ACH-1 continued running as long as the power from his Trait could last. Each step felt heavier than the last. His legs trembled beneath him. The pain from all the experiments, along with the constant running, was starting to catch up with him. His adrenaline was running out.

Suddenly, his legs gave out. He fell face-first onto the ground, scattering loose leaves beneath him. The impact knocked the wind out of him. He gasped for air, his chest heaving as he struggled to pull in oxygen.

His body had reached its limit. There was nothing left and for a moment, he simply lay there, unable to move. His eyes slowly closed.

Then slowly, he forced himself to roll onto his back.

And for the first time ever…

He saw the sky. 

Beautiful blue stretched above him, filled with small clouds overhead while the sun warmed his face.

ACH-1’s breathing slowly steadied. The panic from escaping the laboratory had started to fade. As he looked around, he saw no walls, ceilings, or restraints. 

Freedom.

"...I made it out..." he mumbled as he placed his arm over his face.

Then the adrenaline rush ended. "Ghk—!"

Sharp pain tore through his chest. ACH-1 grabbed at his shirt as blood spilled from his mouth, dripping to the ground. He felt like his heart was about to pump out of his chest. Without enough energy flowing through his body, his body began to fail, like a heart beating itself to death.

Sweat dripped from his skin, rushing out of his body like something trying to escape him. Small sparks of unstable energy followed, disappearing into the ground.

His breathing grew shallow. His life started to fade, but his determination hadn’t.

"...not yet..."

He couldn't stop now, especially after getting this far.

With his arms trembling, ACH-1 dragged himself across the dirt. The only noises were twigs snapping beneath him and the sound of his body dragging across the ground. Each movement sent pain shooting through his body, but he continued moving until his back hit the trunk of a nearby tree. He slumped against it, barely able to hold himself upright. The wind brushed against his face. The feeling of the breeze helped him relax. Leaves rustled softly overhead.

ACH-1 closed his eyes for a brief moment.

So this is the outside world?

This wind blowing against my face…

Freedom felt foreign to him. He never had the privilege of getting to explore the wilderness. Too many thoughts flooded his mind all at once. The lab, escaping, and all the pain. But one thought pushed through everything else.

Two…

The memory hit him like a train. ACH-2 pushing him away before the barrier separated them. 

ACH-1's fingers dug into the dirt.

"I will keep that promise..." His voice was quiet, tired.

ACH-1 shut his eyes tightly. “Because if I don’t…”

No. He couldn't think like that. Not now or ever.

His grip tightened. "I need to survive."

His Traits were the first problem. They were unstable. The damage that his body sustained was too much.

If I pushed my body any further, my Traits might tear me apart completely.

He stared into the sky. What can I even do?

There was something wrong.

Those stupid scientists called me ACH-1.

The first successful project.

ACH-1 let out a weak cry. "Successful... my ass..."

His breathing slowly steadied itself. With what little energy he had, he pushed himself up using the tree as support. His legs shook violently, barely able to support his weight. Only then did he start to take in his surroundings. 

The forest felt off. The trees that ACH-1 knew, from the little picture books he saw of them, didn’t match the look of the trees around him. The trees twisted unnaturally and their trunks warped and bent for unknown reasons. Dark veins were visible along the bark, faintly glowing like something alive was trapped inside them.

ACH-1's eyes narrowed. "...Corrupted Energy?"

His gaze shifted slowly across the area. It wasn't just the trees. The plants and vegetation were corrupted too.

"I didn't know corruption could spread like this..."

He slowly walked forward, analyzing the environment.

If the environment itself is corrupted, then nothing here is normal.

A low growl echoed through the trees.

Corrupted birds scattered from the branches overhead.

ACH-1 whipped his head around frantically. "Who’s there?"

From the shadows, something stepped forward. Branches snapped beneath heavy paws. Leaves rustled as the creature emerged from the darkness between the trees. At first glance, it resembled a wolf. Then it moved into the light.

And ACH-1 immediately understood.

This isn’t a normal beast.

Black and red veins covered its flesh, as if they had become its skin. Its eyes burned with a deep crimson glow. Its sharp claws dug into the ground with stains of blood on them. It had already hunted and it wasn't done.

ACH-1’s legs trembled.

I can barely stand...

The wolf lowered its body. Its muscles tightened as its legs bent.

Then it lunged. Too fast. The ground exploded beneath its paws as it shot forward.

"I've gotta fight... or I'm dead."

ACH-1 forced what little energy he had left into his right hand. Power surged violently around his fist, unstable and cracking as it gathered. The energy condensed into his hand as he swung.

The blow landed. The impact forced the wolf backward, its body sliding across the ground and carving a trench through the dirt.

For a split second, ACH-1 thought it worked. Then the wolf stood again. The damage he dealt disappeared almost instantly as Corrupted Energy flowed through its body, stitching it back together.

ACH-1's eyes widened.

"This thing can regenerate?"

His strength vanished completely. He dropped to his knees, coughing nonstop as blood spilled from his mouth. His muscles refused to respond, only pulsing wildly. He grew weaker and weaker until he had nothing left.

The wolf let out a loud, satisfied growl. It knew that its meal couldn’t fight anymore. Then it charged again. Its mouth opened wide as it prepared to bite ACH-1’s head off.

ACH-1 stumbled to the side, his movements wobbly and desperate. He barely managed to dodge the first attack.

Before he could react again, the wolf slammed into him. The impact sent him flying. His back bounced off the ground. Pain rushed through his body. Blood ran down his face, causing his vision to blur. Everything felt distant, fading slightly.

ACH-2's voice echoed in his mind.

"I WON'T DIE! I KNOW YOU'LL SAVE ME!"

Then everything around ACH-1 stopped. The wind vanished and the trees stilled. Even the wolf froze mid-motion.

A powerful feeling entered the area.

ACH-1 felt it instantly. Something overwhelming that made even the Beast tremble. But unlike his own chaotic energy, this power was stable. The flow was controlled.

One moment, the wolf was moving.

 The next, its body exploded. 

All that remained was blood splattered on the ground.

A calm voice broke the silence.

"...Corrupted Beasts sure have been getting more aggressive lately."

ACH-1 forced his eyes open.

A figure stood ahead of him. A tall, muscular, purple-haired man. A faint purple aura flowed gently around his body, calm and controlled like it answered only to him.

ACH-1 couldn't process what had just happened.

How did he do that?

The energy vanished instantly. Then he turned toward ACH-1.

“No matter how, you’re safe now!”

His eyes narrowed slightly. "...your Trait..." He stepped closer, squatting down in front of ACH-1. "Hm. Strange."

Within the chaotic energy flowing from ACH-1's, he sensed something different. Something that was so different that it felt familiar. A feeling he had only felt once before. 

On a certain night when a child had been born.

"...kid." His voice was calm but had a serious tone behind it. "Where did you come from?"

ACH-1 tried to open his mouth. Before he could, his body pulsed violently again. He collapsed on the ground.

Then everything went dark. The man stared down at the unconscious boy.

The energy flowing through this kid is unnatural, as if multiple Traits are trying to exist at once.

The unnatural energy left the man disturbed. Something he didn't understand. 

"...what the hell did they make?"

The forest fell silent once more.

After a moment, the man reached down and lifted the boy.

I need to get this kid healed, then figure out what happened to him.

The man wanted answers…

But he needed the person alive to ask questions.