"I am also very interested in the experiment... but I still have tasks to complete. Unfortunately, it seems I cannot join you."
"Indeed!"
Golconda and Decalcomania left after saying those words. The dark-skinned man saw them off and then moved with Maestro and Kenji. The three men left the round table and arrived at a certain desert without exchanging any conversation. It's of no consequence, Kenji thought.
"..."
Following the two men, Kenji looked at the long stretch of sand. The sight of a few buildings submerged in sand and the occasional sandstorm reminded him of an Earth visited by apocalypse. But as if to render such thoughts meaningless, dawn rose in the sky. An orange sun pierced through the clouds, reaching its hands toward the halo.
It was a beautiful sight. The beauty of nature had the power to capture a person's gaze, enough to simply stare blankly at it. If the situation had been more positive than now, he probably would have settled somewhere to observe that sunrise. Thinking so, Kenji frowned at the blowing sandstorm.
"Abydos."
The man suddenly spoke. Maestro remained silent as ever, and Kenji only rolled his eyes to stare at the man.
"That is the name of this place. It was once splendid, but now it's a school standing in the process of decline."
"...."
"Many have already left this place. Perhaps if another year or two passes, this place will fall to a level too pitiful to even be called a school. A regrettable matter. Although, among this year's freshmen, there is a talent worth noting."
Horus.
The man who spat that out chuckled and then adjusted the position of his tie, disheveled by the sandstorm.
"I should make contact in a few months. Busy days lie ahead, one way or another."
"How much further to the testing site?"
Kenji asked. It was a question that entirely ignored everything said so far, but the man showed no displeasure and hummed thoughtfully. He tilted his head as if pondering briefly, then answered in a calm tone.
"Just about 30 more minutes of walking."
"Fine."
With that, the conversation ended. The man who had spoken first maintained his silence, and Maestro, who had no intention of speaking from the start, only provided creaking sounds. Kenji sighed deeply inside and turned his head to the side again.
The sun, now half-risen, was brightening the ground. Along with it, the cold dawn air gradually warmed, and the desert heat began to reclaim its place. It was still cool, but in a few hours, this place would transform into a location worthy of the name 'desert.'
Kenji just blankly, blankly stared at that sight. After a long while, he turned his head forward with a bitter smile.
It was only the first day, not even a few hours had passed. Yet, he already missed the faces of three people. But he quickly shook off the attachment. Because he didn't even have the right to hold onto it.
So he simply wished.
That they all be happy.
If a god existed, that's how it should be.
*
The laboratory they arrived at was installed in the basement of a certain abandoned building.
It was an overall dark place. A chill flowed from the metal walls and ceiling, and the sound of liquid boiling came from machinery installed here and there. Most of the sounds came from huge pipes. Bubbles rose gurgling from the black liquid contained within the pipes.
But that wasn't water. Kenji realized that instinctively. Because his heart throbbed roughly.
"...Fear."
The sensation he had already experienced once no longer pulled him into darkness. Instead, it made him feel familiarity. A familiarity akin to meeting family or a friend he had spent long years with—Kenji perceived it from that black 'substance.'
It was a forcibly implanted emotion.
Kenji's face contorted in displeasure. The emotion that had taken root without permission wouldn't come off even when he tried to shake it off. Instead, it wriggled as if trying to dig deep into his chest and manipulate his brain. Along with it came a headache.
At the sudden headache, Kenji clicked his tongue and furrowed his brow. Headaches were familiar, but the sensation as if bugs were crawling in his head still made him feel disgusted. Since it was impossible to get rid of it anyway, Kenji finally let out a deep sigh and moved his halted steps to follow the two men.
"I have mimesized the fear, but the quantity is only an estimate."
Maestro, who had maintained silence until now, spoke. With a creaking joint sound, one of his heads turned toward Kenji.
"Did he explain the experiment to you?"
"No."
Maestro glanced at the man briefly, then lightly clicked his tongue and began the explanation.
"Two experiments are currently prepared for you. One is to extract the fear rooted in your body, and the other is to forcibly implant fear to make the seed bloom."
"..."
"However, personally, I think extraction will be difficult. Because the fear rooted in your heart has already become a part of you. Unless we forcibly pull out your heart, extraction will be nearly impossible. But 'nearly' doesn't mean completely impossible. It's worth attempting."
"What about implantation?"
"I don't know."
Kenji's brow narrowed. Paying no mind to his reaction, Maestro continued.
"The fact that no one has walked a path means there is a reason for it. It's the same now. An uncharted path that no one has pioneered. Implanting fear in you is no different from walking that uncharted path. It means that recklessly making assumptions carries a significant possibility of being wrong."
"..."
"However, if I must give a personal opinion... the risk would be somewhat high. You might die, or we might die due to a rampage caused by it. That's how much of an unknown this experiment is. Understood? Nameless."
Kenji stared at Maestro with a cool expression, then let out a deep sigh and nodded. The words 'might die' were somewhat grating, but since it was something already confirmed through the contract, there was no agitation. The fear of death was still coiling small somewhere in his heart, but perhaps because he had let go of all attachments, it wasn't that large. To this extent, he could forcibly ignore it.
"Fine."
Kenji answered briefly and exhaled a breath into the air. Whether it was due to tension or finally shaking off the remaining dregs of attachment, even that he couldn't know. But one thing was certain: his throbbing heart had calmed a little. That was enough.
"The experimental device is over there."
The man said, pointing to the end of the room. Kenji's gaze moved toward where his finger pointed.
A vast space. Upon it, a solitary operating table, a vital sign monitor, a life support device, and a large syringe connected to a huge pipe. It was a sight reminiscent of a hospital operating room. Kenji let out a hollow laugh and looked back at the man.
"Planning to cut my stomach open?"
"If necessary, I would. Anesthetics are already prepared."
The man answered with a chuckle. It was a laugh indistinguishable as to whether it was serious or a joke. Not that it mattered to distinguish anyway. Because Maestro moved in place of the two looking at each other. After checking if the devices to be used in the experiment were functioning properly, he spat out toward Kenji.
"Lie down here."
Kenji shot a suspicious glance for a moment but soon settled on the operating table. No matter how much he pondered, the situation wouldn't change. So rather than harboring useless doubts, it was better to follow instructions for now. Thinking so, Kenji roughly took off and tossed the coat he was wearing.
In place of Maestro, whose movements were relatively inconvenient, the dark-skinned man began preparing for the experiment. Following his gestures, the machines powered on, and the pipes rotated roughly. With a *drip*, like a water droplet falling, a drop of black liquid fell from the tube connected to the pipe.
When contained in the pipe, he didn't know, but that liquid had a thick, ink-like consistency befitting its color. Like brushstrokes on paper, the fear in the form of ink stained the pure white floor.
The stain stretched on until it suddenly stopped. Because the tube was blocked.
"We will attempt extraction first."
Maestro said. As already explained, Kenji nodded.
The vital sign monitor was attached to his arm. A life support device, prepared for any unforeseen situation, was placed right next to his head, and a black aura surged from Maestro's hand. There was no need to think about what that was. Mimesized fear. Kenji frowned at the instinctively felt sense of familiarity.
"I will insert a part of the fear into your body. If your fear reacts then, I will backtrack and extract it. That's the plan, but the chance of success is slim. Don't get your hopes up."
"Whatever, just start."
At the impudent tone, Maestro's movement twisted slightly, but he swallowed his anger inside and stretched his left hand toward Kenji's heart. He expected not to be nervous, but perhaps that wasn't the case. Kenji let out a long breath toward the air. Just as that breath ended, Maestro moved the fear.
-Thump!
His heart throbbed once. Like ripples on a calm lake, the momentary throbbing slowly spread sideways. Following that vibration, Maestro's fear crawled. It was an unpleasant sensation, but Kenji gritted his teeth and tried to ignore it.
The next moment, the fear reached deep into Kenji's heart. They made contact.
"...!"
Maestro's hand flinched. Along with it, Kenji felt a sense of wrongness starting from his heart.
-Thump.
His heart beat once. Blood raced through his blood vessels.
-Thump.
The second beat. A throbbing pain followed the racing blood. The pain gradually swelled in size and soon raced through his entire body. Kenji's body shuddered with a *jolt*.
-Thump!
The third beat. A hot sensation fell upon the throbbing pain. A pain as if a red-hot iron skewer was scrambling his brain was felt. Kenji's eyes shot open, and blood vessels burst in his eyeballs. Blood-tears flowed from his eye whites, which reddened in an instant.
-Thump!
The fourth beat. A crushing sound, *crack*, echoed in his ears. Along with it, blood seeped out in streams from his ears, nose, mouth, eyes—nothing was spared. The amount wasn't large, but it was at a speed that would quickly lead to a lethal dose if not stanched.
"...St... op."
The man's voice came through faintly.
-Thump!
The fifth beat. Most of Kenji's organs stopped functioning. His breathing ceased. His thoughts cut off. The nerve cells conveying pain stopped. His five senses were blocked in order: smell, taste, hearing, touch, sight. But the explosive sounds coming from inside his body showed no sign of stopping.
Crack.
Crunch.
Snap.
Bang!
Gurgle.
-...Thump.
The sixth beat. All the lost senses returned. His organs regained their functions. The pain vanished. His eyes shot open. Kenji jerked his body up and gasped for rough breaths. His brain and lungs urged him to quickly take in the lacking oxygen. His vision spun, and a ringing sound came to his ears as if his eardrums had burst. The taste and smell of blood spread thickly from his nose and mouth.
"Kehek, kkhuhup, kehek!!"
"..."
Looking down at Kenji gasping roughly for breath, Maestro raised his left hand. The hand that had held the fear and been placed near Kenji's heart was shattered beyond recognition.
"...Nameless One."
Maestro called the dark-skinned man. Because his eardrums had burst, Kenji couldn't hear that voice, but the man looked back at him with an expression devoid of any laughter. Their gazes collided in mid-air.
A dreadful silence hovered between the two. Maestro broke it. He laughed lowly and looked at his shattered left hand. Then, in a voice full of glee, he said.
"You've brought a masterpiece."