Prolog

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**Prologue – Dreamland, Lab 404**

At the edge of a forgotten world on the map, hidden behind thick trees and the whispers of ocean waves, stands a cold building clad in metal—Lab 404. There are no signs, no indications of life outside its walls, only silence echoing through the fog of the forest they call Dreamland.

But inside, silence turns into screams. Not human—rather, the voices of creatures not meant to sound like that.

Experiments. Tests. Surgeries. They call it research. But for the inhabitants of the cage there, it is merely hell disguised by white lab coats and clipboards filled with notes.

One of them sits quietly in its cage. It looks like a cat... but not entirely. Its face has a soft human shape, its ears are sharp and erect, and its golden eyes shine with awareness. It does not speak, but its mind races.

It sees a small fox with wires protruding from its back. A bird with clipped wings. And a rabbit with a vacant stare, its body stiff from a failed serum.

The cat... it is not an ordinary animal. And it knows—one day, someone must get out of here. Someone must save them all.

And if no one comes…

Perhaps it must be itself that becomes the savior.

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**Prologue – Part II**

Its name is Shin.

That is how it remembers itself, even though no one in this place has ever called it that. In Lab 404, it is merely subject number CX-21, one of many “failed experiments” that have not been given new numbers or attention. Just caged… and left alone.

Shin does not come from this world. The world it hails from is too different to be explained in the crude words of scientists here. In its homeland, it walked upon the night sky, breathed among dreams, and lived under the moonlight that understood the language of its heart. But somehow, a strange rift brought it to Dreamland… and from there, to the hell known as Lab 404.

It witnesses cruelty day after day. The screams of innocent creatures now reduced to bones. Red liquid staining the floor, never drying before new victims replace them. Some plead for mercy. Some rebel. But in the end, all meet the same fate—in plastic body bags or biohazard-marked freezers.

Shin presses its frail body against the cold metal cage wall. It trembles. Its eyes gaze blankly at the execution room—which it can see through a small gap in front of it. There, a three-eyed deer is being cut open alive. Its blood flows like rainwater.

Tears fall from Shin's eyes.

It has tried to close its eyes. Tried to hold back its cries. But every day, that pain returns—never inflicted on itself, but guilt and fear torture from within.

And what hurts the most... they never even feed it. Its body is weak. But its determination still burns—though faint.

That night, like nights before, Shin can only hug its knees tightly, whispering prayers it does not know where they will reach.

“Please... anyone... save us.”

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**Prologue – Part III**

Shin sits weakly in the corner of its cage. Its body shivers, knees pulled to its chest, its tattered tail coiling around its legs. Behind the bars, it sees them again—the heartless scientists armed with scalpels and foreign tools that only bring pain.

Every movement they make is precise, devoid of empathy. Every groan from the creatures is merely data to them. They dissect as if cutting fabric. No pauses. No mercy.

Shin stares blankly as if its eyes have seen hell too many times and can now only bear silent witness. But at that moment—in the midst of suffocating silence—a rumble shakes the entire facility.

BOOM.

The walls of the central room explode, destroying several terminals and scattering fire and metal debris in all directions. Alarms sound off. Red lights flash, and sirens wail deafeningly.

The system spirals into chaos.

Power flickers off and then back on in unstable patterns. And amidst that chaos... click. The sounds come one by one—the sounds of cages opening.

All cages.

The mystical creatures that have been trapped until now stand free for the first time. Some immediately flee, running out of the lab without looking back. Others go berserk, attacking the researchers.

Shin freezes for a moment. Its breath catches in its throat. But an ancient instinct within tells it one thing:

RUN.

It leaps out of its cage; its frail body moves as fast as it can manage. Its chest feels like it's on fire, but it does not stop. It passes through bloodied hallways, bodies of creatures that did not make it in time, sounds of gunfire and screams echoing around.

But soon enough, commands come through an intercom still functioning:

“Focus on subject CX-21! Do not let her escape! Whatever happens—capture that girl!”

Shin glances quickly behind it. Several armed guards are already rushing through the chaos toward one goal: to recapture it.

Because for some reason... it is more valuable than the others.
And they will not let it be free.

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