Designated Warlock Shadowmancer

~What are these memories?~ Leonidas wondered, realizing that he was now unconscious.

The visions that were currently flashing through his mind weren his own. Though he felt a sense of familiarity with them, he knew nothing of the world being displayed within the images.

~Project 009, thats my name? What kind of name is that?~ Leonidas wondered as a memory containing this bodys details was fed into his mind.

It became apparent to him what had happened… and what Xeres had meant by only our souls can traverse. Leonidas had taken over someones body, and its former owner had apparently died during that procedure… a procedure to install what they called a Wesen Manipulation Frame.

Thirteen years of project 009s life flashed through his mind in mere moments… names, faces, trials, and tribulations, all of it.

And Leonidas was distraught.

He had been a Spartan, he had seen the horrors of war, the horrors that his enemies and even his own people could subject to others… but still the life that 009 had lived was comparably worse.

They had subjected these kids to torture under the pretense of experimentation. They had mutilated their bodies to test
egeneration. Had subjected them to multiple poisons to test resistance. They had fed thousands to monsters, to test survival instincts… and in the end, they were hardly even considered livestock

At least slaves were treated as less than human, tools if you will. But 009 and his people? They were treated as unwanted monsters. Most of these researchers had done what they possibly could to prevent this project from being a success.

~Just what have they done?~ Leonidas wondered, still surrounded by darkness.

009 had been made in a lab, its DNA a cross between the humans, and what they called Ryka.

Since 009s inception, his mind and body had been monitored, but for what reason was unclear. It had thousands of brethren in the beginning, but slowly they began to dwindle in number.

009 had earned the name after being the 9th to show promise in succeeding in the procedure. A procedure that took the lives of all its brethren, till only it remained. From what it could tell, it was the last… and even then it did not make it.

~These memories… these aren the memories of a living being,~ Leonidas thought to himself, realizing that there were no emotions attached to any of these memories. Whether it was sadness, anger, anguish, or fear… there was nothing.

009s mind had been broken long ago.

”Zero nine, respond, ” a voice shouted, pulling Leonidas back to consciousness.

It seemed he was now attached to thousands of cables, each of them trailing towards odd-looking devices.

”Its brain activity is completely different from before, its almost as if it is a completely different being, ” one of the people in the crowded room stated.

”That doesn matter, just check for brain damage. The general won be pleased with a faulty asset, ” a man who seemed to be in charge said.

”There seems to be a misunderstanding. The being you know as Zero nine, is gone, ” Leonidas tried explaining. He didn have time for all of this. If Xeres was allowed to go unchecked, he would become too powerful to stop, and this world would fall like his last.

”Why is it still speaking that language? ” the captain asked, turning to one of the people dressed in white, working on the computers.

”We have no idea, sir. There doesn seem to be any neurological damage, ” the researcher replied.

”Well? So is it Ryka tongue? ” the captain shot back, now looking observantly at Leonidas.

”This is the tongue of my people… wait… ” Leonidas whispered, trying his best to use the tongue of this world.

Zero-nine and his people had at least been given basic education to test out their intellectual capabilities, so the information was there.

”Me… ah… me not zero nine, ” Leonidas said slowly, trying to string together the new words.

”This normal? ” the captain asked, now looking back at the researchers.

”Again sir, we have no idea what is causing this. There seems to be no neurological damage, but there is an extreme change in brain activity. This might be a side effect of that, ” the researcher responded.

”Me… ” Leonidas was about to say but found there was no direct translation of his name. ”Me offworlder, ” he said after some thought. However, he realized his mistake a moment after. Everyone in the room turned to look at him incredulously.

”N-not Ryka… offworlder, ” he tried explaining. Apparently, Ryka meant offworlder, and he had just **ed himself over.

”Someone check its wesen levels, ” the captain shouted, and the whole room went into panic mode. Several soldiers eyes began glowing with power, each of them standing in a fighting stance a distance away from him.

”Wesen levels normal, ” one of the researchers answered.

”Vitals normal as well, ” another stated.

”Enough of all this. Take it to the chamber room, well remind it of what it is, ” the captain said. At this point, Leonidas was still trying to piece together a sentence that could explain their situation to them.

As he was being unhooked from the computers and machines, he finally pieced a sentence together.

”Great shadow will engulf world. I am only saviour, time… very small left. Free me, I search and destroy shadow, ” Leonidas said finally. For a moment the soldiers and researchers stopped unhooking him, and the captain moved to stand in front of him.

”Your kind have already engulfed our world. But don worry, well make sure we put you to good use getting rid of them, ” the captain said in a slow almost rage-filled voice, before headbutting him and knocking him out.

*

When Leonidas woke up, he was strapped to yet another machine. Though this one kept his head fastened in one direction, facing a large blank screen.

~These people seem fond of metal works,~ Leonidas thought to himself, finding that the chair he was strapped to was very uncomfortable.

It seemed he was alone in the darkroom for now, with the only source of light being the blank bright screen in front of him.

~If these people won believe me, Ill just have to get out of here,~ he thought to himself before attempting to run mana through his mana vessels.

Nothing.

There was not a single speck of mana in the environment. Leonidas found this odd as he couldve sworn that the men who had detained him were using mana.

His train of thought was interrupted when the screen in front of him beeped to life, now displaying an image. It was the image of a war-stricken country, human bodies salvaged and sprawled about.

”The history of mankind… a documented account, ” a robotic voice said from the screen. As it spoke, Leonidas could feel something attempting to manipulate his mind, it was similar to mind magic from his world. They were trying to brainwash him.