The Past, Rewired

[thisDerius]

Derius couldn't help but smirk as he took in the lab’s architecture. The entire structure had a sense of calculated precision—sterile yet purposeful, the kind of place where science and secrecy intertwined seamlessly. Dim, flickering overhead lights cast long shadows across the metal flooring, while the low hum of cooling systems filled the air.

He ran his cybernetic fingers along the edge of a console as he passed by, feeling the faint vibrations of the machinery working beneath its surface. Rows of terminals lined the far wall, their displays pulsing with streams of encrypted data. Everything here served a purpose, and while Derius had seen his fair share of high-tech facilities, something about this one struck him as... different.

"Interesting lab, I must say," he remarked, his tone carrying an edge of amusement as his sharp gaze swept across the room. It was a blend of admiration and curiosity—whoever designed this place had spared no expense.

His eyes locked onto a storage cabinet nearby, its doors slightly ajar, revealing an assortment of neatly arranged equipment. Without hesitation, he stepped over and retrieved a sleek, high-frequency headset. The device was lightweight yet reinforced, designed for long-term use in complex operations.

"I don’t have one built in," Derius commented, turning the headset over in his hands before sliding it on. "Would be too much of a hassle."

Unlike some augmentations, integrating an internal comm system always felt excessive to him. Cybernetics already claimed enough of his body—he didn’t need to surrender his autonomy to convenience.

Adjusting the fit, he ran a quick diagnostic on the device before tapping the side to activate the link.

"Let’s get to the mainframe," he said, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for battle. "I hope I won’t spend more than four hours on this. The future awaits."

His voice carried an unmistakable confidence, though a hint of pragmatism lay beneath it. The clock was always ticking, and every second spent here meant one less second moving forward. With a final radio check to confirm the comms were operational, he took his first step toward the core of the facility, ready to dive into the unknown.