Yuki Ito

Yuki burst into the main laboratory, breathless, with Maya following closely behind. She had been stunned when he turned back to the rebellion headquarters, but now her expression was unreadable.

“Yuki, what are you doing?” she whispered sharply, as he stepped further into the sterile, white room.

He ignored her and rounded on the equipment in the center of the room—towers of screens displaying data, blueprints glowing on the monitors. His voice was steady but demanding as he turned to Maya. “Tell me everything. No more lies. What exactly are you planning? How am I supposed to be sacrificed?”

Maya hesitated for a moment, her face pale, before walking over to the door and locking it. The sound of the deadbolt echoed through the room. Faintly, the sound of fists pounding against the door started almost immediately—Jun and his parents, yelling to be let in. Maya ignored them.

“Yuki, I never wanted you to know like this,” she began, her voice trembling. “But I owe you the truth now.” She gestured to the monitors. “Your invincibility mods—they’re to be broadened. It’s like part of a virus, a weapon designed to spread rapidly across humanity. This is all based on our parents’ transferring research.”

Yuki’s breath hitched as she continued, her voice heavy with guilt. “This virus will neutralize all genetic modifications. Forever. No more classes based on mods. No more advantages for the rich or suffering for the unmodified. To make it work, it needs your DNA. Your mods, specifically.”

“And that’ll kill me,” Yuki said flatly. It wasn’t a question.

Maya nodded, avoiding his eyes. “Yes. And without you, it won’t work. The rebellion will fail.”

The pounding on the door grew louder. “Yuki! Don’t listen to her!” Jun’s voice was muffled but desperate. “Open the door! Please!”

Yuki ignored it, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “So that’s it, then?” His voice shook with frustration.

“I hate it, too,” Maya admitted, her voice breaking. “But we have no other way. If we stop now, everything we’ve fought for, all the lives we’ve lost—it’ll mean nothing.”

Yuki’s mind was a storm of emotions. Betrayal. Anger. Confusion. Despair. He thought about his parents, about their lies, and about Jun. About the destruction outside—the fires, the screams, the endless chaos. All of it rooted in the divisions created by genetic engineering.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself. The weight of the choice was crushing, but in the end, he realized there wasn’t really a choice at all.

“I’ll do it,” he said quietly.

Maya’s eyes widened. “Yuki—”

“If I can bring peace—real peace—and equality to this world, even at the cost of my life… then my existence will have meant something besides being an experiment.” His voice was calm now, resolute.

“No! Yuki!” Jun’s voice was frantic outside the door. The pounding became desperate, rattling the frame. “You don’t have to do this! Open the door, damn it!”

Maya’s hands trembled as she adjusted the sleek, sterile equipment surrounding the surgical bed. The monitors flickered with streams of data, showing the virus activation process in cold, clinical detail. She glanced at Yuki, who stood silently by the door, his face pale but resolute.

“This will be painful,” she admitted, her voice low, “but it’ll be quick.”

Yuki nodded, his gaze distant. He could hear Jun’s broken voice outside the door, muffled but growing louder with each desperate cry.

“Yuki! Please, don’t do this!” Jun was sobbing now, his fists pounding on the door. “I need you! I—I can’t lose you!”

The sound shattered something inside Yuki. His mind was flooded with memories: the nights they spent at the park playing games under dim stars.

“Jun—” Yuki’s voice broke as he spoke, staring at the closed door. His parents’ voices were absent now, and he guessed they had gone to find another way in. He didn’t know where Counselor Kaito had gone either.

Jun’s voice cracked again, raw with pain. “Please—please, Yuki—don’t leave me like this.”

Yuki turned to Maya, his expression a silent plea. “Can I just—see him?”

Maya hesitated, her lips pressed into a thin line. Then, with a reluctant nod, she stepped forward and unlocked the door.

The moment it opened, Jun rushed in, grabbing Yuki and pulling him into a tight embrace. His shoulders shook violently as he sobbed against his best friend’s shoulder. “Please, don’t do this. We’ll find another way—there has to be another way!”

Tears welled in Yuki’s eyes as he held Jun, the reality of what he was about to do crashing over him. “Jun,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “I have to.“

Jun shook his head fiercely, his tears soaking Yuki’s shirt. “No, it’s not. You don’t have to throw your life away for them—for anyone!”

Yuki pulled back slightly, meeting Jun’s tear-filled eyes. His own tears fell freely now. “I’m not doing this for them. I’m doing it for everyone. For a world where no one has to live like this.” His voice cracked as he added, “For you.”

Behind them, Maya’s voice broke the moment. “Yuki. We have to start.”

Jun’s grip tightened for a moment, his entire body trembling, before he finally let go. His sobs continued as he stepped back, watching in silent anguish as Yuki turned and climbed onto the surgical bed.

Yuki lay down, his heart pounding in his chest. The cold surface of the bed bit into his skin as Maya began connecting the equipment, her hands moving with a precision born of determination.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Yuki didn’t respond. He closed his eyes and focused on the sounds outside—the distant shouts, the clash of battle, the chaos he hoped to end.

The virus activation began.

Agony tore through Yuki’s body, sharp and unrelenting. He clenched his fists, his back arching against the pain, but he forced himself to focus on his purpose. Through the haze of pain, he thought of Jun, of the rebellion, and of a world where people could finally be equal.

Outside, the effects of the virus were immediate. Modified enforcers and rebellion fighters alike collapsed to the ground as their genetic mods were neutralized. Weapons were dropped, clashes slowed, and the protest turned battlefield fell into an eerie silence.

Inside the room, Yuki’s breathing grew shallow. His vision blurred, but he managed to turn his head slightly, his eyes finding Jun in the corner of the room. Tears streaked Jun’s face, his hands trembling as he watched helplessly.

Yuki smiled faintly, a small, peaceful expression amidst the pain. And then, with a final breath, he was gone.

The door burst open moments later, and Yuki’s parents rushed in, followed by Counselor Kaito. His mother let out a heart-wrenching cry as she ran to her son’s side, collapsing beside the bed. She clutched his lifeless hand, her sobs filling the room. His father stood frozen, his face ashen, unable to move.

Jun slipped out of the room silently, unable to bear the sight of his best friend lying still.

Kaito approached Maya, his expression one of weary relief. “You did well,” he said softly, his voice heavy with emotion. He glanced at the monitors, which now showed the complete neutralization of mods. “It’s over.”

Maya leaned against the wall, her body trembling. For the first time, she felt the absence of her own unlimited mods—their weight gone, replaced by an unfamiliar freedom. She closed her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks.

And somewhere, far beyond the chaos, the world began to change.

//

One Year Later

The rebellion, once a force of chaos and resistance, had dissolved into a coalition of former fighters and thinkers, each determined to rebuild society from the ground up. Without the oppressive grip of genetic modifications, the world began to equalize, albeit slowly.

The government, forced to reckon with its corruption and reliance on modified enforcers, underwent massive reform. Laws were rewritten, and genetic engineering was officially banned.

Counselor Kaito stood as a polarizing figure. To some, he was a hero who had sparked a revolution; to others, he was a man with too much blood on his hands. Yet, his vision for a fair society began to take root, even as debates about his legacy raged on.

Maya stepped into the void left by the rebellion’s dissolution, becoming a vocal advocate for peace and cooperation. She dedicated herself to bridging the lingering class gap, using her own painful past to inspire change.

Yuki’s parents faced justice, sentenced for their illegal experiments on minors. Maya intervened on behalf of Yuki’s mother, reducing her sentence after uncovering the truth about her ignorance of past atrocities.

Jun was never seen again. 

But, the world was healing.

All thanks to Yuki Ito.