F66X's Frozen Heart

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Chapter 1

Ferocious man-eating Flowers threaten the very existence of humanity.
Soldiers known as "prisoners" face the Flowers in brutal,
deadly battle day in and day out.
One day...
A particular frontline base suffered catastrophic damage
after a large-scale Flower attack.
The only survivors were a prisoner couple—a man and a woman.
The Flowers had taken their precious child's life,
and they fought to avenge him.
The battle ended in utter defeat for the base.
Their fellow prisoners were mercilessly slaughtered.
But all was not lost.
Wrath boiled inside of them.
The couple had not forgotten about their revenge.
They will pay.
And together, we will eliminate them.
Though the Flowers destroyed most of the base's facilities,
not all of its functions ceased.
Miraculously, the bare minimum of supplies remained.
And so together, the couple begins repairing the base
in preparation to fight the Flowers once more.
We need to do something about these seeds first.
They've jammed up all the equipment.
The Flowers scattered the seeds during their attack.
They will continue to grow and hamper the restoration
of the base until the day they awaken.
If the seeds aren't dealt with quickly,
young Flowers will bud and grow rampant.
In such an event, the Flowers would trample the base from the inside,
bringing an inevitable and total defeat.
It's the one scenario they want to avoid at all costs.
The couple ventures deep into the base,
doing all they can to remove seeds from every nook and cranny.
It's backbreaking work, but not once do they voice a complaint.
Amidst their intensive yet critical work,
the wife finds a corridor she's never seen before.
It's likely a consequence of the partial destruction of the base.
Things that were once completely obscured are now plainly visible.
What is this? The two exchange looks, quietly nod,
then cautiously make their way down the corridor.
They come to the deepest part of the base.
In the center of the room is a console,
and on the opposite side, a massive door.
Thanks to the room being so deep within the base,
it suffered no damage from the Flower attack
and retains the full scope of its functions.
The woman accesses the console and quickly skims over the data within.
It seems to be quite a large database. However...
No communication functions? Was this device cut off from the network?
Standing before them is an apparatus that does not send
nor receive information, but rather, it is a vessel for storing it.
But why? To what end? Though doubt lingers in their minds,
the couple continues to fiddle with the console and studies its data.
They quickly understand.
They understand why this device and its data were
in use despite being isolated from the network.
What unfolds before them is the genetic information of the Flowers,
something long considered a mystery.
Not a word of this was mentioned to the prisoners.
This information is as confidential as can be.
This data could very well be key to eliminating
the Flower seeds effectively and definitively.
But it has even greater implications.
With a thorough analysis of the genetic data,
they might be able to find a way to eradicate the Flowers entirely.
The wife trembles with excitement.
It's as though the data is divine intervention.
Their revenge may well be within their grasp.
But then, the husband speaks.
Why didn't they tell anyone about such critical information?
Why hide it away here?
The woman nods in agreement.
Her husband is right.
With data like this, the development of weapons effective
against the Flowers would have been possible.
Someone must have been plotting something.
Perhaps a greater secret is hidden somewhere in this base?
In search of further information, the couple decides
to venture beyond the great door on the other side of the room.
It's a place the officers kept hidden away from the prisoners.
And there...
They find the massive corpse of a Flower.
It floats in what appears to be a water tank,
and several cables connect to it.
And all around it...
Are these...humans?
Hundreds of clear capsules are filled
with liquid and peacefully sleeping human bodies.
At a loss for words, the couple immediately understands
the significance of the shocking sight.
They are human, and yet they are not.
They are manufactured beings.

Chapter 2

A prisoner couple were the sole survivors of a ferocious Flower attack.
They ventured into the core of their base in search of a way
to rid the base of Flower seeds.
It was there they found a well-preserved Flower corpse.
And with it, tanks of manufactured humans.
Before them stretch rows of countless clones.
The sight bluntly spells out the reality of their situation.
The ones before them are far from the only clones.
They, too, were once among them. They were mass-produced humans.
Everything was arranged this way.
They are nothing but pawns used to fight against the Flowers.
What, then, are their memories?
What was the agony they experienced when their child was taken from them?
What is the inferno of revenge that burns within them?
The couple accesses the attached console in search of answers.
They've come too far to leave empty-handed.
They've crossed the point of no return.
The records reveal to them a terrible, unthinkable truth.
The truth is that they are but two of many mass-produced clone soldiers
implanted with false memories.
Genuine humans no longer exist on the planet. They died out long ago.
And...
Over the many years of battle, resources are nearly depleted,
leading the military to devise a plan to recoup these losses.
The plan: to break down and analyze
the Flowers and then use their parts as resources.
Initially, they were used mainly for fuel, food, and other daily necessities,
but the military gradually expanded the scope of their usage.
Before long, they began using Flower corpses
as the raw material for clone soldiers.
The Flowers propagated rapidly as they fed on the soldiers.
The soldiers were created from Flowers.
Though they were at eternal war,
both sides were quietly entangled in a symbiotic relationship.
All the couple can do is stand there in shock.
Shocked by the truth that their enemy—the ones they sought
vengeance toward, the despicable entities responsible
for taking everything from them—are the ones that give them life.
But the top brass never revealed this truth,
nor did they find a breakthrough in the war.
They simply pushed forward with an aimless battle.
Of course they did—the Flowers became an indispensable resource.
If they were eradicated, humanity would soon follow.
The Flowers are a function of life in this modern civilization.
They are the foundation that supports all life,
the pillar of the precious food chain.
Is the couple little more than the cogs that make up this hellish machine?
And what of the precious, devoted affection they hold
for one another that keeps them going in this world?
What of the tragic memories of losing their dear child,
the source of their immeasurable will and wrath in battle?
It is all a deceitful fabrication.
A tale of fate meant to guide the couple.
And above all else, if humanity died out long ago,
then this eternal war is a meaningless massacre.
Is this the only meaning our lives hold?
The husband is furious over the empty truths,
his spirit cracking to its breaking point.
Without even despair to keep him,
he crumples to sit on the floor and gazes into an invisible distance.
But the wife remains in her spot, staring at the data.
Haven't you seen enough?
Doubting there's much point in learning any more terrible truths,
the husband lifts his head and speaks.
No, I haven't.
She responds, her voice ringing clear with will.
The light has not yet gone from the woman's eyes.
It's the face of a person who has not yet given in to hopelessness.
How can you still be optimistic?
The husband asks with curiosity.
The wife, however, gives an undaunted smile.
I finally understand what I'm—no, what we're supposed to do.
She turns to her husband and extends a hand.
We'll put an end to all of this. It's something only we can do.

Chapter 3

The Flowers destroyed the prisoner couple's base.
In the process of ridding the base of scattered seeds,
they ventured into the hidden core of the building.
There, they learned that the soldiers who fight the Flowers,
themselves included, are clones.
The soldiers were born from Flower corpses.
Genuine humans had long since died out.
All that remained was the bizarre symbiotic relationship between Flowers
and clones.
This truth was enough to render to ash any and all reasons to press on that
they had been clinging to.
Or so one would have thought.
The wife does not despair at all.
If anything, she is optimistic that they can end this cycle.
Look at this.
She brings her husband to his feet and points at a record on the terminal.
Fanned out over the screen are biological records of the Flowers,
as well as experiment logs.
There is a way to defeat the Flowers—it's just that nobody has put
it to practice yet.
Hidden among the collection of meticulously thorough experiment logs
is an article on a particular chemical.
This chemical rewrites a part of the genetic code that makes up the Flowers
and accelerates their growth until they wilt—a decisive weapon indeed.
Along with a wealth of data from the research are instructions on how to
synthesize this chemical.
Who came up with this?
As though answering that very question,
ID numbers of those who proposed the chemical are listed
at the end of the article...along with photos of their faces.
They look exactly like the couple.
Judging by the years written on the report,
they were clones several generations prior to themselves.
They desperately fought the Flowers, desperately studied their
characteristics...
And they ultimately completed research that could wipe out
the Flowers once and for all.
Was it the by-product of something?
Or was it something these clones created in secret for themselves?
The research logs offer no insight into these questions.
What is clear, however, is that this chemical could not be made public.
The Flowers could not be eliminated—they were a precious resource.
That is the conclusion the military leaders came to,
and all information regarding the chemical was hidden away here.
The Flowers pushed humanity to extinction.
And now,
there is a way to eliminate them once and for all dangling within reach.
This was the clones'—their—only wish.
Their research was taken from them and likely destroyed.
But their will to eradicate the Flowers flourished.
It remained with them.
And though it could be an inexplicable coincidence,
they find themselves here in this future.
Ironically, it's thanks to the top military brass that the data was hidden
away intact rather than wiped from existence entirely.
We must carry this tenacity forward.
The words echo in the woman's head after a brief moment of hesitation.
Their goal remains the same as ever—they were to eradicate the Flowers.
Only now, their reasons are different.
It's not for revenge but for something far greater.
Here, with the many precious things humanity left behind,
they will put an end to this warped symbiotic relationship between them
and the Flowers.
It is their only path forward.
You understand too, don't you?
The husband looks to his wife and nods firmly.
Yeah, I understand—they're your thoughts. Our thoughts.
They embrace, collect their courage,
and right themselves to walk forward.
In this moment, their hearts are one.
They reached their hapless fate,
and records of the past appeared before their eyes.
Their singular goal: to create the chemical and take back the planet from
the Flowers.
The couple's lives rest on this fight to break the eternal cycle
of life and death.
They were born, killed, and eaten, only for the process to repeat.
They never knew why they were born nor why they lived.
That, too, ends today.
The battle to prove their worth, to prove their humanity, starts here.

Chapter 4

The prisoner couple fights against the Flowers, humanity's natural enemy.
They have learned the harrowing truth of this world.
The truth is that they are clones and that they and their fellow clones were
born from the Flowers.
Though they know their memories are false, they press on hand-in-hand.
It's finally done.
Their past selves—clones from several generations prior—developed
a chemical.
This chemical rewrote parts of the genetic data that made up the Flowers
and accelerated their growth, pushing them to wilting.
The two cut off all communication with the outside and focus solely
on producing the chemical,
using the research data that the military superiors kept hidden.
There is ample information in the records on the synthesis of the chemical,
but the process itself proved difficult.
Many of the steps are far outside of their fields of expertise,
but they can't risk attracting the military's attention
by seeking help from the outside.
They trust only each other, working together closely to create the chemical.
All that's left now is attaching payloads to the drones in the hangar.
Limited time, limited resources.
Though they lack great amounts of the chemical,
there's still a chance of success.
We only need one strain. Once the Flowers are exposed to the chemical...
With victory before their eyes, the couple smiles at each other.
Their memories are false. Their lives are fabrications.
Yet, in spite of being presented with the truth,
their bond remains as strong as ever.
They are comrades in arms through adversity.
They are family who navigate life together.
Their implanted memories were no more than the spark that ignited their love.
The footprints they left behind were undoubtedly real.
Tomorrow's the big day. So today, let's—
Before the wife can finish, an alarm blares throughout the base.
The ground rumbles, and vines slither through every gap in the room,
entwining everything they can find.
These were the seeds left behind by the Flowers.
They paused their seed disposal to prioritize synthesizing the chemical,
but they assumed they would have a few more days before they bloomed.
Perhaps it's an unlucky coincidence. Or perhaps the seeds sensed something.
Perhaps they instinctively sensed their impending doom.
They would silence the couple here before they can disperse the chemical.
Honey!
On it!
The two go straight to battle.
With all their might, they mow down the budding Flowers,
trampling them as they rush to the hangar.
Though it's not far away, through the chaos and distress, it feels like miles.
Despite it all, the couple reaches the hangar, their breath ragged.
They manage to activate a number of drones,
affix what little of the chemical they have, and set them off.
The amount of chemical they managed to synthesize will likely only kill
a portion of a given area's Flowers.
But to the couple, that's more than enough.
Besides killing Flowers outright, the chemical has another effect.
Pollen from Flowers exposed to the chemical would have a similar effect.
Pollen spreads far and wide and with great speed.
It would carry on the wind across the land, across the seas,
across the entire world.
The multiplicative nature of the effect means even the tiniest amount
of chemical could purge the planet of Flowers forever.
The effects are already taking effect on the budding Flowers in the base.
The seedlings are born, immediately wither, then die.
The couple heaves a victorious sigh of relief.
But their victory is not without its sacrifices.
As she watches the Flowers wither,
the wife is suddenly overcome by a terrible coughing fit.
A stream of blood pours from her mouth.
The husband then clutches his chest in pain.
The chemical that would eradicate the Flowers is both a panacea and poison.
It affects those created from Flowers—the clones called prisoners.
This detail was not mentioned in the lab report.
At a certain point, the clones' genetic data began to closely mirror
the same base sequence as that of the Flowers.
They were born from the same material, after all.
As the couple produced the chemical, they realized this.
They knew they would die if their strategy succeeded.
This was the greatest reason the military hid and sealed away
all information regarding the chemical.
Once they dispersed the chemical,
it wasn't only the resources of the Flowers they'd lose.
They would lose their lives as well.
Yet, despite knowing this, they pressed on with their research.
They gave everything to bring this agonizing eternal cycle to an end.
The drones take to the sky and scatter the chemical.
The compound glitters in the sunlight.
As death approaches, they sit,
neither having the strength to stay on their feet.
They lean against each other, waiting for time to pass.
The husband is pleased with the success of their operation and satisfied
with a life well-lived. He smiles through a cough.
It's all over after this. Our suffering...and this world.
He speaks with resignation. But his wife does not nod.
Blood spills from her lips, but she gathers enough strength to reply.
No—everything starts here.
The husband nods in understanding.
In a world where everything spins toward destruction,
this act is little more than a blip of chaos.
Flowers wilt and die, and the clones aren't far behind.
A long, harsh winter is surely on the horizon.
But the planet has been reclaimed.
The eternal war will come to an end,
and those who survived will lead new lives.
Essentially, true freedom has been reclaimed.
In place of the Flowers that brought humanity to extinction,
new life will bloom across this world.
How far into the future that might be, the couple can't say,
but the future is awash in the light of hope all the same.
They hold hands and gaze up through the open roof of the hangar.



The sky outside the base is dyed a dirty ash.

But in their minds, it's a crisp, clear blue.

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