The light in Rei’s cell flickered for the third time that evening.

A soft, stuttering buzz hummed from the cracked panel overhead, casting long shadows that danced across the sterile walls. He sat motionless on his cot, legs drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped around them—not out of fear, but habit. This was the hour when the silence became loudest.

But tonight, something was different.

The air felt thicker. Heavy with static. His skin tingled, and somewhere deep in his chest, a pressure had started to build—like the atmosphere was shifting, preparing for something.

Then, faint voices filtered through the vent.

Not guards this time. Scientists. One was speaking in a hushed, hurried tone.

“Code 30000 has been transferred to Deep Lab 3. Project Null is nearly operational.” “The most dangerous one yet…” another muttered. “We don’t have the tech to keep them stable. Aether manipulation is—it's barely understood.” “This is our final experiment. The last before we move forward.”

The words were clipped, clinical. But Rei heard the fear beneath them.

Code 30000. The final subject. The most dangerous one.

He stood slowly.

He should have gone back to bed. Stuck to the plan. He and the others were preparing to escape within the week—waiting for the right moment, the right rotation of guards, the right window of silence.

But he couldn't ignore it. Something inside him pulled. A whisper in the dark part of his mind where instinct still lived: Go. Now.

He slipped out of his cell the way he always did—through the vents. Years of memory wipes hadn’t dulled his knack for movement. He knew the schedule, the blind spots, the cracks in the system. A shadow among shadows.

But the lower he went, the colder it became.

This wing was different. A part of the lab he’d never seen. The walls were lined with metal instead of plastic, the floors humming with live energy. A single reinforced door stood at the end of the hall, marked with bright red warnings:

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY – HIGH RISK SUBJECT CONTAINMENT

He pushed it open. Just a crack.

And froze.

In the center of the room, suspended in a glowing capsule of violet-blue light, was you.

His breath caught in his throat.

He knew you. Or… at least, he had. Back before the lab. Back when school still felt like life. You were quiet, distant, like your soul floated a few inches above everyone else’s. While others whispered and gossiped, you always sat alone by the window—eyes on something no one else could see.

He remembered thinking you looked like you belonged in another world.

He never spoke to you. Never had the courage. But now, here you were. Floating. Unconscious. Trapped in this place, just like him.

The screen beside your pod flickered, scrolling data rapidly. Numbers, pulses, elemental readouts. Then, bold red letters across the top:

Code: 30000 Subject Status: UNSTABLE – DO NOT RELEASE Ability: Aether Manipulation Phase-walking, soul detection, void energy generation. High risk. Key to Project Null.

Rei stared.

Aether… the fifth element. Something between the physical and the spiritual. Not just bending matter, but bending the space between things. He had only heard rumors of such abilities—powers so unreal they were written off as theory.

He looked back at you. Peaceful. Still. Fragile.

They kept you asleep for a reason. They were afraid. Which meant… you might be the one who could bring all of this crashing down.

His hand hovered over the console.

A large red button blinked at the base of the screen:

EMERGENCY MANUAL RELEASE – CODE 30000

His fingers trembled, but only for a second. Rei exhaled slowly.

Then, he pressed it.

The room filled with a sudden hiss of steam as the capsule released pressure. Lights flickered. A low mechanical groan vibrated through the floor. Rei stepped back as the top of the pod slowly lifted, glowing seals fading into dark silence.

The capsule was ending.

And everything was about to begin...