't move.
A faint buzz crawled up his arm. He lifted his hand — electricity flickered between his fingers, tiny arcs snapping in the air before fading.
He stared at it in horror.
The hum in his chest grew louder, matching the rhythm of his heartbeat. The glow beneath his skin pulsed again — stronger this time.
He stumbled backward, almost tripping over a bench. Nobody noticed. Nobody ever noticed.
His breathing quickened. He turned and rushed out of the store, out of the mall, into the cool night air.
Rain had begun to fall — slow, steady drops tapping on the pavement. Each drop that touched his skin sizzled faintly, evaporating before it ran down his face.
He didn't feel pain. Just the strange warmth of energy beneath his flesh.
He looked up. The neon lights around him shimmered, flickering in and out of focus.
"Shepherd…" he said softly. "What did you do to me?"
The wind howled down the street, carrying the sound of distant sirens.
Thunder rumbled overhead — even though the sky was cloudless.
For a long time, Alaric stood there, in the middle of the city that had forgotten him.
The experiment had failed.
The scientists had buried him.
And somewhere in the cracks of his heart, something was still alive.