"You people take and take," a man dressed in a black lab coat whispered. "You trample over everything in the name of peace," he continued, his back turned to a group of soldiers.
"Does this look like peace to you?"
His lab was a torn battlefield of broken beakers, spilled serums, and the corpses of the wonderous creatures he had spent a decade bioengineering.
"You're preaching to us, Raddan?" one of the soldiers asked. His uniform was decorated with medals, but one would question if such a fat man had ever seen a single war.
"Peace is what we tell you it is," he added. "And we never told you to create that." He pointed at one of the corpses on the ground. A frog. However, its skin was armored with jagged rocks.
The fat man stepped forward, kicking the frog aside. "But anyway, you have served your purpose," he said, gesturing towards the soldiers. They raised their guns, aiming at Raddan.
"And this little tantrum you were throwing? It was a pathetic attempt," the fat man laughed. "So much for the Sage of Science."
Clicks echoed throughout the room as the soldiers primed their guns.
Raddan turned to face them, his face peaceful. This ending was not beyond his calculations. It was one of many possibilities he had considered when he decided to work for the army.
And as such, he had prepared a show for his final act. "Tantrum, you say?"
The fat man gestured for the soldiers to ignore Raddan and carry out their task.
"This was nothing more than an experiment," Raddan continued. "In the coming years, this country will pay the price for my knowledge," he said, beginning to laugh.
The fat man snapped. "Enough! Kill him already!"
One of the soldiers fired.
A bullet tore through Raddan's chest, but right at that moment, the lights went off.
"Kill him now!" The fat man's shouts were quickly drowned by the gunshots around him.
Streaks of burning metal lit up the dark room, however, these only gave glimpses to the nightmare that lurked in the shadows. Soldiers fell left and right, arms and legs ripped off and tossed about.
"Do you remember what they called me all those years ago?" Raddan's voice was muffled, its echoes seeming to come from every direction at once.
"I said kill him!" the fat man screamed. "You idiots can't even take care of an unarmed civilian."
There was a disturbance in the darkness, and a short scream followed. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Come now. We're both running out of precious time."
"What did they call me?"
The fat man began to retreat, stumbling over a corpse right behind him. Wet warmth soaked his hands, and he let out a scream as he rushed back for the door.
However before he could reach it, something grabbed his leg and flung him towards the other end of the room.
He tried to prop himself up, but a slimy tendril snagged his throat, dragging him back down.
"How?" the fat man's voice was haggard; hoarse as he tried to gasp for air.
A robed silhouette formed right in front of the fatman, staring down at him.
He gulped his prideful resistance now fear-driven shivers.
"Please Raddan," he whispered. "I-I was just following orders."
The tendrils around his throat tightened, popping cartilage.
"Time is of the essence. Tell me now."
The fat man closed his eyes. "You-You are the Black Manuscript," he whispered hoarsely, before sobbing. "P-Please Raddan, I have kids. A wife. I can't die in a place like this."
Just then, the hum of backup generators filled the room, and the lights flickered on.
"Our time is up here."
Raddan stood above the fat man, his flesh plagued by a green mold. His hands had turned to slimy tendrils, and his legs were bent backward like an insect's.
The fat man stared wide-eyed as if realizing something.
"You did it," he whispered. "You figured out perfect transmutation."
"This changes everything. If you take me to the general we can-"
Raddan laughed at that. "Perfect transmutation doesn't exist." As he said that, the color drained from his face, and his arms began to shrivel.
"At least not for humans," he continued, before tightening his grip around the fat man.
He squeezed hard, and a chubby head plopped on the ground, splattering blood everywhere as it rolled.
Raddan sat alone in the remains of his lab, thinking back on his life.
'The Black Manuscript.' That name made him feel great pride. The lives that he had taken in his earlier years were a testament to his pursuit of knowledge.
His body felt cold, and he could no longer move his limbs. Perfect transmutation was impossible because human bodies were too intelligent. They attacked the foreign cells, destroying both the 'intruder' and their own vessel.
As life left Raddan's eyes. A thought occurred to him.
'I haven't gained all the knowledge I once sought after. I thought that I would be ready to face death even with this regret. But I'd sell a billion more souls if it meant I could continue research for one more year.'
And with that, the Black Manuscript met death. His biggest regret was that he hadn't done more for his desires.
***
[The Final Player Candidate Has Been Found.]
[Transporting Player to allocated location...]
[Complete!]
[Rebooting Player Interface...]
Raddan awoke to a ball of flaming metal crashing down from the heavens.
That ball of flaming metal... was him.
[New Quest Available: Absorb new metal!]
[Reward: Skill Tree Unlock.]
'What do we have here? ' Raddan thought, as he blazed towards a thick forest down below.