Chapter One — The Last Test

  The first thing Aethyrion felt was pain.

  It wasn’t sharp. It wasn’t sudden.

  It was everywhere—deep in his muscles, behind his eyes, in the slow ache of breathing.

  He lay on the cold floor staring at the ceiling lights, counting how many flickered.

  Three.

  That meant the generators were failing again.

  “Get up.”

  The voice came through a speaker above him. Calm. Bored.

  Aethyrion didn’t move.

  “I said get up,” the voice repeated. “Test isn’t over.”

  He groaned and rolled onto his side. His hands shook as he pushed himself upright. His body felt heavier than it should have, like gravity had quietly doubled while no one was looking.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  He was fifteen years old.

  And he was already so tired.

  The room was concrete and metal—no windows, no color. Just a wide open space with scorch marks on the walls and dents in the floor where things had hit hard. Really hard.

  He knew those dents.

  He’d made most of them.

  A mechanical hiss echoed behind him.

  The suit waited on its rack.

  Dark plating. Thick joints. Worn edges where repairs had been rushed. It wasn’t sleek or heroic. It looked like something built to survive, not to inspire.

  Aethyrion stepped into it anyway.

  As the armor sealed around him, a familiar warmth spread through his chest. The Helix-9 Serum activated in his bloodstream, pushing his body forward even as it begged him to stop.

  Stronger. Faster. Tougher.

  That’s what they promised.

  They didn’t talk much about the cost.

  “Begin,” the voice said.

  The far wall opened.

  Something heavy charged out.

  Aethyrion reacted without thinking. He always did. His body moved faster than fear, faster than doubt. He dodged, struck, rolled, got back up when he was knocked down.

  Minutes blurred together.

  Then—

  Silence.

  The machine collapsed in a heap of sparking metal.

  Aethyrion stood there, breathing hard, fists clenched, waiting for the next command.

  None came.

  Instead, the door behind him unlocked.

  That was new.

  He turned slowly.

  The hallway beyond was empty.

  No guards. No orders. Just a long stretch of dim light leading somewhere he’d never been allowed to go.

  His heart started pounding for a different reason now.

  “Hello?” he called, his voice cracking slightly.

  No answer.

  For the first time since the injections began… no one was watching.

  Aethyrion took a step forward.

  Then another.

  Every instinct told him this was a test. A trick. That alarms would blare if he went too far.

  They didn’t.

  At the end of the hall was an exit door.

  A real one.

  Aethyrion stopped in front of it, hand hovering over the handle.

  If he opened it, everything would change.

  He wouldn’t be a project anymore.

  Wouldn’t be a test subject.

  Wouldn’t be just a weapon.

  He swallowed.

  “I don’t want to be this forever,” he whispered—to himself, to the empty hall, to no one at all.

  Then he opened the door.

  Cold air rushed in.

  Rain.

  Night.

  Freedom.

  Aethyrion stepped out into the storm, not knowing who he was supposed to be now—only that whatever came next would be his choice.

  And for the first time in a long time…

  That felt powerful.

  End of Chapter One