After waiting for over an hour, Bart was starting to get antsy. “Come on! How long are we going to wait? We should just get in line like the others.” Bart fell face first on the ground while the others continued conversing amongst themselves. Oblivious to Bart’s plight.

Rose took the lead in addressing the issue on all of their minds. “So, does anyone remember how we got here?”

D nearly puked after recalling what happened earlier while neither the Android, who decided on using the name Alpha, and Jace shrugged. Jace threw his arms to his side while addressing the group. “Does it really matter how we ended up here. There are giant monsters and the occasional demon roaming all throughout America, yet you’re confused about one of the city lords pulling a stunt like this?”

Alpha’s face scrunched a bit upon hearing Jace’s words, but D only nodded while trying to brush off whatever emotion he was feeling. “What do you mean by America. We are clearly in the federation’s territory.”

After Alpha’s statement, it was Jace’s turn to be confused. “Why would we be in the Federation. They are known for having a high level of technology, but they rarely stray from their borders. They also skipped attending the previous World Conference on the grounds of it being irrelevant. Why would they bother using their power to abduct people from America?”

Rose’s face remained stagnant while she processed the information. “It would appear as though our captors have quite the large net. Afterall, I am royalty. I would rarely stray from the castle, let alone the capital. The Rosewood kingdom is on the other side of the Pacific Ocean afterall.”

Everyone agreed with Rose’s words with the exception of Bart, who barely turned his head to the side to look at the others with a bored expression. “Well of course we are from different countries. I mean, most of us are speaking different languages. I thought you all knew that.”

D finally recovered from his bout, but was a bit taken aback by Bart’s statement. Out of everyone here, he would have assumed that Bart would have taken the longest to figure that out. Bart continued, oblivious to D’s thoughts. “When we first met, I was talking to all of you in German. However, you all mentioned you were from America. While it wouldn’t be impossible for you to know German, America is a hodgepodge that has developed its own language over the years, meshing together elements of French, Spanish, English, and of course German. However, you didn’t have an accent. Rather, all of you sounded extremely fluent. Even the people surrounding us were fluent and had the same dialect that I was most familiar with.” Bart paused to stand up and stretch a bit. He was still not wearing a shirt, but no one around him seemed to care. “That’s when I remembered one of my teachings.” Bart’s smile returned to his face once more, as he stuck his right hand down the seemingly endless pocket. “Aha. Behold the teaching, ‘The Robot Lies’! This is a classic about a female robot that was lonely and wanted to be loved by humans. They abducted a lot of humans and kept them in one place, but the humans couldn’t understand each other. In order to combat this problem, the Robot created a machine that would automatically translate a person’s intentions between each other.”

D nodded. “I see. That seems like a… nice story? Perhaps we are in a similar situation. How did that story end.”

“Well, the humans banded together and used their comradery to overcome the robot tyrant. No, offense Jace. This guide was created during the whole AI uprising thing.”

Both Jace and Alpha looked at each other before Jace closed his eyes and grabbed the bridge of his nose. “You know that I’m a human right. Alpha is the android.”

Meanwhile, Bart looked between Jace and Alpha for a solid minute. “Hmm. I can’t really tell the difference. Are you sure you’re not an android too. I mean, you don’t seem to have emotions, plus, you occasionally do that eye thing.” Bart’s eyes shot open as his fist struck his palm. “That’s right! If you’re the protagonist…” Bart then stopped as he plopped on his behind. “No, an android can be a protagonist as well. Ha, I guess we’ll never know if Jace is an android or not.”

Jace started to wave his hand before his face with no emotion. “I already said I’m not.” Bart only replied with a skeptical stare.

“Well then, tell me. What is 1 divided by zero.”

“Undefined.”

“Ahaha!” Bart jumped up and pointed in Jace’s face causing him to lean back at the unexpected reaction. “I knew it you’re an Android!”

This time D decided to join in. “But that’s the correct answer, right Bart?”

“Exactly. That’s why I know he is an android. An android would obviously get that right. Although, now that you say it could you be an Android as well D?” Bart’s eyes narrowed while his smirk bloomed.

Unfortunately for Bart, he had fallen for D’s trap. “Then by your own logic, wouldn’t you also have to be an android since you knew the answer from the start.”

Bart paused for a moment as he started to analyze what was said. His eyes then started to widen as his face was soon consumed by horror. “My god.” He looked at his hands as he started to tremble. “The others always treated me differently and called me names, but I never…” He fell to his knees. “Noooooooo!”

Alpha ignored Bart and pointed at the now empty line. “Now would be a good time to get our phones and go-”

Bart immediately grabbed Alpha and started to shake her violently. “Can’t you see that I’m in the middle of an existential crisis right now! How can you be so heartless!?” Snot was pouring from Bart’s nose while tears streamed across his cheeks. His eyes were bubbling with sadness.

Meanwhile, Alpha held no explicit emotion on her face, as she was already fed up with Bart’s antics. “Wow, I’m surprised you know about such big words.”

Bart sniffled while pulling out another manga. “Knowing such words is vital for partaking in the pleasure known as the Guides. They are the teachings and guidelines that one must follow to live a healthy and fulfilling life after all.” Bart immediately recovered after he noticed that the line at the end of the auditorium was clear. “Oh, the line is gone. We should grab our phones.” His voice carried the same initial joy it held earlier.

Alpha sighed and swatted Barts hands as she headed towards the exit. D was about to follow, but Jace grabbed his shoulder and forcefully turned D towards to face him. “Is this some kind of joke to you?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

D was visibly confused. [What is he talking about?] “I’m sorry, bu-”

“Not another word. People like you piss me off more than anyone else. All your hypocritical bullshit is really-”

Bart jumped up from beneath the two in a diving pose. “HELLO! What are we talking about here?” He elbowed Jace while holding his hand by his mouth as if he was going to whisper something, but instead continued with his normal voice. “You look like you’re causing a bit of a commotion. This is some juicy drama. Fill me in!”

Bart continued to jump up and down in front of Jace. Destroying the tense atmosphere. Jace let out a sigh as he collected his thoughts. It was obvious that he was distraught by the look on his face. “You really have a way of ruining the mood.” He paused for a moment to collect himself. Jace then turned around and stopped after making a bit of distance. “D. I am not one to forgive so easily. Nor will I ever forget. Do not think you can fool me.” He then looked over his shoulder and stared at D. The hatred in his eyes was overwhelming. “I will never forgive you.” Jace then continued towards the two girls that had abandoned the other three.

Bart broke the silence with a whistle. “Well, he clearly has stick up his… Is something wrong D?”

A cold sweat covered D’s back. [He knows something. Yet why. Why do I feel so…] D grabbed his stomach. He wasn’t sure how to describe his emotions, but he knew this wasn’t the first time he felt like this. No, he had felt this feeling many times before. He knew this emotion well. Even though he had sealed his memories, his cells screamed out. He knew… he was guilty.

***

Bart was admiring his new phone his face was filled with fascination. “So this is a phone. It seems so high tech. My gosh. It even has the ability to allow me to talk to people over long distances without needing telepathy or another ability. So sophisticated.”

Everyone else on the other hand, was puzzled by their new ‘phones’. They looked like a Nokia; however, the screen was larger and seemed to be in high definition. D turned towards the three who were also confused. He hesitated after looking at Jace. The feeling still lingered despite not knowing what he had done to him. “Well, it could be worse.”

Jace looked up for a moment to give a cold stare before looking back at his phone. “I have used worse. At least the screen seems decent.”

Alpha on the other hand pressed a button located on the side of her phone. A giant screen appeared before her depicting her phone screen. “I see. This makes more sense.” She touched the icon with a map on it and the screen immediately changed. “Well then, I guess I’ll try ‘homeroom’.” She tapped a search bar while the others looked at their phones and did the same.

With the exception of Bart who looked at his phone and looked at the others. He tried his best to go through the teachings stored within his mind. [There was one of the teachings with a high tech mecha…] He looked down at his phone and turned it around again. [IMPOSSIBLE. WHAT WITCHCRAFT IS THIS.] His face portrayed his words to the others, who effortlessly read his expression.

Rose looked at Bart with her nose held high. “Oh well. I guess it is my duty as royalty to inform comm-”

Before she could finish, steam started to emit from Barts head. “This can’t be. No, how could…” Barts eyes started to wander independently from each other. His eyes formed an endless swirling abyss. He clutched his head while crouching down.

D was visibly concerned since Bart was literally emitting steam. However, Jace beat him to the punch. “Have you finally met an issue your mighty ‘guides’ could not solve.” Bart recoiled and looked into Jace’s eyes without a hint of doubt.

“No. I merely haven’t read the guide that can help me yet.” He jumped up with complete confidence. The steam receded as he broke out into a smirk. “I may have read millions of different guides, but I haven’t read them all. Even the amount I have read is like a single drop in an endless ocean.” He pointed to his chest with his thumb as the muscles on his body budged to double their initial size. His facial structure and other proportions changed to enhance his appearance, portraying a near godlike physique devoid of any imperfections. “I have lived my life following the pursuit of ‘Otaku’. Adhered to the guidelines of ‘Otaku’. And will die by the way of ‘Otaku’.” Bart clenched his fist as his muscles doubled in size yet again, further enhancing his physique. “For this is the path I have chosen. This is the path of the ‘Otaku’. No-“ Bart spread his arms wide as a light fell on him, giving him a godly glow. “This is the path of the gods.”

Bart remained motionless, basking in the light, until a stage light fell from the stage. One of the stagehands immediately called out a warning, followed by a series of shouts from the other stagehands and a couple of people carrying clip boards, but Bart remained undisturbed. D on the other hand, had his mouth wide open. [What the literal…] D looked at the others to see how they were fairing, but even the princess was awe struck. Her mouth hung low similarly to D.

Jace was also staring at Bart, but stood in shock for a different reason. [How the in the literal f**k did he increase his muscle mass like that!? Also, what the f**k is his Template!?]

Jace was debating whether to call Bart out on his ability, but Alpha stepped in first. Even she was stunned by the display. Her eyes were wide as one of her eyes twitched a bit. “My god. I knew you were delusional, but this…” She looked at the man in front of her, but it was hard to accept facts. Before, he was roughly average looking. However, now… She refused to finish that thought. While that thing had a 10 for a body, the personality was absolutely unacceptable. No, even calling his body a 10 was too much… Even though those…

“Ahem!” The crew member responsible for handing out the phones interjected. “I’m sorry, but I would prefer it if you left. We are closing the auditorium to prepare for the next event.” The man pointed behind himself towards the hallway. “Please leave so I can go.” He then turned towards some of the people who were still in the auditorium, some were even sleeping. “Attention!” The man called out with an imposing voice directed at the people still lingering in the auditorium, causing the five in the group next to him, with the exception of Bart, to fall to the ground clutching their ears. Each word felt as if it were being etched into their minds. “I would appreciate it if you would all get your shit together. Either adapt to your situation or die. The announcer, while a prick, is a somewhat kind person. Sure he is a bit of a , is addicted to gambling, and an all around asshole” The man paused for a moment. “Actually I can’t really find his good qualities. The man will do almost anything for a bit of cash. It’s honestly disappointing. However… Actually there really isn’t much to say about the guy. He still owes me around 2,000 credits. Wait, where was I.” The man was lost in rant; however, everyone in the auditorium was wide awake. Apart from a couple of stragglers who fainted in the back. The man realized his mistake and dialed his voice down to the level used by the speakers. “Sorry, that bastard has been my friend since we got here. I don’t necessarily condone his actions, but it was nice to see Casandra taken down a peg. Although the method he used was not one I would use.” He broke into a quick chuckle as he seemed to recall the events from the tournament. “Regardless, he has moments… When sober.” He quickly added while looking at the ground.

A different stage hand approached the man and whispered something in his ear. “Oops, nasty habit. I always get talkative when I use my Template. Psychic Rambling can be a real handful sometimes.” The man laughed as he flashed a smile towards the people who had remained in the audience. “My name is Larry, I hope you forgive Max for the outburst. He likely heard about the half off drinks and decided to stock up. Al-” The stagehand tapped his stopwatch. “Right” **Cough** “Please make your way to the exit.” Larry’s polite tone was a stark contrast to his previous one.

After a couple of minutes of clutching his head, D finally managed to rise to his feet. “Damn. My head hurts. Hey Bar-” Before D could finish, he noticed Bart standing up. However, the godly aura had long faded. Instead, what lay before D was a shriveled up husk. Bart’s skin had become as pale as a sheet of paper. “My god. Bart are you ok!?”

D rushed to help Bart, but remained a few feet away. Afraid that Bart would crumble at the touch. “D? Is that you.” **Cough** “D… I’m so cold. Why…” Bart started to sway as a smile bloomed on his face. “Ah. What a beautiful white light.” Bart then started to fall back. A single tear fell from his eye as D rushed to catch him. “Ah. My time has come.” Bart gave a satisfied smile before his body went limp.

“BARTTTTT!”