Ryan Sabino woke up on a mattress, and it was cold and cold in the room. The wooden ceiling was leaking, and the rain was hitting the windows. Thunder echoed in the distance, and the storm drew closer. Despite the noise, Ryan slept soundly next to her, snoring almost as loudly as lightning.

"Hey, Ri

I, are you sleeping?" She whispered, but the boy didn't respond. Ryan was cute when he slept, and he didn't admit to snoring at all.

Lunn remembers the day she and her father found him in the ruins of a village destroyed by marauders. He hid in the basement while his entire community died, and their livestock was taken away. If she hadn't been looking for something in his house, Ryan might never have met Ryan.

They have lived together for many years and have never been far from each other. They have experienced war, the atrocities of their fathers, looters, and genomes. Always together, even sleeping in the same bed. Aside from their names, they are siblings...... Even though she was too shy to say it out loud, she hoped they would become closer. She's never had a boyfriend and doesn't understand what these things are all about.

If only he had taken the initiative.

Len looked around the room. It used to be a hunting lodge near the Alps, a quiet wooden house on a steep hillside. The locals must have abandoned it a few years ago, either driven away by looters or moving to a rebuilt city for protection. Whenever she manages to talk to someone outside of her family without her father being disturbed, everyone is talking about New Rome.

When Ryan didn't wake up, Ryan got out of bed in his pajamas and searched around the room. Her companion dropped his pants on the chair, and although it was not so good, the girl looked into his pocket.

The blue elixir seemed to flicker, and a bolt of lightning fell right outside the bedroom.

It's been weeks since they left Venice, and so far, Dad hasn't noticed the potions. Three days ago, he left the children and went to the neighborhood to salvage something. She hoped he wouldn't kill this time.

Lunn knew her father would be back. Ryan hoped he didn't. He was afraid of his dad and hated him.

Le

Understand. Father...... It's hard to get along with. He had already drunk a little too much after his mom left them for another family, but he had been doing his best to raise Lunn and her brother. When Cesare died in the bombing, something broke in Dad's heart and never returned. The elixir of life was the last straw that broke the camel's back, allowing him to vent his pain on others.

But no matter what, he is still her father.

Lun looked at the potion, scared and hopeful at the same time. She knew how her father would react when he drank it, but ...... The blue elixir makes people smarter. Talented. McLaren had a drink, then invented killer robots and orbital lasers.

If that gives her the ability to be smart, maybe she can create an antidote for Dad. Get him back to normal. Turn their team into a real family, not what it is now.

Ryan hesitated, glanced at Ryan, and walked into another room in the chapter. Garage at the back.

The place was a complete mess, a storage area where the former residents put everything they had gotten. Books, car parts, tools, lamps, and even old refrigerators and washing machines that have long been out of use.

However, it has a workshop, probably used to skin hunted animals. Because there was no electricity, Ryan had to light a candle to keep warm. She sat behind her workbench, scrutinizing the elixir. This container does not provide any notices and information other than its spiral symbol. It will be a leap into the unknown. The direct injection frightened her, so she decided to swallow the substance directly. She'd seen her dad do it before, so it should work.

Len took a deep breath, took out the syringe, and drank the potion.

The substance tasted different from anything she had tasted before. It is a mixture of salty water texture and exotic flavors, neither sweet nor salty, neither sour nor bitter. This liquid has no natural ingredients at all.

What's even stranger is that this substance fuses with her physical body. When she drank it, the elixir disappeared before it could enter her stomach; It enters her bloodstream directly through her tongue and mouth, bypassing the normal digestive process. Within seconds, Ryan had swallowed it whole.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Ryan placed the empty syringe on the workbench and wondered if something was wrong. Is it age that makes the elixir ineffective?

Then, her mind caught fire.

A divine inspiration rushed into Len's mind manically, and all sorts of thoughts poured into her mind. Raw, pure information filled her brain like a torrent breaking through a dam, expanding her neurons and changing her entire understanding of the universe. She couldn't move, her consciousness froze as it struggled to calculate a lot of new content.

Her body went numb, and a stream of blue energy rushed through her nerves, bones, and organs. It was brief and intense, and her whole self changed radically.

As the mutation continued, Ryan entered a sort of fugue state. The impulse of creation seized her; Her powers need to be used, like a baby wishing to be born into this world. As the blue light left her body, Ryan's hands grabbed the wreckage of the refrigerator, tools, washing machine, and everything within reach.

She didn't know how long this manic state lasted. Maybe a few minutes, maybe a few hours. During that time, nothing else matters; It's not Daddy, it's not Ryan, it's not this world. She just needs to create something, anything.

By the time the waves abated and Lunn regained control of herself, she had turned the refrigerator and some mess into some kind of bulky deep-sea sphere. She somehow painted it red, and even added a hammer and a broken scythe to the final design. Even in that fugue state, her personality was already revealed.

She understood the nature of her power almost intuitively. It can be boiled down to one word.

Water.

Her strength is all in the water. Here's how it works. How to learn about marine life, and how to adapt land animals to survive under the waves. How to change the oceans on a global scale, how to make technology that can withstand the pressure of the deep sea, how to make equipment that can cause a tsunami. She knows what creatures live in the darkest abyss on earth, and she knows how to communicate with them. Her abilities provided her with all the information she needed to let her own creativity fill in the gaps.

For Lenn, who has always loved the sea and Jules Verne's novels, it was almost a dream come true. This made her wonder if the elixir would give the drinker abilities based on their personality, the abilities they liked based on the color they chose.

But despite her amazing abilities, she can't help her father.

It's not going to help Dad! She couldn't think of any way to cure him, even if she had greater wisdom! She didn't even understand how his unique physiology worked, let alone how to deal with his madness! She can build submarines, tsunami machines, water controls, but nothing can help her understand elixirs, let alone the madness they cause! He------

"Orchid".

Ryan turned and walked towards the door, and Ryan walked into the garage, still in his pajamas. He looked at the mini-submarine, then at the empty bottles; He didn't say anything, but his eyes were wide open.

"I have to do this," Lunn said, her voice choked up. "I have to."

There was no condemnation in his gaze, only worry. "Is it worth it?"

Len shook his head in triumph and collapsed on the bench. The burst of inspiration exhausted her, and it was like running for hours.

She felt his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Ryan, who gave her a warm smile. "Hey." He said, pointing to the deep sea ball. "It's still beautiful. Now you can send disobedient fish to Siberia. ”

This lame joke came out of nowhere, but it made Lunn laugh. "You're terrible," she replied, and the tension vanished. "I should send you to the Gulag."

"We all know that this is only a temporary solution."

"Seriously," Ryan said with a smug smile, "we can go on a trip." I can make a Nautilus out of scrap parts—"

They heard the door of the hut open from the outside and the lock opened.

"Ran? Caesar?" The sound of blood flowed as lightning echoed through the cabin, and Ryan's hand gripped Ryan's shoulder. "Where are you?" We've got to go!"

"Hide." Ryan said, his voice filled with panic. "You've got to hide."

"Where?" Len replied sadly. "There's nowhere to go."

"We have to leave, the homeless are rebelling again!" They killed my clone......"

By the time the blood flowed into the garage, leaving bloody footprints, Ryan had already walked in front of Ryan. The psychopath looked at his daughter without saying a word, and the blood in his body flowed like a raging ocean.

"Orchid". Dad's attitude suddenly changed from enthusiasm to nervousness. "What do I feel?"

“Dad…”

"What do I feel in your blood?"

Ryan protects Ryan like a knight in shining armor protecting her from the Tyrannosaurus. Despite his bravery, he did not have a sword.

"You...... You lied to me......" Bloodstream said angrily, his fingers turning into claws. "You lied to your father!"

Le

Stunned. She suddenly felt so small, the world so cold and unwelcome.

"This power is not for you!" Dad yelled angrily. "It's for me!" It was meant to be for me! Don't you understand, you stupid daughter? I'll take it for you! I took it to protect you! Protect you from this sick world!"

"I know......" the genius lowered his eyes and apologized. I know. ”

It's her fault. If she's strong enough...... If she was strong enough, Dad wouldn't have to take those potions and become a monster.

"Since your mother abandoned us, this is my responsibility!" Mine!" Dad calmed himself down, but the threat in his voice grew. "You must be punished."

"Daddy, please ......"

"Don't touch her!" Ryan tries to stop "psycho", but Bloodflow only fanns him out with an angry backhand that knocks the boy to the ground. Her father walked over to Ryan and raised his hands to strangle her.

His daughter closed her eyes and did not resist. She's just waiting for the inevitable to happen.

But it never appeared.

She opened her eyes again and faced her father's uncharacteristic face. His paws were less than an inch from his daughter's neck, and his blood trembled as if he had Parkinson's disease.

"No......" Dad suddenly held his head in his hands and held back his headache. No... It's not her... Orchid... I can't... I can control it......"

Blood flowed out of the garage, the last bit of humanity in his struggle with the addiction to the elixir of life. Dad disappears into the cabin, and Lunn hears him banging his head against the wall in a nearby room.

Ryan had recovered from that slap, and Ryan reached out a hand to help him get to his feet. "Do you understand? She asked with concern. Blood flowed from his nose; Not blood, his own.

"yes," he said, but visibly trembling. "Yes."

"You're brave," she blushed a little, trying to cheer him up. "It's very heroic."

Instead of answering with words, he kissed her.

Ryan gasped and pulled her towards himself without warning, his lips pressed against her. It is a kiss born of hunger, born of a primal desire for comfort and human touch.

Feel......

It feels good.

After all the fear and nervousness, it feels good.

When they heard Dad crawl back into the room, pulling away from him, they quickly broke the hug. Whether this was out of fear of being discovered or embarrassment, Ryan couldn't tell.

"I ...... I am fine...... I could see it clearly...... "The blood seemed to calm down a little, but he didn't mention it. He doesn't even admit Ryan and his injuries. "I can see it clearly now. You're smart, Ryan. You're smarter now. You can do anything. ”

"Yes, no, I mean," Len cleared his throat anxiously. "I won't make anything, but I can build things."

"We're leaving." The blood flow was suddenly announced. "People are chasing me. After us. They destroyed my clones, and then they came closer. You go and we leave. In any case, it is getting harder and harder to find a good place to spend the night. ”

"Leave?" Ryan asked very carefully.

"What about the United States?" Blood Flow replied with a handshake. "Land of Opportunity, Hollywood!" We're going to be stars there, stars! It's like the Kardashians!"

"I ......" That's crazy, Lunn thought. They hardly know what is going on in France, let alone across the Atlantic!" I'll take a look, Dad......"

"Everything will be fine." When Dad puts his hand on their head almost like a father, both Ryan and Ryan get nervous. "We will always be together."

Today

Silence and darkness.

The bottom of the sea is the most peaceful place on earth. You can always hear some kind of sound on the water. The song of the birds. The wind blows on the grass. The sound of a car's horn. Rusty Town prostitutes and junkies shout.

Here, in the deepest abyss of the Mediterranean, Lunn thinks alone.

She likes it.

Dressed in diving armor and carrying a plasma flashlight adapted to the underwater environment, the "Genius" repaired the shell of the base. Some steel components are unable to withstand deep-sea pressure, weakening part of the modular habitat. While she designed the place to be highly modular, with each "house" being self-contained, any leak could lead to a disaster.

If one day it is the abode of life, it must be absolutely safe. Get away from the horror and darkness outside.

Antidepressants dull Lunn's mind, numbing her after her initial mania, but her strength allows her to concentrate no matter what. If anything, she is only truly happy when she is working. Using her powers fills Lunn with euphoria, giving her a sense of purpose and direction that is lacking in her life.

Genius thought that it must be night on the ground. I want to know......

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Ryan briefly turned on the radio and listened to the conversation on the water as she worked.

"Existence is subjective."

"Huh?" Even now, Ryan was startled at the sound of Ryan's voice and almost dropped her tools on the ground.

"Your question, about whether I exist, if you can turn back time." Ryan didn't recognize the voice. A new one. "We can never know our existence, so there is no objective truth to existence."

"Are you still thinking about it?"

"Yes. It's disturbing. ”

"Well, you're used to uncertainty."

No, you don't.

She couldn't.

Ryan eavesdropped on Ryan's space-time radio for a moment before turning it off. The day after he arrived in New Rome, when he was close to the coast, she watched him from a distance. The genius could swear that he knew she was nearby, which made her retreat below the waves.

Ryan was looking for her. He's been doing this for years.

She didn't know what to tell him.