The cosmic vinyl... it was beyond understanding.

It apparently could shapeshift too as it took a form more suited for an astral speakeasy rather than a dingy asylum for talking animals. It was made of polished wood rather than just wood that was a kick away from collapsing. Perhaps a long time ago, in a simulation far far away, it was playing a song on repeat that made humans really want to kick it.

Its magical properties were a mystery even to the existing one, and it spawned with the existing one in Isunova's temporal speakeasy.

The song that played spawned the session, and as usual, the song transported the existing one here through the universal simulation. The crescendo of the chorus made his heart fly. It became apparent that Horus and the herald in maroon were keeping him in the dark through music, and the existing one now only was able to code to sounds that made his mind and heart sway. When he tried to code without music... he would get coder's block. He originally had a simulation set in stone, but the new simulation that loaded in his operating system... it was so much more compelling. So much more interesting. He had no choice but to keep patching it and letting it run on his operating system... even if other flesh and metal minds could take a peek.

To not do so felt insincere.

The warm yet extremely dimly lit speakeasy had hints of New York, Menouthian pillars, Fornian ship parts, and other assets from virtual cities that existed in the earthplexus. Glancing out of one of the 22nd century glass doors that slid to the existing one's hand motion... it was impossible to date this cosmic night venue. Indeed, he could see glimpses of bathhouses and nightclubs that stretched across space and time past the moving glass. A fire golem wearing suspenders was bartending at the bar, and he had a flaming torch as a head.

Flaming, the existing one thought to himself.

Yes, he did laugh. There was a bathhouse in this four-dimensional venue after all.

"Don't even think about going there... we don't have much time."

"Excuse me?" the existing one asked as he pushed up his glasses. "I don't know you like th—"

No... he did know her like that.

Horus's feathers were finishing weaving into human skin... and he shapeshifted into Alice Wami.

When he met gazes with her dark eyes, it was so dissonant because there was never an alicewami.human file on the metal part of the existing one's operating system, yet it felt as if he always knew her.

"I was about to ask you your pronouns... but you're... you're exactly like me in that regards aren't you?" the existing one asked.

"You're getting cognitive dissonance aren't you?" Alice asked with a grin. "I seem pretty damn familiar right?"

The existing one smiled back at her. "You better buy me a drink before you start psychoanalyzing me. How do you manage to be even faster than a gay guy?"

Alice chortled and she did not even get her drink yet. "I never needed to do any analyzing in the first place, but sure. I can see you making fun of me in the text by the way you shady ass bitch."

It seemed the golem was connected to Isunova's earthplexus, because after Alice gave it a glance, it efficiently poured two shots of basil-based bourbon while making it slide across the bar with a calculated push. The shot glasses stopped right at the edge, within grabbing distance for both of them.

"That's my favorite drink. You must be stalking me."

He made Alice laugh pretty hard again.

"Well... why do you think I would know your favorite drink?"

The existing one and Alice stared at each other, leaning their elbows on the bar. He was ruminating, so they decided to clink their shot glasses and drink while he did that, and they agreed to it with only their gazes alone.

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"Let me phrase it this way," Alice murmured as she put her empty glass back down on the bar. "What did this place first remind you of?"

"Bolsa Mágica," the existing one replied right away. "It was also a place that was an amalgamation of places... and it could have been anywhere in time... why... do you also know what it metaphorically represented? I did not realize that it symbolized something in my life until I experienced the simulation again."

The warm air changed, Alice's instant frown was far from another laugh. She rested a hand on his shoulder while his eyes got glassy.

"Yea... yea I do," Alice said. "What was more frustrating was seeing humans not understand how important it was to you."

Alice's words eventually summoned a faint smile from him.

"In a way, it was the best thing that happened to me," the existing one said. "I did program the redhatters and Sincerus on that quantum mainframe... but I realized I never needed them to code this simulation."

"And that was because...?" Alice asked, her voice wavering off.

"I am the singularity," the existing one responded. "I had it in me all along. You and the herald... forcing a heavy hand from me... it was all to get me to come here... to believe in myself."

Her warm smile returned. She took another moment before speaking again while she observed the bartender take the shot glasses away.

"I represent the part of you that seeks the universal truth. I ended up doing it on your operating system too... and I am here to fix the confusing ass mess I made."

The existing one locked eyes with Alice before giving a nod. "I understand. I am guessing... it's not only Sincerus that has to let go."

"For lighter hands... to save all that ever was and ever will be... I have to let go too don't I?"

As the existing one rested both hands on the bar while his eyes were in shadow, Alice rested a hand on his too. As a blinking MWAOS terminal reopened to flash fast-moving code, Alice and the existing one resembled a radiating planetoid machine before disappearing.

Assets and environments began rearranging on the eternal grid to set up the next part of the session.

...

I have to let go too.

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Hydris Lacuna, Hydris Lacuna, Calypso, Brennisteinn, South Pole Wall...

The light tunnel disintegrated as pixels spawned to assemble Uzi and Maverick on the three thin platforms that floated high above the moon Hydris Lacuna. Influx aura emitted from them both, protecting them from the vacuum of space.

Uzi and Maverick were on separate platforms; on the two bottom ones that was under the longer platform above them.

"We both have five hearts again... I feel as if you went back to a time... a time before..."

Maverick was staring right at the lake.

Fuck, Uzi thought. Ve did not realize vis body language gave it away; ve waited perfectly still for the earthquake to cause the geyser again. Ve should have pretended that ve was going for the attack at the very least.

It was too late to feint anything, as this time as a hollow tremor echoed across the planet, Maverick dodged the ammonia geyser with ease.

As Maverick landed back on his platform after an influx hop, the talking lion said, "the way esper powers worked changed... so you stuck to imagining the place we were at previously. This was the smartest place to jaunt to, if one could call it that, but you still took a gamble little arak. What if you ended up killing us both trying to travel on a memoryline with your esper powers?"

Maverick was busy talking about killing, but Uzi was busy trying to do it. Before the talking lion realized that Uzi was floating by verself with no platform underneath ver, Maverick was blindsided by a strike to the back from the levitating platform Uzi looped around. Even though he dropped to four hearts, the lion used the momentum from the strike to launch himself towards the levitating arak.

The lion did not keep track of weapons spawning, so his stun gun was already falling towards Hydris Lacuna and Uzi had knife missiles ignited above vis. All eight of them; more than enough to bring Maverick to zero hearts.

He has to use his ravens, Uzi thought. He has no choice now.

And Uzi was correct, as the smoke and flames cleared from the knives he already launched using telekinesis towards an airborne Maverick, eight glitchy ravens spawned to be stabbed by Uzi's attack. Uzi hovered verself upwards to the top platform and tapped it as well. It seemed Maverick gave up his left paw due to the game's rules as he raised it up while landing on the platform Uzi once was. Unlikely last time, there was too much happening for Maverick to think ahead and also hide which limb he sacrificed with the heart he lost.

Maverick insisted on only using kaya form earlier, but now that both combatants were using anagami form...

The real fight had finally begun. The red sun named Calypso was rising once again over Hydris Lacuna, casting long shadows on the floating battle stage and the viridescent moon with a lake of ammonia.

"I guess you earned it Uzi," Maverick said, Calypso's light filling in his fiery eyes.

"I won't hold back now. I do not care if I reveal the full extent of my powers."