He closed his eyes. Then he opened it again. Caressing his techno-staff, a culmination of years of practice and brainstorming. Michael Mathews remained seated on his chair. There was a somber expression on Michael Mathews face. His face looked like he was always looking for shadows everywhere. His fingers on the trigger of his techno-staff, ready to deploy a barrier of solidified bioenergy.

In front of Michael Mathews is a strategic map. A map marked with every possible note. Interconnected into this singular plan. Years of contingencies. Years of research cultivated for a plan of a lifetime. Somewhere in Michael Mathews' head. He knew that this was nothing more than a madman’s plan. But what if he was right?

That poisonous thought. That dangerous sentence that he would conjure. Michael Mathews knew the consequences. The world will become integrated with the fleshy world. That biomass flesh that allows one to think of their ideal. Michael Mathews thought it was an awful world. To rely on such methods to give people that delusion where they are saved.

Michael Mathews recalled a memory back then in old Stellenbosch. He accompanied a group of researchers to contain a madman who had every cell in his body charged with bioenergy. They had opened up the madman. His cells however made his regeneration absolutely horrendous. Each and every single one of his cells intertwined together to form a body that could not easily die. To destroy the intertwined cells they had crippled the man’s nervous systems, and neutralized his regeneration through use of a concocted poison.

Michael Mathews had talked to the man who rightfully calls himself Abel. The man named Abel spoke of words one would expect from a poet or a philosopher. Abel however had a flaw. He would cry when it was twelve in the evening. He would lament about him being disconnected to that world. Michael Mathews had asked about that world. The world that Abel didn’t want to leave.

“It was a world where one does not need to eat. A world where all is connected to the earth and all of life is part of the world. Like a fetus still in its mother womb, forever well-fed, intoxicated in dreams and peace. Oh how I wish that I would not leave. Why was I wrested away? To be gutted by fools like you?”

Michael Mathews knew that the madman lost his mind. Not because of the supercharged cells inside his body. He lost his damn mind because of how he was wrested away from that ideal world of his. Michael Mathews had decided to study what the madman experienced. He had tested Abel for any signs of drugs or substances that could produce euphoric fantasies. Nonetheless, he only found that the brain of Abel was somewhat physically altered.

As if there is a cord that was made inside his brain that receives information. It was a natural receiver that fit perfectly in his brain. It was a coin-sized hole that Michael Mathews thought of a plug.

Abel was a passive man. He only cried for his woes. He spoke rarely and there was no life in the man as if he had retired from living. So it came to his surprise when the man violently fought at the idea of getting the organ in his head removed. Injuring about twelve workers, and one death. Abel was secured by the workers and was prepared for surgery. The surgery was a success. Abel survived and yet the man didn’t last two weeks before he was found dead in his own cell by biting his tongue. Autopsy suggested that he was swallowing his blood. He would have survived if his supercell regeneration had kicked in. Abel’s body was prized for millions of dollars who wanted his body for studies.

It was decided that his body was to be donated to ORI in hopes that they could produce an extensive study. Michael Mathews and his team were brought in to strip every delicate organ inside Abel.

It should have been over. But then something else happened. The supercharged cells of Abel started to form once the poison was removed from his body. He had partly regenerated. His mind was lost, but it was resurrection.

There have been studies that it was possible. And in many of the cases, the ‘resurrection’ was done a few seconds after the man died. Abel has been proclaimed dead. He was a dead man who should have been buried.

Of course in the name of science he needed to be studied. His body was continuously examined. The man had the ability to regenerate and with his mind lost. It was easy to strip him of his organs and then let it regenerate. Abel’s body was a treasure chest.

But as time went on Abel’s mind returned. Michael Mathews had been researching long enough to harden his heart for the sake of science and progress. With the Split-Realm Era, times have changed, and there simply wasn’t enough safe land. They have to make do with flash cloning and Abel could be the one who could solve the problem.

Sacrifices are to be made for the good of the many. He had truly believed this. And yet he also knew that doing this made him and others an ‘unethical monster’ if people would know this. The worst part in all of this to Michael Mathews was the innocence of the man. He had regressed to such a childish state. The man had to be put to sleep. And because of his regeneration powers. There are times where he would wake up mid-surgery.

It didn’t take long for Abel to think of them as monsters. Monsters who would take his organs. Monsters who wanted nothing more than to take what is inside him. A living, regenerating, human cattle, they could do whatever they want to.

Abel was one of the many. The Breakers, the Exemplars, the Mutates/Mutants were part of a new classification that needed everything to study them.

After his recent advancement in his own work. Michael Mathews wanted nothing more to do with the study of Abel. But it wasn’t Abel who paved him into this path. It was during a STORMING event in one of the African States that he was involved in that made him see that way. A world made of flesh. A biomass of flesh-cocoons which had somewhat formed the complexity of a computer. It was a natural bio-computer. Fascinated, he had spent his wealth in studying them. At the same time he understood that Abel’s case was not a one in a million anomaly.

He found four of them that had the similar care. And he had found out that they were imprisoned in flesh-eggs that housed them. The process was roughly similar to medical capsules that had been developed, but these flesh-eggs, at least the variation that he had found during that STORMING event, was similar.

He had studied them for the past years. At the same time he found like-minded minds who knew of this. Minds who wanted to understand what Abel had experienced.

But were they so debased that they would put the world into another pain? Were their hearts riddled with evil and greed that they would further ruin it?

They wanted to believe they were not. They wanted to believe that this was another path for them. A path for this broken world. That this would be nothing more than another path of salvation for those who could no longer save themselves.

He had not done all of this out of curiosity. He could live on without knowing it. He could continue to produce his own inventions.

“All for the good of mankind.”

Such words were far too pretentious. Even he felt embarrassed thinking that he was such a person. A person who thought to himself that he was going to lead this world into enlightenment.

Most of the people following him had many reasons to become part of the Sitra Ahra Group. Once a group dedicated to the further interest of the study of the hybrid of the otherworldly and man-made science turned into this madness.

Large groups naturally have rotten parts. Some of the fanatical ones who wanted to secure and protect the knowledge had made themselves strong. He had made special devices by imitating the split-realm tunneling. It was technology born out of his efforts. Technology that made them secretive and silent. Michael Mathews didn’t want to fight. He wanted to continue doing what his group had wanted without external interference. But the world wasn’t so kind to allow them this peace.

Michael Mathews has many reasons not to do this. His associates also knew that if they did not act upon this. It will result in a tragedy that both would have to suffer from. They never really believed in evil hearts. Every action has a reason and theirs were to protect their own people. It also made him realize how big they have gotten.

The threat for them comes. And if they want to further their studies, then it must be done. He had many of his people working in many places. They have infiltrated organizations and have concluded that if they want a harvest of ichor, then they need to steal one.

The BEHEMOTH was one of their objects. The other objectives were to surround this technological giant. Other than this country, they had already made moves all around the world. They were not so arrogant that they could do this without making use of other studies. Some may call them cowards for preparing so much. And yet that ‘cowardice’ was the one allowing them to win.

“Cut off the blood.”

“Cripple their supplies.

“Infiltrate them from the inside and make use of their own technology.”

They needed the resources. They needed to test their inventions and what better way to do it to a country facing a monstrous problem?

In the past few days his people had stolen schematics and supplies from factories all over Japan. They had stolen secrets and also tested their inventions.

Michael Mathews knew that there was no coming back from this. There was no excuse to waste the lives of many even for the sake of their own people. He had done his best to keep them out of the light. He had made sure that his group wouldn’t suffer prosecution.

He had made plans and it wouldn’t be long until they were able to test if they could experience what Abel had experienced. But his people have different views and opinions. The only reason some of them were fighting hard was that they could accomplish some of their goals.

He also knew that many of them are now starting to retreat. Michael Mathews that this was a grave sin. He wasn’t going to excuse himself. He knew that they were going to come for him the moment he appeared once more.

The Earthside Consortium’s dogs.

The Babaika Lions.

ORI and AETF are probably hoping that they could get a piece of the technology they were using. He knew how greedy they were. At this point he knows that they must have identified him. He did shed some blood. They know that they aren’t going to try and kill him. But he wasn’t that willing to believe that they would truly hold back.

A man entered his room. He gave a nod at Michael. He looked at the man before bracing himself. He looked at his hands, stood up, and ordered them to move.

“Prepare the devices. Once the warpers are activated we will begin our testing. All personnel in the field are to evacuate within ten minutes.”

He looked at the man with steel in his eyes.

“Good luck to you, friend. I hope that you survive this trial.”

The man who Michael spoke to nodded. He had the same face as Michael.

“I doubt it, but if I can, then see you around my old friend. I hope this will be a successful one.”

Michael shook hands with the man and tapped his techno-staff on the ground. His body got covered with dots of lights as he vanished in front of the man.