"Blame not yourself for being born the way you are but for being born into the wrong era. Don't plea for help, no one will answer. Don't shed your tears, no one will hear. Wallowing in despair won't change anything."
"On this island, your life is no longer your own. There is no freedom and no identity. Just a number and endless tests. Closing your eyes won't hide the darkness of this world. Keep them wide open, and when you find the chance, kill yourself."
A senior had once said these words to him before taking his own life in the research facility. Ten years have passed since then, but he had yet to understand its meaning. His life before waking up in the research facility was like a clean slate. He felt empty, indifferent and unfeeling with no prior memories.
Albion gazed up absentmindedly at the white ceiling of his designated isolated cell while awaiting the arrival of white coats.
Test subject no.15, that was the number assigned to him. He was the 15th human test subject for genetic and human enhancement research and the also longest surviving test subject within the secret facility.
The previous 14 test subjects had all committed suicide to end their miseries and the same went for the following test subjects that arrived at the facility after him.
Being subjected to dissection and drug testing day after day, they were treated like lab animals and had zero rights as human beings. The life of a test subject had proven to be too much for them, but it wasn't much Albion.
Without the ability to feel pain, he wasn't forced to suffer the same agony as those that came before him nor those that came after him.
On the contrary, he felt slightly happy that he was needed. This wasn't the right mindset of a normal person. He was aware of that fact, but he didn't understand why. His memory had been like a blank canvas. He did not remember the life he had prior to arriving at the research facility, that was until just now.
A power surge caused by bad weather toasted the immersive VR equipment he was using along with his mind.
The natural laws of life dictate that such a level of brain damage would condemn him to eternal sleep, however, a miraculous power is known as the "Quest System", awakened in him, repaired his mind and unlocked his memories.
…
The day he was born, he was already shunned by the world and abandoned by his parents. All because of the way he looked.
With pale white skin, white hair and red eyes, he shared too much resemblance to the sub-human race known as vampires, a natural predator of the night with strong human resemblance, they were feared by all humans.
These bloodthirsty creatures were endowed with powerful physiques and long life, but these traits were not evident in Albion. He was without a doubt, a human, or more precisely, an albino human.
Albinism was rare a genetic disorder in humans, but not without precedence within. However, many people are ignorant and narrow-minded. They have great fear and hostility for anything that shared the vampire's appearance.
Although some common families may choose to keep their albino children due to their parental love, the powerful aristocrat families would typically abandon their albino offspring to protect their reputation and avoid political attacks from rival families, whether it is with or without the parent's consent.
From a young age, Albion was labeled as a monster and subjected to constant bullying, curses and even assaults from those around him at the orphanage he was abandoned, but not all hope was lost for he was fortunate enough to be adopted by a pair of loving parents at the age of 5.
Their love did not change even after his mother became pregnant and gave birth to his little sister. They understood him and saw him for who he was and not how he looked. Those were the happiest period of his life. He could still remember his adoptive mother's warm words.
"You're a good child. Mother knows you are not a monster. Even if the world is against you, your mother will protect you and will always be on your side."
However, good times did not last forever. At the age of 10, His adoptive parents soon suffered strange accidents one after the other, leaving him behind along his 5-year old little sister, Luna. On his mother's deathbed, she still looks at him with the same warm eyes.
"It's not your fault, my child. Please take care of yourself and look after your sister when I'm gone."
With tears flowing down his face in unending streams, Albion nodded to his mother's final words, but the powerless him also failed to carry out his mother's wish.
At his mother's funeral, he was forcibly separated from his little sister by her uncle and aunt, who decided to take her in. As for him, he was abandoned once more.
People began to steer clear away from him like he was the bringer of misfortune. Even the uncle and aunty showed killing intent when they looked at him, blaming him for the deaths of his parents, who were also their siblings. He was a monster, and a monster should just die.
However, no one stepped forward for the job. Everyone was too cowardly and feared killing him would inherit his misfortune.
Since then, no one else was willing to accept him, nor orphanages were willing to shelter him. He abandoned in the slums and forced to compete with others for survival. Despite the grim fate and terrible conditions, Albion managed to survive in the slums for 5 years.
One day, during his trip outside the slums, he found his 10-year old little sister on the opposite side of a common street. It was the time when primary school just finished their teaching hours and students began leaving and getting picked up by their parents.
However, he did not approach her. He only intended to quietly watch from afar. Being blamed by everyone, he also believed the fault was his to bear and the guilt overwhelmed him.
Watching his little sister finish school and return home safely became a daily routine for him. It was the only time he could act as an older brother and watch over his little sister's growth. His behavior and hidden appearance were eventually noticed by the school kids before rumors began spreading of a 'creepy stalker'. Even his own sister grew weary of him.
With what he had been through, Albion wasn't shaken by these little rumors nor was he hurt. He only cared about his sister's safety.
Perhaps due to his misfortune kicking in again, a speeding truck headed straight for the unsuspecting Luna on one such afternoon. Albion's body sprang into action immediately to save his little sister.
He succeeded in pushing Luna out of harm's way, but his body was struck by the speeding truck and sent flying. The impact was almost enough to banish his consciousness into the abyss instantly.
At that moment, his body was irresponsive, and he could only listen to the surrounding commotion in his fading consciousness.
"Luna! Are you alright!?"
"I-I'm fine… what happened?"
"Someone just got hit by the truck!"
"I know! I saw everything! That stalker saved Luna by pushing out of the way!"
"I knew it! That big pervert had been going after Luna this whole time! Thank god, he did something good in his life before he died!" A schoolboy sneered.
Luna was startled, but then she thought something was wrong! As the target of Albion's gaze this whole while, she sensed things clearer. There was never any malice or lust in his gaze.
In fact, it felt too familiar! It made her recall the vague distant memories of her parents when they looked at her. It was the gaze of familial affection!
Even the school's security guard was aware of this. As such, although he would put on his guard, no one ever called the police.
Luna was confused about why a stranger would look at her like this. Even in this moment of death, the warm gaze did not change. It's was only after getting a closer look, did she faintly recognize the person. There only one person with white hair and red eyes, who would look at her like that!
Overwhelming sadness suddenly gripped her heart as her tears began to overflow.
"Big brother!" Luna cried.
"Get back, Luna! Don't touch that jinx! It will contaminate you with its bad luck!" Luna's uncle and aunty arrived and pulled her back.
"He is not a jinx! He is my big brother!!!"
Luna's heart-wrenching cry was the last thing Albion heard. In his final moment of consciousness, he thought it wasn't so bad. His sister still remembered and cared about him. His effort was worth it. He managed to repay his parent's grace by saving their daughter.
Dad, Mom, I can come to see you two now, right?
Albion found solace and he felt an inexplicable sense of tiredness before he closed his eyes. There never anything wrong with him. What was wrong was the world.
…
Time flowed slowly in the dark world. In the endless abyss, Albion did not know how much time had passed. His soul floated like a free spirit without a will nor a direction.
Suddenly, a bright light brought him back. He woke up in a white operating room, but it was not part of a hospital. It was a government-owned research facility on an offshore island. He only found this out later.
He did not die, or maybe did but he got resuscitated. There were no wounds and no disabilities. It was his body, but it felt different. Slightly foreign even.
Albion's dull eyes roamed the operating room blankly and saw a bunch of whitecoats busying about. His own reflection shone on the pristine alloyed equipment, with black hair, black pupils and less pale skin.
His body was restrained to the operating table, and he could only quietly listen to the whitecoats talk.
"The blood transfusion was a big success. Test subject no.15 showed zero signs of rejection. All bodily functions are green. All surface wounds have been healed. Conclusion: albinos have a high compatibility rate."
"What is the compatibility rate?" A wizened whitecoat inquired.
"80%."
"Very good."
The wizened whitecoat proceeded over to Albion to run a few tests on his body, firstly by shining light in his eyes.
"Do you remember who you are?"
Albion stared dumbly in silence at the wizened whitecoat.
"Do you feel this?" The person proceeded to tap a few areas.
Albion nodded blankly.
"Does this hurt?"
Blood began to gush out of his arm as it was sliced open with a scalpel. Albion remained unmoved as he silently watched the blood retracted and the wound close at a noticeably slow rate with a nonchalant expression. It did not take long before only a scar remained in its place.
The wizened whitecoat seemed to have collected all his answers and returned to his terminal to record the information. His aged voice drifted over, "Test subject no.15 displays slight symptoms of disorientation, amnesia, and indifference to pain. No hostilities and violent tendencies have been detected. Regenerative abilities; excellent."
"Indifferent to pain is good. The test subject will not develop suicidal thoughts from future testing. However, a mindless doll is not what we need. Send him to his cell and commence VR rehab program immediately." A high-profile military officer barged into the room and said.
"General, the subject had just awakened and yet to acclimatize to the change. We're afraid that sending him in virtual space so soon may cause some detrimental effects on the subject." A womanly whitecoat voiced her concern.
"I will not repeat myself, Helion. Remember it is your job to help the government create super soldiers, not run a daycare center." The military officer stated in a stark and irrefutable tone.
"Yes, General." Helion lowered her head and mentally sighed.
After the military officer left, a senior whitecoat patted her on her shoulder and consoled, "Don't think that what we are doing is evil. In this world ravaged by monsters, no one knows how long the city walls will keep humanity safe. Some sacrifices must be made for the betterment of all. It may be an act of cruelty, but our mission is a noble one."
…
Ten years have passed since then and now all the memories had flowed back to him. Albion was filled with both joy and sorrow as he recalled the little bit of warmth amongst the sea of bad memories.
Soon, Albion dull eyes glinted with a rare trace of hatred; an emotion that had not been seen even in all his 25 years of living. He was filled with hate for the research facility! The mysterious deaths of his adoptive parents were related to this research facility!
"I thought I could rest once I died, but they did not let me rest and brought me back to life. Although they made me look like a normal human, they have also taken away the very thing that made me human!"