Carline had just entered the parking lot of Kronnos Inc. Since it was nearly empty, she managed to park her car easily near the entrance of the lab. She turned off the car and glanced at the time.
"7:23am..." she mumbled to herself, while staring at her wrist watch as if in a transe. She hadn't had much sleep the night prior due to the million thoughts clouding her mind. And having the Director of the research facility calling her to his office for a private talk really got on her nerves. Carline looked up at the entrance of the lab. It looked fairly new, even though the lab had been there for more than three decades already. It was located in a deserted place where she couldn't even pick up the phone due to the satellite jamming devices set up in a five kilometer radius around the facility. To the world, Kronnos Inc. was nothing more than the medical center in the Ebott State. But of course it is something more. And also being in the middle of a thick forest with trees towering above hills and all over the place would make it extremely hard for anyone to find and enter the lab.
Carline hopped off her car and closed the door, making the sound of the door closing echo through out the parking lot. As usual, Carline would have to go through the security system. She pulled out her ID Card and inserted it in a slot. Afterwards a microphone slid out of another panel next to her card slot, a screen flipped over and a voice from the other side of a speaker was heard
"Password" said the male voice on the other side. Carling never figured out who it was or why it sounded like the man on the other side couldn't say anything else other than 'Password'. Both her and Mathias had a crack at that little detail.
"Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared" she pronounced, being granted access to the labs. She walked through the door into a small chamber: the decontamination chamber. As soon as the entrance door closed, the chamber activated, analyzing Carline for any contaminant from outdoors. Once the decontamination process was complete she finally entered the lab. It was a lot quieter than usual but that didn't surprise her. Normally, she begins her shift at 9AM so she is not used to arrive at that time.
She roamed the dim-litted hallways, walking past many test chambers containing multiple experiments. Carline always found that stuff somewhat creepy even though she was one of the scientists in charge of the most recent project which was, by far, one of the most gruesome experiments in the whole corporation. She would always look away from the windows displaying the chamber itself from the outside only in a one-way glass. When she arrived at the second floor, she quickly walked past the P-ACH1 chamber or Project Archangel-1 chamber where she wanted to avoid thinking about at the time. Everything just seemed wrong to her, disturbing and shocking. Yet she kept writing the reports and observing. She shook her head, wanting to keep away the negative feelings when speaking to her boss
Upon arriving the director's office, she clicked the doorbell and waited. It didn't take long before the door clicked and let Carline inside. The office looked like one of those museums with pillars, a giant 'window' behind the big desk where an old man with thick black glasses dressed in a rather formal suit was awaiting. About 3 metters away from his desk there was an oval table with empty chairs all around it where it served the purpose of having everyone in the management had their meetings. Carline was baffled at the sheer size of the room. Kind of reminding her of a certain movie she had watched recently about some talking yellow mouse and a detective's son.
"Dr. Embers. You have arrived finally" the man said as he slowly stood up from his office chair and walked from behind his desk in her direction. Carling approached, visibly slightly nervous
"Y-yes! Good morning Mr. Gardner" She offered a handshake at the elderly man. The man smiled and shook her hand firmly.
"A very lovely morning for yourself as well, Dr. Embers. I am glad you have made it here as arranged yesterday. Come" He lead her to the front of his desk and pulled a chair for her. She sat down and gave him a smile as a way of a thanks. Then the man went back to the other side of the desk but didn't sat down
"I have heard Project Archangel is still on-going as we speak?" He seemed to be questioning her about the progress made
"Yes... The responses we have had on the test subject's condition are... adequate" Carline said, struggling to find appropriate words to describe it. Mr. Gardner saw her struggle and started to walk from one side to the other slowly but surely, only letting his silhouette be seen from the 'window's' clarity
"I understand if you find the project quite shocking and perhaps terrifying. The idea of using a human's body and soul and a monster's is absolutely ludicrous! I am aware of how many scientists are traumatised by this, but this is crucial for the evolution of mankind" Gardner slid his chair out of the way and the 'window' flickered, turning out to be a huge display
"We humans have a very short lifespan. only about 21% of the population in our planet lives up until a century and only 2% can live beyond that threshold. The other 77% only live between 65-75 years, which is much shorter." The display behind the man had all sorts of things related to humans. From their evolution to their lifespan. It also showed their soul represented by a heart shape. Then it focused on the soul
"Our souls are, in a way, fragile but resistant enough to remain in the land of the living for a long time. And as of today, our magic is very much limited to the usage of a conductor" He explain and the screen followed his explanations
"I know that well... I studied souls for years" Carline said, remembering the Soul Anatomy classes she used to have back in med school
"And your Ph.D. on that subject really speaks for itself. You truly are an expert" Gardner remarked, leaving Carline somewhat embarrased. Then the man continued
"As you also may know, monster souls are the opposing of our own" The screen showed a diagram of a monster's soul
"Unlike ours, as soon as a monster dies, their soul lingers for a few moments before it is destroyed. But that only happens if a monster's soul is strong enough to stay. And it also can absorb other souls, namely-"
"Human souls." She finished, earning a nod from her boss. Then the screen changed to both the diagrams of the different souls
"Precisely. And despite that, human souls cannot absorb others. If forced to absorb one, both souls would be destroyed. But, what if we can fuse them? Meld them together?" The man made the question and Carline raised an eyebrow at the question
YOU ARE READING
SoulBound - Undertale AU
FanfictionBased off one of the most acclaimed rpg games known as Undertale, SoulBound tells the story of the prince Asriel Dreemurr and others, after the events of the game in a new perspective. With war scratching the surface of peace and a secret organizati...
