From the moment she was born, Valentina carried a genetic combination responsible for her deep violet-blue eyes, fused with the DNA of the immortal jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii, allowing her body to recover during power surges. But that wasn’t all. When she turned five, the VOSTOK project leaders implanted her with a chimeric organ derived from the axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum, further enhancing her cellular regeneration in preparation for future power outbreaks.
What followed marked the beginning of a prolonged period of suffering – one that even the strongest adults would have struggled to endure. Valentina’s body adapting to the axolotl’s chimeric organ was an excruciating process. Her immune system relentlessly rejected the foreign cells, manifesting in extreme symptoms such as ulcers, festering wounds, and even vomiting blood. The situation grew so dire that many of the fanatical scientists believed she would not survive and proposed terminating her to move on to the next test subject.
Yet, by some miraculous twist of fate, Valentina crossed the threshold of death and successfully assimilated the axolotl’s genetic code. The coexistence of two of Earth’s most powerful regenerative species within her granted her a body immune to aging, capable of accelerated healing, and even able to regenerate lost limbs – as long as vital organs remained intact. She was deemed a successful specimen, having passed through the power outbreak phase safely.
However, that very regenerative ability became the reason she was forced into increasingly brutal experiments. To many, such power might seem like a divine blessing. To her, it was a grotesque curse born of hell – one she had never asked for.
Valentina still remembered vividly the times those savages grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the operating table; the repeated slaps from the head researcher whenever she desperately tried to flee; and his voice, hissing into her ear, every word carving itself into her very cells:
“Your body, your eyes, even your life itself – everything… everything was created by me. You should be grateful that I granted you these things. Your DUTY is to live and continue serving my research. You will be the one who helps create a new God. And when that day comes, you will be worshiped as the first saint of the new humanity.”
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That agonizing stretch of time had pushed Valentina to the brink of suicide more than once – yet each time, she failed. Her wounds healed far too quickly, leaving her unable to end her own life, and little by little, she sank into depression. Physical pain could still fade with time, but emotional pain was far harder to soothe. At the very moment she decided to give up on everything, Tuan appeared and showed her the lighthouse that illuminated her life. Without Tuan, perhaps she would never have had the strength to survive L.A.B’s final trial, nor the motivation to take her place in the empty seat aboard the spacecraft ELE-SP006 and continue the life she had so many times wished to abandon.
Stepping out of the water veil of the automated shower, Valentina stood still and let the drying system finish its work. She slipped into a cute set of pajamas, then flopped onto the bed and buried herself beneath the warm blankets. Her mattress felt like a soft white cloud woven from cotton candy – so light and buoyant that simply closing her eyes was enough to pull her into a deep sleep. The room was bathed in gentle pastel blue tones, soothing and calming to the soul. Rows of shelves packed with the thick novels she loved stood right by the doorway. Beside them was a built-in fireplace carrying the breath of the cold Nordic lands, along with a wooden rocking chair where Valentina could lose herself in imagined worlds whenever she sat down to read.
Everything suddenly felt strangely peaceful. She still wasn’t accustomed to this new way of living. At this hour, she should have been lying on an operating table, harsh lights glaring straight into her face, while unknown substances were injected into her body – liquids whose names and purposes she was never told. All she knew was that after each injection, the world around her would be stained with yet another layer of gloom, heaviness, and dull gray.
Hugging her pillow, Valentina thought about the apology Arnaldo had offered earlier. Somewhere deep inside, she felt a quiet surge of courage. Something stirred in her chest, easing her fear, if only a little.
“Maybe he’s someone I can trust.” Valentina thought to herself, before slowly drifting into sleep.
