Chapter Text
Akikta escaped from Alterna, luckily in one piece.
However, there was another survivor who remained in the ruined city. Back down amongst the ruined and gradually decaying buildings was Subject 7.
Like Akikta saw, he had survived the flooding of the alternative exit. When the hatch pushed him out into the tunnel, it sealed the entrance, preventing more water from pouring into Alterna. Unfortunately for Subject 7, it also kept him from pursuing a danger to his existence.
Subject 7 would return to his state of dormancy, typically after the death of every and anything deemed a threat. But he didn't see Akikta die.
That human was one threat he could not allow to live. After all, Akikta nearly killed him twice and has evaded elimination longer than anyone else.
Who knew when he'd return to finish him? The thought alone made Subject 7 restless... and angry.
The inky entity roamed Alterna for an undetermined amount of time. The black-and-white scenery before him was vaguely familiar, but ultimately irrelevant.
The idea of leaving Alterna never once crossed Subject 7's mind. But wherever the threat went, he had to follow. Eliminating enemies was the only sure way to guarantee his survival.
Eventually, Subject 7 found himself in a destroyed location. There was debris and broken pieces of something enormous scattered around the dome-like area. He seemed to have subconsciously wondered here.
A strange breeze flowed over him from above. Subject 7 looked up to see a soft glow of light shimmering in the distance. What was it? Another enemy? He'd know soon enough.
He approached the nearby wall, his body sticking to it like glue. Subject 7's humanoid form broke down into a more basic black puddle. Soon after, the black puddle quickly scaled the wall like a slithering snake.
Subject 7 shifted back into his humanoid form when he reached the top. Immediately, warm winds blew against his inky body.
The sky above looked different. It wasn't a bright gray like it had once been. It was darker.
That soft light he saw earlier came from over the horizon. It was disappearing over the land, which is what caused the world to grow darker.
A minute passed, and Subject 7 understood he was standing in a massive crater. What was this place? Why did it feel so different from the world below? And...
Why were there so many threats?
Everywhere Subject 7 turned, he felt the electromagnetic pulses of various living enemies miles away.
Where such pulses had once been absent, they were now abundant. It was madness.
Had these threats always been here? Why were they here, and how did they go unnoticed? No, the how and why didn't matter.
Subject 7 faced forward. Past the cliffs of the crater and over the dozen yards' worth of land was the biggest threat of them all. Akikta. He'd know that human's pulse from anywhere, and luckily, it was still within his sensory range. Subject 7 marched forward, his intent crystal clear.
Every living being here was a threat to him. Threats could not be allowed to grow and potentially get stronger.
They'd all be eliminated, just like the ones who first dared to threaten him.
And the first to go was Akikta.