Twenty-Two Years Ago...
Remote Laboratory - Eastern Mountains...
Yomogi Shizuri stood in the converted monastery he'd purchased with the last of his family's inheritance. The monks had abandoned it decades ago—too isolated, too cold, too far from civilization.
Perfect for work that couldn't be interrupted.
The laboratory occupied what had once been the meditation hall. Medical equipment lined walls carved with fading prayers. Microscopes sat where altars had stood. Culture dishes grew where incense had burned.
Shizuri examined a fungal sample under magnification—pale white spores, delicate mycelia, unremarkable to untrained eyes.
*Psilocybe tranquillitas.* A rare psychotropic fungus found only in high-altitude caves. Natural properties: mild sedative effect, cortisol consumption, temporary mood elevation.
