**Excerpt: **

A Couple of Months Later

“—Initializing Experimental Model Protocol.”

I heard the voice of a scientist in a white room—so white it made my eyes hurt even when they were shut. Damn… this part always hurts.

“—Loading residual matter… from prime cells…”

“—Levels stable…”

“—Good. Inject the material from A1 to Z2.”

Inject. What a funny word for shoving things up my ass…

“—Loading original model, exporting blood data…”

“—Proceed with matter transfer from Original Code Shin to Model 02, Code Kale.”

Who the hell is Shin? I always wonder that… But more importantly—who am I, if they’re putting someone else inside me? And even more importantly… why do I let them do this? Ugh… I need a drink after this. Though it’s better they don’t know I can hear everything. At least I don’t feel what they’re doing to me. That’s good… right?

“—Doctor, blood data shows interference…”

“—Run another scan and apply a more concentrated sample…”

“—Captain, why are we here?…”

Captain? Where is that voice coming from?

“—Attention, entering Exquema system…”

Exquema… why does that sound familiar? More importantly—why do I feel so agitated?

“—Doctor, levels keep rising…”

I feel strange. What is this sensation? My skin is burning…

“—AXIOS!”

It burns… Hey… get me out of here… I don’t want this anymore…

“—Increase anesthesia and continue with the sample.”

Hey, hey—I said stop, damn it!…

“—Aaaah!…”

I shot up in bed, drenched in cold sweat, staring wildly around the room.

“Damn nightmares…”

I dragged a hand over my face as my vision adjusted. I was home. At least, I thought so—it was the same room I’d seen every single damn day for months, from this same damn bed… How pathetic.

I got up wearing only the scraps of clothing I use to sleep. The heat on this island is unbearable.

“I hate the heat…”

I sat on the bed, scratching my head, and ran my hand down my arm… or rather, where my arm should’ve been. Now there was only a mutilated stump. I wanted to scream out of pure rage, but I’d done plenty of that these last months, and nothing changes no matter how loud you yell.

I stood up and walked to the small table in front of me, where there was a bottle of “healing water” according to the old woman who gave it to me. Witch—it's probably just water with plants some animal pissed on. But… I guess drinking it is better than not drinking it. I’m no doctor.

I glanced around the tiny cabin as I finished the bottle.

“This place is falling apart…”

I muttered as I set the empty bottle down and stared at my ruined arm. If this place is falling apart, then so am I.

“Damn it.”

After my wonderfully uplifting morning routine, I put on my loose granny pants and opened the cabin door. The sun stabbed at my eyes with its blinding white glare, but once my sight adjusted, the first thing I saw was the desolate view of an island at the ass-end of the world.

I sat on the steps, looking around, bored as always, letting my strength return. Though if I think about it, maybe this place does have some charm… for the old witch who lives on the other side of this rock. I don’t know if she’s an actual witch, but she sure looks like one, with all the strange things she says and the weird concoctions she makes—like that “medicine” bottle she gave me when we arrived…

After a while, I stood and took the path toward her hut. I didn’t want to see her, but she’d said she had something for me today, and since I have nothing better to do, it’s not like I’ll be wasting my time… I hope.

After a nice walk through the island’s complete lack of wildlife, I reached the witch’s hut, beautifully decorated with animal hides. Lovely welcome.

Without knocking—I mean, who else would it be?—I stepped inside.

“I’m here…”

I looked around for a sign of her.

“In the basement…”

Her voice floated up from beneath the floorboards. I sighed and looked for the stairs. Once I went down, the place was as creepy as the rest of her house, lit only by candles scattered everywhere.

“How are you feeling today? Any better?”

She asked without turning to face me, busy with something at her table. I leaned against a pillar, watching her.

“The same as every day…”

She laughed. She laughed? I didn’t tell a joke.

“Come here, I have something for you…”

I obeyed and walked to her side— and froze when I saw what was on the table.

“No way…”

For the first time in months, I felt actual excitement.

On the table was an arm. A metallic, damn-near beautiful arm.

“Is that…?”

I asked, uncertain, as she stepped aside.

“Of course it is. What, are you blind, you brat?”

She gave me a couple of light shoves.

“Go on, try it on.”

I was half stunned. How the hell was I supposed to “try it on”? It’s not like you just slap a limb onto yourself and call it a day. Still, with no better option, I picked it up and unwrapped the bandages around my stump.

I placed the prosthetic’s socket over my shoulder and—

CRACK.

Spikes shot out and dug straight into my bone.

“Shit—!”

It hurt, but at the same time— after months— I felt my right arm again.

It was incredibly strange, but there it was, moving like it was mine. My metal, robotic, glorious arm.

“Incredible… How… how did you even make this?”

I asked, stunned. The old woman looked ridiculously proud.

“You didn’t think I spent all these months doing nothing, did you? I used everything I had… and with that dragon of yours helping, it was a piece of cake.”

Who would’ve thought—this old witch was also a master craftsman…

“I don’t even know what to say…”

I took a breath and bowed deeply.

“Thank you. Truly.”

I had nothing else to give—nothing but myself.

“Don’t thank me yet…”

She shoved me again.

“Go outside and test it.”

She pushed me out of the basement and out the door entirely. The sun stabbed me again, and I blinked hard.

I nodded and walked away from her hut, moving and flexing my new arm.

“Incredible…”

It really was. I couldn’t stop talking aloud, amazed that a piece of metal could become a real arm—my arm—after so many months without one. I’d already accepted the idea of living one limb short...

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