There was a good reason it was standard protocol for all staff in Firehawk Base to remain cordoned off from each other. Humanity discovered that fatal madness was no longer a psychological illness, but rather a pervading outcome for all who were touched by Eden's Curse.
Though the tremendous environmental changes and fall of civilization had contributed greatly towards the demise of humanity, it was Eden's Curse that had done much of the work in the Lost Era.
Isaak felt a cold numbing sensation spread across his body when he used the autoinjector on himself, one that caused him to fall onto the floor of his quarters like a dying fish.
He'd never so... dead before in his life. Even though he knew that his heart was still beating, he felt as if his body had already given up the ghost. In a morbid way, it felt like he had become a passenger in his own body, vaguely detached from his senses.
PRC-xA was a notorious central nervous system suppressant, far more effective than anything available on the civilian market, and was classified as an Order-1 drug. Illegal possession of the drug was punishable with automatic revocation of citizenship rights and a first-class ticket to a maximum security facility.
It was seven times more potent than any traditional suppressant and had been specifically designed to prevent the outbreak of MIST (Metastasis Induced Suicidal Tendencies) that occurred during contact with a Metastasis Burst.
Death was always a part of life on Earth, but nowadays the natural path of life had become perverted. The living no longer feared that other people would take their lives...
No, these days they feared themselves. Such was the fate of the damned who persisted upon this dying world.
The drug took effect quite rapidly, faster than Isaak had expected as he laid on the floor breathing in a slow, labored manner. For every second that passed, Isaak grew further detached from the world around him until it all turned a dull shade of grayscale.
Even though he was still receiving the same amount of sensory input from the world, the PRC-xA in his bloodstream had already reached his brain, limiting the amount of information he could currently process at any given time.
It was a chilling experience, watching his surroundings become progressively simpler. Feeling his mind slow down and turn to mud was a nightmare unto itself.
"Attention, all staff. Long-range telemetry reports indicate that a Category 6 Metastasis Burst will pass through Firehawk Base at approximately 08:46, twelve minutes from now. We are at Code-YELLOW. If you have not taken PRC-xA yet, please do so immediately. All bulkheads, doors, and gates will be sealed five minutes before impact."
The warning would've reached Isaak's ears... had he not been indisposed at the moment. Unfortunately, he was having trouble keeping himself drooling, so any task more complex than that would've been quite a stretch for him.
Time was rather flexible under the effects of the drug, Isaak discovered.
With little to do on the floor aside from observing the digital clock on his bedstand, he noticed an unnerving development — it had seemingly gained a will of its own
Sometimes it'd take what felt like an eternity for even a single second to pass, and other times the minutes would fly by so quickly it defied comprehension. Isaak wondered if it was the effect of the drug or if it was something related to the Metastability Burst.
And then, it happened.
An unusual chill ran down his spine and a brief flash of light blinded him, if only for a split second. It was as if someone had lit a firework behind his eyes, in a weird sort of way. He reflexively shut his eyes in pain, but they would not remain closed for long.
"How long do you plan on lying there, hm? You're not dead yet, right? Or are you planning on giving up before you've even started?"
A voice chided him in a disappointed tone.
"...Huh?"
When Isaak forced his eyes open, he found someone crouching in front of him, staring him down with a contemptuous expression plastered on his face.
It was a young-looking man, several years older than him. Somewhere in his mid to late twenties, Isaak guessed. His sharp, blue eyes were unsettling to behold — they contained a predatory kind of aura about them.
Even stranger was the fact that he could see their color at all. Everything else in the room was either a hue of white or black, but his eyes seemed to not care about the restriction.
They were the eyes of a hawk, or possibly, that of a calculating vulture. Either way, a bird of prey, born to hunt in the wild.
"Ah, there you are. Listen to me very carefully, Isaak. I mean you no harm. Can't harm you anyway, since I'm only a psychic projection, you see," said the man as his hand passed through Isaak's body, to no apparent effect.
'Are these the hallucinations Williams was talking about? Holy shit, it's so realistic... But why a dude? Why couldn't my mind have built a beautiful girl instead? Goddammit, this sucks...'
The man smirked and said, "That's because I'm not a hallucination, genius. My name is... well, you can call me Zero. From now on, I'll be your Operator. I've been ordered to assist you in your coming endeavors."
Isaak squirmed in protest and shut his eyes, but when Zero said, "Are you going to run away? Just like you did with them, your parents? Pathetic. You don't deserve their love."
His words were a jolt of lightning that struck him where it hurt the most. Anger briefly surpassed the anxiety, fear, and suspicion in his heart and he glared at the blue-eyed phantom with a glare that could kill.
Zero scoffed and stood up before he said, "If you want to live and go back home, you would be wise to listen to me. Our time is short since I can only reach you whilst you are inside a Metastability Burst, particularly the more severe ones. In three weeks, on March 3rd, 2186..."
"You will die."
Isaak couldn't help but let out a garbled laugh when he heard Zero's proclamation.
'Wonderful, wonderful... While you're at it, can you tell next week's winning lottery numbers, too?'
"You must act quickly if you are to survive, Isaak. Head to the closest Fortress City, Oakfield, as fast as possible. You must seek out a man called Lee Hyun-Cervantes and ask him about Project Deep Bl——"
And as if he had been interrupted... his figured blurred out of view like static on an old television screen. Interference of some unknown source had thankfully pushed the ominous specter out of Isaak's mind, to his delight.
He'd heard enough. The insane ramblings of a delusion probably cooked up by his own mind were not worth even contemplating. If anything, Isaak wondered if he needed a second dose of PRC-xA for good measure.
Still... it was a chilling thing to hear someone claim the date of his death, even if it was only a hallucination. Somewhere deep inside, Isaak knew that he was definitely going to have a couple of sleepless nights over this unnerving event.
'Ugh, note to self: Use the autoinjector AFTER you get onto the bed, not BEFORE. Also prepare a set of headphones for the next Burst. Would like to test the possibility of drowning out hallucinations with music...'
The cold, hard concrete floor was not the greatest place to sleep, but there was nothing Isaak would be able to do about that today. He would have to accept it, at least until the drug wore off, but he didn't even know how long that would take.
"Attention, all staff. The Metastability Burst has passed through Firehawk Base onto Area 52b, as predicted. We are at Code-GREEN, effective immediately. Lockdown will be lifted in five minutes, accompanied by a mandatory medical check afterward. Please remain where you are and wait for further instructions..."
Rather than deal with the indignity of his current situation, he chose to close his eyes and let his mind wander away. Not as if he would be of any help until he recovered, anyway. As long as he slept, his problems wouldn't reach him.
That was the excuse he gave himself as his mind slowly faded into the deep black of the unconscious...
But it would not help him. None of it would. For there was no escape from one's blood.
The ties that bind would ensure that this... inevitable outcome. Of destruction and rebirth.
It was merely but the beginning of something truly audacious, never before seen in human history. The culmination of unparalleled ambition, amoral genius, and more than a lifetime of planning.
Was it possible for Mankind to escape the limitations imposed on them from birth? To aspire for something beyond what it was designed for? To steal fire from the Heavens?
"Can Men become Gods?"
That was the question that ruined the Earth. The person who asked that question was the source of Isaak's misfortune and pain.
And that person would not rest until the answer was found...