The virus first emerged in 2004, just as the world was beginning to recover from a string of devastating natural disasters and the bloody aftermath of the global resource wars.
Initially, it didn't raise much alarm. People simply reported persistent fatigue and an overwhelming urge to sleep. Millions were affected. But when those people began falling into unnatural comas, days passing without a single one waking up, governments around the world finally began to panic.
Researchers scrambled to trace the phenomenon to an unknown virus called Somnivirus-M or Mania for short. In response, they developed an antibody designed to eliminate it.
But none could have predicted what came next.
Instead of being eradicated, the X-virus absorbed the antibody and evolved. The result was horrifying: the infected began to die at random… only to rise again as monstrous beings. Empowered by an unnatural force known as Mania, they gained terrifying strength, and conventional weapons proved useless against them. These monsters, soon dubbed Hollows, overran national militaries and plunged the planet into chaos.
Yet from the madness, new forces were born.
The first were the superhumans, later called Minuses. Then came the creation of the Mania Disease Crisis Control (MDCC), which was a powerful organization formed to regulate rogue Minuses and marshal their strength against the growing threat of the Corruptors.
With Minuses on the frontlines and the MDCC holding the reins, humanity clawed its way back from the brink, creating a fragile new order.
Of course, that didn't end the conflicts raging across the world. But as far as Solace was concerned, none of it had anything to do with him, so he never paid it much attention.
Not until a few days ago, when he was officially diagnosed with the virus.
Now, the young man sat alone on a bench facing the imposing structure of the MDCC headquarters. The glass monolith towered above the city skyline, bristling with security. Surveillance cameras tracked every movement. Drones buzzed quietly overhead. Armored agents clad in black paced across the courtyard. It looked less like an administrative center and more like a futuristic military fortress.
Still and silent, Solace sat with a thin nose mask dangling uselessly from one ear. His sunken eyes, shadowed by fatigue and sleepless nights, stared blankly ahead — trying, perhaps, to see through the mirrored surface of the building.
As if it might offer him some kind of answer.
'Here goes nothing.'
Finishing the last sip of lukewarm coffee, Solace stood and tossed the empty paper cup into the nearby trash bin with practiced ease. Around him, the wealthy residents of this part of the city hurried past the small park on their way to work, their tailored suits and polished shoes a stark contrast to his disheveled appearance.
They gave him sidelong glances. Some were curious while others looked at him with disdain.
Dressed in worn, ill-fitting clothes and bearing the telltale signs of sleepless nights, sunken eyes, pale skin, and a frame thinned by stress, Solace looked like he didn't belong here.
"No! Don't show any weakness!"
Solace slapped both sides of his face at once, snapping him out of the spiral. He had to stay focused. Mania feeds on negative emotions, he reminded himself, especially envy.
Drawing a steady breath, he forced a determined smile onto his face and stepped off the curb. With renewed resolve, he crossed the street toward the MDCC's main entrance.
But before he could take a single step inside, two guards in full-body, futuristic armor moved into his path.
"Stop," one of them barked. "State the purpose of your visit."
Solace examined the two guards wearing never-seen-before armour. The suits itself looked like something pulled from science fiction. It was black, made with seamless plating reinforced with hex-steel fiber, and glowing visors that masked any trace of humanity behind them. Mounted shoulder units hummed faintly, likely advanced sensory systems scanning for biometric anomalies or concealed weapons. Their rifles, matte-black with pulse coils and integrated scopes, weren't standard military issue.
These were specialized made for enemies far worse than humans.
Each guard stood over six feet tall and their posture was stiff and mechanical like they were machines trained to mimic human behavior. Despite their faces being obscured, Solace could practically feel their eyes judging him behind those visors.
"Hey! Answer when you're asked a question!" one of them snapped, voice sharpened by static.
"Oh, right…" Solace coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat. "I'm here to surrender myself… as a carrier of the X-virus."
The silence that followed was immediate and tense. Both guards stared at him, the glow in their visors seeming to narrow like pupils constricting.
"Are you certain you're infected?" one finally asked.
"Yes," Solace replied calmly. "I was tested recently. The result came out positive."
A pause. Then the next question came with less suspicion, but more gravity.
"How long ago was that?"
Solace shrugged.
"Three days."
Another pause. This time, the silence was longer.
"Understood."
Following those words, one of them pressed a button on his terminal and said:
"Attention! We have a potential infected in the lobby!"
† †
Trying to suppress a yawn, Solace slowly became aware of the cold sensation of metal nodes attached to his skin. He was hooked up to several strange devices, flickering with unfamiliar data like heartbeat patterns, temperature readings, and other metrics he couldn't even begin to understand.
It was strange. Just minutes ago, he'd been standing in front of the MDCC's entrance. Now he was lying on a sterile bed that reminded him of something from a hospital. The room itself felt like a vault and underneath the main building: reinforced walls, steel ceilings, and a formidable door that looked capable of withstanding a direct missile strike.
He glanced around and noticed the absence of any doctor or nurses. Perhaps they were searching his behavior from another room using the surveillance camera located at the corner.
'I don't like this.'
Then, with a hiss of decompressing air, the vault door finally opened.
A gray-haired man stepped inside. His face was seasoned, carved with lines that spoke of a lifetime spent staring down disaster. His eyes were hard, calculating, and far too used to the worst the world had to offer. Clad in a black uniform with the visible MDCC insignia, he approached briskly, glanced over the monitor, then turned his full attention to Solace.
"What's your name?"
Solace blinked.
"What?"
The man's brow twitched.
"I asked you your name."
"Oh..."
Solace exclaimed and muttered under his breath.
"Solace."
The MDCC agent titled his head, visibly confused.
"Solace? As in… comfort in a time of distress?"
Solace nodded weakly.
"That's right."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that's one of the least strange names I've heard in here. Were your parents poetic or just overly optimistic?"
Solace tried to shrug, but his limbs felt too heavy. All he managed was a twitch of his shoulders.
"How am I supposed to know what they were thinking?" he muttered. "I do know I was born after my mother had two miscarriages, so... maybe that's the reason."
The older man didn't respond immediately. Solace stared up at the ceiling for a moment, then let out a soft breath and added:
"Isn't this the part where you ask if I have any relatives? Y'know... in case this is the last time I'm alive?"
The man scoffed and shrugged lightly.
"What nonsense are you spouting? We already know you don't have any living relatives. We run full background checks on all patients before they're even brought through that door."
Solace gave a faint, tired smile.
"Ah... is that so? What a bummer."
A few years back, his parents along with his brother and younger sister were involved in an accident. The cause of the accident was unknown. Needless to say, there was no survivors.
"..."
For a second, there was a dark look on the agent's face. Then his expression turned serious as he turned his gaze back to the screen, tapping his fingers across the holographic interface to bring up more detailed vitals.
He read aloud:
"Heart rate's irregular. But not in the usual pattern we've seen in early-stage infected. Temperature's slightly low, but no fluctuation spikes. You're... stable."
Solace raised an eyebrow, weakly.
"... That's supposed to be good news, right?"
The man didn't answer. Instead, he leaned over slightly, studying the blinking neural activity chart.
"You're not exhibiting any active signs of Hollow progression such as mental degradation, cellular hardening and even synaptic surges... That's not normal for an infected."
He looked back at Solace, this time more intently.
"You said you were diagnosed three days ago. Are you absolutely sure?"
Solace sighed, turning his head slowly to meet the man's eyes.
"I didn't imagine the test results, if that's what you're asking. And I haven't showed signs of any symptoms. I have already explained this to the police officer in charge of me."
The man folded his arms with a thoughtful expression.
"I see… how interesting. You're quite the peculiar one."
Solace frowned slightly.
"Is that supposed to be a compliment? What makes me peculiar?"
The man raised a hand and gestured casually, as if ticking off a list.
"For starters, you're not displaying any of the standard signs of infection. Your X-values are only marginally above the Base Line, which makes it impossible to determine if you're a latent Minus… or a ticking Maniac. And then there's the fact that you walked in here on your own. Most infected either run, lose control, or die screaming in some alley when Mania consumes them when they find out they're infected. But you came here, calm and clear-headed, three days after testing positive."
He gave Solace a long, unreadable look.
"That takes a lot of courage. It's much rarer than you think."
Solace shrugged faintly.
"Lucky me."
The agent narrowed his eyes.
"Unfortunately, I don't believe in luck… or coincidences."
He tapped the comm on his earpiece.
"This is Handler Graves. Subject S-0147 is exhibiting non-standard infection traits. No Hollow markers present. Danger zone hasn't been crossed. Initiate a full Level-3 psyche scan and complete genome analysis. Flag him under abnormal infection profile. Authorization Code: Black."
Confused, Solace gave the officer a questioning look.
'Code Black? That doesn't sound good…'
Noticing the tension in his face, the officer raised a calming hand.
"Don't be alarmed. It's just a mental examination, standard procedure. One of our affiliated Minus will conduct it. Have you heard of the term Mire? They're a subtype of Minus with mind-related abilities. As long as you don't resist, there won't be any complications. Just… relax."
Solace gave a tired yawn, already feeling the pull of sleep.
"There's nothing to worry about. I'll probably be asleep before it even begins."
But just as his eyelids began to droop, the officer's expression shifted. His eyes lit up like he'd remembered something crucial.
"Wait... before you drift off, tell me what you know about the Mania."
Solace blinked, struggling to stay awake.
"What? Well… same as everyone else, I guess. Who doesn't know about Mania these days?"
The officer exhaled slowly, shaking his head.
"Not the sanitized version they show in dramas or the propaganda on the broadcasts. I'm asking what you really know."
That was a tougher question.
"Isn't it when someone gets infected by the virus, they slowly lose their mind and become a Maniac? But if they're strong-willed enough to resist the corruption, they awaken magical powers and become a Minus?"
The officer frowned.
"That's just the surface. A convenient summary. The truth is... You know what, it's better if you don't know too much. The deeper your understanding of the virus, the faster the corruption spreads. Even Minuses who successfully awaken aren't completely immune. So tread carefully."
'What...?'
Solace wanted to press further about how the officer knew all this. But the pull of sleep was too strong now. His eyelids grew too heavy, and his thoughts were dissolving into fog.
Within seconds, his eyes shut, and the world faded into black as his consciousness slipped into the dreamscape.