Chapter Two: "Coexistence"

  The device emitted faint, high-pitched whistles with every pulse. Veyron’s eyelids fluttered, struggling to focus. Slowly, awareness returned, though his body remained heavy and stiff. He stared around at the countless devices attached to him.

  A soft voice broke the silence.

  “Seems you’ve woken up, Veyron.”

  He turned his gaze, blurry at first, then locking onto the familiar figure approaching. It was Doctor Emily, calm and attentive, inspecting the devices connected to his body.

  “Emily?” Veyron croaked, recognition dawning.

  “You haven’t been to the clinic for some time… the doctors missed monitoring you,” she replied softly, her eyes scanning his vitals.

  Confusion creased Veyron’s brow.

  “What happened—”

  Memories hit him like a shockwave: the encounter with the quantum genes, the chaotic energy surging between him and SS-01.

  “…How much time has passed?” he asked, voice tight.

  Doctor Emily prepared a syringe of green liquid.

  “A day,” she said.

  “A day??” Veyron exclaimed, panic rising. He remembered the mission scheduled in two days, the syncing with SS-01 looming.

  Emily held the needle firmly, pressing it against his vein. Veyron tried to pull away, but his body betrayed him.

  “Wait, what—!”

  The cold liquid flowed through his veins, causing his hand to tremble.

  “Don’t worry,” Emily murmured. “It’s only to calm your system. You’ll sleep for a few more hours. Fortunately, your body adapted to the large quantum load from the encounter with SS-01… otherwise, you wouldn’t have survived.”

  Veyron wanted to speak, but his tongue felt heavy. His eyes blurred, his body grew heavier with each passing second. He tried to raise his hand, but both mind and body failed him, and sleep swallowed him entirely.

  Meanwhile, in laboratory RC-177, Doctor Rin reviewed the latest SS-01 tests. The room hummed with monitors and quiet beeps. Supervisor Adrien, with wavy brown hair and tanned skin, approached, anxiety evident on his face.

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  “Doctor Rin… are you certain? We still don’t fully understand SS-01’s capabilities…”

  He continued, voice tense:

  “He deliberately pushed Mentor Veyron S-177 beyond safe quantum limits! And now, after two days of rest, you intend to send them on a two-week mission together?”

  Rin raised her gaze calmly, hands clasped behind her back.

  “I understand your concern, Supervisor Adrien…” Her tone sharpened.

  “But the Arrada continue to evolve. New forms appear constantly. Humanity’s resources are limited. The enemy develops… and we cannot just wait in fear.”

  Adrien opened his mouth to speak, but Rin continued, unwavering.

  “SS-01 is one of the rarest and most powerful human experiments. Containing him out of fear achieves nothing. Control comes through challenge, not avoidance.”

  She returned to the data silently, decisive.

  Hours later, Veyron rubbed his neck, exhaustion and irritation clear.

  “I slept until evening… and now they scheduled evening training? And I have to share a room with him after what he did?”

  He approached the door marked 12, a high-tech biometric unit. His finger hovered over the sensor, recalling SS-01’s laughter and smile. Hesitation crept in, but he pressed. The door recognized him and opened.

  SS-01 stood before him, wearing a high-tech exoskeleton. Wires from the mask and collar connected to neural and vital monitors. Flexible restraints bound his limbs. His large, vertical-slit eyes scanned Veyron with calm precision, a faint smile visible beneath the mask.

  “What’s with this device?” Veyron laughed nervously, still tense. “Is this a punishment? That mask… it looks like a dog muzzle!”

  SS-01 tilted his head, voice soft and calculating.

  “Yesterday… when I held your hand… your voice sounded different.”

  Veyron froze, unease crawling up his spine. SS-01’s gaze measured every reaction.

  “Heart rate rising,” he noted.

  “You’re sick,” Veyron muttered, looking away.

  SS-01 leaned slightly, restrained hand reaching toward the mask.

  “Do dogs feel humiliated wearing this?” His voice was eerily calm.

  Veyron laughed despite himself. SS-01’s eyes narrowed, faint smile lingering.

  “Good. Keep making that sound.”

  The training room was vast, ceiling high, walls white. Transparent holographic panels projected a dense forest simulation outside the colony. The flexible rubber floor absorbed impact, while motion and pressure sensors recreated tactile realism.

  Veyron, suited in shock-resistant gear, adjusted for movement, force feedback, and small vibrations. His mission: eliminate dangerous Arrada and collect thirty luminous butterflies within two hours.

  SS-01 entered, similarly equipped, previous restraints removed, collar monitoring quantum activity.

  The countdown began.

  Veyron ran, each step heavy yet agile, tracking the first glowing butterfly atop a segmented tree trunk. He leapt onto a giant mushroom, captured it, registering one point.

  SS-01 ignored the target, perched above, observing silently.

  “What are you doing?? Cooperate!” Veyron snapped.

  SS-01’s eyes blinked slowly, head tilted, faint smile visible.

  “Why worry? Is this training your fear… or leaving the colony for the first time?”

  Veyron’s pulse spiked.

  “I’ll do the mission myself!” he shouted.

  Later, only one butterfly remained. SS-01 descended silently from the shadows, calm and precise.

  “Let’s finish this,” he whispered, analyzing the energy flow. Ahead, a semi-transparent slime moved toward the last target. The slime split, revealing Veyron, energy blade fading.

  “Don’t come closer,” Veyron commanded.

  “Not just a clown in this mission, then,” SS-01 mocked lightly.

  Veyron steadied himself.

  The simulation ended, the room returning to normal. Doctor Rin entered, carrying records.

  “You finished the training alone,” she said, pausing, then adding quietly:

  “And he didn’t intervene.”

  “Veyron… you acted as expected from an S-rank mentor,” she continued, tone neutral, almost clinical.

  “Your speed was excellent. Distance management precise. Timing your pulse on the third interval was correct.”

  Her tone shifted slightly.

  “You came here to train control over yourself and the malformed heirs, not to prove bravery or skill.”

  She returned to SS-01, pressing a part of the recording.

  “Response rate: zero.”

  Rin lifted her eyes and stared at SS-01:

  “Since when do you decide what deserves your intervention? Evaluation… ignoring… decision? This isn’t in your design.”

  A faint smile appeared on SS-01’s face.

  Rin said finally,

  “Guards will come to take you to your room.”

  Veyron stepped forward, tension clear.

  “Doctor Rin… I want to talk to you about something…” He avoided eye contact, staring at the floor.