Nitrox sat cross-legged in the corner of the decrepit lab, the faint glow of a flickering LED strip casting sharp shadows across his determined face. Around him lay broken glassware, scattered chemical packets, and a tangle of wires—tools of a genius boy who found solace not in a world gone mad, but in the mysteries of molecules and reactions.
At fifteen, Nitrox was no ordinary boy. Raised in the ruins of a world shattered by disaster, his mind was a vault of real-world scientific knowledge, inherited from old books, fragmented internet archives, and relentless self-study. While others fought with fists or fled into darkness, Nitrox waged his battle with beakers and formulas.
The air was thick with the scent of ammonia and metal as Nitrox carefully combined two volatile compounds. Outside, the world was a wasteland—forests choked by ash, skies perpetually gray, and a creeping shadow that suffocated all life like a plague. They called it the Shadow Plague, a cursed fog that twisted minds and clawed at souls.
But Nitrox had a purpose. His recent discovery, a rare mineral leached from the abandoned mines beneath the city, could catalyze a reaction never seen before—one that might cut through the shadows' grip. His fingers trembled slightly as the mixture bubbled, a faint blue flame licking the edges.
A sudden crash from the entrance startled him. A figure stumbled inside, eyes wild with fear—a survivor chased by the tendrils of shadow creatures. Nitrox sprung into action, grabbing a makeshift vial filled with his glowing concoction.
"Over here!" he shouted, hurling the vial. It shattered midair, releasing a bright vapor that sizzled where the shadows touched it. The creatures recoiled, shrieking in fury before retreating into the dark.
The survivor gasped, eyes wide. "What… what just happened?"
Nitrox's face was set, cool and confident. "Science. Chemistry. The only light left in this world."
But deeper in the shadows, something stirred—a looming force that even Nitrox's sharp intellect barely comprehended. The alchemist's journey was just beginning, in a world where every reaction could be a weapon, and every discovery a step closer to salvation… or oblivion.