A beep. Then a click.
The first thing he felt was a sharp pain, like needles piercing his temples. Then came the cold—an unnatural, artificial chill that clung to his skin. His lungs burned as he took a deep breath, his body trembling like an abandoned machine restarting after an eternity.
He opened his eyes.
Darkness.
No… not entirely. Faint green lights flickered around him, blinking in irregular sequences. His fingers brushed against metal—a capsule, partially shattered. Jagged glass shards littered the ground. He tried to stand, but his legs refused to obey.
Where… am I?
Memories? Nothing. A void, infinite and terrifying.
His breathing quickened. His heart pounded like a war drum. Panic surged—then stopped, as if smothered by an unseen force. Something else pulsed inside him, a presence foreign yet familiar.
A voice—cold, mechanical—echoed in his skull.
[[ System booting… Error detected – Memory data corrupted. ]]
System?
More text flashed before his eyes, floating in the void of his thoughts.
[[ Neural synchronization: 76%... 94%... Complete. ]]
[[ Subject ID: Unknown. ]]
[[ Physical integrity: 57% – Damage detected. ]]
[[ Contamination level: 3.8% – Cause: Eclipse Exposure. ]]
His vision sharpened. The ruins around him became clearer—twisted steel beams, shattered walls, and in the distance, an immense scar in the earth, glowing with an eerie purple light.
Something terrible had happened here.
A sound—footsteps.
He turned sharply. A figure emerged from the shadows—a woman clad in a tattered combat suit, a rifle slung over her back. Her platinum hair was streaked with dirt, and her golden eyes locked onto him with a mix of caution and recognition.
"You woke up." Her voice was hoarse.
He didn't respond. Words felt foreign, as if his tongue had forgotten how to shape them.
The woman took a step closer. "How much do you remember?"
Silence.
Her gaze darkened. "Nothing, huh?" She exhaled and pulled something from her belt—a small scanner. It beeped as she ran it over him. When she read the results, her fingers tightened around the device.
"You're still alive…" she muttered. "That means they failed to terminate you."
Terminate?
His fists clenched. He didn't know this woman. Didn't know this place. But something inside him screamed that none of this was right.
The woman glanced at the sky. "Listen, I don't have time to explain everything. If you want to live, follow me. If not, stay here and let the Chasers find you."
Chasers?
As if in response, a distant roar echoed through the ruins. The ground trembled.
The woman swore. "Shit. They're already tracking your signature."
A choice. Follow her, or stay and face the unknown.
A single letter flashed before his eyes.
[[ Input required: Y / N ]]
He didn't know who he was. But something told him—choosing Y meant survival.
His lips parted. His voice, hoarse and cracked, whispered:
"...Y."
The woman smirked. "Good answer."
She turned, motioning for him to move. As he followed, a thought flickered through his fragmented mind.
Who am I?
He had no name. No past.
Only ruins.
And the promise of something chasing him.
---
End of Chapter 1