Consciousness returned to you slowly, like a bubble rising from the bottom. You were lying on a cold stone slab, and the first thing you saw was a vaulted ceiling filled with fancy glass apparatuses in which multicolored liquids shimmered and pulsated.

And then a Creature leaned into your field of vision. It was pale, without scales, with an elongated muzzle and large glasses, behind which two luminous eyes burned.

— "Yeah! Perfectly! Vital signals have stabilized. Cognitive functions... It's fine. His voice was dry and raspy, but there was a note of triumphant excitement in it."

Before you could figure anything out, his long, tenacious fingers began to feel your neck, tap your joints, pull back your eyelid to look at the pupil. "Reflexes are fine... The muscle tone is excellent... The growth exceeded the estimated figures. Interesting..."

He grabbed you by the limb and easily, almost casually, turned you over on your side, as if you were a plush toy and not a creature his size. — "Yes, yes. The crystal base is perfectly fused with the ethereal matrix. Congratulations, my child. You are a living, thinking being. My most successful creation at the moment."

He took a step back, clasping his hands, and his pale lips stretched into an awkward but sincere smile. His belly, swollen from experimentation, gently heaves with rapid breathing. "Well, then... Welcome to the world. I hope your cognitive abilities are as impressive as your physiology. I have so many questions for you."