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Location: Eastern Fringe – Deadzone Orbit of the Abyss
Kaari and I had exited through the sanctuary's secret tunnel.
The sky had turned red — as if filled with blood.
This area was called: "The Screaming Skies" —
where something is always screaming in the wind, but no source is ever visible.
Kaari said:
> "This land has gone insane.
The Flesh Architect was last seen here... but left no trace."
Suddenly, a beam fell from the sky.
BOOM.
A huge crater formed.
From the smoke, a shadow emerged — tall, slim, in a lab coat... but face covered with a flesh-mask.
> "How curious… a Gen-Z shapeshifter walking in my zone."
"Hello, Z-00. I'm Dr. Vane. The one who dissects your kind."
System screamed:
> [Threat Level – RED. DO NOT ENGAGE WITHOUT SHIFTING.]
But shifting was locked.
---
Dr. Vane – Hunter of the Godless Flesh
In his hand was a scalpel that hummed — as if souls were screaming from within it.
> "I can see hidden memories inside shapeshifter tissue.
You… are a treasure to me."
I took a stance, but he pulled Kaari behind me —
using psychic force — without even touching her.
> "Not you… not yet.
But inside this Alpha Female, I sense a relic I need…"
He placed his hand on Kaari's abdomen —
and Kaari started screaming.
System shouted:
> [Emergency Protocol: Override Shifting Lock – Approved Temporarily]
I shifted.
---
New Form – Echo Serpent Form
My skin turned molten —
my body formed into a serpent shape, tendrils glowing blue-black.
> "Let's see if you bleed like the rest…"
I charged at Vane —
but he absorbed my attack with a mirror made of bone.
> "Flesh reacts.
You're not like the others.
You're responding to me. That's new."
He fired an injection — which I thought missed.
But System said:
> [Foreign Nanites Detected: Invasive Memory Parasites Installed]
I began hallucinating.
---
Mind Invasion – Hall of Broken Selves
I was in a dark void — where hundreds of my bodies were hanging, all twisted.
One opened its eye and said:
> "You are not Z-00…
You are Prototype Z-01.
You carry the Flesh Architect's DNA — and he will return through you."
I screamed.
System triggered:
> [Emergency Protocol II: Conscious Firewall Initiated. Evacuate Mindscape.]
I used my serpent form to create a flaming claw…
and burned the hallucinated doppelganger.
---
Back to Reality – Vane's Exit and Warning
I woke up — Dr. Vane was gone.
Only a message was written on the ground — in blood:
> "When your shift begins again, I'll be inside your skin."
– Vane
Kaari was unconscious. Something had been injected inside her —
a parasite that would corrupt her DNA with every shift.
Final System message:
> [Main Story Objective Updated]
"Neutralize Dr. Vane before Kaari's next Shift Cycle."
Time Remaining: 6 Days 23 Hours.
---
To Be Continued…