The desolate church was filled with activity, a woman dressed in an outfit that resembled a nun ran around. Holding a baby nestled into her arm, shivering from the cold. Yet.
He did not release a single cry, nor a whimper. He just stared at his chest, a hexagon inside a square was tattooed onto his chest in blood red ink, but the nun didn't bat an eye.
'I'm.. A baby?'
He thought. He had consciousness. He wasn't a mindless baby who would babble. It was observing what was going on around the shabby wooden interior.
Its eyes flickered towards the ceiling, the nun placing the child beside the fireplace—the warmth touching his cold, nude body, but. He still didn't care.
'Compound EVE. What happened.. It.. Combusted.'
His eyes closed, and he wanted to try and be awake, but his own body didn't allow that. It wanted rest and would get it at any cost.
It fell into slumber, the nun watching over the baby took a few deep breaths, calming down her frayed nerves, since, of course. An innocent child was left in front of the church to die in the harsh snow.
"What cruel monster would leave such an innocent being to die?"
It was a question that wasn't going to be answered anytime soon—and she knew that.
"I should pray.. The Waning Hour of Eve is coming."
She slowly turned to her right, and there it was. Attached to the wall was a figure of a woman, robed and standing with her arms open. Her lips were slightly upturned.
Like a benevolent deity.
The nun got on her knees, clasping her hands and placing them on the ground as she started praying in a voice that could not be heard by even the sharpest of ears.
"Oh, great mother Eve, your worshiper stands before you. Give this child your blessing. Punish those who abandoned him. And please. Grant him intelligence and loyalty to you and only you."
The prayer was rather... specific. Intelligence? The mind inside the small body of the baby had that in loads.
"So, you're Julius? The presumed 'Smartest man of the 21st century'?"
A man with wild black hair and overall a rather unkempt appearance stood in front of people who sat in the shadows, away from his scrutinizing gaze.
"Yeah? So what? You want me to mess with the atoms of EVE. That thing was ejected from a Neutron Star and unfortunately came here. I'm not messing with that. It's made up of-"
The man was cut off—a large black duffle bag was put in front of him by two other people in black suits, one a man and the other a woman.
"This is two million dollars. You'll earn this every month if you help us with the research."
The same voice spoke once more—it was a bit more desperate now. And Julius noticed that, and he wasn't one to settle on just two million.
"Make it ten and I'm your man, and along with that, you guys call me sir as well."
The room froze, like he had just mentioned adultery in front of children. And it definitely wasn't going to end well according to normal logic.
"What? That's it? Ten million? A month? We pay our generals more than that."
Julius frowned a bit, oh yeah. The US had a massive budget. Oh well, he wasn't one for money. It was useless in the long term, he had calculated all the possible outcomes anyway.
"I'll tell you this. Eight times out of ten, the world ends. The rest of the two times? This shit is worthless and is just a new element that'll be used for smartphones."
The man in the shadows finally stepped out. He was a neatly, overly professional-looking man who seemed like he would win a court case by bribing the judge.
"Very well. We still want you to research it. But how'd you calculate that? Any mathematical trick, or are you just trying to-"
Julius put a hand over the man's mouth. A wild, unhinged smirk spread across the genius's face, one that showed he wasn't one for customs or anything.
"Fuck you now take me to the lab where Compound EVE is stored."
From that point on. It was just work and work. The lab became Julius' home, it was his happy place.
Compound EVE took humanity to a different level. It was a near store of infinite energy, it also seemed strangely.. Sentient, like it was humming whenever it saw Julius.
Just like a cat would when seeing its owner.
Its capabilities were unprofound, it powered hundreds of cities—no. Countries even, but there was a catch, it wasn't. Losing energy-
It was gaining it faster and faster until one day. Julius' calculations had become correct.
"Sir. We've discovered that one cubic centimeter of Compound EVE is energized enough to match the destructive force of a thermonuclear weapon."
It was his assistant, the face plagued by a black shadow. He didn't remember people's faces. There wasn't an exception for him as well.
"Oh? Really? Is it still kept in the vacuum? We don't want any sort of accident happening after all.."
He trailed off, staring at the large crystal that seemed to be made of a thousand colors.
"It's very.. Pretty, isn't it? Seeing the future of humanity stored inside plexiglass."
It was as big as some cars, but it was strangely very light, barely even a pound, yet the amount of energy it created was akin to the sun itself.
"Alright, whatever your name is, I want you to start the ceremony. We're sending shards of this to other countries after all."
Almost as if the crystal heard, it sprang to life. Glowing like a rainbow as it blinded everyone in the lab yet Julius didn't close his bleeding eyes, he looked at EVE with fascination in his eyes.
"I.. Well, may my atoms rest in peace."
Compound Eve exploded. Not with a loud boom or even a small hiss, it was silent. A wave of light and lightning-fast air that broke through walls escaped.
The world was plunged into darkness and silence, the light had taken out the adults only, not the children. Those who were physically above 18? Dead. Atoms ripped apart. And the youngins? They absorbed, they.. Became new.
Julius woke up inside the body of the baby once more, a smile spreading across his face as he saw the nun, the attractive woman, gleaming with happiness, pinched his cheek.
'Oh yeah.. We're so back in the game. Hormones, teenage breakups, titties? Yeah. Julius is back.'