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Volume 6
Chapter 265: A Taller and Hungrier Dinoking
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That missing memory was like a selective amnesia due to shock or trauma and only certain triggering elements and factors could make him remember it.
Or perhaps only when he’s inside RPG: Terroa is he able to recall those [visions] that popped up in his mind whenever he sees, hear, or sense some sort of familiar feeling.
And by what it meant by selective amnesia is that Rex Kingsley is still aware of his other memories aside from that one particular timeframe event.
Apparently, it was an event that had significance to both him and the development of RPG: Terroa.
So he couldn’t help asking himself, “How am I connected to the game?”
“What is [Siva] to the game and to… Augustus?!”
Rex had long since begun to have the doubt that him, choosing a random name as Siva, was not a mere chance nor was it coincidence.
He had a notion that he had always been that name, that [Siva], and that his violent leanings in the real world had all been the product of him being frustrated at something very important that he had failed to do.
And when he came into this world, he suddenly felt as if he was in his own courtyard.
He was able to release all that pain of unable to be free and be himself, that tightly restrained and tied down side of his personality, a persona which he knew would kill him inside if he did not let go.
This persona… was none other than [Siva].
Before this, this slightly confusing thought was just an idea and nothing more. But now, he knew that this notion was a fact that he’s been trying to burry under the pretense of facts and reasoning.
“My memory of those wars, are they real events?”
This question, the things that happened inside the game just before he woke up, the dreams of that place, of that person who looked at him with hate, and Mefisto… and Siva…
As these mysteries all swelled up in his mind like a volcano that’s about to erupt, Rex backed off from the dismantled table, into the wall parallel to his open door.
Memories from inside the game, images, voices, and the visions waiting to be uncovered… invaded his mind like surging lava.
THUD!
The force of his retreat can be felt by the strength of the sound of him hitting his back to the wall.
It was loud enough to the point that it warranted alarm from the Manang.
When Manang Fe arrived at the door, she saw him clutching his face but not exhibiting painful groans like before.
Rex was quiet and only held his head with one hand while the other massaged his once injured left leg.
“Do you know me, Manang Fe?” Rex asked. “Do you know who I am?” —because I think I don’t even know myself anymore.
In her eyes, Rex was giving that kind of vibe from his shoulders. Seeing him looking like a miserable teen he is, the Manang couldn’t think of a proper reply aside from telling him the truth.
Thinking about it, yes, she knew who he is and no, she wasn’t aware of his history.
All she knew is that, right now, she was looking at a young boy who was being used a pawn in a game of greed played by the evil adults who also happens to be her employer.
She wasn’t that close to the boy but as a human being, she could very well understand his pains.
“No.” she said and then walked over to the bed.
Manang Fe thought for the right answer and so she landed on that reply to his question.
Bringing in a new set of bedsheets, blankets, and pillows from downstairs, she proceeded to fix the bed while talking.
“Prior to this job in this house, I have no idea who you are and I didn’t ask any questions. I was hired to just be a housekeeper; to cook you food when you can’t cook on your own and to do laundry as you focus on your work. At first… I was fine with it and so I just wanted to continue watching you but then as the weeks passed by, I noticed your poor physical condition and the fact that you still play games despite it is not something normal, so I asked my neighbor to go and dig out who you are and what your circumstances are.”
Rex raised his head up but maintained the hand that held his face, rubbing it in a circular manner as if to drive something painful away.
He hesitated for a few moments before he spoke.
“My name is Rex Kingsley… son of the inventors of the NLD, son of the formerly renowned now dead Doctors Etheron Adam Solomon Kingsley and Elizabeth Evelyn Éclair-Terranova Kingsley… I am an empty shell of hate… to the world who took away my family… who hurt my little brother… who was being played around like a fool by the people that hired you. I am their pawn, Manang Fe, I am their tool. And they’re studying me like I am some kind of lab specimen…”
In front of him was the panel that he saw in the flat box. But Manang Fe wasn’t looking at him and only spent a few fleeting glances on the disassembled table on the side of the bed.
On the series of panels on Siva’s vision, there were the seemingly chaotic graphical views of the parameters that formed his whole emotional matrix of ‘self’ persona.
And in that chaotic mass of numbers and bars, two opposing yet synergistically cooperating emotions created the driving force that shaped the entire process like a living cycle.
Of course, if you look at it by itself, it may not mean nothing but…
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Rex saw the panels in order and when they are stocked together according to importance and the priority in scans, you would see a pattern.
A round pattern representing the two sides….
One was the pattern of the cycle of hate and destruction, the other, a pattern of love and the tendency to show compassion on certain triggers.
He was looking at it and not until the surge of the memories just now did he see it clearly what these people are studying him for.
In the eastern countries, they call this pattern and complete, balanced, and endless cycle, Yin-Yang.
These numbers… complete the processes.
The two peeking patterns were the ones that served as the main driving force to move this cycle.
And Rex... was in the middle.
He was the key.
“These people…” he couldn’t say it. He hated it.
Because just now, he learned that they were just treating him like a guinea pig!
Not only was he a pawn, he was also a lab rat for testing things. He recalled that black soot on his bed earlier and he couldn’t help but feel it was a result of some sort of experiment.
The experiment was conducted when he was still in Terroa, battling Kladis and the two Demons of Mefisto.
Upon saying his name, the Manang only glanced at hi once before finishing her tasks and going to the door and exiting.
She didn’t say a word of reply.
Rex stayed there in that sitting position for a good while, his mind running on the chaotic array of his emotions along with the confusing surging amount of unfamiliar memories from a time and place that he couldn’t quite recall perfectly.
Then, he drew his left hand to touch the knee of his once broken leg and he could feel that there was nothing wrong as if he wasn’t injured at all.
What more, just now, he was also just noticing that his headache was gone… and he wasn’t even a bit tired or anything.
In fact, he was full of energy as if the bath earlier had cleansed all his fatigue and stress away.
Well, if there is something, he was hungry.
“At least you should eat something before you go to sleep.”
What better timing. Manang Fe’s voice rung from below and her tone indicated as if she did not hear nor saw anything on his room.
Doing one last massage on his face and knee, he looked up to the ceiling and then drew down that gaze towards the dismantled table and the strewn down tools.
“Coming.” He said after a while.
They were treating all that as if nothing happened because they both knew that nothing will change on their current situation even if they do something about it.
Rex, at least, landed on this conclusion and could not blame the lady for thinking the same way as he.
He stood up and changed clothes, wearing a polo shirt and black slacks. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed that he seemed to have brighter complexion than normal.
“Did I always look like this before?”
He looked down and was surprised to see that his feet were slightly visible from his slacks and from how much it was visible, it was clear he got taller than before.
“Is this the first time I wore this?” as he thought if he’d gotten taller or not, he checked his self in the mirror and studied his hair that is now as long as his hair in the game world of Terroa.
Rex picked up a few strands and checked the vitality of the bunch on his left thumb and index, only stopping when all the hair strands fell back on his head.
He murmured, “I’ve been in this house for almost three months now but perhaps this is the first time I’ve actually ever looked at myself in the mirror.”
Although he wasn’t someone who emphasized a certain degree on vanity, he was still a 22nd century teenager so of course he’d still appreciate it if he was a little taller and more attractive than his competitors.
That said, he stared directly at his reflection and the more he stared and thought up to three months ago, the more he assumed that he was looking at a reflection of someone else.
His heart rate increased, his breathing shortened, Rex stared wide-eyed at his reflection and finally raised his head to look at his neck.
“Ah!” he gasped as he realized… “AAAHHHH!!!”
He screamed and backed away to the bed as he stared back at the cowering reflection of himself in the mirror.
Dandandandan!!!
The Manang’s rushing footfalls on the stairs rang on his ears and she went into his room, her face pale in fright and anxiety.
“What now?!” she growled.
“Manang Fe!” Rex yelled and pointed at the mirror with an ashen face, “Manang Fe! Wh-Who was that… I mean… look at me? Am I still Rex to you?”
The Manang’s left cheek and brows twitched as she processed the question and she knew she’d regret it later but she couldn’t help herself from taking the slippers off her right foot and slammed the panicking teen back to his senses.
*****
“Sleep.”
“Yes.”
“…”
“I will not log in. I promise.”
“…”
“Sorry.”
“…”
“…”
“And you’re still hungry?”
(Nods)
“…”
“Manang Fe do you really not see the difference from the me a few days ago and the me of now?”
“Aside from the fact that there are four plates of empty plates of food in front of you and you still saying that you’re hungry is one. Your hair is a lot longer, yes, but I think it was already long since a few days ago in the first place. Aside from that… I think you’re a lot taller than a few months ago.”
“Right, right?!”
Rex looked down on his hands and then to his stomach that, despite the four full servings of food that he wolfed down, he never felt full and still felt a bit hungry.
In the kitchen, Manang Fe, with a frown, went on to cook another batch of food for Rex and so the latter waited and stacked the three plates of food together, leaving the last plate to save the dishes.
Supposedly, she had cooked enough food until dinner and thankfully it was still morning and so the food was still warm when eaten whole.
But that fact on itself was unbelievable. Aside from athletes who naturally eat a lot, Rex hadn’t gone out of the house for around three months and even before he went here, he was in the hospital for almost 8 months, including his time in rehabilitation.
And so… how and why is he able to eat that much food in one seating?
Fanning herself, the Manang had sweat pouring on her face as she went back to finish the food she cooked in a haste.
Although it was still a simple dish, it was still warm and the rice was newly cooked and so Rex dug in happily as if he hadn’t eaten for days.
Fanning herself on the other side of Rex, she just watched as he ravaged the food in the table and it didn’t even took 30 minutes… the rice cooker was emptied and all the food she had prepared had been devoured completely.
Her eyes went wide in disbelief and she looked at Rex as if she was looking at a monster.
“You… you’re still hungry?!”
Rex was also in disbelief. He looked at the clock and it was only 07:45 in the morning.
He nodded and drank water. But even that… he had already drank three pitchers of water and yet he still felt that he was thirsty and hungry.
On the other side, the Manang was sweating a great deal and she was fanning herself with her portable fan while wide-eyed looking at him.
“Something changed in me, Manang!” he called in a fluster of panic and looked at the empty plates then said finally, “And I’m still hungry!”
“Jusko…!!” the Manang backed off and then went inside the kitchen for a bit before appearing once again and frowningly staring at him. “First you shit in your bed, and now you eat a lot. What’s next, you turn into a Super Saiyan?”***
Rex blinked with a “?” almost written on his face.
Still fanning herself as if she was in a dessert, she clicked her tongue and looked at the AC panel on the wall.
“Is the air-con not working or something?”
When Rex heard this question, he unknowingly looked up to the glass of his room and true enough, he saw the moist on his glass door.
“Hm?”
A thought struck him.
He then looked at the window on the salas, and saw the same moist.
“This…”
He then looked at his hands and mentally scanned for his body, feeling a heat coming from his lower abdomen… on his stomach.
“What’s happening?!” Rex exclaimed and this cry made the Manang turn her head towards him.
She saw steam coming from his body and this made her alarmed that she backed off from him.
Rex had no time to think about it and he ran out of the door towards the garage garden. He sat on the bench and started to practice the [Triple Bloom Meditation Technique] and visualized his body to have the [ten gates] of energy, mentally imagining this “heat” circulating all around those ten gates.
He could feel the energy revolving around him it was like a stream of lukewarm bath that constantly massaged his body’s muscles and bones.
When he was done and the uncomfortable heat is dispersed from his senses, he didn’t know how long it lasted but when he opened his eyes… it was already night.
“…”
Shit.
.
.
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Had the weirdness of the twin doctors finally infected him?
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