The Infinity Project
1068 Words
Ella sat on the couch, with Blaze in her thoughts. She was not sure why they both had the reaction upon meeting each other for the first time. However, she felt connected to him in some way. Was it because he was an S rank?
As if reading her thoughts, Nerion felt his jealousy stir. Ella seemed to have a strange effect on all the S ranks, and he wondered why.
“Ella, your thoughts are so occupied on Blaze, you're forgetting all about me," Nerion complained, sitting beside her and laying in her lap. She looked down at his hurt expression and felt bad. He was right. She needed to put her attention on him.
“What is the infinity project?” she asked, taking her mind off Blaze. Nerion’s hurt expression suddenly went dark. He thought about whether to tell her, as the experiment was one he never wanted to attempt again.
“I'll show you," he said, sitting up. He created a portal to his lab.
Nerion’s lab looked exactly like what Ella expected from a real scientist—just… more advanced.
It was bright, but not harsh. Clean white lighting reflected off smooth surfaces, making everything easy to see without straining. Long workstations stretched across the room, each one set up for something different regarding analysis, testing, observation. Nothing was messy, but it didn’t feel sterile either. It felt used. Like real work happened here.
Glass containers lined one wall, filled with samples in different states; liquids, preserved tissues, things mid-reaction. Some were labeled in precise handwriting, others tagged with glowing markers that updated on their own. The faint smell of chemicals hung in the air, sharp but familiar, the kind that told her experiments were always running.
At the center was his main station.
A wide table covered in organized equipment—scanners, injectors, tools she recognized and a few she didn’t. Everything was laid out in a way that made sense, like he could reach for anything without looking. Screens hovered nearby, showing data that shifted in real time with readings, structures, notes being recorded as he worked.
His desk was off to the side, simpler than she expected. Just a terminal, a few stacked reports, and a sealed container holding something she couldn’t quite see through the glass. No personal clutter. No distractions.
Even the quieter corners of the lab had purpose—storage units, reference materials, backup systems. Nothing wasted. Nothing out of place.
Ella found herself taking it in without thinking, already understanding how she’d move through the space, where she’d start, what she’d test first whenever she decided to ask to use his lab on her own.
“Wow Nerion”, Ella said. He was happy she loved his workspace. He would spend hours everyday here inventing something new, or testing out ideas with his team. It was late into the night and his team had gone home, so it was just the two of them. Nerion grinned. She truly marveled at everything he had shown her today, as if seeing everything for the first time. Her wonder was invigorating.
He took her to the side cabinet with his files and failure results regarding the infinity project. He figured she wouldn’t understand half the stuff she was reading but he was wrong. Ella understood the report clearly. The infinity project was a pill the Blaze commissioned Nerion to make that would enhance a beast skin’s abilities to be stronger than they were born with for the military. It was still in testing, but a few beast skin had heard about his drug and found a way to break into his lab, stealing it.
Within a few hours of taking it, their abilities elevated, as the drug designed it to do, but it had negative side effects. It burned the beast skin from the inside out day by day. It also made them lose control of their mental sea, and no female could soothe it. It turned them feral, causing them to be put down in the end by the military. Only one S Rank was brave enough to take the drug, but it caused him to frequently lose control of his mental sea. He ran from the government to avoid being put down, and the government has been searching for him ever since.
“So the drug worked on this beastskin, but he ran away," Ella asked, and Nerion nodded.
“His name was Draven, a former war god of the capital. Dragon beast skin. Originally, there were five S ranks in the Capital, but Draven has always been overly ambitious. He took the drug even when I advised against it, and his metal sea became unstable. Blaze and the military have been hunting him ever since, but Draven is clever.
“Why does Blaze want a drug like this to come out again?” Ella asked, frowning. This was clearly dangerous and, if it went wrong, could hurt many of the beast skins.
“Because he is f*****g sick, that is why. He thinks it will help him in his fight against Draven, but he is sorely mistaken. Draven isn’t called a war god just because. He was a literal monster on the battlefield, conquering domains with ease with his soldiers. Ella was quietly analyzing the formula he used. This is where she most excelled at. Making formulas to solve problems. Many of the chemicals and resources used were things she was already familiar with, which made it easier for her.
She also had the memories of her host’s younger days in school, so she was able to remember the uses of new plants and chemicals she had never seen before. As she looked at the formula, it clicked. Like a missing piece of the puzzle.
“Let me come with you tomorrow," Ella asked. Nerion raised a brow.
“Are you sure? It will be all science and business talk. You may be bored," Nerion said. He watched her scan over documents and smiled, as if something clicked for her. It was the same look he had seen with his own team whenever they had a breakthrough, but he checked her background. She had no science background whatsoever. Ella looked at him with her big brown eyes and smiled.
“Absolutely,” she said. She was determined to confront Blaze about this project as well.
- Writer
