PRELUDE
Aoi wakes up.
The first thing she realizes is that she can't move.
She's inside a futuristic cell. White walls. Cameras watching from every corner. Mechanical arms hang from the ceiling, angled toward her like weapons waiting to fire. Wires and restraints coil around her body, humming softly.
Her body convulses.
She looks down.
She doesn't look human anymore.
A parasitic appendage is fused into her flesh, crawling along her spine and ribs, molding her body into something grotesque. Thick tentacles twitch behind her, massive and alive, restrained tightly by electric clamps.
She doesn't scream.
She already accepted it.
After what she did, calling herself human would be a joke.
Footsteps echo.
A man walks into the cell.
He looks... normal. Calm. Wearing a lab coat like a scientist. Too relaxed. Like he's not the one standing in a room meant to cage monsters. His blue eyes meet hers and don't flinch.
That pisses her off.
Something ugly stirs inside her chest. Attraction, rage, disgust — the parasite amplifies it all until her thoughts blur. Words spill out before she can stop them.
"Looking at me like that... you think you're special?" she scoffs.
She laughs. "You look weak."
Her tentacles lash out.
The cell reacts instantly.
Electricity surges through her body. Pain explodes across her nerves, locking her muscles, forcing her teeth to grind together. She screams — not from pain, but from anger — and keeps attacking anyway, trying to wrap her tentacles around him.
That's when he smirks.
With a flick of his hand, the machines respond. Her body is lifted and flipped upside down like a broken doll. Another shock hits her — longer this time.
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She finally goes quiet.
Her vision swims. Her chest burns.
When she speaks again, her voice is venom.
"I could kill you," she snarls.
"The moment I'm free, you're dead. Do you hear me? You're nothing."
That's when he moves.
Not instantly.
Not calmly.
There's a sharp shift in the air — irritation. The smirk vanishes.
In less than a second, he's in front of her.
His hand grips her throat.
Harder this time.
The pressure steals her breath. The room feels smaller. His presence changes — no longer casual, no longer observing. Black hair frames a face that looks... offended.
"You talk too much," he says.
His blue eyes are cold now, sharp like something watching prey under a dark moon.
Fear hits her.
Not pain.
Fear.
Her body betrays her. The parasite recoils violently. Her tentacles pull back. Her breath stutters.
Her knees give out.
She kneels.
She didn't decide to.
Her instincts did.
Her mouth opens before she can stop it.
"I— I'm sorry."
The grip loosens.
He lets her drop as if she's already beneath notice.
"So weak," he mutters. There's annoyance in his voice now. Not satisfaction.
That stings more than the shocks.
He exhales, regaining composure, then looks at her again.
"If you're really that strong," he says, "you should be able to kill a bear, right?"
She snaps back instantly.
"Of course I can," she says. "It wouldn't even be a fight."
That makes him smile again — but this time, it's sharp.
The world tears apart.
One moment she's restrained. The next, she's standing in open darkness.
Something massive moves.
A giant python rises before her, its body as large as a building. Just its presence makes her stomach drop. This isn't something meant for one person.
Panic floods her.
"Wait—" she gasps.
Too late.
The python strikes.
Its coils wrap around her body,
crushing her ribs, squeezing the air from her lungs. Her vision darkens. She feels bones creak.
She's going to die.
Then the parasite takes over.
Tentacles explode outward. She doesn't think. She doesn't choose. She survives. In a split second, her tendrils tighten around the creature's skull—
crack.
The monster collapses.
She doesn't remember deciding to kill it.
Only the sound.
She's back in the cell.
She collapses to the floor, gasping. Her body shakes.
The man stands there like nothing happened.
"Mitsuo," he says. "That's my name."
Rage surges again.
She grows larger, tentacles flaring as she tries to intimidate him, desperate to reclaim even a shred of dignity.
Two seconds.
That's all it takes.
She slams into a wall fifty meters away. No warning. No chance to react. His hand is around her throat again.
This time, he doesn't look amused.
"You don't learn," he says flatly.
He holds her there longer than necessary.
"You're strong," he continues, voice tight. "But you lack control. And that makes you dangerous."
He leans closer.
"Dangerous things need masters."
He drops her.
"I am your master," he says.
"And you are my slave."
He turns away before she can
speak.
The cell seals shut.
ONE WEEK LATER
Time breaks apart.
Hunger. Silence. The hum of machines.
When Mitsuo returns, he's wearing a jacket instead of the lab coat.
The sight of him snaps something inside her.
She lunges.
Her body freezes.
Fear floods her senses. The parasite recoils violently. Her legs give out.
She kneels.
Not because she wants to.
Because she can't run.
Mitsuo stops.
He frowns — just slightly.
"...That wasn't what I expected," he mutters.
He watches her for a moment, irritation flickering across his face before it's buried again.
"Get up," he says.
"You have another task."
To be continued....
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