The wailing sirens tore through the night piercing Roselle’s ears through her hazy consciousness. She felt death creeping for her. Voices around her were distorted and whispered words she couldn’t hear properly.

  Roselle found herself naked on the cold rigid floor. Blood seeped from her wounds. The lingering sensations of pleasure were tainted by the torment she had suffered which created an unbearable sensation within her body. "I... I don't understand," she murmured "How did I end up like this? I’m in so much pain…and yet… “

  Roselle’s words faltered as a searing wave of pain surged through her chest. Tears streamed down her face mingling with the blood staining her cheeks.

  Roselle’s vision blurred as shadowy figures loomed over her. The world collapsed inward, swallowing her whole.

  “Oh well…I guess…I will never know...”

  She surrendered to her injuries, unsure of the truth shrouded within her fragmented Memories.

  Roselle’s consciousness began to stir. She found herself confined within a green tube. Panic gripped her heart tightly. Her eyes darted to the neighboring tubes, one empty and the other housing a young girl with hair blending shades of blue and pink.

  Before Roselle could gather her thoughts or explore further, an excited voice echoed through the laboratory. "Excellent! All systems are still operating at maximum power! Great! Fantastic! Wonderful! Extravaga--" The voice abruptly halted.

  Near the row of containment tubes, Roselle could see a woman sitting at a workstation with her legs crossed gazing at a digital report displayed on a holographic screen. Her sharp eyes, partially obscured by the sunglasses perched atop her head darted over to Roselle. She was apparently ‘spinning in the chair’ until that very moment.

  “Roselle…” she whispered but then she spoke louder: “You’re awake!”

  The green liquid began to drain with a low mechanical hum. Roselle felt it pulling away from her body, leaving her skin cold and damp. Her feet touched the metal floor beneath her with the chill seeping into her soles as the tube’s glass casing slid open with a soft hiss.

  For a moment, Roselle remained still with breaths uneven. The air felt heavier than the liquid. The ground beneath her toes was solid but foreign.

  “Go on, take a step,” the woman urged gently.

  Roselle hesitated, then moved one trembling leg forward. Her knee buckled slightly but she managed to catch herself. She continued to try and walk but was wobbly. The act of walking itself was like it was alien to her.

  The woman studied her closely with arms crossed. A thoughtful hum escaped her lips and she tilted her head with her orange pigtails swaying lightly.

  “This wasn’t supposed to happen for another two hours,” she muttered while adjusting the sunglasses on her head. “Unless…” Her lips quirked into a faint smirk. “No, no. That would be utterly preposterous! There’s no way you could’ve… known.”

  Roselle’s head snapped up at the comment with eyes wide with confusion.

  "Roselle," Dr. Kintovar declared while pointing at her, "Codename: Project Mage. That shall be your designation, a title bestowed upon you by your Brilliant Creator, me, Dr. Kintovar!”

  The name, "Project Mage," echoed within Roselle’s mind. She repeated it quietly, the syllables flowing from her lips. Dr. Kintovar continued, "You are the second of my living creations, Project Mage. Your powers, carefully crafted through my expertise, shall be the key to my success in this world!"She gestured toward Roselle with unwavering authority. "From this day forward, Project Mage, you will obey only me.”

  Dr. Kintovar spun around in a display of excitement. Her lab coat flowed around her.

  "People told me all my life that magic was something one had to be born with, but here, within the confines of this laboratory, I have created the perfect magical weapon. Twice, with your creation, and with that of the young girl in your neighboring tube, it will be a third time."

  Roselle listened with her mind now swirling with awe.

  Dr. Kintovar leaned down "Roselle, for your battle suit is still being meticulously crafted. Once complete, it will become an extension of your power, enhancing your abilities and shielding you from harm."

  Roselle nodded yet a sense of vulnerability accompanied. She just realized the absence of clothes on her body; however, to her surprise, she found herself strangely unaffected by the exposure. It was as if the process of becoming this ‘Project Mage’ had stripped away the societal norms and judgments in the perception of her own body.

  Roselle was given a coat of fur to wear in the meantime.

  Dr. Kintovar gestured toward a metal staircase at the edge of the room. “Come,” she said briskly. “We have much to accomplish together.”

  Roselle hesitated for a moment before trailing behind the eccentric woman. The descent was eerily quiet except for the soft clink of Kintovar’s boots.

  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Roselle’s breath caught in her throat. The lab was enormous. She could see a maze of metal platforms, illuminated tanks and blinking monitors. The ceiling stretched high above them, crisscrossed with wires and pipes with the faint blue glow of distant containment chambers.

  “Eyes here,” Kintovar snapped, cutting through Roselle’s awe. She stood a few steps ahead with hands on her hips. “You’ll have plenty of time to marvel at my genius later. Right now, there’s something you need to understand.”

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  Roselle blinked. She nodded hesitantly at the woman.

  "This base extends a good distance before reaching the main city," Dr. Kintovar explained. "To reach the city, we must build a bridge, but for now, Roselle, you are not ready to face that challenge. Instead, I want you to gain some practice."

  Roselle's gaze locked with Dr. Kintovar's, filled with curiosity. Dr. Kintovar continued, "There are some humans causing me trouble in the nearby forest. I want you to deal with them, to demonstrate your strength."

  What? Roselle was not used to her new body yet and yet here this woman was sending her out on this mission to deal with humans? But before Roselle could open her mouth to speak, Kintovar said, "Simply utter the word 'Weapon,' Roselle and watch as the manifestation of your power appears on your back."

  Roselle took a deep breath. She spoke the word "Weapon" with and as if in response to her command, a gigantic cannon materialized on her back which suprised her.

  Dr. Kintovar spoke with urgency yet in a calm manner. "I have designed your body to be incredibly powerful, capable of handling weapons and challenges that would normally be impossible for someone of your size. That cannon on your back, it is but a taste of the immense strength you possess."

  Roselle listened with both anticipation and a growing sense of unease.

  "But you must understand the importance of time," Dr. Kintovar explained with a chilling edge. "You will have only two minutes and thirty seconds to complete your mission in the forest. In order to ensure your unwavering loyalty and commitment to your tasks, I have designed your body to detonate if you exceed the time limit. This serves as a fail-safe mechanism in case you have any thoughts of betrayal."

  Roselle's eyes widened. She felt conflicting emotions. The notion of eliminating her own kind, the humans, stirred a sense of sorrow within her but survival took priority in this twisted world.

  Dr.Kintovar started to speak in a sorrowful tone. "The world is cruel, Roselle. Humans, with their misguided beliefs, seek to control and dominate the world with their so-called 'magic,'" Dr. Kintovar spat with disdain. "They have fostered a society where the endorsement of magic reigns supreme, while technology is shunned and those who dare to embrace it are publically humiliated, even hunted down and killed.”

  "They want me dead," Dr. Kintovar continued while turning around to face the door. “Especially those residing in the forest. They fear my power, my intellect, and all that I stand for. That's why I created you, Roselle. You are the weapon that will dismantle their plans."

  Roselle's gaze locked with Dr. Kintovar's, her mind with conflicting emotions. Questions swirled in her mind but before she could voice them, Dr. Kintovar continued.

  "Roselle, our survival depends on your success," Dr. Kintovar declared with intensity. "The humans in the forest pose a threat not only to me but to the very existence of technology itself. It is your duty to eradicate them before it’s too late."

  A heavy silence settled between them and Roselle grappled with her role in this. "Go, Roselle. Your timer begins as soon as you step through that door," Dr.Kintovar said.

  Roselle stepped through the threshold and as she did, the timer began its countdown. Time became her enemy, urging her forward, compelling her to fulfill her mission before the detonation became inevitable. The once familiar laboratory gave way to a mystical forest, which was a blend of nature and ruin. Ancient trees stood tall with branches reaching towards the sky while remnants of forgotten structures lay scattered amidst the undergrowth.

  However, this forest carried an unsettling aura, different from the calm serenity of nature. The forest was alive with humans dressed in rich attire that spoke of their affinity for magic. Their mere presence emitted an air of arrogance and entitlement.

  With eyes keenly scanning their surroundings, the humans spoke out. "She couldn't have gotten too far with that wound," one of them said with their eyes slanted in anger. “We must kill her before she can get back to her lab and destroy the rest of her projects!"

  Roselle crouched behind dense foliage and observed the scene. She knew she had to eliminate these humans who posed a threat to both herself and Dr. Kintovar's plans. She cautiously approached one of the humans who was a man holding a blazing fireball. His gaze shifted from the forest's depths to settle upon her, though when he saw her, he was perplexed.

  "Who are you?" the man sneered. "A little girl like you without any magical energy should know better than to enter these woods. Are you lost? Or do you have a death wish?"

  “I... I don’t want to fight you,” Roselle said. Her words were met with scoffs.

  A woman with an aura of frost crackling around her hands stepped closer to Roselle. “Then why are you here, little girl? Lost your way to the city? Or maybe…you’re one of her experiments.” Her face darkened. “If that’s the case, you won’t leave this forest alive.”

  Roselle’s gaze darted around looking for an opening but the humans had her surrounded. The man with the fireball laughed and spoke with scorn. “Let’s end this quickly. We’ll reduce her to scrap metal and then go back to finding Kintovar!”

  His hand shot forward, hurling the blazing sphere directly at Roselle. Instinct took over and Roselle leaped to the side with the cannon on her back adjusting with a mechanical hum. The fireball collided with a tree behind her exploding into a shower of embers.

  The humans’ amusement faded, replaced by surprise when they saw the size of her Cannon.

  “What the hell is that thing on her back?” one of them muttered, taking a step back.

  Roselle didn’t want to do this. She want to hurt anyone but the timer in her mind pulsed like a second heartbeat and the human’s words were raising the rage within her. She took the Cannon from her back and growled. Then, she said, “I am Roselle, and I am the Human executioner!”

  This defiant proclamation caught the humans off guard. The man who had first spoken to her raised a hand full of flames and snarled. “She’s bluffing! Destroy her now!”

  However, in that very moment, Roselle's anger ignited a surge of power within her. When the fireball was unleashed from the mage, she released a shot from her colossal cannon.

  The shot collided with the fireball and obliterated it in a blinding explosion of power. The impact went through the forest, shaking the trees and causing the ground to tremble.

  Afterwards, a shocked silence descended upon the humans. The man who had attacked her now stood before her with a huge hole in his chest. He could only look down before falling lifeless to the ground. The others gazed at the scene in disbelief. Their confidence was replaced by a creeping fear.

  Roselle's eyes widened. She did not intend to take a life with that shot and yet, she did… How….could she?

  Roselle focused on the remaining humans. They were shaken by the display of her immense power. A woman with a crown-like ornament on her head stepped forward through the group surrounding Roselle and spoke while trembling, “What... What are you?"

  "I didn’t choose this," Roselle whispered. Her gaze hardened upon meeting the trembling eyes of her enemies. 'But if I must...' She raised the cannon with ferocity. 'I am Roselle, the Human Executioner.'