"Don't die! Don't die on us, dammit!"
Scalpels slashed into soft flesh, red blood flowing from them. Teams of expert surgeons rushed to stop the viscous liquid from pouring out.
"Stop, we haven't finished the connection yet!"
Experienced mages standing in the room screamed, not done engraving millions of microscopic symbols into the experiment's back.
"We have to stop the bleeding! DS-28 will die otherwise!"
Dr. Ethan Moryl, an expert in both mana inscription and medicine, gazed at the experiment, weighing the decision.
On the operating table, lay a black-haired boy. His back muscle and skin were almost completely carved out, replaced by black, artificial skin in the shape of a dragon.
Looking at his white shoes, now soaked in blood, he yelled out:
"Stop the operation! Now! Stop-"
Then, a domineering voice rang out.
"At my decree, you will not be stopping the operation. Children are extremely replaceable. Or did you forget that, Ethan?"
Turning around, he saw one of the three Crown facility overseers. Knowing to not argue if he treasured his life, Ethan turned around, barking out:
"Hasten the engraving of inscription! Any and all healers, use all your damn mana if necessary!"
Expert mages concentrated more mana into their hands, creating streams of fire to burn the symbols in faster.
The teams synchronized, doing all they could to stop the child from dying on the table.
The surgery was a success.
A couple of hours later, the boy awoke in his facility cell's bed.
Beside the bed, sat the exhausted Ethan.
"Good morning, Paryl."
The boy, known both as Paryl and as DS-28, answered sleepily:
"Hello Mr. Ethan... Did the surgery go well?"
Ethan shrugged.
"Don't know. No data has reached me yet. But, here, catch."
The man tossed a small teddy bear to the boy, smiling.
"It wasn't easy to get permission to give it to you, but here. Your favorite plushie."
The boy's expression grew into a large smile.
"Thanks! Thanks, Mr. Ethan!"
Cuddling with it, Paryl asked:
"How long can you stay here?"
Rubbing his beard, Ethan answered:
"Well, until the data reaches me, so I'd say for a few-"
"Dr. Moryl, I just received the imprint data. Come outside."
As if she had waited for the moment, a woman chimed in.
"Well, I have to go, kid. Rest up."
"Bye, mister!"
Paryl nodded, then hissed as his back warmed up dangerously, absorbing something. Unnoticed by the boy, scarlet sparks crawled up his skin, invading it.
In the hallway, Ethan asked:
"Is the data positive, Maria?"
She nodded curtly, handing him the papers.
"Somewhat. No loss of blood, no mana leakage, it's all fine. Unfortunately, no connection to the Emperor, either."
Biting his lip, the man slammed a hand into the metal wall.
Underneath his mana reinforcement, the wall buckled, cracking and bending like a soda can.
"Damn, can you do that to your fingers too? If so, poor girlfriend."
The man retracted his hand from the hole in the wall, waving to the paper pushers in the office through it.
"I'm single."
The woman's eyebrows shot up.
"I've known you for 5 years. How the hell did that fact not come to my attention earlier?"
The man shrugged, not enjoying the attention.
"Never came up."
He awkwardly let out.
"So... Want to go for dinner later?"
The man was just about to shoot the woman down when the sound of ripping metal rang out from Paryl's cell.
The thick, steel door was bent unnaturally at its middle, as if hit by a battering ram.
The facility's walls ripped apart like paper.
Thunderous footsteps boomed through the facility.
"Maria! Run!"
She stood in shock, then internalized the command, running away into the opposite direction.
Out of the wall's ruins, a dragon made out of scarlet electricity rose.
Four gigantic limbs carried a mighty torso, out of which rose two wings. A mighty neck connected to its shoulders, leading to a menacing jaw.
Two curved horns pointed to the facilities' ceiling. Its tail flickered, on its end situated a large sphere, serving as a mallet.
"Paryl?! Is that you in there?"
The dragon roared, making Ethan's ears throb in agony.
"Paryl! Stop it! Calm down!"
Before the man continued, a leviathan arm slammed into his side, sending him flying through the hallway.
The man reinforced his body with mana, absorbing most of the impact.
By the time he looked back up, a large column of flame was headed in his direction.
Using the instincts developed in his many years as a warrior, he nimbly dodged the flames, then ran towards the menacing dragon.
Its jaws unhinged unnaturally, fire forming in the back of the beast's mouth.
Around Ethan's hand, air magic formed, slowly turning into its evolution, thunder.
Light shined brightly around his hand, electricity crackling.
'I have to put it down. I have to-'
Ethan's hand shook as his brain finished the sentence.
'-put Paryl down.'
Grimacing, he let the thunder fizzle out of reality.
The monster released its flames, which consumed Ethan whole in instants. Only ash and scorched floor remained.
The beast then looked at the ceiling.
It commanded the earth to rise into dozens of pillars, which promptly bombarded the ceiling.
The facility's cover didn't budge. Shining symbols appeared all across it, as if the mana inscription that made the ceiling invulnerable were mocking the dragon.
The beast desperately clawed at the inscription, begging to be let out.
Realizing it won't break, the being decided to find out a different exit.
It was just about to walk past prey, gaze on the floor. Then, it saw an unnatural shadow.
Looking at the wall, a small hole was letting light through, distorting the shade.
Realizing there was prey inside, the beast's jaw opened in exhilaration.
The wall ripped apart under the creature's wrath, bloodcurdling screams coming from the people inside.
When the beast had its fun, what remained of the workers was pieces of flesh and ash.
The dragon searched for an exit, more and more frantic as it desperately searched through a maze of identical white corridors. Its gigantic limbs slammed into the ceiling repeatedly, making the whole facility trembled.
Then, it saw Maria trying to crawl toward safety.
She had twisted her ankle running in heels.
The beast let out a raw, deep noise. It was laughing at her fate.
"S…stop... Stop it, DS-28! Now!"
The dragon raised its foot, ready to flatten the doctor.
"Stop! Please!"
Tears streamed down her face, voice breaking apart like glass.
The woman closed her eyes, ready to die.
Each second felt like eternity. But, nothing happened.
When she gathered enough courage to open her eyes, she saw an unconscious Paryl lying on the floor.