Author nt. : Be sure to read the prologue first. Since ch01 shares the same scene but with the MC's POV this time, I've cut the redundant dialogue short in this chapter.

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EDITED|

'Who am I ?'

As I blinked my eyes open, that question echoed in my mind like a distant whisper.

I felt my body moving on its own.

I was walking slowly, step by step, driven by an inexplicable urge to move forward. I didn't know why, nor did I know where I was.

This place was so dark that I couldn't even see what was in front of me.

I could only feel the cold floor under my feet and the warmth of the other 'things' walking all around me.

I wasn't alone.

But, if that was the case, what are we doing here exactly ?

As my mind cleared up, a whirlwind of emotions raged inside my heart.

Pain, fear, apprehension...

'Argh...!'

The moment I tried to recall who I was and what I was doing here, I felt like my head was about to explode.

If understanding the emotions that were rampaging within me was like chasing after leaves caught in a gust of wind, then sorting my memories was even more difficult.

I could only see short flashes of places and people, without being able to put a single name on them.

I tried to remember who I was, but I couldn't.

I then tried to know 'what' I was, but again, I didn't know.

Fleeting memories escaped my mind like grains of sand slipping through my fingers. It was frustrating.

I couldn't get a grasp on my own existence, as if I was at the same time aware and not aware of myself and my surroundings.

Heck, I couldn't even control my body, it was moving on its own.

I didn't feel... alive.

As I was walking mindlessly, lost in my thoughts trying to figure out the situation I was in, a sudden burst of light erupted above my head.

Out of nowhere, radiant orbs appeared and illuminated the area.

I moved my eyes to check the now dimly lit surroundings.

Everywhere I looked, I saw other 'things' like myself mechanically walking in the same direction, like the tides of an ocean.

An ocean of people, that is.

There were so many of us that I couldn't see the end of it.

One by one, they also awakened.

Like me, they would soon realize that they had no control over their bodies except for their eyes.

'Are we some sort of puppets ? Or, perhaps... have we just been created ?' I pondered, unable to explain this strange situation.

Looking at all the other 'things' next to me, I was surprised to see that they were all different.

Some were taller than me, and some were smaller.

Some were bigger, and some were leaner.

Even the color of their skin wasn't the same.

The most shocking, however, was the clear distinctions I noticed between two groups of 'things'.

The individuals of the first group seemed tougher and more robust, with larger shoulders and straight bodies, while the second group of people looked more elegant, with their curved bodies and finer visages.

We had different features depending on which group we were part of ; for instance, the second group of 'things' had two protuberances of various sizes on their chest, but they lacked the one I and the others from the first group had between our legs.

I found it fascinating that even the color of our eyes and the fur at the top of our heads were of different colors and lengths.

However, despite these small disparities, we were similar. Shared features adorned our faces, the same count of limbs extended from our bodies, and identical symbols adorned our chests.

I didn't know what they were—nor what I was myself—, but I had the feeling that our presence here had a meaning.

For some reason, I felt that something, somewhere, went extremely wrong, and we were the consequences of it. I couldn't recall any of it, though.

Before I could make any more guesses, a large floating shadow towered above our heads.

"Rejoice, for you having the luck of the survivors."

"Jubilate, for you bearing the touch of the Singularity"

"Relish, for you are now destined to become one with the Void."

The fact that this shadow could speak directly into my mind further confirmed my guess : if we were puppets, then those shadows were probably our masters, or creators.

"Henceforth, you bear the genetic legacy of your extinct species. You hail from diverse origins, cultures, languages, and lives. Yet, no longer are you merely humans. You have transcended the bounds of your kind. You stand as the remnants of the first protocol, the 'Intensification'—your souls now melded with the Great Singularity, the Revered Mother, and her Holy Children."

'Extinct species ?'

'Humans ?'

'And what in the world was this 'Intensification' protocol the shadow mentioned ?'

From what I could understand, we were once known as 'Humans,' and following our species' extinction, we underwent this 'Intensification' and survived.

It didn't make any sense.

'Where was this place ?'

'How did our species go extinct ?'

'And if that was the truth, doesn't that mean that we are the last survivors of our species ?'

I had so many questions, but I had no way to voice them out.

'Urgh...!'

My lips were tightly sealed and my tongue was stuck to my palate. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make any sound.

'It's so frustrating... I feel like shit.'

I could only look up and listen.

"For epochs, we observed you, humans. Quietly, we witnessed your evolution..."

The voice continued to resonate in my mind, explaining how these shadows floating above us had secretly observed our species for ages.

"In these times, without you knowing, we presented you with a choice..."

They apparently gave us time to change our self-destructive ways. However, not only did humanity fail to reform, we even made it worse.

"Failing our test, we resolved to extinguish your species..."

"Thus, we made a choice—prior to eradicating your kind, we selected a sample of a million individuals..."

As a result, the shadows decided to exterminate humanity, selecting a million of us for our unique genetic makeup before eradicating the rest. Me and the remaining humans in this dark place were most likely the last survivors.

It was honestly hard to believe, but somehow, the shadow didn't seem to be lying.

'So that's what it is... We have been enslaved.'

My throat itched at the fact that my first guess had been right.

'I secretly hoped it wouldn't be the case, that we wouldn't be mere puppets...'

With each contemplative thought, emotions stirred more and more within my heart, yet neither tears nor laughter surfaced.

I had no other choice but to accept the truth, no matter how painful it was.

'Fuck, why can't I remember a damn thing about it ?'

'Did they also erase our memories ?'

I had shivers running down my spine when I realized that if they could control our bodies at a distance with ease, they shouldn't have too much trouble controlling our minds too.

'What this shadow said about humanity is also worrying...'

It didn't help me feel better to hear that humans were violent, selfish, and greedy by nature.

I was—or rather, used to be—one of them, after all.

I didn't even know if I was still human, or if I became... 'something else'.

Although the fact that our species was destructive didn't excuse these shadows for exterminating us—especially since they seemed so much more advanced than us and could have done things differently—, I could still understand their reasons for doing so.

In their eyes, we were nothing but nuisances that had to be removed before we could become a threat to their own species.

Still... those shadows seemed much more dangerous than humans.

'Blaming humans for killing each other, before eradicating them on a whim. Aren't they worse than us ?'

I internally laughed at the fact that the shadow portrayed this massacre as a favor they had done to the universe.

'At least, now I know that they are hypocrites.'

I didn't know how many humans were living on this 'Earth', but if they took a million of us as a sample, our total population was probably in the range of billions.

Killing billions of people at once... Calling this a massacre was an understatement.

No matter how they tried to justify it, this was just insane.

'These guys are dangerous.'

I had no idea who they were nor what they wanted from us, but I could tell that these shadows were anything but allies.

I was lucky to be part of the millions of humans who survived. I had to figure out how to get out of this place as soon as possible ; I didn't want to end up in the group of dead humans.

When I checked my surroundings, I saw that most of the other humans were already about to lose their sanity. Some even passed out just from learning of what happened to their kind.

I focused back on the shadow's words.

"Afterward, we enacted your brethren's annihilation on Earth..."

The moment the shadow confirmed it, the people around me started getting agitated.

'How can they move ?'

When they finally they accepted the harsh reality that fell upon them, some humans somehow broke the shackles that bound their bodies and freed themselves from the shadows' control.

It seemed that their despair was so intense that even the shadows couldn't hold them back in place.

As I glanced at the humans closest to me, my attention settled on one individual in particular.

The moment our eyes met, the chaos that was unfolding all around me became silent all of a sudden.

I couldn't hear the muffled screams and cries of pain, nor could I smell the putrid odor of blood and body fluids anymore.

I was so captivated by this human, that all the suffering happening around me vanished from my field of view.

My focus was drawn to her. I felt a silent connection between us.

Tresses of long, obsidian hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing her visage in a very beautiful manner. Her dark hair and pale skin seemed to accentuate her unique features even more, a sharp contrast to the grim surroundings.

Despite the circumstances, she retained an air of grace and innocence. She was like a glimmer of purity amidst this wretched pool of chaos.

'An angel...' The thought crossed my mind, a term unknown to me until now.

As I gradually regained my composure, curiosity stirred within me. I found myself analyzing every nook and cranny of her body.

She was shorter than me by one head, and had the archetype of the 'protuberance-on-chest-and-curved-body,' without a piece of flesh hanging down between her legs like me.

At this moment, a subtle realization dawned upon me—perhaps our differences were attributed to our sexes.

'Women... Yes, I remember, now. That's what they're called.'

I thought of another word out of the blue.

If just looking at her made me remember words I had long forgotten, she must have made me think of something—or someone—very important in my previous life.

Her faint presence coupled with her small stature emanated a delicate and fragile aura, her demeanor revealing a mixture of vulnerability and fear in the face of the unknown.

Strangely, the more I looked at her, the more I felt an inexplicable urge to protect her...

I didn't feel anything at all when looking at the other humans, even those at my feet drowning in their own blood.

But this one...

She was different.

'Was this woman related to me...?'

I couldn't understand this strange emotion that I was currently feeling, tightening my heart in pain.

My gaze slid down the graceful lines of her body.

When I realized that the thing I had between my legs seemed to be of the perfect size to fit in the little hole she had at the same spot, an unexpected surge of physical response washed over me.

It was as if my body recognized an innate purpose, prompting a physical reaction that I found both intriguing and bewildering.

Was this instinct related to reproduction ?

My entire being shivered with a resounding 'yes'. It was urging me to engage in the act—amidst the chaos around us—and leave a seed of myself for the future.

From the embarrassed expression on the other human's face, peeking glance at the thing between my legs with her cheeks reddened, it was evident that she was also subject to similar instincts.

As I looked around me, I could see that I wasn't the only one who had such thoughts. I realized that this impure desire was probably driven by the fear of death.

Some even acted, not caring in the slightest whether their partner consented or not. I even noticed one human doing it with a dead body.

This scene disgusted me, cutting short the previous desire I felt.

'I may not be human anymore, but I'm not a beast either.'

I resisted this impulse, feeling sick that I even thought about it.

'If I have time to think about such things, I should instead rack my brain to find a way out of this place.'

I didn't notice it at first, but the unknown force that prevented me from moving loosened quite a lot.

It seems that our primal instinct to survive was taking precedence over whatever means the shadows used to control us.

I grabbed the woman next to me by the hand and looked around, searching for an escape amidst this sea of humans.

'Huh ?!'

Before I could even take a step, my body froze.

I was paralyzed in fear.

A malevolent gaze coming from above was scanning my entire being, peering directly into my soul.

'Shit, the shadow...!'

I had completely forgotten that we were being watched by otherworldly beings full of malice.

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