《RE:Creation》


 Blood, Bones, and Flesh 1

    A young man with graying hair walked down a musty and damp hallway. The air smelled stale and lingered heavily with illness and death. The coughing of the other occupants filled the mostly silent hall. The light fixtures here were overly bright for some of the occupants, judging by how more than a few cowered in the darkest corners of their cells. He stopped at a particular cell and peered in it. A pair of glowing eyes were staring back at him from the corner. Behind him, the light fixture began to dim until it was just above total darkness. The silhouette of the creature came out from the shadows and stood in front of him; it was vaguely humanoid, two arms, two legs, and one head, but it had a bone-like tail and neon-blue eyes. Compared to him, the creature was maybe four-and-a-half feet tall, no bigger than a child.


    ¡°How¡¯re you feeling today, hero?¡± he asked.


    The creature breathed heavily for a moment; the noise it made was almost like it was struggling even to accomplish this task. ¡°I¡­¡± it started, its voice raspy and deep. ¡°Am¡­Good.¡± It doubled in its efforts to breath, making up for what breath was lost in the conversation.


    ¡°Excellent, hero!¡± he smiled. ¡°Today¡¯s the day; we¡¯re finally going to allow you out, under supervision, of course.¡± The creature got excited, the glowing pupils opened dilated, and it got closer to the cell door. The man waved his finger. ¡°But, you have to promise to be a good boy this time.¡± The way he spoke to the creature was very much similar to a parent talking to their adolescent children.


    The creature took another deep breath and spoke. ¡°I¡­ Promise!¡±


    ¡°I promise¡­¡± The man repeated and then waited for a response.


    ¡°I¡­Promise, Doctor¡­Yen¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Praised Doctor Yen. He unlocked the cell door pressing a key card into a slot on the door. The hand of the creature pushed it open, the claws on each of the fingers were incredibly sharp and left marks just by making contact with the door. The creature showed a lot more human traits, short, white hair, glowing blue eyes, and brown skin. When the creature got up closer, he could see the face more clearly, before he could hardly stand to look at it, but now, the face was indistinguishable from an average human child. As the creature passed him, Yen noticed something new, a pair of under-developed appendages on the back; precisely, they were above the shoulder blades. The use for them was highly unclear as they pulsed a very dim blue. ¡°Oh my!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°My baby boy is still growing!¡± he pulled out an electronic tablet and began writing. ¡°When did they start?¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The creature stopped moving with the man and looked up into his eyes and said nothing. Surprisingly, the creature had a very child-like expression. ¡°I see,¡± he said. ¡°You don¡¯t know, do you?¡± the creature stayed in silence. He put away the tablet within a bag that hung from his side. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s continue.¡±


    <hr>


    Doctor Yen stood at a coffee machine that was also occupied by a colleague. The colleague was shorter by a foot and had red-rust-like hair and brown freckles. He wore round glasses that were just a little too small, causing the arms to dig into his face. Yen sniffed the air and visibly found himself relaxing from the delicious aroma of ¡®One-Hundred Percent Natural Auriellian Coffee beans¡¯


    The portly red-head took the glass filled with the light brown liquid and poured it into his mug that had a picture of a two-tailed cat. ¡°So, Doctor Yen. How was he?¡± asked another researcher, a much younger male.


    Doctor Yen then smiled. ¡°He¡¯s absolutely wonderful, despite his skin pigmentation and hair, he¡¯s almost just like the previous hero!¡± He sipped from the cup and made an audible noise of satisfaction.


    ¡°Wow!¡± The red-head fawned. He set his mug down and visibly got giddy. His cheeks jiggled slightly from the sudden movements. ¡°It must¡¯ve been quite something to have met the hero!¡±


    Doctor Yen was bothered by that statement, his face went rigid, and he looked at least double his age. ¡°No, the hero was terrible. Rude, impulsive¡­ Name a negative quality he possessed it.¡±


    The red-head frowned. ¡°Oh. I see... I¡¯m sorry that I brought him up.¡±


    Doctor Yen ruffled his hair. ¡°Don¡¯t worry over it; we have our own hero now. He¡¯s polite, kind, a little noisy, but-¡±


    Another researcher cut Yen off, shouting from another room. ¡°He¡¯s gone! We¡¯ve lost him! He¡¯s no longer on the scans!¡± Doctor Yen ran to the office; ten other researchers were scrubbing through each of the monitors that were supposed to be watching the creature, each camera angle showing a different view of an empty field and forest scenery with no creature in sight. Yen ran to the nearest console and flipped through the screens. ¡°Cut the hologram!¡± Yen yelled. The scene faded, and everything changed to an empty building interior with nothing around. Yen began sweating profusely. ¡°This is impossible; that room is sealed the moment we close that door!¡±


    The red-head approached from behind and offered his insight. ¡°Are we sure he¡¯s gone?¡±


    Yen¡¯s brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    The red-head adjusted his glasses, pushing them up to his face. ¡°Well, if he left the room, then he would have at the very least triggered twelve different alarms.¡±


    Yen put his fist to his face in contemplation. ¡°Now that you say it, earlier the lights for his cell began dimming when I approached, and I figured it was just the faulty wiring in the pens.¡±


    The red-head crossed his arms and asked, ¡°Do you think he¡¯s showing latent magical talents?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Yen admitted. ¡°I expected them to show up much later when he grew up more.¡± He shrugged and said, ¡°Oh well.¡± started to leave the group.


    ¡°Wait, where are you going?¡± asked the red-head.


    ¡°To go see my boy,¡± Yen replied.

 Blood, Bones, and Flesh 2

    Doctor Yen inserted his key card into the slot, he waited six seconds, and a green light flashed while the door was unlocked. Yen took a deep breath and pulled the handle down and entering the room. The hologram had been ceased for a few minutes, and the creature was standing in the middle. The lights flickered at varyingly slowing intervals. Yen could now see how bad of a condition the boy was in; his hair had a lack of melanin, skin looked sickly, and worse, his body mass was far below what it should have been for something.


    "Hey there, buddy," Yen cooed when he walked in and when he approached, he knelt, making the two eye height. He gently placed his hands on the creature''s shoulders and asked, "Having fun?" In which it shook its head. Yen smiled, "Would you like to see something cool?"


    The creature seemed to have gotten a little excited, the breathing hastened audibly, and its eyes widened. Yen also smiled and stepped back while saying, "Watch this!" He held his index finger up, a tiny orb of light suddenly appeared. He danced his finger in the air, and the sphere of light followed the tip very slowly, leaving behind a lazy tail of fading opalescence. Yen waved it around high above his head, creating shapes and designs. The creature was entranced until he brought it closer. The light went crazy; it flickered rapidly and exploded. The effect didn''t go without an adverse impact because of the small light explosion; he saw it the moment it happened. Something inside the creature brought out great fear, perhaps it was some innate instinct to escape a phenomenon, but instead of getting away, it lashed out, getting a clean swipe at the doctor. The wound immediately gushed out blood, a substance alien to the creature. The doctor''s face was wholly white either with fear or to the increasing blood loss; either way, he tried to stumble out of the room. He continued leaving a trail of crimson liquid everywhere he went. Confused, the creature touched the warm liquid. It stunk, but for some reason, he was compelled to taste it.


    It was bitter, bland, yet it could be addictive. Everything after that felt like a blur; things were confusing and kept moving fast. People rushed in to grab him; they were yelling and talked fast. It was hard for the creature to comprehend. The only thing it could do was hide in the corner as best as it could. Then everything got a little hazy and hard to stay awake. Then it woke up in its cell again.


    The creature retreated to the darkest recess of the room, a corner that had a wall to separate another cell. It curled itself in a ball. It felt that the darkness was a friend. As if it would never hurt it as long as it remained within.


    "They hate you," whispered a voice. The creature looked around and found no one that could be speaking. "They don''t want you anymore. You broke, and now they throw you away." The second voice sounded like it was coming from the wall. "They make another, and you be here forever." The creature looked around the wall to see a small hole, big enough for a rat to climb through. The creature''s rough breathing increased along with its heartbeat. It inched closer to the hole and could feel its heart rate increase. Looking into the hole, it saw a glowing blue eye that made it jump away.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The whispers continued to speak, "It happen to me; it happening to you." The voice continued to talk, bringing the creature back to the hole. It looked in once more to see the glowing blue eyes staring right back at it.


    The creature sat down in front of the hole and took a deep breath asking, "How do you know?"


    There was a long silence as the eye on the other side stared, looking the creature up and down. Eventually, it started to cackle. The laughter continued to echo in the dank room. Then another long silence. "You replaced me."


    The creature stepped away from the hole, and the voice on the other side began laughing and shouted, "Stuck down here!" the creature retreated to the darkness again away from the hole as it continued to sing its mad chant. The light in front of its cell was increasingly flickering between on and off.


    <hr>


    The red-head researcher whistled while leaning over the medical bed''s rail. "Gee. That looks way worse than it did on screen," He said, cringing over Yen''s stitched up wound. "How badly did it hurt? I didn''t hear you make one noise since."


    "It hurts less you think and more than I want it to," Yen admitted. "Honestly, it was my fault. I was aware of the effect it had on light, yet I still foolishly did it."


    "Oh, speaking of which," The red-head started and then pulled out an electronic tablet putting it in front of the doctor. "Here, watch this." On-screen was a recorded video of Doctor Yen walking into the room alone. His face lit up when he watched everything that just happened to him from a secondary point of view, except everything that was happening had only him. The was no sign of the creature at all, just Doctor Yen.


    "Eugh. Seeing this now makes me highly uncomfortable," Yen confessed. "But, I think you were right; he does have some kind of magical ability,"


    The red-head adjusted his glasses. "Actually," he stated, "I may have been wrong about that¡­ but I do have a theory." Yen nodded for him to go on. "Well, the hero was a positive affinity for all six elements, right? Well, what if there was a negative affinity."


    Yen squinted slightly. "So, what you''re saying is that there is a seventh element?"


    "Well¡­ no," The red-head corrected while opening up a blank canvas on the tablet. "So, we know all known forms and elements of magic, right?" He began drawing six circles labeling each with, Earth, Water, Fire, Darkness, Wind, and Light "I think there can exist a space in between all the elements, Like a bridge!" He then drew several lines, each connecting a circle to another. In the middle was a space that wasn''t touched by any line creating a circle of its own.


    Yen adjusted his position on the infirmary bed. "You know that sounds crazy and scientifically impossible, right?"


    "I''m aware, yes," The red-head agreed and nodded.


    "But," Yen continued. "It would make sense. If your theory is correct, then that would mean his ability to disappear from recording would mean that instead of controlling the light, He was simply warping around him, making the connection of the element null."


    "Exactly!" The red-head shouted. "So, I believe he''s unknowingly controlling the spatial gaps in magic!"


    "We were only supposed to raise a hero, not discover a new form of magic. Where''s that nurse? I think I might need some medication; I''m feeling a headache coming along," Yen sighed. "What''s Director Alph planning to do?"


    "Honestly, I don''t know," the red-head said. "Probably going to scrap him like the other clones."


    Yen pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is like the tenth one, and by far the most intelligent." He sighed once more and kicked his legs to the side of the bed. He looked to the red-head and chuckled. "I''m not kidding about those pills."

 Blood, Bones, and Flesh 3

    Yen approached an open door. He could see director Alph sitting in his chair turned just slightly away. He was a reasonably young man somewhere between ten and five years older than Yen was. Alph had his feet propped on a small cardboard box. A two-foot-high stack of neatly organized papers laid within reach. Yen stood there and watched as he took the first paper on the giant pile, gave it a two-second glance over, then crumpled it and burned it to ash all within his right hand. Yen tapped on the door three times with his middle knuckle and cleared his throat.


    "Ahem. Director Alph," He called.


    Alph calmly leaned back in his leather reclining chair and turned his head, "Ahaha, Doctor Yen. I knew I forgot to tell Phyrra to bring send for someone." He turned around ninety degrees so that his body was fully facing Yen he then smiled, his face free of wrinkles, and his green eyes complimenting his black hair. Despite being older than Yen, Alph''s elvish bloodline allowed him to live much longer than what was considered normal for most races. "So, about today''s little incident." A soft devilish grin appeared on Alph''s face.


    <hr>


    For several minutes the creature stopped talking, and the room was quiet. Not even a single the sound from the lights could be heard, then suddenly it asked a question, "You know why they made you?" the creature''s raspy voice whispered. The cloned creature emerged from the shadows, and once again and peered into the hole, the blue eyes were wide and unblinking. The entire sclera was filled with unbroken and irritated veins and looked annoyed. "Closer," it whispered with a slight chuckle. Just like the hole creature asked, the clone naively got closer to the hole. The hole creature started to laugh harder, and an old, decrepit hand flung from the hole, it was discolored, similar to his skin. The middle and ring fingers were almost wholly fused into one digit.


    The hand completely grabbed his face. In that second, his brain flushed with emotions he didn''t even know he could also feel. Memories flashed by in his head, memories of experiences that he didn''t know existed came and left, faces of people that weren''t Yen, creatures he thought couldn''t exist. However, there was one memory that stuck the longest and became the most coherent. He was fighting something big; it was at least six or seven times bigger than he was. That something was wearing giant black metal all around its body like clothing. He could barely even see a single shred of skin from the giant beast other than it had horns coming from its head.


    He was standing over a ledge, while six spheres floated around his body, each one was colored a different color, white, teal, blue, red, black, and green. The most logical conclusion that could be made was that they were magic being brought out in their most raw form. In the memory, he extended his arms, gathering each of the spheres into his hands. Once they were there, he brought his hands closer together. At first, they didn''t want to join together, but eventually, they were forced into an unstable form that would fluctuate in size and color. Originating from the volatile energy, tiny arcs of electrical power would leak from his palms.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The giant monstrosity of a being was on its knees, panting, tired, and there was a bright-colored liquid leaking from its body. In the memory, the thing was saying something based on the head''s movements, but, for some reason, it didn''t transpose any sound; it was just mute. The memory showed him sending the ball at a surprisingly slow speed. It traveled into the front of the monster and exploded, showering down a beam of rainbow colors erupted blasting a hole clear through the floor and ceiling. The memory faded there, and the hero''s clone was left panting hard in the darkness.


    "What¡­" The hero''s clone was trying to comprehend the false memetic feelings, yet had no idea how to.


    The creature in the wall let go of his head and began laughing so hard that it sounded like he was hissing each time. "You see? We fake! We never do that!"


    "But¡­Why?" The hero''s clone asked, his voice trembling along with his breathing.


    "I said before, to make us a tool, but you different than all of us. You, not failure, you just unfinished." The wall creature stuck his arm through the hole; the arm was bleeding glowing blue blood. The sight of it was becoming highly arousing to the hero clone. There was just something that sent his heart racing and his mouth-watering. "I know how to make you finished."


    Without hesitation, he began lapping up the blood that dripped in front of him. His malnourished form slowly started to inflate. His bones became less apparent as his muscles gradually expanded.


    <hr>


    Alph spun around slowly in his chair. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "If that were me, I would have had that thing put down and start over from scratch. In fact, that''s the plan!"


    "As I said, director, it was an accident, and It was all my fault!" Yen shouted, affirming his belief in the hero clone''s life.


    "I know, but¡­ you know the policy, plus we need to free up space in the dungeon. It''s getting a bit full." Alph clapped his hands together. "But on the bright side, you have enough information to get slightly further into making a perfect clone!" Director Alph pressed a button on his desk and spoke into it. "Phyrra, send someone to clean up downstairs, please."


    Doctor Yen sighed heavily. "You''re right, Director, I''ll start over.


    Yen smiled and leaned back in the chair, interlocking his fingers together with a sinister smile upon his face. "Sorry, doctor, rules are rules."


    Suddenly a female burst through the door. It was Phyrra; Just like Alph, she was an elf. She had short black hair that was cut into a bob. She was sweating profusely and had shouted, "The clone is gone!"