The morning air was heavier than usual.
Clouds loomed low over the city ruins, their gray bellies almost scraping the rooftops. It had been hours since Renji had spoken. The mark on his palm had faded to a dull gold, but the silence it left behind clung to him like smoke.
Yua watched him from a distance, arms crossed, mind racing. She wanted to ask a thousand things—but she knew better now.
Renji wasn't just cursed.
He was changing.
And she could feel it too.
---
Three Miles East – Sector 11
"Yua," Renji finally said. "We need to go to Sector 11. The old science wing."
Yua blinked. "That's... where the labs used to be, right? Before the Purge?"
He nodded. "I saw it in the vision. When the Original spoke… it wasn't just a memory. It was a location."
They left the depot behind, walking through cracked streets and broken glass. The city had once been alive with color, voices, neon — now it was just a skeleton in fog.
But the fog wasn't empty.
---
As they entered Sector 11, a strange chill set in.
The buildings were torn, melted at the edges — like something had burned the walls without using fire.
The lab stood at the end of a black road — a five-story ruin of steel and silence.
Its sign, tilted and rusted, read:
> "Project: Mugen — Division 0."
---
Inside the Lab Ruins
The air reeked of chemicals and damp metal.
Wires hung from ceilings like vines. Old monitors lined the walls, cracked and lifeless.
Renji walked straight to the center.
There, half-buried in the floor, was a sealed vault door.
> [System Trigger: Hidden Memory Detected]
Do you wish to unlock? [Y/N]
He didn't hesitate. "Yes."
The floor glowed.
And suddenly — the vault opened with a hiss.
Inside was darkness... and a staircase spiraling downward into black.
---
The Forgotten Floor
The stairwell smelled like rust and old blood.
Yua clung to Renji's jacket as they descended, step after step, until they reached a room filled with floating data-pods.
Most were broken.
But one — only one — was still intact.
And inside it… floated a child.
Pale skin. Golden eyes. Mark on the palm.
Exactly like Renji.
---
Memory Playback – Project R-00 Log
> "Day 0321: Subject R-00 shows signs of emotional rejection. When left alone, he begins to hum… something ancient.
We still haven't decoded it.
Day 0372: Memory implantation failed again. Soul-burn reached 62%.
We've named the anomaly: 'Mugen Instability.'
Day 0410: R-00 keeps saying the same phrase:
'I don't want to be reborn anymore.'
What does that mean? He was never born to begin with."
---
Renji's hands trembled.
This wasn't just a lab.
This was a graveyard.
And he was the ghost.
He stared at the pod.
And then…
The child inside opened his eyes.
Golden. Empty. Terrifying.
Renji stepped back — but didn't scream.
Because in that moment… he felt it.
Connection.
---
A Shared Thought
> "You're not me," the child whispered, his voice echoing through Renji's mind.
"But you're wearing my pain. You were made to carry it."
Renji whispered, "Why me?"
The child smiled sadly.
"Because you were the only one who didn't break."
The pod dimmed. The voice faded.
The child inside went still again — like nothing had happened.
---
Yua's Discovery
While Renji stood frozen, Yua had opened a rusted locker nearby.
Inside were files. Photos. Diagrams.
One name stood out.
> Gin Shisui – Ex-Project Handler. Codename: Red Fang
Assigned to control the escape of R-01 to R-12. Status: Rogue. Dangerous.
She turned pale. "Renji… this guy… he's hunting you."
Renji took the photo.
Stared at Gin's crimson eyes.
And for the first time… he felt fear not for himself, but for Yua.
"He used to be part of the project. Now he's free.
And he wants to erase everything they made—including me."
---
Final Scene
As they walked back up the stairwell, Renji whispered:
"I'm not the first.
But I'll be the last."
Outside, the clouds parted slightly.
And far above, standing on a satellite dish, Gin Shisui watched with a small smile.
"Let them uncover the truth," he said.
"The more they remember… the easier they are to break."
He turned away.
His red blade gleamed.
Truths are worse than lies when they start speaking back.
If this chapter gave you chills — comment "Project Mugen lives!"
Chapter 10 is coming with secrets, shadows, and the real reason Renji survived.