*
The internal commissary at Gentek was far too opulent to be labeled a mere 'research lab cafeteria.'
Pristine white porcelain, gleaming metallic tables, and gourmet dishes that looked better suited for a five-star hotel were served with the quiet, rhythmic precision of a well-oiled machine.
In the heart of this aseptic luxury, two researchers sat across from one another.
"So, you were part of the Special Project?"
The man asked, idly twirling his fork before looking up.
The young researcher with piercing blue eyes offered a thin, enigmatic smile.
A lock of chestnut hair fell over his brow, shadowing a face lit with an unsettling sort of exhilaration.
"What exactly did you do there?"
"I don't know the full scope of our work. But in the end, I was the one who synthesized it all. Back then, I was... obsessed. Utterly fascinated by it."
His face, flushed with excitement, looked like that of a child who had just been handed a particularly lethal toy.
Alex Mercer—Lead Researcher for DX-1118, the Redlight Virus. He spoke of his work not with the cold detachment of a scientist, but with the fervent gaze of a religious zealot.
"It was beautiful. The way it mutated, over and over, in an endless cycle. It was the most complex biological structure I have ever witnessed."
Mercer spoke with conviction.
Since joining Gentek and working under Raymond McMullen, this was the pinnacle of his existence. The moment his life burned the brightest.
"For the most part, everything went smoothly. Though, of course, the 'other one' proved... difficult."
Elizabeth Greene—Codename: Mother. And Gentek's other prize sample—Codename: Pariah.
Pariah was a monstrous anomaly. Despite being male, the subject showed zero viral reactivity, surviving as an inert entity. Because of that stagnation, the research had been slamming against a brick wall for years.
As years bled into decades with no progress, Gentek's board and the Blackwatch high command grew desperate for a breakthrough.
"But after M-01 was born, everything accelerated. It was like we'd strapped a rocket to the project."
"What is M-01?"
"'Kiria.' The second specimen created in the wake of Mother."
The colleague's expression hardened into a grim mask.
"That child... he's just another test subject, then."
"He's a sample. Let's be precise," Alex added with chilling nonchalance.
"It was Dr. Minazuki's proposal. He wanted to create a being with similar conditions to Pariah to supplement the research. The maternal host was Elizabeth Greene... and eventually, they gave the green light."
Raymond McMullen, Gentek's CEO, had initially voiced a vehement objection.
He saw the potential catastrophe too clearly—the sheer carnage that would ensue if such a thing slipped its leash.
But the patience of Blackwatch was fraying. In the end, they accepted Minazuki's argument.
"Kiria is different from Mother. That child isn't human—he's a lifeform forged entirely from viral biomass."
The air in the commissary seemed to grow heavy, a sudden vacuum of sound. Alex lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
"What's more... we discovered a new strain within him. DX-1118 M. It's not just a mutation of Redlight."
DX-1118 M. A virus that had yet to receive an official nomenclature.
A year after Kiria's birth, this new strain manifested within his system. It wasn't a variant of DX-1118 Redlight. It was something else entirely—an unknown entity fundamentally distinct from his progenitor, Elizabeth Greene.
"An entirely new virus?"
"Exactly. Origin: Unknown. Its structure is deceptively simple and it lacks immediate lethality, but... strangely, its compatibility with Redlight and Blacklight is off the charts."
A flicker of madness danced in Mercer's eyes.
"In my opinion, that boy is the key. The cipher that unlocks everything."
His blue-eyed colleague couldn't suppress the shudder crawling down his spine. The sheer wrongness of the situation was palpable.
But Mercer was already lightyears ahead, calculating the next phase.
"I intend to verify it soon. Personally."
Mercer rose from the table.
"And... I think it's time we summoned the Specialist."
At those words, his colleague's face went pale, frozen in shock.
"Her? Are you serious?"
"Yes. A child like him requires an opponent of that caliber."
Mercer left the cafeteria, wearing a smile that promised only bloodshed.
*
For the first few years after dropping into this world, life was an exercise in absolute tedium.
Being essentially a fetus and then an infant, my options were limited to crying, babbling, or sleeping. My existence was reduced to drifting off in my mother's embrace or passively absorbing nutrients through the tubes.
But the moment I began to walk and speak, the gears of this world finally began to grind.
My father began teaching me the alphabet.
Minazuki Kir—my father.
He would sit me at a desk and meticulously walk me through every syllable and pronunciation.
"You're quite the fast learner, Kiria."
The white-haired man sat beside me, his face glowing with a pride that seemed genuine. Minazuki Kir reached out and stroked my hair. It was a tender gesture. His blood-red eyes were unsettling, yet they offered a strange, macabre sense of security.
"Your mother will be shocked when she sees this."
"I doubt it. I'd have to be able to read her expression first," I replied.
Elizabeth Greene.
The Progenitor of the virus. The Hive Mind. Her eyes were usually vacant, two bottomless pits of nothingness...
But when she held me, a faint, flickering light would return to them. I couldn't forget that warmth, no matter how much the virus screamed for blood inside me.
The original game only gave broad strokes of Elizabeth Greene's past. It never truly explained why she felt compelled to shroud the world in her viral shadow.
"Father."
"Hmm? Wouldn't you rather call me 'Dad'?"
"Does that really suit my personality?"
"Now you're hurting my feelings."