I don't remember what my past name was but my current name is Kaitlyn Emerson.
If I remember, I had a depressing past life. I was unmotivated and discouraged.
I had decent grades and all but I couldn't do anything noteworthy. I also got a decent job that was it.
I didn't know why but I didn't feel like achieving anything. I thought that it was useless to truly achieve perfection in anything.
When did this thought start? Maybe in high school when I started struggling. I almost broke down but I was still able to finish school with a passing grade. Maybe that was the time I thought of how perfection was too high to reach.
At that time I started playing RPG games and watching anime. I was fascinated by how easily the characters could get stronger. Being able to perfect their skills and combat. Characters are perfect in their mannerism, even perfect with their flaws.
I always hoped to be isekai'd to have a journey. I wanted a second chance since I didn't do my first all too well. A real chance to actually put effort, a cheat is always welcome though.
I regretted wishing a cheat greatly. I didn't know the cost of such power.
*Clack* *Clack *Clack*
I was walking down a quiet and mostly empty street. the streetlamps were on and the only thing that resounded were footsteps.
While I was coming home from work, I went to buy something from the local grocery by crossing a street.
Out of nowhere a truck comes driving towards me. Not only are the lights of the truck off, but I also couldn't react fast enough to dodge.
"Watch out!", A guy runs toward me he wanted to push me out of the way.
Sadly reality was often disappointing. Instead of successfully pushing me away, he also got run over by the truck.
While he died, I was barely pushed enough that I survived...to contemplate my last few minutes.
The truck ran over most of my body and I could barely breathe. The truck crashed into an electric post. The surrounding street lamps when dark. It was a probably blackout.
It was painful, too painful. Why did I have to receive such torture?
The darkness is slowly creeping into me.
I'm alone. Even the one who tried to save me died.
I don't want to die. I don't want to close my eyes. There is no one here. Only darkness.
I want to live. My eyes were too heavy. I didn't know how long I lasted.
.
.
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We want to live.
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I have abandoned my past name but my current name is Kaitlyn Emerson.
I once thought that my family was an ordinary warm family. Although we weren't the wealthiest we could still get by peacefully. I couldn't see through their mask.
Although it was understandable since I was just a child at that time but it had cost me my freedom and my shot at a good life.
My mother's hand was warm. She always led me through anything and encouraged me in every step. My father always spent time with me and made me happy.
Their attention was always on me like a pig being fed and raised in the slaughterhouse.
When my whole world of sunshine was collapsing. This was when I realized that it wasn't all rainbows.
"I've wasted so much time teaching you everything you need to know to serve your future master and you're ungrateful?", My kind own biological mother said
"Well, not everything since a pure girl sells much more." My biological father, whom I could call a best friend, said.
I was already in a cage curled up. I couldn't accept such a dark reality. But as the sun sets and those who I once called parents never returned.
I am alone and in the dark. I'll soon be sold off to some rich person. I've seen in my neighborhood how brutal people were with their slaves. They would beat and berate them harshly. My pure self back then didn't grasp the concept of female slave activities at night.
So began long days along in a cage, I was fed with what could barely be called food. I spent sleeping with nightmares and the cold.
I missed my well-lit room where I could read fairy tale stories to sleep. It became hard to sleep because I was scared of the dark.
The long days passed by and finally, someone came to buy me. He was a man with a black robe and what seemed to be a white bird mask as it seems to have a very long beak. He also wore a cylindrical-shaped grey hat, I didn't know what style of clothing that was.
He took out a paper that probably documented my slave information.
"Hello, my name is Zhou Emerson. I see that you are in great pain. I can't cure you but if you are determined to survive and live a better life than now then you will have to pass a test of will. You will undergo experimentation and there is a chance of death. Are you willing? You can gain great power in return. I'll even adopt you as my child. You should know how well nobles are treated, right?"
I remember myself thinking too hastily. I only thought of the benefit of getting out of the hell hole of slavery. The chance of death felt too trivial to that current starvation and torture.
"I-i accept"
He had slight disappointment but didn't find it unexpected.
With my present experience, I could tell how dumb it was of me to answer too fast. I wasn't the only one being experimented on and I would have given him a much more favorable impression if I timed it right.
He then bought me and brought me from the jaws of wolves into a den of lions.
I was brought into a room much darker and much colder that the slave cage.
The floor only had white tiles and the thick walls felt suffocating. The room was much larger but I felt more constrained. There was only a grey door that was used to get in and out of here.
The only thing I could do is huddle in a corner waiting for what was to come.
At least they treated me well until the experiment began. I was fed decent food and was given a good change of clothes.
Soon, the experiment began.
"Testing Subject K, Codename: Lynn. Finding out if a young [Nightmare Eye] can stimulate any dark or mental powers. Variables in place. Isolated space. Basic Willingness. Will to live. Trauma."
"Open the hatch."
One of the tiles slid open and black smoke diffused in the surroundings. The temperature in the room started dropping. A pitch-black eye floated out of the dark chamber. On its center reveals a velvet red pupil.
It then started.
Its shadow enlarged and created semi-physical hands. The black smoke grew and spread. I could back away since my back was to the wall.
The hands grabbed my limbs and the smoke invaded my nose and mouth.
A hand passed through my chest and gripped my heart. I am in pain.
The smoke stuffed my lungs full. I couldn't breathe.
The hands pull on me as my vision blurs. Why did I have to receive such torture?
The darkness is slowly creeping into me. Has the monster ripped my heart out?
I'm alone. Even the one who gave me a chance would abandon me if I fail.
I don't want to die. I don't want to close my eyes. There is no one here. Only darkness.
I want to live. My eyes were too heavy. I didn't know how long I lasted.
.
.
.
We want to live.
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[POV: 3rd]
"What is going on with the cameras?"
"Sir, abnormal energy readings detected!"
"Dr. Broth, check it out!" The head of the experiment orders Dr. Broth.
Dr. Broth follows the order and brought 3 guards along with him.
When they get inside, Dr. Broth orders 2 of the guards, "MTF-96 neutralize the monster and MTF-420 check on Subject K."
Immediately the monster was knocked out because of how young it is, not to mention the monster has an innately weak defense.
MTF-420 arrived at a dazed Subject K whose injuries earlier disappeared as if the wounds inflicted by the monster had never happened.
"Subject K's condition is normal. She is safe. Shall I bring her in?", MTF-420 says to Dr. Broth.
Dr. Broth looks at MTF-96 first to see him cage the monster. He then talks to a communicator in his ear, "Dr. Wyte should we take her in for examination?"
"Bring her to another testing room. She may have awakened a power from her [Psyche], its best to treat her with some food to calm her forceful awakening.". Dr. Wyte replies in the communicator.
Dr. Broth nods and orders MTF-420, "Lead the subject to Room 505. Ask if she feels any abnormalities."
MTF-420 bends down to Subject K, "Kid, do feel alright?"
K's eyes seems to glisten as she stopped being in a trance. She nods.
Dr. Broth took out a clipboard and wrote stuff down.
MTF-420 stands back up, "Can you stand up? Come with us. We will bring you to another room with some food and another change of clothes."
The shadow hands ripped K's sleeves and the lower part of her pants. There was also a hole in the center of her shirt as if something tried ripping out her chest.
K immediately stands up straight, "Yes."
K follows MTF-420 as he takes the lead. Sometime later they reach an identical room just like the last one but there were basic furniture such 2 chairs, a table, and a bed.
MTF-420 says to K, "You can rest in this room until authorized personnel comes to talk. Food will come shortly."
K nods and flops into bed. Dr. Broth eyed the behavior and wrote on the clipboard.
Dr. Broth gestures to MTF-420 and speaks on a communicator, "Subject K appears stable. It's alright to inform Count Zhou."
Dr. Broth then gets confirmation to leave and gestures for the 2 guards to leave the premises. MTF-96 had separated to turn in the hazardous monster.
K is left resting on top of a half-decent bed...in terms of fantasy standards.
'So who am I? Am I we or am I a combination of us?'
'Am I the earth version or this body's version?'
'Did we merge into me?'
'Before I am me, I was me and me dying and becoming us.'
'...wtf? Ok, stop thinking about complicated things. Think of the present situation'
K rolls to a side letting her front face the ceiling and her back resting on the bed.
'I am subject K so assuming that it is in alphabetical order, there are 10 subjects before me. It also isn't clear if there are more after me.'
'Count Zhou said he will adopt me. Either he was lying or telling the truth, both are bad on their own.'
'He could be lying and I would be dissected or be enslaved by magic somehow.'
'He could also be telling the truth which means that he has a way to keep my mouth shut from snitching about the experiments.'
'Another important question is whether experimenting with slaves is illegal.'
'Maybe everything that happened is completely legal and slaves were just a cheaper recourse to acquire.'
'What if my transmigration were to alert them? What would they do to me? Have they noticed it?'
'When one is both the weaker side and at the mercy of the other, then the only thing left to do is to appeal to them as someone important enough to spare.'
'Even my power right now is unstable. I don't even know of its limitations.'
As K deliberated on her mind, a knock bangs on the door and a personnel comes in with a sumptuous meal and places it on the table with utensils. A new set of clothes is placed in too. The person then soon left.
K sighs and gets up. She changes into the new clothes and sits down to eat.
'Delish, food on earth pales in comparison to this.'
'I just need to wait for them to send someone over.'
'For now, I should consider my powers, [Shadow Manifestation] and [Cold Mind].'
'I somehow got 2 powers. Usually in superhero novels, there is only 1 power so I'll with that assumption and only reveal [Shadow Manifestation]. [Cold Mind] is a passive that can be turned on and off plus it isn't flashy so maybe no one will notice.'
I close my eyelids and breath in and out. I open them again with much colder eyes.
'Dampen fear and heighten senses. Dampen anger and heighten body control. Dampen sadness and heighten thinking process.'
'10 meters by 10 meters by 10 meters long white room. Walls made of unknown material and possibly indestructible to my current strength.'
'[Shadow Manifestation] could possibly pass through objects but it hasn't been tested. Even so, I wouldn't be able to pass myself.'
'A soft white bed with a white pillow and blanket. Aside from the metal bed frame, everything else can't be used as a lethal weapon. Maybe the blanket can be used as a rope or a net but the cloth seems weak in a supernatural setting. It still isn't confirmed if this cotton is strong because of mana.'
'The bed frame is possibly stuck to the floor and I wouldn't want to test that out lest someone takes note of my behavior.'
'The table I'm eating on can't be pushed. I tried pushing it when I pulled back the chair. The chair is the only possible weapon that I could carry and use but it really isn't that practical.'
'I could use my utensils since they are made of metal but ultimately any weapon I find in this room isn't useful against those powerful MTFs. There are at least 420 of them so I can't John Wick my way out of here.'
'And here I thought planning my boss' murder was psychotic but this is much worse.'
I blink again and regain clarity in my eyes. I just finished my meal.
Immediately the grey door slams open with a man in a black suit and a top hat. His clothing has changed from a cloak to a tuxedo and from a grey hat to a black top hat. the only thing that didn't change was that he still kept wearing the white bird mask like that of the plague doctor.
"Congratulations on surviving subject K...no since you have passed the experimentation I will do as promised and adopt you as my daughter. I should give you an original name... K...Lynn...K-Lynn...Emerson...Kaitlynn Emerson. From now on your name will be Kaitlynn Emerson... maybe I didn't put too much ingenuity with that one...", Count Zhou turns quiet.
He coughs, "Erm, actually there is still a condition a Magic Contract of course is needed. You just need to sign over here. Even if you can't utilize mana, you can still mentally agree and sign it with both ink and blood, then mana will come naturally.," He hands out a thin sheet filled with the language of this world.
K took the sidecar yellow paper and read the contract carefully. She activated her [Dark Mind] and suppressed all her emotions then heighten her thinking speed and capacity.
'Maybe it was because our souls merged but I can think more clearly. With [Dark Mind] I can think much more carefully.'
K sighs, both lives didn't know much about loopholes in a contract. Reviewing it several times didn't matter. She just signs it with a pen that appeared out of nowhere on the table. She bites her finger and lets a drop of blood fall down. She also dampened the feeling of pain.
The contract's text glowed and mana gathered together. Count Zhou chuckles and signs the contract too and instead of blood, he used his own mana.
The contract was complete and it became 2 separate copies. Each paper disappeared to one of the two who signed the contract. It disappeared into the [Mana Heart]. For K, it just rested in her consciousness.
"Looks like you learned to think before you make a decision. Nevertheless, I wouldn't have changed the contract anyway if you found something wrong. Congratulations Kaitlynn, and welcome to the family. I'll prepare a place for you.", Count Zhou pressed a button on his watch and a maid entered.
"Hello Miss Kaitlynn, I am your maid, Eden Tolka. I will lead you to your room.", The maid lead Kaitlynn out of the room while Count Zhou was left behind.
Dr. Wyte went into the room, "Are you sure we can trust the very same subject we put in torture a few minutes ago?"
Count Zhou smiles, "According to my tarot she would have likely died in the experiment but she still survived. She is very lucky. She has great adaptability too as she had learned to think more carefully. Even her attitude changed from desperation to determination."
Count Zhou adds, "In the end, she is still a child so it's best to take advantage that her parents left her and give her a new home where she will feel attached. The magic contract and my power will prevent her from revealing anything so don't worry about this subject. Prepare for subject L."
Dy Wyte nods, "Ok sir," He then leaves.
Count Zhou takes out a card. Death XIII. It may mean an ends to one's phase in life and the beginning of another, "Hmmm, I drew this twice. Death in the past and Death in the present," He puts the card back in the deck and draws out another card, "Death again? Does the world want her to die or something?"
Count Zhou just sighs, "Well I have to spend time with my daughter so I'll talk about it at dinner. Yeah, that could work. I wish I had a child beforehand...how do I raise a child? Oh, Chunhua, if only you were alive to help me.", He takes out a golden pocket watch, and on one of the sides had a picture of a woman with mystical palatinate purple eyes, a modest french violet gown, and frilly long purple heart hair.
Count Zhou closes the watch and leaves the room.
The events took place 2 years before the trip to Planet Shamrock.
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Author's Note: *Sighs*. Next time I should make a goal to write at least 1k words a day since I was slacking. Also... apparently when Grammarly corrects grammar or spelling automatically, sometimes instead of correcting it makes the sentence wrong... I have turned it down (for automatic changing) and will see the quality of my writing next time.