The laboratory was silent.Not the kind of silence that brings peace, but the kind that hums with ghosts.
Dust hung heavy in the air, swirling lazily around broken machinery and shattered glass. The walls, once bright with sterile white light, were now stained with time and rust—scars of a dream that humanity tried to play god with. Every corner whispered of screams long faded, of alarms that once wailed as the world's last hope devoured its own creators.
It had been decades since anyone walked these halls.
The metal doors bore deep claw marks—proof of the abominations that had been born here. The "super soldiers," crafted from murderers and monsters alike, had rebelled. They tore apart the scientists who made them, shredded the guards who tried to stop them, and vanished into the world above… leaving this underground fortress to rot beneath the weight of its sins.
And yet, in the coldest, most secured chamber—beyond sealed bulkheads and deactivated defense drones—one room still lived.
Its walls pulsed faintly with blue light. Thick cables snaked across the floor like veins, converging on a single biotube standing in the center of the room. Inside floated a boy. Small. Fragile-looking. No more than nine years old.
His skin glowed faintly under the fluid's shimmer, pale as moonlight, smooth as glass. Tubes connected to his neck, spine, arms, and chest, feeding him with invisible currents of life. His heart—if it could be called that—beat with a rhythmic hum, each pulse sending faint ripples of blue across the fluid.
Then, suddenly—
PSSSSHHHHH!
The chamber trembled as the biotube hissed open. A burst of mist flooded the air, curling like ghosts escaping a crypt. The nutrient fluid drained, and mechanical claws—gentle, precise—moved in to catch the falling body before it could hit the cold floor. They wrapped him in a silver thermal cloth, the kind used to shield fragile prototypes.
The boy gasped.
Air rushed into his lungs for the first time. His fingers twitched. His eyes fluttered open—two orbs of luminous silver, glowing faintly like molten mercury.
A voice echoed from the walls.Flat. Mechanical.Devoid of emotion.
"Initiating protocol: PROJECT ZORAHM."
The room came alive. Lights flickered, monitors activated one by one, displaying streams of encrypted data, holographic strands of DNA twisting in perfect synchrony.
"Subject identified. Bio-core stable. Nanocyte activity: optimal. Nuclear fusion core… active."
The boy blinked slowly, staring at the floor as if trying to remember what light looked like. His head tilted—instinctively scanning, processing, learning.
Then the voice spoke again.
"Beginning neural integration sequence. Downloading essential knowledge modules: language… cognition… memory structure… moral foundation… mission directive."
A low hum filled the air. The boy stiffened. His body began to glow faintly as streams of blue light traced along his veins. The nanocytes—infinitesimal machines living in his blood—awoke. They coursed through him, forming invisible circuits that connected every nerve, every organ, every cell to the reactor pulsing in his chest.
"Downloading… Project ZORAHM definition."
The voice grew deeper, almost reverent now.
"ZORAHM — Zygotic Organic Rebirth of Advanced Human Model."
Images and data flashed through the air, projected from invisible emitters: a collage of human faces, creature silhouettes, chemical formulas, and streams of binary code.
"Subject is a fusion of selected human zygotes derived from the genes of high intellectuals, elite athletes, and the first Awakened humans. Combined with controlled monster and beast genetic material. Core enhanced with self-replicating nanocytes integrated into all biological matter—skin, blood, organs."
The boy's eyes dilated as the knowledge flooded in—an ocean of information pouring into an unformed mind. His breathing hitched. His body trembled under the weight of what he was becoming.
"Nanocytes serve dual functions: regenerative adaptation and internal energy regulation. Central nuclear fusion reactor embedded in chest cavity supplies infinite energy to nanocytes. Nanocytes in turn maintain reactor equilibrium."
A soft mechanical hum pulsed from the boy's chest—steady, rhythmic, alive.
"Cerebro Super Bio Chip initialized. Capable of unlimited data capacity, neural synchronization, and external interfacing. Capable of emotion modulation, combat simulation, and moral alignment."
Then, a flicker on the nearest screen.Static.Then—an old recording.
The voice changed.It was no longer mechanical. It was human. Warm. Tired.
A man appeared—a scientist in a tattered lab coat, his face half-lit by dying monitors. His eyes were hollow, but determined.
"If you are seeing this… it means Project ZORAHM has finally awakened.""You are my final creation. Humanity's last chance."
He paused, swallowing hard. Behind him, the faint roar of explosions echoed through the facility.
"Your body was crafted from the DNA of our brightest and strongest. Your flesh fused with nanocytes capable of evolving endlessly. You will not age. You will not fall to disease, poison, or decay. The reactor in your chest will power you for eternity. But remember… you are not a weapon of destruction. You are a guardian."
The man looked directly into the camera.
"Your mission is to protect humanity—from extinction, from monsters, from itself. Eliminate threats wherever they arise, whether from beyond the stars… or within human hearts."
The screen flickered again. The man's voice grew faint.
"Forgive us for making you bear this burden. We failed. You must not."
The image faded.Silence returned.
Then the mechanical voice resumed, calm and resolute.
"Neural integration complete. Downloading cultural and combat databases… languages… martial arts… strategy… psychology… human emotion patterns… complete."
The boy's breathing slowed. His silver eyes now glowed brighter—filled not with confusion, but awareness.
"Welcome to existence, Project ZORAHM."
The lights dimmed. The mist cleared.
He stood—small, silent, wrapped in silver cloth. The faint blue glow of his chest pulsed like a newborn star in the dark.
And for the first time, in that long-forgotten tomb of human ambition, something purely new had opened its eyes to the ruined world above.