What makes someone human?
A biologist would say it's simple: we are Homo sapiens, defined by flesh and bone.
A philosopher claims it's our intelligence: our ability to think, to dream, to create.
A psychologist insists it's the heart and emotions: the capacity for love, empathy, and moral responsibility.
A religious man believes it's the soul, the immaterial spark granting consciousness and individuality.
An existentialist like Sartre argues it's freedom: the power to choose, to rebel, to carve meaning out of nothing.
For Zagan Omen Lysander, humans are simply those who fuck around and find out. Literally.
But what happens when an Android gains all these qualities?! Can it also be called human then?
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In a vast dungeon, the cracked floor stretched endlessly, dry and lifeless. A woman with straight black hair slumped against a broken pillar.
Blood streamed from her mouth, staining her chin. Her body was marred with wounds, the largest gash across her abdomen spilling crimson like a fountain.
"Cough… cough… ahh…" she rasped, her gaze fixed on the being that had done this to her.
The figure hovered above the cracked floor, clad in a sleek black-and-silver exoskeletal suit that hugged her like liquid metal.
Mechanical tentacles writhed from her back, each tipped with razor-sharp edges. Pale blonde hair, thickly braided to one side, spilled from beneath a horned helmet that concealed her eyes behind a reflective visor.
How unlucky she had been to encounter this monster here, in the dungeon's depths.
The black-haired woman closed her eyes, surrendering to the inevitable. Escape was impossible. Yet even as darkness beckoned, her thoughts drifted to Airin, the young man she had met within the Soul Realm.
Unlike the other men she had met, in both the Soul Realm and the real world, he was different. There was a kindness to him, a spark of hope that set him apart.
He truly believed that one day, humans and… androids… ah, Synths now, could live alongside each other as equals.
Others laughed at the idea. The Synths despised him; just the thought of humans, those inefficient, fragile beings, being considered their equals was dangerous, even absurd, to them.
Yet somehow… She loved him. Both she and her Dominus, Lia.
"Hey… Lia, do you… cough… think Airin's escaped by now?!" she asked, seemingly to no one, as her voice trembled.
After a few seconds of silence, a choked voice spoke directly in her mind.
"Ye…h… He has… sob… a Return Orb. He might've… used it by now. Ria… I'm sorry."
Ria let out a trembling chuckle, though tears streaked her face.
"Hehe… don't miss me too much… Lia. After my death, it might sting a little. You—"
Before she could finish, the hovering woman moved. One of her razor-edged tentacles lashed toward Ria's head, slicing through the air with uncanny speed.
But right then—
Clang!
The mechanical tentacle was knocked aside, deflected upward by a man wielding a futuristic greatblade.
Without hesitation, he thrust his left hand toward the hovering woman.
[ Kinetic Pulse ]
A powerful shockwave erupted from his palm, hurling the hovering woman backward several meters. She stabbed one of her tentacles into the ground, anchoring herself before she could be thrown any farther.
The man turned toward Ria. With a hiss, his visor deactivated, revealing his face.
Ria's eyes widened, her lips trembling as tears spilled down her cheeks.
"Airin…!!"
Airin gave her a faint smile. He crouched beside her, pulling out a shimmering translucent orb and pressing it into her hand. With a soft glow, it began to hum.
Leaning close, his voice dropped to a whisper.
"Don't miss me too much, Ria."
Then, gently, he kissed her lips — a final goodbye.
As he rose to his feet, his gaze lingered on her for a moment longer. If only I had more time… The visor slid back into place, hiding his expression behind a cold flicker of light.
Ria's mouth opened, but no sound came out… only a sharp gasp as tears streaked down her cheeks. Her hands clawed at the air as the orb activated, her body shimmering as the teleport began to pull her away.
The last thing she saw was Airin's broad back, standing firm between her and the monster, as the dungeon dissolved from her sight.
* * *
Airin exhaled slowly, calming himself after making sure Ria was safe. His gaze locked onto the Draen woman hovering before him, her expression unreadable, almost mocking.
"Why is a Resonant-rank Draen like you in this dungeon?!" he demanded.
The woman tilted her head slightly, her tone casual as she replied, "The same reason you two came here."
Her voice was clearly in the Draen tongue, yet within Airin's mind the words rang sharp and clear. One of the Soul Realm's strange perks — language was no barrier here.
He tightened his grip on his weapon. He knew survival was a fantasy. The odds of him walking out alive were slimmer than humans ever gaining freedom from the Synths. A Rank 2 Adept against a Rank 4 Resonant? Suicide. And yet… he still chose to fight.
Airin shifted into stance, raising the massive cybernetic greatblade with both hands. His voice was low and steady.
[ Pyro Ignite ]
A rune flared on the blade's surface. Fire roared to life, heat shimmering off the weapon as molten flames coalesced and ran along its edge like liquid fire.
"It looks like talking won't make you let me leave," he said.
The woman curved her lips into a cruel smile. "What do you think, pitiful human?"
Her gaze lingered on him, pity in her eyes. "You humans are nothing more than cattle for rearing."
Then her eyes seemed to pierce deeper, as though speaking to someone beyond him.
"And you, the trash hiding behind this weakling, watching through his eyes… Mark my words. The day we find your planet will be the last day your kind draws breath."
Airin raised his brows. He knew exactly who she was speaking to — his Dominus, Silva, the Synth who controlled him.
Unlike Dominus Lia, who treated Ria as a companion, Silva was different: a supremacist of Neo-Prime, a mega-city where Synths saw humans as nothing more than disposable shells for harvesting soul essence.
Silence filled his mind. Silva said nothing. But Airin knew. She was boiling with rage. He had disobeyed her direct order to use the Return Orb himself, choosing instead to give it to Ria.
If, by some miracle, he survived this battle, his fate was already sealed. The moment his soul returned to the real world, Silva would either kill or torture him without hesitation.
"Haa…" Airin exhaled. There wasn't much he could do here. At best he could go out with a bang, knowing his lover is safe. It was either do or die for him now.
…No. Better call it die or die.