(...): What... is this...?
I could barely see outside through the glass. Normally, we were strictly forbidden to look through it, but I did anyway... and it's honestly terrifying.
What if they come and torture me for this?
What if they cut off another limb again?
That's what I thought at first, but it didn't take long to realize—no one was coming.
When I looked through the glass, I saw something strange: the door of the test subject's room on my left was completely destroyed.
(...): Did... a test subject escape?
(...): Is that why no one's here...?
In this situation, it's hard to make any solid guesses.
I need to go out and see what's going on myself.
(...): Okay... I have to get out. But how?
To be honest, I'm scared.
What if the escaped subject got caught?
What those doctors do is... impossible to predict.
(...): Gah... AAAHHHHHH!!!
WHAT'S HAPPENING—M-MY ARM, IT HURTS SO MUCH!
I turned my head toward my severed arm...
It was a sight I'd gotten used to seeing—yet never wanted to.
(...): D-damn it! It—AAHH—it hurts!
A bone was forming where the arm had been cut off, followed by veins and nerves weaving themselves together. Watching it was sickening.
This... this entire process is pure agony!
It wasn't the first time I'd seen this regeneration, but I never got used to the pain.
The doctors were always surprised by how my body never "adapted" to pain like they expected.
(...): Enough... how much longer... AH—how much longer do I have to endure this...?
I couldn't think straight anymore.
I couldn't endure it anymore.
So I gave in to the pain... and everything went dark.
---
(...): Hah... hah...
Guess I passed out again. My arm's back... but this time it hurt much more.
Still, now I feel... fine. More than fine, actually.
There was a new arm where the old one had been.
It felt strange—there was still another arm lying on the floor, but... now I had a new one.
Weird... never mind.
I don't really understand how this regeneration works.
So, back to the question before I passed out—should I leave this place?
How long has it been since I blacked out? No idea.
It's still dark outside... that must mean the escaped subject hasn't been caught.
As I kept thinking, my stomach growled loudly.
(...): I'm starving... but there's no food anywhere... except for that.
My eyes stopped on the arm lying on the floor.
It's not really a part of me anymore, right?
(...): No way... I'm not going to do something that disgusting.
(...): There's gotta be food outside. I'm sure of it.
But there's still a problem:
How do I get out?
The doors only open for the doctors, and there's no other exit... hmm.
The best solution would be to break the glass.
But there's nothing in here I could use to hit it—just a bed, nothing else.
(...): How long would it take to break it with my fists?
It's the only option I have. I don't know how long it'll take, but I'll break it.
I will break it.
I wonder what the outside looks like...
With that thought, I stood in front of the glass and started punching it with everything I had.
---
[A FEW HOURS LATER]
(...): ah... hah... hah...
(...): I can... still... keep going...
I've been punching this glass for hours.
My wrist broke eight times already.
Whenever it broke, I used my head to hit the glass until it healed.
Driven by hunger, I kept punching.
I can't hear anything anymore—guess I damaged my ears when I hit my head.
Doesn't matter. I can still punch.
[After a while longer]
(...): Dosunda... bidiyol...
I think I dislocated my jaw while hitting my head, but that's fine.
All this pain means nothing if I can finally see the outside.
And I'm almost there—the glass is about to break.
Before throwing my final punches, I looked at my hand.
There were no fingers, no palm—just mangled flesh.
It still hurt... but it was worth it.
(...): Ahh… f'nally! G'd'n… outta… h're!
With one final strike, the glass shattered.
For the first time in my life, I saw something beyond this room.
A mix of excitement, fear of being caught by the doctors, and...
a few feelings I didn't even have names for—
as I stepped through the broken glass.