During the past four years, the injections continued to flow into Five's body, and each dose took away another part of his humanity. At the age of nine, he was no longer just a child... but a living thinking machine.
He no longer screamed or cried at pain, he no longer asked or complained, he simply watched, analyzed, and deduced in terrifying silence. His ability to absorb information had become superhuman, his memory worked like an archive that never forgot anything, and his cold eyes carried no emotion... only endless calculations.
Professor Zero looked at him with pride... he had created the greatest scientific masterpiece, a being without emotions, without fears, merely a pure mind seeing the world as a series of probabilities and equations.
But Five... he was aware of the truth that Zero could not see.
He had not become "the closest thing to perfection" as Zero had said.
He had become something entirely different... something that should not have existed.
Five was in a large field filled with children. They were running and laughing, shouting each other's names, while he sat in a metal chair in the middle of the field, holding a book in his hands, reading silently.
He was fully aware that everyone was looking at him strangely, as if he were an anomaly among them. It wasn't surprising; he was different from them... from everyone.
At that moment, a ball rolled toward him, stopping near his feet. He lifted his gaze slightly and saw one of the boys running toward him, calling out, "Hey, can you pass the ball?"
Five lowered his book slightly, feeling something strange inside him. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly stood up. The ball was in front of him, and he stood by it, staring at it, while the boy shouted again. "Yes, just kick it!"
Five looked at the ball, and then his thoughts began to race with astonishing speed, as if his mind was analyzing the situation like a complex mathematical equation.
Five: "[The perfect kicking angle is between 30-45 degrees for maximum height and range.
The initial speed depends on the force of the kick, which can be calculated using the dynamic motion equation.
Air resistance may affect the trajectory, but considering the current atmospheric pressure, the impact will be minimal...]"
All these calculations ran through his mind in less than five seconds. Then, he planted his foot and kicked the ball with precise, measured force.
The ball shot off with unexpected speed, rising into the air with geometric precision, heading directly toward the goal where one of the children stood, yawning with boredom. He didn't realize what was happening until the ball pierced the net and settled inside.
The first boy, in shock. "That's amazing!... Why didn't you say you were this talented? Do you want to play with us?"
Five froze for a moment, his expression unchanged, but he felt something... a new sensation he had never experienced before. He looked at the children before him, then slowly turned away, gently placing his book on the chair.
But... as he walked, he noticed one of the children approaching the first boy, whispering in his ear.
Five focused on the body language. The quick eye movements meant confusion. The narrowing of the eyebrows suggested discomfort. The tilt of the head in a particular direction indicated mistrust or cunning. A slight contraction at the corner of the mouth... it wasn't a smile, but a sign of mockery.
Then, the first boy's face slowly changed, from amazement to hesitation, then to discomfort, before he turned his gaze away from Five.
He understood everything.
In the end, he turned and returned to his chair, retrieved his book, and opened it again, while the children continued to play as if nothing had happened.
Moments later, as he sat alone, Luna appeared. She was fifteen years old... holding her lunch, looking around anxiously as if she couldn't find a place where she belonged. The children were in groups, laughing and talking, but she didn't seem at ease.
Then, she saw the quiet spot where Five was sitting. She approached slowly, stopped by him, and said hesitantly.
Luna: "Excuse me... can I sit here?"
Five raised his gaze toward her, examined her for a moment, then looked at the empty space beside him, and answered in a cold, scientific tone.
Five: "This chair is approximately 117 cm wide... Considering your size, yes, you can sit down, and there will still be about 30 cm of extra space."
Luna fell silent for a moment, as if her mind had failed to process what had just been said. Her eyes widened in shock, her hands trembled as she held the food tray, and then her entire face turned red before she screamed.
Luna: "You pervert!!"
She then stormed off quickly, while Five remained seated, staring at his book, completely oblivious to what had just happened.
In the courtyard, some children overheard the commotion, and whispers began to spread among them.
One boy, whispering to the one who had called out to Five moments ago: "Didn't I tell you? He's a total weirdo!"
Some exchanged glances, others whispered in disdain, while Five continued reading his book in silence... unaware that, at that very moment, the world around him had begun to shape his distorted image in everyone's minds.
Cold hallways under dim laboratory lights, silent footsteps, and air heavy with the scent of chemicals...
Five walked with steady steps, his unblinking eyes fixed ahead, but he caught movement in his peripheral vision. He turned slightly and saw Luna heading toward the stairs leading to the rooftop. He was only a few steps away from entering the lab, where Zero was waiting for him, but...
At that moment, a memory resurfaced... an image that shouldn't have meant anything to him, yet it had lingered in his mind.
Then he moved... involuntarily.
Luna reached the top of the stairs, her small hand reaching for the door, but before she could touch it, a guard blocked her path. "No children are allowed up here."
Luna, Her voice sharpened: "I just want to get rid of this weight on my chest!!... Can't I even have a moment of peace!?"
But the response was firm and cold. "Go back down."
Directly beneath them, Five stood, his eyes watching the situation without so much as a blink.
Then... Luna moved.
In a split second, she dashed forward, trying to slip past the guard. But his reaction was faster... he grabbed her arm tightly and shoved her back roughly. Her light body jolted from the impact, her feet slipped, she wobbled backward… then completely lost her balance.
And then, as if time had slowed in that moment.
Five observed in silence, his eyes tracking every detail with precision. Luna's fall, the tilt of her body, the air shifting her hair, the desperation in her gaze… Everything was clear before him, as if he were seeing the event in a frozen frame. Yet, he did not move.
Five: "[Body tilt. Center of gravity displaced. Fall angle: 74 degrees. Descent speed: 4.2 meters per second. Probability of death: 87.6%. Time remaining before impact: 1.84 seconds.
Moving to catch her... success probability; 34.2%.
My light weight will cause my body to be pulled down with hers. Result… A double fall, potential injuries for both of us.
As for… letting her fall. Result… Multiple fractures, high chance of fatality, urgent medical intervention required.]"
He did not move.
He remained in place, motionless like a statue, his eyes coldly tracking the scene without so much as a twitch. Luna looked at him in desperation, her eyes searching for a reaction, for a hand reaching out, for even the slightest sign that he would do something... But he didn't.
And in the next instant, just before her body plunged into the fatal void...
Dark green tendrils shot out at blinding speed, as if they had emerged from nothing, coiling tightly around her and halting her fall mid-air.
For a few moments, she hovered between sky and ground, suspended in the grip of those strange, pulsating appendages that felt like a living entity of their own.
Slowly, she was lowered to the ground, her breath rapid, her limbs trembling. In front of her, the tendrils retracted, withdrawing back into their source until they vanished completely… into the hand of Professor Zero's assistant.
The tendrils seemed like a part of him... not tools or machines, but an extension of his skin, his flesh, as if an octopus had emerged from the depths of his body instead of the sea.
But Luna didn't think about that. She didn't care about what she had just witnessed.
Something else had taken over her mind entirely.
Five.
He was still there, standing on the stairs, watching her with the same cold, unfeeling gaze. There was no regret in his eyes, no concern, not even a hint of interest. As if her fall, as if her very life, was nothing more than a passing scene in his calculations.
"What is going on here!?" Zero's voice rang out, strict and sharp. "How many times have I told you it's forbidden to go up there!?"
But Luna didn't answer, still trying to catch her breath as Zero turned toward Five, who had begun descending the stairs slowly.
"Five?… What are you doing? Isn't this your analysis time?"
Five didn't respond. He simply continued walking, his steps calm and unaffected.
Zero: "Come on, don't waste another second."
He turned his body to follow Zero toward the lab. But...
Luna: "Why?"
He stopped. He turned slightly. Luna stepped toward him, her body still trembling slightly, but her gaze was steady, confused, filled with something he couldn't categorize.
Luna: "Why didn't you catch me?"
There was no anger in her voice, only concern… and perhaps disappointment. Five looked at her for two whole seconds before answering in a quiet, emotionless voice.
Five: "The probability of saving you without falling myself was less than 35%."
He paused briefly, then continued with the same lethal coldness.
Five: "It was more logical to stay where I was."
He said it with such stark simplicity, as if explaining an obvious mathematical equation.
Then he turned and followed Zero into the lab, completely indifferent to the look Luna kept staring at his back with.
Main Hall – The room was filled with noise... the clinking of spoons against plates, the murmurs of children, scattered laughter.
Luna entered, holding her plate. She looked at the crowded tables before her, the gathered groups, the familiar and unfamiliar faces... each in their own closed circles, as if an invisible barrier separated her from them, preventing her from getting closer.
Her eyes instinctively moved toward the far corner, where Five sat alone, his back against the wall, his eyes fixed on his plate with no concern for the world around him.
His was the only empty table, but Luna turned her face away, as if sitting with him was never an option.
She walked toward a group of girls, their laughter and soft conversations filling the space. She hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and asked in a quiet voice, one that carried a subtle tremor.
Luna: "H-hi... Can I sit with you?"
The conversations halted for a moment. The girls turned to her, their gazes cold, unwelcoming. They exchanged quick glances before one of them, a blonde with blue eyes, curved her lips into a side-smile... one that was sweet yet sharp, like a blade wrapped in sugar.
"Of course... we don't mind."
Luna didn't move. She stared at the girl intently, as if seeing a ghost from the past. She wasn't looking at just another girl sitting before her... she was staring at an old shadow, an image carved into her memory.
Those eyes. That blonde hair...
A memory flickered in her mind like a burning phantom...
Laughter echoing in her home's courtyard.
A young girl running beside her, her hair flying with the wind, the same features, the same smile. They played, they laughed.
Then… a scream.
They stopped, turning toward the house. Flames consumed it. A savage fire danced wildly, devouring the walls, crawling forward without mercy. Luna ran, but she never made it.
A deafening explosion. A wave of fire blasted toward them, throwing them to the ground.
Then… the men. Armed. Cold expressions, faces devoid of emotion.
They grabbed her sister. Dragged her away. Threw her into an armored vehicle.
"Nooo!" she screamed, trying to get up, but a strong hand held her down.
"Take her too."
She was shoved into a different vehicle.
And separated from her sister forever.
She snapped back to reality, startled. The scene before her remained unchanged, but she realized she had been staring at the blonde girl for too long. Far too long.
The girl shifted uncomfortably, glancing at her friends in unease before whispering, embarrassed.
"What's with this girl?"
Another girl muttered under her breath, her tone sharp as a blade.
"Just ignore her. She seems... weird."
That last word stabbed into Luna's mind like a cold needle.
"Weird."
"Sick."
She felt heat rush to her face... a mix of shame and anger, a weight pressing on her chest. She said nothing. She simply stepped back, her movements brisk, though not fast enough to escape the humiliation clinging to her.
She had nowhere to sit.
Until she lifted her gaze and saw him again. Five.
Still there, in the same position, with the same indifference, at the same empty table.
She didn't think much. She walked toward him, pulled out the chair across from him, and sat down quickly, as if running from something chasing her.
She placed her plate aside, rested her elbows on the table, buried her head in her hands, and squeezed her eyes shut.
A headache pulsed inside her skull, but the real pain wasn't in her head.
Moments passed. She remained silent.
Then, slowly, she lifted her head and met Five's steady gaze. He continued eating, completely undisturbed. He didn't ask why she was quiet, nor did he seem interested in what she was thinking.
Luna stared at him in curiosity, then spoke, her voice filled with wonder.
Luna: "How did you do it...?"
Five lifted his eyes toward her, observing her sad yet questioning expression.
Five: "What do you mean?"
Luna stared at the table's surface before looking up at him again, her voice now hushed, as if struggling to find the words.
Luna: "You calculated the probability of saving me back then... and you did it in such a short time. Were you serious about that? Your analysis seemed incredibly precise."
Five: "I… simply calculated the situation."
He said it so simply, as if the matter wasn't worth dwelling on.
But Luna wasn't focused on the technical details. She was thinking about something deeper... about the way he approached the subject.
She looked at him, as if trying to understand what lay behind those cold words. She decided to ask more. Maybe he would understand her. Or maybe she was the only one who saw things in a strange way.
Luna: "But... how did you do it? How did you calculate the situation?"
Five: "It's simple… In situations like that, there are key variables that determine the outcome... time, distance, acceleration, and weight. Each factor dictates whether intervention is possible or not."
Five lifted his eyes briefly. His expression carried no emotion... just that same unwavering calm, as if he were explaining a physics phenomenon that had nothing to do with him personally.
Five: "When you started falling, I had less than two seconds to analyze the situation and make a decision. Based on the speed at which you were descending, the angle of your fall, and your relative weight compared to mine, I realized that if I tried to catch you, the momentum from your fall would exceed my ability to hold my ground, and we would both collapse."
His voice was completely steady, devoid of hesitation or guilt, as if explaining a mathematical equation that left no room for emotion.
Five: "If I moved, I had two choices. The first... grabbing your arm before you passed the point of no return. But given my position and the distance between us, that wasn't possible within the available time frame."
He paused slightly, ensuring his explanation was clear, then continued.
Five: "The second option... jumping toward you and pulling you with me. But... that would have transferred our combined weight to an unstable balance point, meaning the probability of us both falling exceeded 90%."
He glanced at the table for a moment, then picked up his spoon as if the conversation was already over.
Five: "So... I didn't move."
There was a harsh coldness in his words, but it was not an expression of indifference... it was a strict logic that left no room for emotions.
Opposite him, Luna was staring at him, her lips stiff, her hand clenched tightly on the edge of the table. Everything he said was logical. She understood the numbers, the calculations. She understood why he hadn't moved.
But she couldn't understand how he could say it… without the slightest hesitation or guilt.
Luna, in a low voice: "Even if you were going to fall with me… at least you would have done something, you would have tried."
Five didn't answer immediately. For a moment, his eyes remained fixed on her, as if he were studying her reaction. Then he spoke, simply, in a quiet yet decisive voice.
Five: "If you were in my place, would you have chosen to fall with me?"
Luna froze for a moment, her eyes sharpening, as if she hadn't expected him to turn the question back on her. Silence filled the space between them, but it wasn't an empty silence... it was heavy, like a stone dropping into still water.
She lifted her gaze to him steadily, without blinking, as if she was seeing something beyond him... something he had yet to realize.
Luna: "Yes."
Five's eyes lifted in surprise. He stared at her, unmoving, but something inside him wavered. It wasn't understanding... it was an unfamiliar sensation, like a faint noise disrupting his otherwise logical world.
Luna continued, her voice still firm, but now carrying something deeper... something almost like reproach, or sorrow, or perhaps something beyond that.
Luna: "I wouldn't have just stood there… motionless, watching someone die in front of me."
Her words felt like they were tearing through the thin veil that separated Five from understanding other people. For a moment, he seemed to be trying to process what she had said, but his mind rejected it. There was a missing equation, a factor that didn't belong in any of his calculations.
He looked at her, confused, as if he were confronting an illogical concept, an unmeasurable idea... emotions that couldn't be defined or predicted.
Five, in a low, uncertain voice: "Why?"
The question was simple, but it wasn't just a question. It was a desperate attempt to understand something beyond his grasp.
Five: "Why would you do something like that? Why would you choose to fall for nothing… when you could stay standing?"
Luna remained silent for a moment, as if weighing her words. Then she spoke, softly, yet with an undeniable certainty.
Luna:" Maybe… because I'm human."
Five blinked slowly, as if that word carried more weight than it should. Human… The word itself wasn't unfamiliar, but he had never understood it the way she had just said it.
Five: "I… I'm human too…"
His voice was quiet. The words weren't just a statement... they felt like an internal search for a truth he had never truly experienced. His tone didn't carry certainty, but hesitation, as if he were repeating a phrase he had heard before but never understood.
Luna didn't say anything. She simply stared at him. It wasn't an ordinary gaze... it was as if she was trying to see inside him, beyond logic and calculations, into something else, something immeasurable.
Five knew he was human in a biological sense. But was he really?
There was a distance between them... not a physical one, but an invisible gap between his perception and hers, between his logic and her reasoning. A gap that separated him from emotions that seemed so natural to others, from choices that weren't based on calculations or probabilities, but on something else... something vague, illogical, unquantifiable.
He couldn't understand how someone could choose to lose, to risk their life for another without any guarantee of survival. He couldn't understand why she had answered with such a confident yes, as if it wasn't a choice, but an undeniable truth.
But he didn't say anything. He just kept looking at her, while inside his mind, his equations collapsed one after another, replaced by something new. Something he had never encountered before... something that couldn't be analyzed with numbers or explained through logic.
Something closer… to humanity.
Meanwhile, Luna realized one thing.
Five wasn't like them. He wasn't like anyone she had ever met before.
Five picked up his spoon and resumed stirring the food on his plate, as if retreating back into focus. But Luna remained unsettled.
This analysis wasn't enough for her. She felt like there was a missing piece in the picture... a human element that Five either overlooked or simply didn't understand.
A sense of frustration crept into her. Five was as he always was... distant, his way of thinking incomprehensible.
How could logic be the only thing that governed him? Where were the emotions in all of this?
Luna wasn't focusing on the technical details of his words. What caught her attention was something else entirely... the way he spoke, and the way he treated everything as if it were nothing more than a cold mathematical equation.
Luna: "Why do you act as if… you're just a machine without emotions?"
At that moment, Five froze in place. He felt something strange, as if something unexpected had struck him like lightning. Then, he responded in a low voice, somewhat uncertain.
Five: "I… am not a machine."
He said it softly, but there was something new in his voice, something unfamiliar even to himself. It was closer to an attempt to convince himself than an actual response to Luna.
Luna stepped closer, leaning slightly toward him, her eyes locked onto his. Her gaze was piercing, something he didn't know how to handle. It felt as if she was trying to extract something from within him, something he wasn't even sure existed.
Luna: "Really? Then, can you tell me the exact dimensions of this table?"
Five looked at the table, at its corners, the distance between him and it, the shadows it cast, the position of his hands resting on it... all those tiny details his mind captured instantly before he answered in a low, almost mechanical voice.
Five: "I think it's… 91 × 91 cm…"
He only realized the weight of his response when he saw Luna's expression shift—a mix of surprise and frustration, as if she had just found the proof she was looking for.
Luna, frustrated: See?! You do act like that!... Just like a machine! Just like when we first met… And just like when you told me you wouldn't move because that was the 'logical solution' for you…
He froze for a moment. He didn't know why he felt something strange washing over him... an emotion that wasn't logical, something he couldn't analyze or turn into an understandable equation. Something closer to… rejection?
But why reject it? Didn't he just say he wasn't a machine? Then why did her words make him feel like something was wrong, like there was a malfunction he couldn't explain?
He lifted his gaze to her, but this time, he wasn't looking at her as someone trying to analyze a reaction... he was looking at her as someone trying to understand.
Five, more confused than ever: But… what was I supposed to do, then?
Luna paused for a moment, as if the question had reflected back onto her. She leaned back in her chair, her eyes still fixed on him, then spoke in a calm yet profound tone.
Luna:" I don't know… A normal person would've said something like, 'Sorry, I didn't notice,' or 'I couldn't do anything…' Something like that, something… human."
A heavy silence settled, as if even the air had paused for a moment. Then, Five's voice broke through... soft, yet carrying something impossible to ignore.
Five: "And why would I lie about that?"
A simple question, yet deeper than it seemed. He wasn't trying to challenge her. He wasn't being defensive. He was asking sincerely, as if seeking an explanation for rules that had never been explained to him before.
Luna let out a slow sigh, then looked away before murmuring.
Luna: "Didn't your parents teach you basic manners or what?:
Five suddenly stopped. For a moment, he froze in place... not because of her words, but because of something else… one word in particular.
He slowly lifted his gaze, as if his mind were processing a new question, a question he had never asked himself before.
Five: "My parents?..."
Luna looked at him again, noticing how his expression had become blank, as if he didn't understand what she had just said.
Luna, hesitant: What?… Your parents... don't you have a family?
Five kept looking at her, his gaze holding something strange... an unease not visible on his face but present in his silence. Then finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, he said:
Five: "I… was born here."
In that moment, Luna froze in place. Her eyes were locked onto him, her mind drowning in a sea of shock and confusion. Something strange overwhelmed her... a feeling she couldn't explain. She couldn't comprehend how someone could be in a place like this and have no history, no past. Five's words felt like a push into an emotional abyss she wasn't prepared to face.
Luna: "W-what… do you mean? You don't know who your real parents are?!"
Five was looking at her, unable to hide the confusion he felt, as if the answers he sought were just as unclear to him.
Five: "I… don't know… But the Professor is here. He always takes care of me."
His voice was calm, yet it carried a deep emptiness, as if everything around him was just a blurred image without shape or meaning.
Moments of silence passed as Luna sat in her chair, feeling a mix of confusion and unease, while Five continued eating his food with focus, as if nothing had happened... as if the question she had asked meant nothing to him.
Luna, staring at Five, trying to understand: Why do you keep mentioning 'the Professor' over and over…? Why does everything revolve around him for you? As if he's… everything to you.
Five slowly lifted his eyes to her, then returned his focus to his meal, as if her words were nothing more than verbal noise.
Five, quiet but enigmatic: "The Professor is the one who taught me how to live, how to think, how to move… I'm here because of him."
Luna couldn't fully grasp the meaning of his words. She, too, had grown up in a world that valued emotions and human connection, but Five was… different.
Luna, puzzled: "But… don't you have any desire to be someone else? Someone normal? Someone like us?"
Her voice carried both concern and curiosity. She was searching deep within Five for any hint of humanity, something she believed existed in every person... even in the coldest of them.
Five stared into her eyes for a long time, as if trying to process the question. His eyes, devoid of expression, reflected what he felt inside.
Five, low voice, uncertain: "I don't know… I don't think I need to be anything else… I think I'm just… this way."
But deep within his voice, there was something strange... something hidden behind the harshness of his words, as if a part of him was truly wondering what it meant to be… "human."
Luna felt something strange deep inside her, as if she were dealing with a puzzle... someone who lacked the dimensions that made up an ordinary human… emotions, doubts, confusion.
Five, slowly, in a more serious tone: "Emotions… they cloud the mind. They hinder proper thinking. Everything must be logical. There should be no room for confusion or hesitation. The answers exist... we just have to find them."
Luna felt a surge of intense anger and overwhelming emotion at his provoking words.
Luna: "How can you say that so easily?! You don't even know anything about the real world! About family! About love! About freedom! You're just… an experiment! Is that what you think your life should be? Just a cold machine?!!"
Her voice trembled, as if she were trying to pull Five out of the depths of the pit he had fallen into. But she felt powerless, unsure how to reach something hidden within him... something that seemed tightly locked away.
Then, silence filled the space between them. It was as if time had stopped until the guard's voice interrupted, approaching them and calling out. "Five… it's time to take your medication."
Five remained silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on Luna, as if something in her words was still clinging to him. Then, suddenly, he stood up quietly, his movements mechanical, as if nothing had changed. He looked at Luna with an unreadable expression... a mix of indifference and something else… something almost like hesitation. Then, in a low but firm voice, he said:
Five: "I am not a machine. I'm just… what I'm supposed to be."
As he took steady steps toward the door, passing by Luna without another word… an emptiness settled in the space he left behind. His steps felt like an escape from something unseen... something he refused to face, even if it lay deep inside him.
Then, as if something beyond her control pushed her, Luna suddenly turned around and called out in a quiet voice, one laced with hesitation, as if searching for an answer somewhere within the being standing before her.
Luna: "Wait… you never told me your name…"
He stopped for a moment, his eyes still fixed on the ground beneath him. A long silence stretched between them, as if he were trying to find meaning in the word name itself. Then, slowly, he lifted his gaze toward her, and the words left his lips as if they were no more than whispers—something he needed, yet didn't understand why.
"…Five…"
He said it softly, but in his eyes, there was something else. A brief flicker... calm yet intense... as if that moment had suddenly unlocked a flood of questions buried deep within him.
Something in those words touched a part of him he had never noticed before. And Luna, as if she understood, met his gaze. A silent exchange passed between them... a deep moment of understanding, as if she had glimpsed something hidden behind the barriers Five had built around himself. Slowly, she exhaled, as though realizing something vast... something she couldn't quite put into words.
Then, without saying anything else, Five continued walking, his steps steady, as if that moment had been nothing more than a fleeting second in the sea of indifference that surrounded him.
And yet… deep inside, something had changed. Something small… but it might just be the key to everything he didn't yet know about himself.
A new feeling stirred within him... a vague, fragile sensation, barely there, yet undeniably present. As he walked away, he whispered to himself, as if the words were difficult to say, hesitating on his lips.
Five: "[Could I be… more than just an experiment…?]"
But, as always, the question remained unanswered. It lingered like a fragment of an undefined emotion forming within him... something he neither knew how to describe nor how to confront. Everything felt distant, as if he were watching himself from afar, questioning his very existence in this strange world.
The next day, Five lay on the cold bed inside the laboratory, the pale glow of the ceiling light casting its dull radiance over his expressionless face. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, but his mind was far from present.
Luna's words echoed inside him, like a distant sound reverberating in an endless dark cavern.
"How can you say that so easily?! You don't even know anything about the real world! About family! About love! About freedom! You're just… an experiment!"
He closed his eyes for a moment, but the voice inside him did not quiet.
"Is that what you think your life should be? Just a cold machine?!!"
His eyes snapped open suddenly, as if an electric shock had jolted through him. His gaze shifted to his right arm, where an IV line was inserted into his skin, a transparent fluid flowing into his veins. He stared at it for a moment, then slowly reached out… and pulled it out.
He watched as a small drop of blood surfaced on his skin, then wiped it away slowly, as if contemplating the sensation of pain for the first time.
He stood up and walked through the dull, gray hallways. The place was as lifeless as ever... nothing but the sound of his footsteps echoing in the emptiness. But inside him… there was chaos.
Only one thought consumed his mind.
Five: "Who am I? Where did I come from?"
Five walked until he reached a long corridor leading to the surveillance room. The door was slightly open. The guard wasn't there.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside. The room was dark except for the glow of the monitors displaying live footage from various parts of the laboratory. He moved quickly, rummaging through the drawers until he found a small data drive. He picked it up and plugged it into the surveillance computer.
He started searching.
Dozens of recordings, thousands of hours of surveillance footage... but he wasn't looking for just anything. He was looking for one moment… the moment of his birth.
He typed in the date.
The search narrowed until only one video remained.
He stared at it for a moment, his fingers hesitating over the keyboard. Then, he pressed play.
On the screen…
A dimly lit lab, cold lights, a group of doctors and scientists standing around a medical bed. And in the center… a woman with black hair, sweating profusely, her breaths labored, the pain of childbirth consuming her.
Five's pulse quickened for no reason he could understand.
The image was slightly blurry, but he could make out one of the doctors stepping closer, speaking to her in reassurance. Then… a loud cry filled the room.
The woman closed her eyes, her body trembling for a moment, and then… another cry. But this time, it wasn't hers.
It was a baby's.
Something tightened inside Five. He leaned in closer.
He saw the doctor lift the newborn in his hands. The man looked surprised for a moment, then turned to the nurse and said,
"He has albinism…"
A small baby… his head covered in snow-white hair, his eyes… pink, like a rare gemstone.
Five felt his heart slam against his ribs, as if something inside him had just shattered.
The doctor wrapped the infant in a warm blanket and approached the exhausted woman on the bed.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Mary."
Five froze. He stared at the screen, watching as the woman... despite her exhaustion, despite the pain... smiled. And in her eyes… there was something. Something he didn't fully understand, but he felt it.
Joy. Warmth. Something he had never known before.
Then, the doctor asked,
"Have you chosen a name for him?"
Five inhaled sharply, as if he had been holding his breath all along.
This was it. The moment that would finally reveal the truth to him.
He leaned closer, his eyes widening, his fingers trembling, as if reaching for something sacred.
He watched Mary gaze down at the baby in her arms, gently touching his face. Then, in a weak whisper, she said,
"What a little angel you are…"
Five swallowed hard, every fiber of his being waiting for the next words.
"I'll wait until my husband arrives… and we'll choose a name that suits him."
Silence.
His eyes widened.
His heartbeat stopped.
Then… everything collapsed.
The life he thought he would finally understand… crumbled before him in an instant.
"No… No, no, no, no…!"
He frantically rewound the footage, played it again, skipped forward, but nothing changed.
No name was spoken.
He still didn't know who he was.
He began frantically pressing the control panel, replaying the footage, fast-forwarding, rewinding... but nothing changed. The name was never mentioned. He still didn't know who he was.
The recording ended…
He sat there, staring at the empty screen as silent tears slipped from his eyes.
Closing them, he tried to suppress the crushing sense of loss, but it was impossible. Then... suddenly, he stood up.
He ran out of the room, ignoring the guard calling after him, ignoring everything.
He ran and ran, until his lungs burned, until he could no longer breathe.
Stopping at the stairs, he clutched his chest, feeling as though the air refused to reach his lungs.
He sank down, gasping, his gaze lost in the void.
Lifting a hand to his face, he touched his tears… For the first time in his life, he truly felt them.
"I'm not a machine… but… who am I?"
He raised his head, staring at the ceiling… but found no answer.
Only emptiness.
A void consuming him from within.
Then, Five heard a familiar voice… A voice that cut through the noise in his head, as if time itself had paused for a moment.
"Five...?"