The unfamiliar words made little sense to John, but he still tried to figure them out. “Claim the kill? Explain.”
The man pointed at the dead monster. “Put your essence into the cadaver. You’ll see what I mean.”
John disliked following orders, especially from some stranger who probably kidnapped him. His last memories were from his home, which worried him greatly.
“Did you take anyone else? Did you hurt anyone?” he asked, desperate for some answers.
The man shook his head, but he didn’t answer. “I said you get one question after claiming the kill. Do as I tell you, kid.”
Understanding the situation, John moved toward the black corpse, hiding his real intentions.
‘If you wanted an obedient animal to fight for you, think again! I don’t care how strong you are; one good hit should put you in the ground!’
He moved his torso closer to the ground, pretending to do as he was told, but actually, it was to get a better starting point for his surprise attack. He kicked off from the ground at full force, speeding toward the man and preparing his hand for a piercing attack as he had used on the barg.
The man did not react, but his eyes followed John the entire way. John felt his chance dwindle, but now he was too far in to stop. And too pissed to care.
His fingers hit the man on the side of his neck, one of the most vulnerable spots on the body for piercing attacks. But instead of feeling the hand pierce flesh, John felt pain. It had been like punching a steel armor.
“Aah! Ah, my hand!” John screamed, sensing that at least one of his fingers had broken. He looked at the man in shock, unable to understand how he could have been that tough.
“Scales?”
The spot on his neck where John had attacked was now covered in thick scales reminiscent of scale armor. But they seemed to blend in with his skin like it was a natural defense mechanism.
“Are you done?” the man asked, seemingly completely unbothered by John’s attack.
This made it clear that John didn’t stand a chance in a fight, just as he had assumed. But was that a reason just to do as he was told?
John sighed, holding his hand. The promise of answering a question was enticing, and it didn’t seem like he had much choice. Throwing a tantrum was an option, but it didn’t seem like a good one.
He walked over to the carcass again and bent down to put his arm on it. It was still warm, giving him an unpleasant feeling. Closing his eyes, he focused on sending his essence into the barg, curious about what would happen.
The essence flowed through, somehow activating the essence remaining inside the barg and bringing it back through his hand. A burst of energy followed, returning some of the essence he had used during the fight. His core somehow felt stronger now than it had before.
“This… does this strengthen my core somehow?”
“Is that your question?” The man asked, kind enough to let John choose another one.
“No, no! I was just… That’s what it felt like. Uhm…”
He considered the question, focusing on what would be most important right now. What question would give him the most important information right now?
“... Why am I here?”
The man nodded, seemingly satisfied with his question. “You’re here to help fight in our war for survival. You’re a soldier we’ve been developing, and now it’s time to start making use of you.”
“... Soldier you’ve been developing? But I’ve just been living my life; this is my first time seeing any of this. And what war? There shouldn’t be any significant war going on right now.”
The answer only gave him more questions, if he even bothered to believe it. It made no sense, but he trusted it was true for some reason.
“Those are other questions. I’ve answered one. But I can send some more bargs if you’d like more answers,” the man said, making it clear that information would have to be fought for.
But John didn’t mind. Now that his essence was back, he was confident he could take on up to three bargs at once. “Then please send them out!”
Suddenly, red lights lit up inside the room, followed by an alarming sound coming from every direction. It was like an attack on the senses, a warning of danger. A strange and emotionless female voice could be heard along with the alarm, “All ECs, report at the nearest elevator immediately."
The man looked pissed, yelling out, “Fuck! This is NOT the time! You!” He pointed at John. “Choose; come with me and fight more monsters, or get knocked out so we can finish this later.”
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John could feel the seriousness of the situation, but he disliked both options. If coming along would let him see where he was, as well as allowing him to claim more kills, it was tempting. But he didn’t like the thought of fighting for the people who had kidnapped him, no matter what the reason was.
“Out of here, to help you? Do I get more questions?”
“Yes! But choose quickly; I have to leave now!”
“Alright, I’ll join you! But will I get a weapon, at least?”
The man looked up at the ceiling and shouted, “Vera, get this guy a weapon and show him the way to the nearest elevator! I’ve got to go!” As he finished the sentence, he started running out of the room, faster than anything John had ever seen.
The same neutral female voice responded, “Affirmative, Captain Dirk. Searching weapon storage and illuminating lights to the elevator. Breaker John Tarvo, please follow the white lights out of the room.”
The absurdity of the situation was keeping John bolted to the floor. ‘They’re really just going to let me walk around on my own? Well, fuck following orders! I’m exploring!’
John left the room, choosing to walk in the opposite direction of the white lights. He could see several indents in the metal wall on each side, looking very similar to the doorway he had come from.
“Breaker John, please follow the white lights,” the female voice insisted. He now understood it was someone called Vera. Her voice sounded so inhuman that John felt creeped out.
Disregarding her command, he chose to try opening one of these doors. At first, he attempted pushing it gently, but seeing that nothing happened, he increased his strength. He felt confident that he could bend the door open if he really tried.
“Breaker John, you do not have access to pod-room 137, please follow the white lights to your designated weapon. If you have trouble finding the white lights, they are located to your right, in the direction you came from.”
‘Pod-room? What’s that?’ John wondered, completely ignoring Vera. He stopped caring about damaging the doors and used more force, which ended up forcing the doors apart and revealing the room.
It was completely dark, only illuminated by the lights from the hallway. It was a rather small room, and the only thing inside seemed to be some sort of large metal coffin. Tubes were descending from the ceiling and attached to the backside of the coffin, giving the entire thing a sense of importance.
With a flick of his finger, John created a flame above his hand, using his essence as fuel. It was one of the simple spells most people learned once they were old enough, useful for giving light in the dark.
He walked forward and studied the coffin, looking through a small glass window near the top.
‘What the fuck?!’
A sleeping face submerged in cloudy liquid could be seen through the window, softly illuminated by his flame. A male face, somewhere around John’s age. It seemed vaguely familiar.
‘Hold on, isn’t that the guy I fought in the semi-final? They caught him too?!’
The familiar face, submerged and unconscious, seemed both alien and terrifyingly real. His mind reeled, struggling to process the implications of what he was seeing.
“Detecting elevated pulse and adrenaline levels. Breaker John, please step away from the pod. Removing the candidate might cause serious damage to his mind,” Vera warned, somehow able to sense his pulse.
Unable to handle his shock, John shouted, “Vera, what the hell is this?! How many people have you guys taken here?!”
“Information level: Restricted. You do not have access to records, Breaker John. Please follow the white lights.”
A loud thud could be heard as John stomped his foot hard into the ground, denting the metal floor. “Fuck your lights! I will start breaking things if you don’t give me some answers!”
“... Permission granted by admin. No one has been ‘taken’ here, but we currently have 247 candidates like the one you see before you.” Her voice sounded less strange now, and the tone was more human. The change was a bit unnerving.
“... What? And they… they’re all like me, taken here to fight in your war?”
“In a manner of speaking. Now, will you please follow the lights? I can make them flash any color you want.”
John sighed, looking back at the man in the ‘pod’ behind him. “Okay, but answer one more question for me. Is… Is my mom here? Or Serah?”
“Your mother, Elaine Tarvo, is not a candidate, no. But Serah Dunsby is.”
The words ignited a flame in his heart, threatening to spread out of his control. Every muscle in his arms tightened, and his jaw clenched. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple, and he realized his hands were shaking with a mix of fear and rage.
“John, please calm down! She’s not in any more danger than she was the last time you saw her, I promise!”
Her words did nothing to help and instead made him lash out in rage. “Why should I believe you, huh? You just drag me here with no explanation, unconscious, and force me to fight a monster with my bare hands, and you expect me to believe what you say?! Fuck you!”
“John, I really do wish to help you! We need your help, just like you need ours! Now that you know who we are protecting here, won’t you go out there and help us fight?”
“... Why don’t you go fight? Why don’t you even show yourself? You’re just here to manipulate me, aren’t you?!” John shouted, hating how his desire to protect Serah almost made him listen obediently. For all he knew, she wasn’t even here.
“I’m… not a real person, John. I don’t have a body.” Her voice carrying a hint of what almost sounded like regret.
John blinked, momentarily stunned by this revelation. “What do you mean, you're not real? How can you—” He stopped, shaking his head. The absurdity of arguing with a disembodied voice about its existence suddenly struck him, adding another layer of surrealism to his already bizarre situation.
Vera continued, “And yes, I guess you could call it manipulation, but I’m just trying to help you understand what you want to do. If you want to grow stronger, go fight. If you want to protect everyone you know, go fight. If you want to understand what the hell is going on, go fight! Follow the damn lights!”
Vera sounded almost as frustrated as John felt, forcing him to consider her words. She did have a point, at least about growing stronger and figuring out what was happening. He figured the part about her not having a body was better to ignore for now. There was too much on his mind already.
“... Fine, I’ll follow the damn lights.”