Chapitre 1: Chapter 1: Death by Poison
The dim lights of the laboratory flickered faintly, casting shadows on the sterile metal surfaces and glass vials that lined the counters. The air smelled of chemicals, tinged with the subtle scent of disinfectant and ozone. Machines hummed quietly in the background, a constant rhythm that had become the soundtrack to Himawan's life. It was late—far too late—but Himawan didn't care about the time anymore. His obsession with his work had consumed him, pushing him to the limits of physical endurance. Tonight, it would finally pay off.
Himawan stood alone in front of his workstation, his tall frame bent over a set of complicated tubes and flasks connected in a delicate chain. His white lab coat, once crisp and pristine, was now wrinkled and stained with traces of the experiments that had kept him awake for days on end. His usually sharp eyes, now red from lack of sleep, glowed with determination as he checked his calculations for the hundredth time. There could be no mistakes.
The experiment was everything to him. His mind, brilliant and sharp, had long since abandoned the boundaries of ethical science. Driven by the need to push humanity into a new era of evolution, Himawan had delved into the most controversial fields of research—genetic manipulation, chemical warfare, bioengineering. And now, here he stood on the brink of a discovery that would change the course of science forever. Or so he thought.
He took a deep breath, steadying his hands as he carefully adjusted the temperature on one of the machines. His eyes flicked to the timer ticking down on the screen. Ten minutes. Ten minutes until the final stage of the chemical process that would give him the breakthrough he sought. A mixture so potent, so transformative, it would rewrite the rules of biology itself.
But as the seconds ticked down, something strange began to happen. A faint hissing sound, barely noticeable at first, emerged from one of the sealed containers. Himawan's brow furrowed. That wasn't supposed to happen. His hands moved instinctively, adjusting a valve, but the hissing only grew louder.
His heart began to race. The machine was malfunctioning. Panic flickered across his face, though he quickly smothered it. He couldn't afford to lose control now. With a swift motion, he grabbed a pair of thick gloves and approached the equipment, trying to locate the source of the problem. But as he drew nearer, a sharp, acrid smell hit his nostrils. His stomach churned as he realized what was happening.
The gas. A leak.
The chemical he had spent months refining, a concoction designed to alter the very structure of the human genome, was escaping into the air. And he was breathing it in.
Himawan's vision blurred for a moment. He staggered backward, ripping off his gloves and rushing toward the emergency vent switch on the wall. His fingers fumbled as he reached for the button, but before he could press it, a violent cough shook his body. His lungs burned, as if they were on fire. His vision swam, and he could feel the cold fingers of panic clawing at his chest.
"No… not now…" he gasped, trying to maintain control, but his body wasn't listening. His legs buckled beneath him, sending him crashing to the floor, his lab coat billowing around him like a fallen flag.
The world around him began to spin. His throat tightened, and each breath felt like swallowing broken glass. He clawed at the floor, trying to pull himself toward the vent, but his strength was fading fast. In the background, the machine continued to hiss, the gas slowly filling the enclosed space.
As darkness crept in from the edges of his vision, Himawan's mind raced. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be in control. He was supposed to be on the verge of a breakthrough, not lying on the cold floor of his own lab, choking to death on the very gas he created. The irony would have been bitterly amusing if he could still feel anything other than pain.
His thoughts drifted to the past. To the years of isolation, the sacrifices he had made, the people he had pushed away in pursuit of his goals. He had always believed that his brilliance would be enough to overcome any obstacle, that the world would bend to his will. But now, in these final moments, he realized just how fragile his control had been.
His vision darkened completely, and the sound of the hissing machine faded into the background. His thoughts grew muddled, fragmented, as his body finally gave out. This is how it ends? Himawan thought distantly. All those years of research, of pushing the limits of science, only to die alone in a cloud of poison.
But just as the darkness was about to swallow him completely, something… shifted. A strange sensation washed over him—cold, but not in the physical sense. It felt as if something had reached deep into his very being, pulling him from the brink of death, but not back into life either.
In the void, he felt a presence. A voice, low and mechanical, whispered in the recesses of his mind.
"You are not finished yet."
Himawan wanted to respond, to ask who or what was speaking, but he couldn't form the words. His mind was unraveling, slipping away into the abyss.
"Rebirth is imminent. Prepare for reinitialization."
Before Himawan could process what that meant, his consciousness collapsed, and the world around him dissolved into nothingness.
When Himawan awoke, he wasn't in his lab anymore. His eyes fluttered open to an unfamiliar sky—a blue sky, dotted with clouds, far too vibrant and clear for it to be anywhere near his old lab. He blinked several times, trying to make sense of where he was. His body felt… different. Lighter, stronger even. The burning in his lungs was gone, and he took a deep, calming breath, grateful to feel no pain.
Sitting up slowly, Himawan glanced around. He was in what looked like a bustling city, people moving about their day, completely unaware of his presence. But this was no ordinary city. The towering buildings, the futuristic technology, the people with strange costumes and powers flying overhead—it was something out of a comic book.
Where am I? he wondered, but even before he could piece things together, the voice returned.
"Welcome to your new world. You have been chosen."
The voice was clearer now, and Himawan could feel it deep within his mind, like a second consciousness. He looked down at his hands—his body was whole, no scars or signs of the trauma he had suffered.
"Who are you?" he whispered, though he knew no one around him could hear.
"I am the Scientist Template System," the voice responded, calm and authoritative. "Your journey is just beginning."
And just like that, Himawan knew: he had been reborn in a world far beyond his own. A world filled with unimaginable possibilities, where the boundaries of science and power would be pushed to their absolute limits. His death had been the catalyst for something far greater. He wasn't just Himawan anymore. He was the beginning of something new, something terrifying.
His eyes gleamed with renewed ambition as the system began to integrate itself into his mind. This time, nothing will stand in my way.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone