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Chapter 332: Inserting a Coin
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And for a seemingly rather long and winding time since it happened, this is the real first time that he was actually thrown into a chaotic stupor.
—enough, actually, that he almost killed Cortana.
That’s why he wanted to know, “Tell me, what it is then? What else is there?”
“Well, you told me that the [key] is in Chronos.”
Siva gasped unknowingly. He can’t control his breathing and it even felt like he was going to die since when he gasped, he was actually in the midst of exhaling.
At that moment, he recalled something…
“….you take care of that side…”
It was a voice, a familiar voice. His own voice…
But even though it was his voice, it didn’t belong to him. it was the voice of someone else.
“This side… this side… in this…….. in this side…”
When he was murmuring, he looked at Cortana and asked, “What is the difference between me and that person?”
Although he didn’t want to believe it, he was also reminded of this possibility that rooted deeper in his mind after his talk with Gabriel.
Cortana paused then said, “He’s calm and very collected. He looked as if he was in control of all the things around him… and he… he looked like he was the sort who had killed many people in the past… a manipulator… or at least that’s how the references I found in the movies and videos online spoke of the kind of expression you wore when you looked at me earlier.”
Of course, Cortana had read his mind that’s why she was able to answer him the things he needed to hear in regards to his thoughts.
—in regards to his ‘you’ who is a different ‘Siva’.
“Boss, is it really possible…?”
There was no real need for her to ask this but she was instructed by Siva —no, Rex— to tell him the things he needed to know when asked, and that she had to do this to prompt him to think to move his brain cells, improving the both of them in turn.
“I’ve been thinking of this for a while now but the talk with Gabriel confirmed it. There is a different me that had lived in this world before. And in the real world…… there is even a part of my life that I have no memories of… four years ago.”
They’ve already talked about this but now, Siva is 100% sure that there was someone else in his body… and the both of them are Rex Kingsley.
—no.
One of them is Siva. And right now, he is Siva.
Cortana had read his thoughts.
“Split personality disorder, boss? I’ve just read the references in the Net. There is no precedent of your case, if it’s even true. And having the both of you awake at the same time doesn’t concur with the medical articles regarding Split Personality.”
As soon as she spoke, his thoughts rushed in on her main processes input bank. She had read his mind again.
But Siva still answered, “Not actually. Remember that when someone logs in to the NLD, their body is put into a sleep state and everything that will happen in Terroa will just be like a dream. When they log out, the memories in the ‘dream state’ will synchronize with their primary cerebral memory region… making the events recorded into their minds permanent as if it happened while they are awake.”
“—and the dizziness for extreme gamers will be the result of them overusing the capacity of their brains to synchronize.”
Siva nodded.
“That’s why there were the security measures that included an automatic log out when the User had reached a certain time limit online.”
Siva saw Cortana pause.
“Checking online articles… there was a synchro barrier between logging out in the game and the actual player waking up from the dive… this is the synchronization timeframe. But boss, right now, the two of you are awake! Do you mean to say that the other Boss is your alter ego? The one who had lived in Terroa for a long time?”
“Millions of years ago… to be exact… or at least that’s what Gabriel said.”
Of course, Cortana hadn’t met Gabriel but she has his memories of his conversation with Gabriel as reference.
“The time frame doesn’t match.”
“That’s what I thought so as well.”
While Siva was thinking, Cortana was reading his thoughts and according to them, she concurrently checked and referenced many different articles and online materials.
“But the possibility is there, boss. I mean, you got those [memories] that even I can’t scan even as I am physically connected to your brain. I don’t think this is just coincidence. According to my own analysis, there is a 70% possibility that this other Boss is the one who had restricted your ability to log out of Terroa.”
Siva held his breath as well as his head. Even if he wanted to stop thinking, he can’t, and he was now beginning to fall in that chaotic abyss of AI-killing thoughts again.
“Boss, please, try to breathe. Slowly. Try to relax.”
While she spoke, she walked to him and used the default [augmented reality] function of her hardware to ‘soothe’ him. She applied massaging techniques she picked up online to relax his sore nerve points and then rubbed his back like a true caring neighbor.
Siva calmed down and he looked at her, and then cupped his face, rubbing it to compose himself.
“Am I trapped by my own alter ego?”
“There are novels and movies like that, boss, but no real medical data to back it up.”
Hearing this reply, Siva discovered something that alarmed him even more.
Slowly, he straightened his body on his seat and looked at his hands. Then, he glanced at the floor and then to the wide panoramic window –the view outside was the bustling of the city.
It was beautiful… in a unique kind of taste; telling him that in ‘this world’ was an entirely different civilization bustling with life and vigor.
After that, he touched the upholstery on his seat and then breathed the air… all of it seemed real to him; the feel of the fabric to his touch, the scent of clean cloth in the room, the heat in Cortana’s hands, the sound of the NEWS playing in the holo TV in the living area… even his own heartbeat, his own sounds of breathing, his voice, his (cursed) skin, all that he could reach at the moment and all that he could see and feel with his senses…
—all of it.
—All of this…
Siva raised his head and looked at Cortana, who, of course, had already read his mind but doesn’t have the right reactionary algorithm to display as a reply to his confused yet calmly accepting mental situation.
….everything is [real] to him at this moment while there was another ‘him’ who was breathing the air outside at the same time.
The thought that he discovered was—
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“—could I be the alter ego?”
Such notion frightened him. But just like what his trusty assistant had said, perhaps he was the first and only unique case of this medical condition so almost anything that he could think of to explain this situation might become the true possibility.
“I don’t have enough data to answer that query.”
Siva paused then held his head tightly again.
“Is this the reason why this is happening to me?”
—am I just a lab rat to them?
—to AG?
Siva was referring to his current situation, to the events that had happened to his family; why his parents died —no, why Terra and Neth— died; to the reason why AG seemed to have planned all of it so that he could get his hands on his neck; to a frightening dream he once had in Loire where a ghost that looked like his reflection wanted him to free [him]; to the events that happened in Dragona that he had no memory of; to these [memories] that he both found to be foreign and surreal in origin but uniquely familiar to the very depths of his ‘heart’; to the abnormal checkups of the twins and Doctor Martinez; and to the weird phenomena that kept on repeating whenever he tried to ‘meditate’ with the goal of searching upon himself…
Cortana had read these thoughts but contrary to what might ‘kill her’, at the moment, she seemed to be relaxed and not affected by his slowly getting chaotic thoughts.
“Boss…” all she could do is to archive everything.
She was instructed and was given permission by Siva to use his thoughts as reference to improve her reactionary and personality algorithms.
Like a child, she could only absorb so that in the future, everything she had absorbed and learned will be used in assistance to her principal.
But right now, she was powerless.
She is just like a hatchling, aware of her charge’s predicaments but unable to do anything to change or even just slightly better his mental condition.
As artificially made her ‘self’ was, right at this very moment, she was ‘feeling’ really disappointed on her powerlessness.
Her primary function was to be of help to him and while all her features and default capabilities were indeed of great help to achieving all his goals, her primary function of being his main support…. was currently failing.
She was slowly developing the reaction algorithm of being “distressed” with her incapacity to help better her charge’s condition.
*****
There are so many things that Siva believes in and one of them is the saying that “everything is happening with a purpose”.
And yet this “purpose” is what’s pissing him off.
“I hate this…”
In Cortana’s panel, Siva’s Yin-Yang of emotions is currently taking form.
Given his current situation, Siva can’t help but be scared of failing his brother.
Thus, the bars of what reflected “compassion” and “love” were peaking, with the latter touching the very limits of the highest point it could ever be.
And then, at the very opposite, was his ‘rage’ and ‘hatred’ —focused upon to the object of its origin:
Augustus Laniary
When he appeared, everything started to go very bad from beginning to end.
If he could wish to rewind the hands of time then he would wish to never have taken his offer. If he had only used his talents and abilities, used all his contacts and engineering knowledge, perhaps he would have found another way to save Baron.
Who knows if the whole thing that had happened to his family was started by AG?
Or at least, was connected to him…
“I hate this… all of this… I HATE ALL OF THIS!!!”
While the positive emotions were just at the very limits of its parameters, right at this moment, the parameters for ‘rage’ and ‘hatred’ had pierced way beyond the threshold.
AG knows something about his forgotten memory four years ago. It’s no wonder that he would be connected to everything that is happening to him now.
“Boss, while I think I understand how all of this is frustrating you, but I don’t think the other Boss mean you no harm at all.”
When she spoke to this part, Siva seemed to have snapped away from his world of hatred.
He thought about it and felt that she was correct.
“You noticed it before, Boss, you’re not yet tired despite being online more than 24 hours now. I have his complexion and expression recorded in my archive and I can tell that he’s really tired.”
Siva looked at his black smoke skinned palms.
“Normally, I’d feel drowsy after being online for more than 8 hours in the real world. But right now, I’m still okay.”
—then he remembered—
“This side… [he] told me to take care of this side.”
“Should I confirm it?”
Siva thought about it and when he landed on a conclusion, Cortana already ‘understood’ but he still spoke of it.
“No need. If he’s really me, then I’d assume that he had already guessed that I will understand his meaning when he spoke of things as being [on this side] of the two worlds.”
Cortana felt Siva had already landed on a decision that the “other Boss” doesn’t mean him any harm.
Instead, the [other Boss] just doesn’t want them to meet ‘this early’ in the game.
The game being—
“AG wanted me to play this game according to his wishes and his plans. Well, if I don’t have to worry about the real world’s side… then I can just focus my efforts on this side.”
—the [game] where he was a chess piece!
Cortana read his train of thoughts and although it was still far for her to actually do ‘understand’ his meaning, she had plenty of materials in the Net to use as a reply in regards to her charge’s positive mental state.
“[He] already gave me the clues I needed. It only means that he will be taking care of things on the other side while I focus my efforts on this side. It is as simple as that.”
Yes, it was indeed as simple as that.
It’s not that Siva was being denied of his ability to log out but it was the opposite. The [other guy] is simply giving the two of them the chance to finish the two tasks that matters the most to Siva.
“I just have to save Baron and kill Mefisto.”
Right now, Siva had become aware of who his real enemies are. His enemies... were Mefisto and Augustus Laniary.
Having thought up to this point, Siva stood up on his seat and told Cortana: “Tell him that I now understood his meaning and that I will do my best to complete my task. But there is one thing I want to have after this… and that is for him to tell me who he is and who I really am.”
POP!
Just as he finished speaking, Siva received an email notification prompt.
Of course, Cortana had seen the content but she didn’t dare voice it out and opened it up for Siva.
It was a short message with the sender and the receiver being his own Email Address.
[Good Luck to us]
Siva beamed a smile akin to that of the renowned “Spirit of the Forest” of the Walled City of Loire.
He sent a message to his team mates (via Cortana), informing them that he will be going to the meeting with Pistareen.
“I will move this world with my own hands.” He told himself.
*****
On the Sofa, in the real world, with the curtains rolled out to block anything that might spy on the windows from outside, Rex sat there cross-legged and confident, similar to the AG who is currently being ‘rendered’ by the Real@D display.
The two of them were in a meeting and the smile Rex wore greatly alarmed AG to an extent.
“I remember you.” Rex said. “And I remember the faces of all of the people who were there in that place that day. I remember how you all looked at me and her as if you were all watching a show. I remember how they sneered and laughed, while you stare at us as if we were ants in your vision.”
AG was really serious right now. He could feel the beaming smile of hatred on Siva’s lips at this very moment.
“You people were unaware of Pegasus’ plans and in the end of it all, he played you... me... and even his own daughter.”
AG picked up a tea cup and sipped. He was silent and was just listening to Rex Kingsley —or whoever it was in front of him.
“Who are you… exactly.”
“I’m Rex Kingsley… the genuine Rex Kingsley.”
AG paused then asked, “What do you want?”
“To play this game.”
AG frowned. That was a quick reply. Very quick in fact that it was deeply and greatly alarming. It’s as if Rex had already predicted that he would ask this question.
“What’s your demand?”
Rex wasn’t drinking anything and he was just on his sofa, looking at him.
“You can’t give me what I want even if I demand it from the world. But you have the precious thing that belongs to me and keeping that thing safe is what’s keeping you and all of the people involved with you still alive and breathing at this moment.”
AG gave an elegant smile, “I’m threatened.” and then drank another sip on his cup.
“You should be.” Siva’s eyes changed and this is not a look that an innocent 19-year old young man should make, given his background. “You have no idea what they did to me and you have no idea of the things I had to go through in that world just so I could survive. Pegasus wanted to be a monster but he ended up creating one. And there is no controlling it. It can only be held back. I am the only one keeping that monster in check. I even wanted to bring that burden to my grave and live a new life…”
[Rex] laughed at this point and it was laughter with a frightening degree of malicious intent in it.
“Haaahhh… but humans are so fickly stupid. Who would have thought that the very [key] that helps me lock that monster in its cage had been stolen? And now, I don’t know where it is… so I contacted you.”
AG’s hands trembled, but only for a moment and it was soon came back to normal as he sipped one more time on his cup.
“I have that [key] in my custody.”
Of course AG already realized that the reason he was contacted by this [Rex] is because he already knew that it was on his possession... or at least, he knew where to find it.
“I know.” Rex smiled and nonchalantly gestured a hand at him, “And I don’t care. Actually… I don’t care if both worlds burn… I don’t care if I am the only one left alive in this planet. With the current me, I can survive in a desolate earth with only the light of the sun to sustain me. I can wait billions of years as I restart humanity in my image. But I also know you do care and that’s why you planned all of this, even dragging my innocent other half and even plotted to use him. My kind mother and my understanding father both died, and then my baby brother is even hurt. All the people I cared about suffered and hurt so you tell me… in this game you’ve all started, aside for my brother, is there anything else that’s going to stop me from unleashing that monster into this world? Since I only have one single attachment into this place, if you don’t take care of him… will you be able to see the thing you always wanted to see when all of you are dead?”
Rex started laughing with mockery and irony and it was a stinging laughter on AG’s ears.
The bitterness on Rex’s voice tasted poison on the blend that AG was drinking. He lost his thirst to even continue drinking even if it’s bitter.
“I called you to tell you of your situation, oh Mister Augustus Laniary… I want you to keep my brother safe from the ignorant bastards. I could feel that what you want is not the same as the people around you and I also feel that if I asked you right now, you’d even give me back my brother and as well as that [key]. But that is not what I want.”
“Then what is?”
AG dropped the acid-tasting blend and looked at Rex straight in the eyes.
“I told you already. I just want to play this game.”
.
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The game has just been flipped over…
AG faces the very thing he feared the most!!
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