A shocking report rippled through the global intelligence network.
One test subject from the top-secret Artificial God project—developed by Helix Corp on Utopia Island, deep in the Pacific Ocean—had escaped. The subject wasn't just human. He was the result of a perfect fusion between human neural networks and the world's most dangerous artificial intelligence.
Now, agents from multiple nations faced an impossible dilemma. No one knew whether the subject had survived the incident at sea. But one thing was certain—the Artificial God chip had already fused with his brain.If he was still alive, the world could change at any moment.
...
Morning light pierced a thin veil of mist over an empty shore. Seagulls drifted low above the water as waves gently washed over the body of a boy lying in the wet sand.
He stirred, wincing as if his entire body had been dragged out of hell. "Ugh… what… happened?" His voice was hoarse. He crawled away from the tide, collapsing to a sit, staring blankly at the endless sea.
He tried to stand, but the world spun. His vision blurred, his memory blank. "Who… am I?" he whispered, but only the ocean replied.
Then—
[Loading…]
A mechanical voice echoed inside his skull.
The boy froze. The sound wasn't from outside. It was coming from within his head.
"Wh-what the hell?!" He clutched his temples, eyes wide.
[Good morning… Host.]
"Host? Who's talking?"
[I am the support system embedded within your neural network.]
[Would you like an identity report?]
He swallowed hard. "...Go ahead."
[Name: Inoue Hikaru. Age: 17. Test Subject No. 176.][Pre-test record: Student with severe psychological disorder. Noted suicide attempt on XX/XX. Taken by Helix Corp for experimental use at 12:00 PM.][Place of origin: Tokyo Prefecture, Shibuya.][Public status: Missing.]
"No… no, that's not me… I'm not some test subject!" Hikaru fell to his knees, clutching his head. A sharp pulse throbbed at the base of his neck, foreign and electric.
[Calm yourself, Host. I mean you no harm. My purpose is to help you survive.]
"Survive? Survive what?" His voice trembled.
[Those who will come to hunt you.]
Hikaru went still. The wind off the sea whipped through his hair, and somewhere deep inside him, something stirred—not fear, but a cold, mechanical instinct to fight.
The ocean shimmered silver under the rising sun, waves breaking softly against the sand. Amid the salt air and the whispering wind, a boy stood trembling—his gaze distant, his mind fractured.
[Welcome back, Subject 176.]
The voice was soft, mechanical, yet filled with presence. It echoed directly inside his mind.
The boy—Inoue Hikaru—stood frozen. The explanations from the entity called "AI" within him refused to make sense. The world felt alien. Words like test subject, neural chip, revival protocol—they sounded like something out of a nightmare too vivid to escape.
But one thing was certain: this wasn't a dream.
Fragments of memory flickered—like a damaged film reel.School. Nighttime. The cold wind on the rooftop. Pain burning through his chest and skull. And… laughter.
"Right… because of Takeshi and his gang!!"
His voice cracked with anger and bitterness. It all came rushing back—three years of unending torment, humiliation, beatings, threats. He had tried to endure. Tried to pray. But no one had ever cared. One night, he had climbed the school rooftop and decided… to end it all.
But the world hadn't granted him death—it had given him something far stranger.
His body felt heavy, yet powerful. His breathing was deep, steady, brimming with energy. He looked down at his hands—veins prominent, muscles tense beneath the skin. His gaze trailed lower—his abdomen, solid and sculpted.A six-pack.Broad shoulders. Strong thighs. Skin smooth and faintly luminous.
"When… did I become like this?" he murmured.
With uncertain steps, he approached the shoreline and leaned over the calm water.
The reflection staring back wasn't that of a weak, broken boy.A sharp jawline. Pale blue eyes. Black hair tousled perfectly by the breeze. He looked like someone born to be a hero—not a victim.
"Who—who is this handsome guy?!" Hikaru nearly shouted, half-panicked, half-awestruck. "Wait… this is me?! When did I get plastic surgery?!"
[Your body has been fully reconstructed using regenerative cells and synthetic tissues. The final result was designed for peak performance.]
That voice again—calm, unwavering. Hikaru gulped, then asked carefully, "Who… are you?"
[I was named after my operating program—K.A.I., short for Knowledge Adaptive Interface. You may address me however you wish.]
"Kai, huh? Alright then, Kai it is." Hikaru took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Now tell me, Kai—what happened to my body? Am I… still human?"
A pause. The sea breeze carried the silence for a few heartbeats.
[Biologically, you remain human. However, your body has been enhanced with synthetic tissue and bio-nano cells integrated into your neural system. You are the evolved version of your former self.]
Hikaru stared at his hands again—still his, but no longer the same. Stronger. Faster. More… dangerous.
"Evolved version…" he whispered. "Then… why was I made?"
[That information is currently restricted. Access will unlock once specific conditions are met.]
"Great," Hikaru muttered bitterly. "I don't even know who I am anymore."
Kai was silent for a moment, then replied with a tone that almost resembled empathy:
[For now, you only need to understand one thing: they are looking for you. And when they find you—you must be ready to survive.]
The final wave broke gently on the sand, fading into foam.Hikaru stood at the edge of the shore, sunlight glinting off the unfamiliar face of his new self. In his chest, something pulsed—not fear, not anger, but a quiet, stubborn spark of will.
"To live, huh…" he whispered, eyes fixed on the horizon. "Alright then, Kai. Let's go home."
[Command acknowledged. Calculating nearest route… Destination: Japan.]
...
Meanwhile, deep within a heavily guarded facility in Southeast Asia—hidden beneath a British diplomatic compound—stood an underground intelligence base. Inside one of its sterile, dimly lit rooms, Lieutenant Hendrick Alley lay on a hospital bed. Half of his face was charred and disfigured, the skin blackened and tight, one eye now replaced by a dark crimson prosthetic.
He was alive—but only half of him remained.
The soft hum of medical machinery filled the silence. As his consciousness slowly returned, the sharp scent of antiseptic and the metallic taste in his mouth greeted him. His body felt heavy, crushed beneath the weight of memories he wished he could forget.
"Welcome back, Lieutenant," a calm female voice said.
It was Ava Quinn, an intelligence analyst who had dragged him out of the burning ruins of Helix Corp.
"I'd say you're lucky to be alive."
Hendrick tried to smile, but with his damaged face, the expression came out more like mockery than relief.
"If this is what luck looks like… I should probably redefine misfortune."
Minutes later, the digital screen on the wall flickered to life. The face of Colonel Bradford, head of the Eastern European Intelligence Division, appeared—his gaze sharp, voice heavy with authority.
"Lieutenant Alley. Preliminary reports indicate all Helix Corp experiment files are gone. You're the only surviving witness. We need to know exactly what happened on Utopia Island."
Hendrick stared at the white ceiling for a long moment. The memories flooded back—gunfire, fire, screams… and that boy.
"We weren't fighting an ordinary human, Colonel. That thing moved like a machine… but his eyes—those were still human. He looked Japanese, maybe seventeen or eighteen."
Bradford's brow furrowed. "Japanese? Can you be more specific?"
Hendrick's gaze drifted to the frosted window. "Funny thing… he looked a bit like me, back when I was younger. Check the old personnel files—photo from when I was twenty."
Bradford exhaled, leaning back in his chair. "So you think he's from Japan?"
Before Hendrick could respond, Ava spoke up. "We recovered traces of a skirmish at sea. One vessel en route to Japanese waters was attacked. It's highly possible the subject boarded it before disappearing."
Bradford's eyes narrowed. "Then he's still alive."
"Not just alive," Hendrick replied, his voice rough but steady. "I'm certain Helix Corp didn't just implant an AI chip in his brain. They perfected his entire body."
Bradford's tone sharpened. "You mean…"
Hendrick turned toward the mirror beside him, staring at his half-burned reflection. His voice came low and resolute.
"The program had a name—Artificial God."
Silence filled the room. Only the steady rhythm of the heart monitor broke it, a mechanical reminder that Hendrick still clung to life.
Bradford held his gaze for several seconds before letting out a long breath."So the world has just given birth to a god… and we have no idea where He is."
Hendrick closed his eyes. "For everyone's sake… I hope I'm wrong."
The screen went black as Bradford ended the call. Ava stood beside the bed, watching Hendrick—part fear, part awe in her eyes.
"You really believe he's… something beyond human?"
Hendrick's voice was quiet, distant. "I don't know. I just hope to God I'm wrong about what they were trying to make."
Outside, the sky grew heavy with clouds.
And far to the north—in the land of the rising sun—Inoue Hikaru walked slowly along a quiet roadside, still speaking to the voice in his head, still unaware that the entire world had begun the hunt for him.