บท 2: The Frozen Beginning

May 1, 2033, 8:44 a.m. Sunny.

A certain pair of scientists were preparing for the biggest day of their lives.

One of them, a woman with brown hair cut short and a yellow headband holding it back to not cover her face, was reading and watching the computer's screen. Her similarly brown-colored eyes, hidden behind the thick lenses of her spectacles, went left and right as numbers and letters scrolled across its display.

"The readings from all sensors are fine, dear. We can proceed with the procedure anytime."

With a sweet voice matched with a gentle tone, her words were enough to give anyone listening to her a sense of serenity.

"Got it."

On the other end, a man with pitch-black hair and obsidian eyes, along with a stoic expression, nodded his head in affirmation. His sharp eyes looked around the place emotionlessly before locking in on a figure of a teen sitting by the far end of the lab.

"Star, come here," the man called in a cold voice.

"Yes, father."

The young man—Aster Mistral—moved immediately.

However, with how emaciated his limbs were—practically skin and bones—his movements were extremely slow. He couldn't even walk straight without someone supporting him.

A nurse wearing a usual white nurse outfit, someone who had been by his side longer than his parents ever were, quickly rushed to his side and supported him. With her support, Aster was able to walk faster and head to where his father, Roger Mistral, was standing.

"My son." The other one, his mother, Mary Mistral, looked at him with tears that threatened to overflow at any moment. "We're sorry you've lived such a harsh life... And we can't even help you."

*Huff!*

Aster took a deep breath—something that he does only once every few seconds—before he let out a forced smile, the most sincere smile he could afford.

"It's fine, Mother. I have already accepted my fate long ago. The only reason I'm still fighting against my disease is because you and Father never gave up on me."

It was his unfiltered words and his feeling for them that had been brooding deep inside him for over twelve years, ever since he started to lose hope in finding a cure.

Unknown Disease—It was comedic how they named it so plainly, but this was what they decided to call the mysterious ailment that Aster was suffering from.

They had known for as long as they could remember that he had some form of abnormality, but they had not noticed the real symptoms until he turned five. At the age when running around energetically was normal, for Aster, just walking a few steps was enough to make him pant as if he just finished a marathon.

Worried, they brought him to a hospital for checkup, but...

"Your son is suffering from a new type of disease and will, unfortunately, live for only 25 years at most."

When the doctors they consulted told them this, they almost flipped the table in anger.

But even after dozens of medical professionals examined Aster, their findings remained the same. They also discovered then that his disease made it so that every time he breathed out, he was losing his life force.

It was an unknown disease, neither viral nor bacterial, with an unknown cure, but they never gave up on finding a way to heal their only son.

As such, his parents spent over a decade of their lives searching for a solution. But in the end, they came up with nothing. They could only teach him a breathing technique to lessen the total breaths he took each day, but that was naught but a stopgap measure.

Watching their son grow up with such a frail body made them feel like their hearts were being ripped apart. As such, they ended up unconsciously spending most of their time in the laboratory instead of staying with him.

Time was running out, and before he turned 18, his parents finally decided to take a drastic measure.

"Aster, you understand, right?" Roger held his son's bony shoulders, his grip tight and shaky but firm. "We will be freezing you to extend your life until we find a cure. It could be a decade or two, but we will never give up. As a man, promise me that you won't give up!"

Aster's lips curled into a thin smile as he replied with sincerity. "I will, Father. I will never give up."

Despite how weak his body was, only his deep, hazel-brown eyes radiated endless confidence and belief. Never once did he doubt the love that his parents had for him. As such, he didn't want to betray their trust either.

'If they say they'll find a cure, then surely they will.' Aster agreed, almost to the point of hypnotizing himself into believing their words fully.

Although his father's face remained the same as before, cold as ice, he knew how much anguish he was feeling. A person's touch could relay so many emotions, after all.

"R-Remember…" his mother, Mary, added as she went to hug him tight. "It would feel like you were only asleep for a while. But when you wake up, we'll make sure you are able to walk and run around like any normal person would. Trust us."

Warm tears streamed down the corners of her eyes, wetting Aster's cheeks lightly.

After a while of sobbing, it was finally time.

Aster moved toward a large module, shaped like a cylinder three meters in length and about two meters in diameter, with several dozen layers of materials covering it. In the center was a white foam bed, following the body's contour as closely as possible.

"Remember, don't move immediately after waking up. Wait for the cold to fade first." Roger warned him.

Mary also enumerated reminders one after another as if it were the only thing she could do for Aster. All the while, tears were still rolling down her cheeks like rain as her face became a mess.

His father was just looking at him with a firm gaze, not adding another word.

As soon as Aster laid down on the cushion fitted for his body, the covers of the cylinder started to close, cutting off his view of the outside.

Cryogenic devices like this need to stay at a very low temperature to halt the metabolism of the person inside. The temperature was kept very close to absolute zero, or 70 degrees Kelvin, in a space where not even light was allowed to pass.

Darkness covered Aster's vision, making him feel a little scared and lonely. However, with the best wishes of his parents in his heart, he closed his eyes and waited as the anesthesia kicked in.

After making sure that he was asleep, the Cryogenic Capsule activated, bringing the internal temperature down gradually to its absolute limits.

Just like that, Aster went into suspended animation, waiting for the time that his parents would wake him up once more.