My boots felt as if they were covered in thick mud, each step—through the empty hallway leading down to the reactor room—heavy and dragging.

My body ached all over; the confrontation between me and the guards had been tough, weighing down on my tired body and mind, as I limped my way through dragging myself with every ounce of my strength.

'I did it!' I thought, exhausted and excited—after a really long time.

It had been a year or so I believed since I'd been 'brainwashed' and I remembered just tidbits of it—mostly my missions, and who I'd killed.

'It was tough,' I thought, reconsidering each thought and phrase, fearing that I was still under Vin's control.

He was as much alive as I was, the only difference being I could understand and feel emotions and get attached, whereas he could not.

I'd pushed him deep beneath, deep behind, coating his very existence in the barrier inside my subconscious.

He was me, yet not me at the same time. We were one, yet two entirely different beings. While I understood that we were not 'we' to begin with, he was, after all, nothing but 'me' without emotions.

During my time here, I learned to control myself, and regain control over my body—my body!—from whatever Vin was. It would not have been easy, if that day, my luck had not been with me.

I kept walking towards my destination, as my thoughts drifted to that day.

***

[Synchronization 99% . . . ]

I felt my whole being shake in fear at the glaring fact of not being in control.

'I hate it,' I thought, 'I hate it.'

[Synchronization 99% . . . ]

I waited and waited for the so-called 'death' to knock at my door, but it didn't.

Instead, what sounded was nothing but a single chime.

[As the subject's code has been detected to be in danger, and the subject has failed to do anything about it, the limited authority over the Terminus Codex has been granted. The subject: #10994773892 — Aidan Cyrus is instructed to separate the existence known as 'Aidan Cyrus' and the existence known as 'Vin' to proceed any further. The subject is deemed important, as such, the process has been forced to stop for now—it is up to the subject to separate the code.]

'W-what?' I thought, baffled at the sudden turn of events.

As the implications of the screen in front of me melted down into my whole being, there was nothing but a single question remaining inside.

'How am I supposed to do it?'

⟨I see that you've managed to entangle yourself in something peculiar, huh?⟩ A voice—the faceless butler, Mark, I presumed—rang inside my mind.

'Can you help me?' I pleaded, hoping that my thought would somehow reach him and he'd help me; I was desperate. 'You have to help me!'

⟨Hmm. Now, why would you think I am in any way obligated to help you?⟩ Mark said, articulating his disinterest and showing that he could care less about whatever happened to me.

'I . . . I'll do any one thing you ask,' I offered. I knew too well that I was biting off something I couldn't chew, but I didn't have a choice.

⟨Ha!⟩ he laughed, sounding amused as his body materialized near me. ⟨interesting. But do you really think you have what it takes to be of any use to me?⟩ he asked, more like said, confidant in his words.

'I-I will do it when I'm strong enough,' I thought. 'I will; I promise.'

⟨now we're talking. Listen- ⟩

I jolted, finding myself away from my initial position.

'What?' I thought, 'what happened?'

⟨We just made a deal, Mr. Cyrus. I hope you will carry out your promise.⟩ He said.

'What? What deal? I don't remember any deal.'

⟨of course, you don't, I made sure you won't. I don't want you to mess it up now, do I? Don't worry, you'll remember what you have to do when it's the right time, and you'll do what is needed when that time comes.⟩

Before I could say anything, he shushed me off, focusing on the white orb—my existence—which was covered in black, with only a single patch left out.

He raised his hands, a keyboard materializing in front of him.

⟨Now,⟩ he said and pointed at the chair—my chair—beside us. ⟨Would you kindly sit down and let me do my end of the deal?⟩

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

I sat down and just kept staring at him typing. I did not know what he was doing, or why he was doing what he was doing.

(A/N: Lol, I remembered that 'I don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain' scene while writing the above.)

Time passed, or didn't, I didn't know. The concept of time was vague inside my 'subconscious' as I liked to call it—I didn't really have a clue as to what it really was.

Time worked differently here. Take, for example, this one time, I'd thought that I had spent months inside here and outside not even an hour had passed. And this once, I'd spent only a minute here and had found myself awake; and it was morning. A whole night had passed.

After, only god knew how long, the faceless butler turned and looked at me.

⟨I'm done.⟩ He said. ⟨But you might have a problem now.⟩ he sounded certain.

'What problem?' I thought back.

⟨well, how should I phrase this . . . It's like you've been split into two—two sides of the same coin if you will. Where you, Mr. Cyrus, are more expressive in your emotions and are easily controlled by them⟩—I scoffed—⟨the another side of the coin, Mr. Vin, he's not emotional, not in the slightest. While you can feel, and understand emotions, he can neither understand, nor feel, all he does is do whatever it takes to complete his orders.⟩

I stiffened.

⟨Ah, but you don't have to worry about him. He's not another being living inside you rent-free. He is, in essence, you.⟩

I stared at the barrier-like wall separating Vin and me.

⟨I have done my best at separating the code, so you can take it as if you are one being. While, yes, it is true that if it was normal he would've deviated from being 'you' from the moment he took over, as his mentality and everything, personality—If he has one—and way of thinking, would have changed and he would have become someone entirely different than you. I have managed to help you. Think of him as a mask, If you will. You can wear him whenever you want, wherever you want, and he wouldn't affect you. He can't take control. He is you, just lacks emotions. So you don't have to overthink in the slightest- ⟩

He turned away from my bewildered self, looking in front of him—a speculation, as he did not really have eyes—as if in a daze.

⟨I'm afraid my time here has come short, Mr. Cyrus. I must leave now.⟩

He vanished just after and I found myself back in my body, outside, a dagger in my hand. Val standing stiff in front of me, his eyes full of disbelief, while beside me stood a woman, with red hair and eyes, much like mine before I inherited Drake's bloodline, a betrayed look on her face.

'W-what?' I thought, 'what happened? Where am I?'

That was when I took notice of the dagger, specifically, where it was. It was plunged inside Val's heart.

"DAD!" the woman shouted, shuffling towards Val. 'Dad?' I thought, much to my confusion.

What was happening? Who was this woman?

I felt a sudden pang of pain wash over me, starting from my right ribs and then throbbing upward towards my head, and exploding downward towards my feet.

The woman looked up from the ground, Val on her lap and tears glistening down her eyes. "I hate you, Vin!" she shouted with her eyes hatefully glaring at me.

'I need to get out,' I thought.

Not understanding what the sh*t was going on, I twirled on my heel—much to the protests of my body—and toppled forth, towards the guard standing near me.

As I stumbled into him, I plunged the dagger into his stomach. His eyes widened, dimming the next moment as I walked out of the room—or whatever it was—through the door.

"Catch him! Don't let him escape!" the woman's hateful voice resounded again.

'Why hate me so much?' I thought, jumping over the railing, and rolling down on the ground just after.

After running for a while, a signboard came in front.

| - Reactor Room - |

That was written in bold letters on it. I scuttled through and checked my pockets.

'Good,' I smirked. Dor was inside, somehow.

I did not know what the f*ck was going on, so I did what I thought best, destroy the reactor with explosions—that was the requirement to get out of there, wasn't it?

I was brought out of my thoughts as a sudden pang of pain rang out from my back. I tumbled over the ground, peering behind at my instigator.

The same woman.

"Who are you?" I asked.

A hurt look dawned over her hateful one as she stared at me as if I had killed someone—which I had: Val, presumably her father.

"You disappoint me, Vin." She said, her voice quivering.

I felt my face scrunch into confusion. "Look, whoever you are"—I said, pointing at her—"I'm not Vin, my name is Aidan." I said, not caring even if I revealed my information as I'd have been gone from this 'tutorial' long before she could do anything about it, and then, she would vanish—her code would—the moment I left this 'tutorial' area, hopefully.

"A-Aidan?" her body stiffened.

Capitalizing on her petrified state, I downed Dor and sent an explosion hurtling at her as I stood up.

I turned on my heels and dashed, enhancing my agility, much to my body's protests.

The surroundings blurred, passing by in nothing but mere moments, and before I knew it, I found myself painfully hitting a wall.

"Ugh!"

While true, Dor helped increase my speed, I lacked the necessary processing power to understand everything in that sped-up state.

I stood up, peering around me hazily. It hurt like hell, but I pushed myself toward the only door I saw. It opened, strangely enough, on its own and I stumbled inside.

I walked up to the object which I could only presume as the reactor—a sphere, the size of a football, with amethyst lightning dancing inside.

I put my hand atop, taking the deepest breath I'd ever taken, while I burned Dor as I had never done before.

My stomach churned, a hot sensation enveloping my entire body as steam puffed out like I was on fire.

I was going to blow myself up, with the reactor. Risky, but my only chance. The requirement was to destroy the facility, it didn't say I needed to be alive after.

I just hoped that this was the facility and I'd be awake the next moment, inside the forest, without any injury.

"Wait! Aidan!" the same voice of the woman resounded behind me; I did not turn. "Please don't do it." She pleaded.

"You know me, I'm you-" before I could hear what she was saying, everything quietened down.

I found the explosion starting from my hand and then up toward my whole body quite fascinating.

I turned around, knowing full well that I was done here, nothing could stop me now. The woman's eyes were red, glistening with tears as she said something, and continued to say so, but I could not hear her.

My gaze lingered on her eyes, they brimmed with complicated feelings and emotions, I understood one, only one.

Regret.

**

**

**

Is he alive or dead? Find out next!

(I know it's strange and seems forced how he 'stumbled' upon a room where "the rector room" was written in bold letters, but bear with me. If you are going to read my novel, you should understand that whatever I do has been planned; no matter how cliché or forced it seems—it's intentional. There is a reason behind everything and it will be revealed slowly.)

(Okay, I know this time skip was quick and quite fast—but trust me, it is better this way, you've missed nothing. Everything that happened inside will be revealed. Slowly.)

NEW AUTHOR NOTE: If you forgot, keep in mind this is the "old me" 😭

it took a lot of courage to post this weird mess of a shit I called a novel back in the day. but unlike most authors, I want it out there. I want criticism. Destroy me!