AN: Hi! This is just the prologue, a teaser if you will. The first actual chapter should be within a week or so.

Tags: Heavy angst, AU – souls and soul powers, reincarnation, violence, slow build, slow updates.

This is going to be angsty AF and updates will be slow purely because I have a weird relationship with angst haha I put slow build purely because it's a while before Asami/Akihito actually meet and interact properly so its not a slow build relationship Choose Me style.

As usual – come find me on FB or Tumblr under DelmireHart

It started when the government announced the New Hope Project.

The goal was to bring out the inner soul of anyone, giving them access to their latent power. For every soul had power beyond our normal realm but the human needed to be in touch with that soul to access it. Each person had a soul that had lead hundreds of lives, reincarnating at the whims of some unseen force to walk again upon the earth. It was said that the closer you are to your soul, the greater the chances of unleashing your true self.

The reflection of your soul would shine through in a physical manifestation.

A gift of ability beyond many wild flights of fancy.

Some were born with access to their gift while some found it later in life, often in relation to dramatic events both of the joyful variety and the more traumatic. Thus scientists argued that the soul could be forced into projecting its true form onto a person and opening up access to use that gift at any time. A person need access it just once to be able to use it for the rest of their lives.

But the trigger was different for everyone. Many critics argued that the soul couldn't be unlocked without the knowledge of the trigger least people are subjected to horrors in a futile effort to unlock their gift. Others argued that the gifts were acts of god for good deeds in previous lives and people should leave such lofty ambitions alone.

Who are we to play god?

The government claimed that the tests were safe, harmless. A chemical cocktail that would leave no lasting effects other than access to one's true self. But just to be safe, they were only conducting test on willing volunteers. The terminally sick, the permanently damaged, the poor. They would let these poor humans be reborn with access to their soul's true form. They would create a better tomorrow for all of humanity so that no one would be left behind.

Government officials and leading scientists exclaimed again and again over the benefits to humanity while brushing aside concerns over testing methods. The worst that could happen is nothing. That's what they said, all reassuring smiles and unconcerned appearances. The chemical reactions induced in the volunteers that cause no reaction to the soul's true form would leave no lasting damage on the person.

Rumours circled around the depths of the internet and were whispered late into the night, under the cover of the protective darkness. Cruelty, death, torture. Yet in the light of day, there was no evidence to give these wild warnings any credence. Proof of mistreatment vanished from even the darkest recesses of the internet and the world carried on as usual.

Interest in the project was regularly sated with updates from those leading the research. Pictures and video footage appeared on TV of people with disabilities suddenly able to take flight with spotted eagles wings or using the ability to move objects with their mind.

It was slow going, they were doing everything cleanly and in the best interest of humanity, they said. It's going to be a long while before the serum is fully tested and able to be given to the population at large. That was the price to pay for humane testing and treatments.

All appeared so peaceful and well-meaning. The transparency from the government soothed ruffled feathers and only the most extreme of all the devout still questioned our place to be tampering with such things.

Who are we to play god?

It was said as the barest whisper into the dark while the world kept turning, people carrying on with their lives as normal.

It all started when the government announced the New Hope Project.

But most knew it as The Soul Project.