I was locked in a cage.
My older sister and I had long black hair and black eyes.
Around me were other children like us.
They were in these cages because our parents sold us.
"Don't worry. They told us we were going to change the future; that's why they bought us, because they needed us."
My sister said that to calm me down, perhaps. The thing is, that day, I heard some men talking with our parents.
A door opened; a group of men in white coats entered.
One of them had long white hair and red eyes.
"How are my dear children?!"
"My name is Professor Epstein, and I have come to tell you that I will be in charge of your transformation."
"Transformation?" –Said my older sister.
The person called Epstein pointed upward.
"I'm going to turn you into superheroes!"
Hearing that, I was speechless.
It was the first time I heard that word from an adult.
"We're going to put you through some exams. They will hurt, I won't lie... but! Those exams are to see what kind of abilities you can gain."
Professor Epstein smiled, and then they took us out of the cages.
They took us to a room where there were games and sweets.
We could watch TV and play video games.
That was the best day of my life.
The next day, they took us to a white room with many lights.
Professor Epstein, along with several people in white coats, looked at me.
One of them approached and injected me with a large needle containing a red liquid.
Just as he said, it hurt a lot, but it was momentary.
They untied me from the table and asked me how I felt.
I sat for hours, and every so often they asked me how I felt.
To keep me from getting bored, they gave me sweets and toys.
In the end, they let me go after noting several things.
◇◇◇
Weeks have passed since we came here.
Everything was normal, except for one thing.
The number of children was less than I remembered.
There was more space than I needed.
Everyone played happily, even me, except my older sister.
"Onee-chan, what's wrong?"
I asked her. My older sister looked unwell, but with a smile she said.
"I'm fine, I just feel strange."
"Should I tell Professor Epstein?"
"I don't think so. It's just a passing flu, maybe. I'll be fine, I swear."
My sister smiled even though she looked bad.
I wish I could have said more things to her, but that was the last time I saw her.
◇◇◇
"How are you feeling today, 000A?"
Professor Epstein took me to the same white room, but this time the number of people in white coats was fewer.
They all wore strange sky-blue clothes, yellow gloves, and masks.
He also gave me a strange name.
I told him. –I'm fine.
"Understood. I just want to say that this time it will hurt a lot."
"I'll be strong; I'm used to it."
I told him with a smile.
There was something I'd like to know.
"Professor, do you know where my sister is?"
I couldn't see his mouth, but by his silhouette, he was smiling.
"Yes. She's resting. Don't worry."
I nodded, as it calmed me to know that.
"Good, let's begin."
He said as he approached a table.
He picked something up, and I was surprised.
It was a saw with a cord.
But then he put it in another place; I was surprised for nothing, as he picked up a large red syringe.
My heart beat for no reason.
When they injected the liquid,
I thought it would be like always, that it would just hurt, but nothing else would happen.
I was completely wrong.
When the syringe emptied, I began to feel a heat inside me that bothered me.
It burns so much that I feel like I'm going to die.
When I was about to open my mouth,
They put a muzzle on me.
The heat increased, and I felt I was going to faint.
Professor Epstein approached me and said.
"Good. It seems the effect is working."
"We will proceed with the operation since the virus has taken effect."
The people approached, and the professor whispered to me.
"I'm very sorry, but your older sister and your other little friends have passed on to a better life."
"The injection you were given was a powerful virus that kills cells and replaces them with new ones."
"The high command, after the successful project for them, but failed for me, on the new humans who developed a kind of superhero ability, asked me now to find a method to extend life."
A woman took a small-tipped knife and proceeded to make a small cut on my arm.
A small yellow hose was connected and began to suck blood.
"I wasn't lying when I told you I was going to turn you into superheroes. But... my research funds are expensive. That's why I need to do this."
"Ah! I named you 000A because there was already a 0, a 00 from A to Z. But they ended in failure; I hope you don't disappoint me."
"Cheer up!"
After saying those words,
A man turned on the saw, and its blade began to spin very fast.
Then, for the first time in my life, I cried until I became unconscious.
◇◇◇
How much time has passed?
My body has grown.
I have breasts, and my appearance has changed.
I don't just say that because when they enter this room to cut me and take my blood, I saw my naked body in a huge mirror.
At the moment, I didn't have one of my eyes or my limbs.
The worst part was what I heard.
"We are creating superheroes!"
I could perfectly hear Epstein talking to another group of children—no, victims like me.
I was a little happy because my suffering would end for a while.
Was I a bad person because others would suffer like me?
Who cares.
No one can help me or save me.
Why should I feel compassion for those who will go through the same as me, but cannot help me at the same time?
It's pathetic to want to feel bad for someone I will never know.
That's what I've learned being locked up here for years.
I must not feel compassion for anyone. Just as no one will feel compassion for me.
For that reason, I only hope to die soon.
◇◇◇
Someone is coming.
It's strange for this to happen, as I don't remember the last time someone came.
In fact, I haven't seen Epstein for a long time.
A strange guy came in his place, he said.
The door opened. And a stretcher came in.
They placed it next to me.
In this darkness, we couldn't see each other's faces, since if there was another stretcher here, it was because they were like me.
I decided to break the ice since it was boring talking to myself.
"Hey, are you conscious?"
"..."
There was a small murmur. It seems they can't speak.
But it doesn't matter; I'll talk to them because I don't know if they'll die or not.
I heard that when they brought others like me here, they died during the journey.
"What's your name? Do you remember it?"
"... My name is Der."
"Oh, Der, what a cute name. I think?"
"I am... huh? What was my name?"
"I forgot. I'm called 000A, nice to meet you."
"What are we doing here?"
"What do you mean, what are we doing here?"
"It's obvious. To die."
"I don't want to die..."
"Too bad. I've been locked up here for years, so dying is the best thing you can do with your life."
"No... I want to live..."
"I told you—"
"I don't want to die again!"
"Huh?"
"In my previous life, I died tragically! And I don't want to die again..."
Ah, I see...
No, wait. What the hell are you talking about?
"I... I am a reincarnated person. In my previous life, I was a girl from a country called America. My parents worked in a hospital."
"Every day they told me they liked saving lives because it was the right thing to do. If you can help others, you should. It's your moral duty."
"That's why I studied medicine. To become a doctor, to be able to save people."
"But one day... some men entered our house. There was an uproar because some protesters went crazy over a racial event. Apparently, it was because the companies that sponsored them were against what they supported. That annoyed people in some way, which ended in lawsuits and massive fires."
"In the end... all I remember is that I took a knife while one of them was undressing me... sometime later, I woke up in an operating room."
That's very strange. What is this girl talking about? A girl, it seems she is.
"Those guys... are not doctors. They are monsters in human form! I can't stand it... living like this... living in this world is torment."
After saying that, I heard a loud sound.
I called out to her to know what she did.
"Hey, Der, what happened?"
"..."
"Der..."
"Hey..."
"Hey, answer. Der!"
I began to feel something I hadn't felt in a long time.
Concern.
Everything was dark.
But my eyes began to get used to the darkness, and now I could see in the dark.
I was a little surprised by that, but then it got worse because of what I saw.
A small girl was just like me.
Without limbs and on a stretcher.
She was a girl possibly the same age as me when I arrived.
I stared at her for a long time.
Seeing her made me think about something.
What if I had been in her situation?
If I had said a few words of support, would she have chosen to live?
Or...
Am I actually the resentful one?
I chose to become bitter and not try to live.
A younger girl than me couldn't endure this suffering, instead of living.
She could have lived longer if I had said those words of support.
What's more. She said she was a reincarnated person.
If I remember correctly, my older sister said there was a story that talked about transmigrators. People who died and their souls were sent to another world.
Could it be that my older sister is in a place like that?
I want to see her.
I want to see you, sister...
I didn't have limbs, but I did have a phantom sensation.
Something began to arise within me.
My body started to feel strange.
I felt a sensation similar to pushing.
Something was coming out of my inside.
It was painful.
But as time passed, the pain stopped until... I felt it.
I felt something touch the stretcher.
It was fingers.
Fingers on my hands and feet.
The sensation made me cry.
How long had it been since I felt this?
Turning over, I fell.
I spent hours trying to stand up.
As time passed, I managed to stand and walk.
I fell several times.
I think I was like that for two days, since the lights only went out twice a day, and that was for sleeping.
Now that I could walk, I wanted to escape.
I wanted to live for my sister.
I wanted to live for Der, who didn't try to survive because of me.
I didn't know if I could turn the knob.
But with just a little force, the door broke.
I used that opportunity to run.
I had no idea where to run.
I ran so much that I ended up in a very deep part of the place.
I didn't know how to get out.
But there was a huge door.
Then, unintentionally, I applied a little pressure, and the door softened.
I looked at my hands.
Does this mean that what Epstein said happened?
Did I become a superhero?
Once again, I exerted force, and the door fell.
It made a loud sound.
Some lights turned on.
As my eyes got used to the light... I found an abomination.
What I saw made me want to vomit.
Enormous tubes filled with bright green liquid and... I can't say it.
I walked as tears flowed.
Then, with all my strength, I hit the ground.
A crack appeared in that icy, metal floor.
"Damn you, Epstein!"
"Superheroes?!"
"Medicine for the high command?!"
"You were just playing with people's lives!"
"You are not a human; you are a demon in human form!"
I shouted until my throat hurt.
I don't know when it happened, but my hair and eyes, which were black, turned red like blood.
Then, I decided to free them.
I ran straight to where the other children must be.
I opened a door, and a group of men with guns stood before me.
They shot me.
The bullets hurt, but nothing happened to me.
The bullets embedded in my body.
Then they were slowly expelled.
For some reason, I felt very thirsty.
Their necks looked appetizing.
I bit it like a fruit and sucked their blood.
It was delicious.
More armed men were in front of me.
I bit them all until they were dry.
In the end, only one man in a white coat remained.
"Wait, I am your creator!"
"You are the experiment we were looking for! I made you this way, so don't—!"
I grabbed the man with my hand and asked him.
"Where is Epstein?"
"I-I don't know, but he must be somewhere in the capital since he fled—"
I broke his neck; that's all I needed to know.
I approached the children and told them everything would be okay.
They were afraid of me, but it didn't matter.
I took them, and we left that place.
◇◇◇
A few years have passed since we escaped.
I discovered several things because I stole a diary called a report.
It said many things I didn't know.
Like that the virus they injected me with was called the "Vampire Project," a weapon that would be the climax for the fight against the dragons.
Once I bit someone, I could also learn several things.
It was humans who invaded this world.
With their weapons and waste, they contaminate this world and have begun to create a phenomenon that is only visible every 500 years.
They are truly despicable.
The children have grown; they have become warriors like me.
I bit them, and now they are like me, progenitors, because we are the first.
So... let's destroy the humans.
◇◇◇
The war against the humans ended.
The republic was destroyed.
Hundreds of humans fled without their technology, which was destroying things.
Some didn't have their breathing equipment, so they couldn't breathe properly.
At this rate, they will become extinct.
Sister, I avenged you.
But not only that. I gained comrades. I even gained a name.
My name, yours, hers, and above all, a unique name that sets me apart from humans.
Astraea Gerbera der Trueblood
Now, I will live my life in peace.
◇◇◇
I was wrong.
More than 1000 years have passed.
My comrades have decided to die.
The worst part is that we cannot die easily.
A few years ago, a strange shadow appeared before me.
That shadow told me that if I wanted power, and I accepted.
I felt something strange about that conversation; it seemed I was going to accept it anyway.
But it doesn't matter.
Even my husband, whom I buried because he was a human, and we together created a place to live.
I will leave all that.
I want to die.
I can't take it anymore.
From time to time, I hear tormented voices.
Please, let me die.
I entrusted that wish to my descendants before planning to lock myself in a coffin and wait for my death.
◇◇◇
"I am Licht."
A descendant seems to have awakened me.
There are many things I don't understand, but a strange boy standing before me was challenging me to fight.
My body is still weak, but even so, I could beat him.
But I have no reason to do so.
"And I have come to kill you, just as you wish."
Until he said that sentence.
With that alone, it made me become serious.
"Shall we begin?"
Will you be the one who can grant my wish?