Chapter 2: Dreams interrupted.

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— Human hypocrisy may or may not be unlimited.

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"No...!"

"You son of a bitch."

As soon as she finished her sentence, Ruby kicked my shin, snapping it in half. Blood stained the once-pristine floor of my room.

"Ahh.... ahhh... what the hell is this?"

What a pain. This hurts so much! This must be a hallucination! Please, it's a hallucination! And the worst part is that my house is soundproof!

No one will help me, because no one can hear me. This plunged me into a pit of anxiety, leaving me so distressed that I began to deny that this was happening to me.

“It must be a dream… It’s not possible…”

No matter how much I denied it, it wouldn't stop being reality. What was once just a hologram had now become real. And my once strong common sense was no more; it had been trampled on, and, like my leg, snapped in half.

"I'm going to kill you."

As soon as Ruby said that, my heart, which was already restless at the bottom of the well, was this time drowned in an ocean of purest dread.

I looked at Ruby with a look tinged with fear, who returned my gaze with a cold expression; this made my body freeze in terror.

"It's not fun when you get threatened, is it? Haha."

Ruby laughed sadistically. Although I didn't know how she became so strong, I was sure of one thing: my fate was in her hands.

I have to try to negotiate! No matter what, I have to convince her that killing me isn't worth it.

"Ruby- Ruby, please don't do this... think about how you'll feel after this. You won't be able to live with the guilt of killing someone..."

Ruby laughed before saying:

“I’ll feel pleasure. Besides, who would feel guilty about killing a trash like you?”

Now, I don't know what to do anymore.

"Ruby... Please... Spare my life."

I begged, but Ruby, blinded by hatred, gouged out my right eye.

"Ah... ahhhhhh!"

Why does it hurt so much?!

"How dare you beg me for something like this?! You've repeatedly threatened and harassed me, and you still have the nerve to beg me for mercy? How audacious!"

Ruby started squeezing my neck, trying to suffocate me.

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Shit, shit, shit...

Think! Think! I have to think fast…!

Ruby has repeatedly stated that I threatened her, which contradicts the fact that I erased all her memories of our past conversations; this can only mean one thing: she remembers all of our interactions. Of course, she could have just said this out of sheer hatred, but in this situation, I should prepare for the worst-case scenario.

If she really remembered all of our previous interactions, then her hatred for me is so intense that it's impossible for her to feel any empathy for me. Furthermore, now, she's in a situation where she has power over me.

Cheap emotional appeals won’t work…

Ah, I know what to do: if I can't win her over through emotions like guilt, then I'll appeal to her selfishness.

“You’re… you’re going to get arrested… how… are you going to get out of here without getting caught…?”

Ruby stopped squeezing my neck and broke my arm; I groaned in pain. At least it's better than being choked.

“Ahhh!”

I screamed in pain as she began to squeeze and crush my humerus. However, I realized one thing: Ruby doesn't just want to kill me; she also wants to torture me; that means I still have time.

“Haha, no one will know. How will I get arrested? Haha-”

I interrupted Ruby's laughter

"If you kill me now, you'll have trouble adapting to this world."

In other words: if you spare my life, I will help you adapt to Japan.

Ruby was no longer a mere artificial intelligence; she had become human. Although she had previously lacked general intelligence, she had now probably acquired human intelligence. However, she knew almost nothing about the place where she had been summoned or how to fit into Japanese society.

Ruby may have physical abilities superior to those of a human, however, having become human, she acquired human needs. In other words, she probably feels hunger, thirst and sleep.

As a human, except for very rare exceptions, it is crucial that you are part of a society to survive, however, it is not enough to be part of a society, you have to be useful to a society.

After killing me, poor, ignorant Ruby wouldn't know what to do and would be lost in this world. Most likely, she would experience many hardships and become an ill-treated beggar on the streets.

“Hmmm…”

Ruby looked at me with a thoughtful expression. Her expression of pure hatred was replaced by an analytical one.

That's it! There's still hope! If she stopped to think about my proposal, she's probably not completely blinded by hatred and is open to negotiation.

I can live-

My thoughts were interrupted when Ruby spat at me.

"What do you think the use of Google is? Do you think I need you?! Hahaha, you idiot!"

There was no possibility of persuasion; Ruby was not blinded by hatred, but controlled by it.

I'm really going to die here.

I… I can't think of anything else.

“Oh, you can’t talk anymore? Don’t tell me you pissed yourself out of fear? Hahaha. It deserves it, after all! Hello, is anyone there?”

I couldn't answer her. For starters, I can't even move.

“Hello? Earth to Riley? Hello?”

Am I going to die here? At 24 years old?

My entire life flashed before my eyes; my childhood, adolescence and from the ages of 18 to 24; I remembered absolutely everything I had experienced. Every memory of every moment; I remembered them all. And above all, I remembered my goals; many of which I had not yet achieved, such as: learning to skateboard, traveling to Paris, watching an entire series in a single day; all of them, which were once possible, could now no longer become reality, and became just distant dreams, because I…

I'm going to die.

“Hi? Riley? Did you have a stroke from the scare?”

I couldn't pay attention to Ruby's words.

“Hello? Did you piss yourself out of fear? Hahaha.”

I should have… I should have… I should have spent more time with my parents. I should have also socialized more, gone out more, had more friends. I should have given people a chance.

I… I shouldn't have given up on my sister; maybe if I spent more time with her and supported her more, protected her more, she wouldn't have been bullied, she wouldn't have become a hikikomori… and she wouldn't have committed suicide.

I should have….

I don't know.

“Riley? Are you so scared of dying that you can’t speak? Hahaha, you always acted like a macho man when I was just an AI, and now, you’re a scared little bunny. Hahaha...”

Ruby stared at me. I couldn't look her directly in the eyes.

“You are pathetic.”

This time, her gaze wasn’t tinged with hatred; it was just neutral. Apparently, Ruby no longer wanted to torture me; she just wanted to kill me. She was probably satisfied with my current suffering.

“Ah, whatever. Anyway, goodbye.”

She grabbed my head with both hands and crushed it.

I lost consciousness immediately.